It’s nice that AVG provides a high quality free product for computer security, but in what appears to be a scramble to monetize their big and recent venture capital investment it *appears* that AVG has jumped the shark with their “secure search” feature.  I just spent about an hour figuring out how to remove it so hopefully this will help YOU escape from the AVG secure search nightmare.   Please post comments if you find these instructions don’t work for you.   

Here are AVGs instructions for removal of AVG 2013:

WINDOWS XP AND 7

1. Go to Start -> (Settings) -> Control Panel.
2. Open (Programs) -> Programs and Features, or Add or Remove Programs.
3. Select AVG 2013 in the list of programs.
4. Click the Uninstall or Change/Remove button.
5. Follow the instructions on your screen to complete the uninstallation.
6. Restart your computer.

WINDOWS 8

1. Right-click AVG 2013 on the Start screen.
2. Click Uninstall in the bottom bar.
3. Select AVG 2013 in the list of programs.
4. Click the Uninstall or Change/Remove button.
5. Follow the instructions on your screen to complete the uninstallation.
6. Restart your computer.

In case the uninstallation was not successful, use the AVG Remover tool:

1. Save all your work and close all documents! Your computer will be restarted during the procedure.
2. Download the AVG Remover tool from our website.
3. Run the downloaded tool and follow the instructions displayed on your screen.
4. Your computer will be restarted automatically. After the restart, AVG Remover will finish the uninstallation.

For Google Chrome I found used these instructions from the Google forum helpful:

• If AVG search pages are opening up each time you start up Chrome, check in Wrench > Settings > On Startup > next to the radio button for Open a specific page or set of pages, click on Set pages > remove any unwanted URLs by hovering over the URL until you see an “X” appear to the right side of the URL.
• If all searches that you perform in the omnibox is returning with results from AVG search instead of your preferred search engine, check in Wrench >Settings > Search > Manage search engines > check the list of Default search engines, Other search engines, and Search engines added by extensions, and remove suspicious entries that you are not familiar with. Depending on your extensions, you may not see the last section for Search engines added by extensions.
  • If AVG search is currently selected as the default search engine, you will have to choose another search engine provider as your default first, and then remove the AVG entry. To select another search engine provider as your default search engine, hover over the search engine until you see “Make Default” appear on the right side. Once you have selected your preferred default search engine, you can remove other entries that you do not want by hovering over the entry until an “X” appears on the right side.
• If AVG is opening up when you click on the Home button, check in Wrench > Settings > Appearance > select the Show Home button checkbox > check if the URL that appears below it references AVG.
• Also check that there are no extensions installed that may be causing these changes. Go to Wrench > Settings > Extensions > if you see any unfamiliar extension that you do not remember installing, try disabling/removing the extension to see it was causing these changes. To disable, uncheck the “Enabled” checkbox next to the extension. To remove, hover over the extension until you see a trash can icon appear, and click on the icon.

I’m curious if others have been as frustrated as I have by AVG Secure search, which is simply a modification of Google search with AVG ads placed on the top.  I don’t oppose advertising, but AVG’s aggressive approach here made it very hard to remove their features, which in my view are not user friendly since I’m getting a very inferior search experience to a native Google search where the advertising is not as intrusive AND where I’m not automatically (and slowly) redirected to the AVG search application for searches.