AVAST causes VBA issue in MS Access

I’ve been using MS Access up to before installing AVAST and have no issue all these years. After installing AVAST Premium Security just now, I can’t open my Access database anymore. The message reads “The database cannot be opened because the VBA project contained in it cannot be read. The database can be opened only if the VBA project is first deleted…” Can any friend here help me with this issue. Thank you!

https://support.avast.com/en-ww/article/298/ (Blocked & Allowed apps)

Thanks Asyn!
I have tried the Blocked & Allowed Apps but it didn’t resolve the issue.
Is there any other way??

Did you reboot afterwards…!?

Yes, I did reboot. Now, my other colleagues who downloaded Avast Premium Security are also laden with the same issue.
We may all have to uninstall it, if we can’t resolve in a day or two.

Thanks, Asyn, for your quick response.

  • Which version/build of Avast Premium…?
  • OS…? (32/64 Bit…? - which SP/Build…?)
  • Other security related software installed…?
  • Which AV(s) did you use before Avast…?

This is the info :
AVAST Premium Security version 21.4.2464 (Build 21.4.6266.668)
OS - 64-bit, Windows 10 vers 2004
No other security related software installed
Previous AV - McAfee

It will be great if we could solve this soon. Thank you again, Asyn!

Do you get any warning msg from Avast…!?

If yes, please post a screenshot.
If no, see if you find any hint in the report files. → C:\ProgramData\AVAST Software\Avast\report

No warning msg from Avast.
C:\ProgramData\AVAST Software\Avast\report - what will tell me something is amiss?
I see several lines of Shield Started… Shield Stopped…

Hi, beats me, but I forwarded it, let’s see…

Thank you very very much for helping me find a solution.
Keeping my fingers crossed for an easy way out.

Hi siewhoon,

did you try to disable some shields to find the culprit?

Could you please create a support package and provide us the support package ID to investigate the issue?

Thanks a lot,
PDI

Hi siewhoon,
i would suggest disabling avast shields one by one to see which one is responsible.
My guess is file shield of amsi but it is hard to tell.

Can you create a procmon log and send it to analysis :

  1. download procmon from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon
  2. run is as admin
  3. induce the issue
  4. save procmon log (menu → File → Save…, All events, Native procmon format) as siewhoon_vba_procmon_6_2021.pml
    and upload it to avast ftp server(https://support.avast.com/en-eu/article/FTP-file-upload )

Thanks for report !

Thanks for providing steps. I’m knocking off now and, will attempt this tomorrow.
Hopefully, the issue becomes history tomorrow.

Thanks guys!

Hello,

I’m a programmer myself and I must say that initially I also had some trouble with Avast. But everything is running smoothly now, after some config in Avast.

Especially Visual Studio + Avast gave us some headaches :wink: Mostly because Avast proactively kept scanning (and sometimes blocking & vaulting) the newly compiled files when building the solution or debug-running them, which basically prevented me from testing and executing my assemblies/solutions. Plus, it sometimes totally messed up the solution as a whole, because important files went missing (moved to the vault).

I also had some issues with VBA in Excel, but we do not code VBA in Access (we only use MSSQL Server for DB projects). So, unfortunately I can’t comment on that. Although the symptoms are likely similar.

Anyway, all issues, including those with Excel macro enabled files (VBA), were basically solved by adding the appropriate files/folders to exceptions in Avast. For VS that mostly meant the Build and Publish folders (or the Project folder as a whole, but I thought that to not be the safest solution). I did not add any Blocked & Allowed Apps. I only used File/folder Exceptions: go to Menu > Settings > General > Exceptions > add files/folders there as required.

I hope this helps?

I must admit, though, that I am not sure if adding macro enabled MS Office files and executables, even trusted ones, to exceptions in Avast is practical and/or even wise. They can also still become infected after all! Are there any “best practices” documents or other advisories available from Avast for situations like these? That would probably help a lot of people, including the OP?

Hi Kwiq, I’ve ftp’d the procmon log as requested. Please assist. Thank you!

Thanks John2122.
I tried Exceptions but it didn’t work for me.
So sad.

Hi siewhoon,

can you try to disable the shields one by one to check if you are able to read the DB correctly?

Can you even try to remove the McAfee product to check if there isn’t problem between the Avast and it?

Thanks a lot,
PDI

Hi siewhoon,
as wrote PDI the best way would be to find which shield causes the document corruption by disabling one by one.

We noticed that your db file (Z:\xx\xxx.accdb where z is \SERVER\Volume_1\xx) is stored at net drive so these shields come to my mind :
Web shield, File Shield, Amsi. (Disabling File shield should stop also our amsi scanner. )You can try to download the file at local driver (c:…) and try to open it from here.
We also noticed that mcafees amsi dll was present and was scanning the db.

I would strongly recommend to keep only one AV solution on your PC !

Have a nice day.