Antivirus Guide

Sometimes antivirus software, Windows ransomware protection or a cloud-sync client blocks PollyMC-Continued while it writes game files. When that happens, downloads fail with Permission denied and the launcher shows the network error window. This page shows how to fix it.

Quick fix: use another temporary folder

Does the error window say "This looks like antivirus software…"? You can retry without touching your antivirus settings:

  1. In the error window, choose the option to retry through a different temporary folder.
  2. Pick a folder your antivirus does not watch, such as a folder in your home directory.
  3. The failed downloads run again and are staged in that folder.

If this works, you are done. If you keep seeing the same error, add exclusions using the steps below.

Windows Defender exclusions

Exclude both the launcher folder and its data folder, so Defender stops scanning files while they are being written.

  1. Open Windows Security from the Start menu.
  2. Go to Virus & threat protection, then under Virus & threat protection settings click Manage settings.
  3. Scroll down to Exclusions and click Add or remove exclusions.
  4. Click Add an exclusion → Folder and add each folder from the table below.
WhatDefault location
Installed launcher (installer)C:\Program Files\PollyMC-Continued
Launcher data (instances, mods, settings)%APPDATA%\PollyMC
Portable versionThe folder you extracted the .zip into

Tip: paste %APPDATA%\PollyMC into the File Explorer address bar to jump straight to the data folder.

Ransomware protection (Controlled folder access)

If you use Controlled folder access, Windows can block pollymc.exe from writing into protected folders such as Documents, even when Defender exclusions are set. Allow the launcher through it:

  1. Open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection.
  2. Under Ransomware protection, click Manage ransomware protection.
  3. Click Allow an app through Controlled folder access.
  4. Choose Add an allowed app → Browse all apps and select pollymc.exe from the launcher folder.

Other antivirus programs

Every antivirus names things differently, but the idea is the same. Look for a setting calledExclusions, Exceptions, Trusted applications orAllow list, then add:

Cloud-sync clients (OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive) can also lock files. If your launcher data lives inside a synced folder, move it out or pause syncing while downloading.

Still not working?

Make sure the launcher is installed from the official downloads page, then restart it and retry the download. If the error keeps coming back, tell us:

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