kaspersky

Associate
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Lincoln
Hi, in a bit of a dilemma, I have Kaspersky anti virus on my PC and with all that is going on in this world and that it is a Russian product do i keep it on my system or remove it??
 
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1 Mar 2004
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Keep it, Kaspersky are a large multi national company with a well respected reputation and their AV engine is one of the best on the market. They have data centres around the world and if I recall EU/UK data is processed in their Swiss data centre.

I will happily keep using Kaspersky until I’m given cause to do otherwise.

edit, https://www.kaspersky.com/about/pre...pens-new-transparency-center-in-north-america
 
Associate
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18 Oct 2009
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Keep it, Kaspersky are a large multi national company with a well respected reputation and their AV engine is one of the best on the market. They have data centres around the world and if I recall EU/UK data is processed in their Swiss data centre.

I will happily keep using Kaspersky until I’m given cause to do otherwise.

edit, https://www.kaspersky.com/about/pre...pens-new-transparency-center-in-north-america


By the time you know it has been used as a vector for attack it is kinda a bit late isn't it. While they may have data processing outside russia, there headquarters and software development is still done in Moscow, which means they have to operate under Russian Law which we all know is arbitary and can and is used as a political weapon to coerse and threaten anyone who gets in the way of the Kremlin so it's not whether Kaspersky can be trusted, its whether the Kremlin can be trusted. With the level of access security software has to a system and with automatic updates surely it isn't worth the risk. Sure Kaspersky need to keep there reputation, but I doubt the Russian government cares about that one bit. Although granted I don't see it being used unless the conflict escalates.
 
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That holds true for a lot of software and is the basis of a supply chain attack as evidenced by the most recent one utilising Solarwinds software which amongst others affected Microsoft and a number of US government departments.

There are also exploits that can use vulnerabilities in an anti-virus product to gain access to a device, the most recent of these was against ESET another well respected security provider (I believe Kaspersky was also affected by an exploit at one point), one such exploit I recall allowed a file that had been quarantined to be run with escalated privileges. This is one of many reasons why you are always advised to be running the latest version of any software you have installed. **caveat, this the advise given to home users, within a business these updates are usually tested for an extended period to see what new vulnerabilities arise before they are installed in a production environment.

Back to Kaspersky, whilst I have no doubt some of there software development is done in Russia they are a large multinational with a diverse product range and there software development is likely across multiple regions. And they make their code available to partners and governments for review, so if there was tampering it would be evident. And as they are not a communications company they are not subject to the Russian data gathering laws which has been independently verified.

All in all they do a lot more than most companies to show they operate in a transparent and trustworthy manor.

But at the end of the day the best advise is to run what you are comfortable with and does the job you need it to.
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Nov 2009
Posts
6,649
You gotta laugh at this but;

‘Kaspersky told BBC News the warning had been "made on political grounds" and it had no ties to the Russian government.’

I would be hitting the uninstall button straight away lol Just use MSE and common sense (which isn’t that common mind).
 
Associate
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18 Oct 2009
Posts
588
I use it and have no intention of uninstalling it tbh.
It has stopped unsavory drive by crap in the past and causes me no issues.
If I was actively looking for a new AV then i would probably not buy it in the current climate.
 
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