Date Modified timestamp gets updated on every file access

I just started using Paragon NTFS for Mac 15.0.23 which came with an external Seagate drive I bought.

I have noticed a behavior which I am hoping is a bug. Any time a file on a mounted NTFS drive is accessed, including simple read actions such as reading a Word doc, playing a music file or watching a video, the Date Modified file timestamp gets updated. This should not be the case. This does not happen with files on any other file system I mount, including the other Windows file systems like FAT32 and xFAT.

Is this a bug? A setting I can control?

I notice in the application there is a setting called "Save Last Access Time" which is checked. I was thinking this could be causing the behavior I am seeing, but even if I uncheck this setting the behavior remains. Plus, that setting is always re-checked at each restart.

I'd appreciate any help I could get to fix this unwanted behavior.

Thanks,
Jeff