OK I tried an experiment. I have a file let's call "file.exe". It's an encrypted file created by an encryption program; a self decrypting .exe file.
experiment 1
1. I go into file explorer and double click the file
2. Avast has a popup in the lower right corner that says that it will not allow me to run this file because it might be dangerous unless I create an exception and it provides a link at the bottom to do that.
3. I click the link and (I guess) it automatically creates the exception and then allows the program to run.
**From that point forward - no more warnings. Every time I run the program it runs and I never get asked again.
Avast has created a line for that program, including the name/path and a SHA hash, in the exclusions.ini file. Yet, if i go into settings->exceptions there is nothing - blank page.
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experiment 2
1. Instead of double clicking the file in Windows Explorer I open Avast first and go to the exceptions page and manually add the file I want to open before I open it.
2. Now Avast adds the file name and path in the exclusions.ini file, but no hash.
3. I open the file and no warnings as there is an exception. Works fine.
4. I go back to Avast settings and manually remove the exceptions from the exceptions page.
5. Now I check the exclusions.ini file and it is empty - no files listed.
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So what is going on? Seems like a bug to me. If you click a file and it creates an exception that exception does not get added to the exceptions page and thus you can never ever remove it.