AVG Internet Security affecting JabRef

On Windows 10, I use both JabRef and AVG Internet Security. Recently (since around the time of a recent AVG update), I have noticed that JabRef can no longer open PDFs externally, nor open help links in a browser. In the former case, there is an error:

Cannot run program “Acrobat.exe”: CreateProcess error=5, Access is denied.

However, if I disable AVG Sensitive Data Shield when opening JabRef, this is not a problem. Otherwise, AVG appears to block this functionality, even with exceptions created for JabRef.exe, runtime\bin\java.exe, and runtime\bin\javaw.exe.

I should be grateful if anyone could advise on which (other) executable I ought to add to the whitelist to avoid this problem.

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what happens if you add “Acrobat.exe” to exceptions?

Thank you for an excellent suggestion (which should have occurred to me earlier), but, when I went to add Acrobat as an exception, it appeared that it already is one, yet the problem remains.

Maybe you can try to enter whole folder paths? - How to exclude items from scanning in AVG AntiVirus | AVG

Thank you for your reply and for the suggestion, but adding an exception for the JabRef folder (and one for the Acrobat folder) does not seem to help.

‘Exceptions’ for folder paths in this way appear to be for other features (scans, Behaviour Shield, and File Shield), as opposed to ‘Allowed Apps’ for any or all of Ransomware Protection, Webcam Protection, Sensitive Data Shield, or Password Protection.

I am very grateful for your advice, particularly as this appears to be an issue more with AVG than with JabRef.

As an update on this query, the issue appears to have been resolved in some recent updates to AVG. What caused it in the first place, I still do not understand.

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