Excel files showing as read-only

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

I am running Excel on Winows10 and yesterday all my excel files started to show as ‘read only’, and I had a ‘sharing violation’ message when I tried to save files under new names. I have managed to eliminate the problem by switching off the ransomeware shield component of Avast Premier. I remember an Avast message when I was saving an excel file prior to the emergence of this problem but not the detail of the message. Something along the lines of ‘do you want Avast to prevent…’ so naturally I chose ‘yes’.

There doesn’t appear to be any alternative to switching off this component to restore full access to my Excel files. Any suggestions?

2

Ransomware Shield - FAQ: https://www.avast.com/faq.php?article=AVKB50

3

So , make sure “EXCEL” isn’t in blocked apps , otherwise remove it from the list

How do I allow or block specific applications from modifying files in my protected folders?

You can specify which applications Ransomware Shield allows or blocks. Follow these steps:

Open the Avast user interface.
Go to Protection ▸ Ransomware Shield.
Click Blocked / allowed apps.
Click Block an App or Allow an App, then select an application and click Open.

The application appears in the relevant list.


Be careful to differentiate between protected files (your excel files)and allowed / prohibited applications (Excel itself) to modify these protected files

4

Hi Chris05,

Many thanks for your advice - this has resolved the issue. Brilliant

5

You are welcome.

If you have not already done , also look at this topic to prevent the message from coming back again