International politics playing out on your desktop.
Some people suddenly have an anti-virus tool they don’t recognize and have never heard of.
Honestly, with little notice, it almost sounds like malware. It’s not. I think.
Here’s what happened and what I recommend you do.
Kasperskey gave you Ultra AV
Kaspersky users in the U.S. unexpectedly found their antivirus program replaced by Ultra AV because of a government ban. Ultra AV is, as best I can tell, mediocre and unfamiliar. Kaspersky’s actions lack transparency and could have been handled better. I recommend you uninstall both Kaspersky and Ultra AV. Rely on Windows Security or choose a more trusted and recognizable alternative.
You were running Kaspersky
The common thread here is that you were almost certainly running the Kaspersky Antivirus program, and it has now been replaced by Ultra AV.
As reported previously, Kaspersky was banned in the United States earlier this year; the deadline was the end of September 2024. After that, you could not download the program and existing installations could no longer update the program or the database of malware definitions.
The ban essentially rendered Kaspersky’s tools impotent.
Kaspersky’s action
As the deadline drew nearer, anyone with Kaspersky still installed found that it had been replaced by Ultra AV.
Kaspersky apparently worked out a deal with Ultra AV, and the program was transparently replaced without asking. The stated goal was to ensure that your machine continued to have malware protection after Kaspersky could no longer provide the service.
That’s a laudible goal, but the execution leaves much to be desired.
Is Ultra AV any good?
Well, at least it’s not malware.
The reviews of the product I’ve seen are “meh”. It’s apparently not horrible but not great. “Middle of the road” would, I suppose, be an appropriate description.
More concerning to me is that I (and apparently many others) had never heard of Ultra AV until this happened. Honestly, I don’t find that encouraging at all. I know everyone has to start somewhere, but to have a relatively unknown security program suddenly take the place of a formerly respected tool feels underhanded and suspicious.
It’s unclear when you’ll have to start paying for Ultra AV. Ideally it wouldn’t be until your Kaspersky subscription ends but we’re not sure. There have also been reports that that it also installs its VPN and identity protection component, without asking.
It reflects poorly on the tool, no matter how good it might be.
Related
What Security Software Do You Recommend? (2024 Q4 update)
Here are my latest recommendations for specific security software and techniques.What Kaspersky should have done
In my mind, Kaspersky should have done something along these lines.
- Established a relationship with a top-tier U.S. security package. Yes, this would mean reaching out to their direct competitors.
- Ideally, that relationship would have involved the new entity taking on the existing subscriptions and terms of Kaspersky customers affected.
- Told their users what was going on.
- Given their users enough warning.
- Given their users a choice. Ultra AV could have been one, I suppose.
- Informed their users what would happen if they did nothing. Presumably, this would have resulted in the scenario we see today except with informed consent.
In other words, they could have been much more open and professional about the entire process. As it is, it feels like Kaspersky is leaving the US market with a big “screw you” as the message. It might not be their intent, but it certainly feels that way.
And it’s tarnished their reputation. If they care.
Do this
So, what should you do? Decide for yourself.
You could certainly do nothing and keep Ultra AV. It’s OK, best I can tell.
In your shoes, however, I would do the following.
- Uninstall anything left of Kaspersky. (Possibly aggressively using a tool like Revo Uninstaller; Kaspersky has lost much of my trust because of all this.)
- Uninstall Ultra AV.
- Let Windows Security take over the job. It’s already on your machine, and it’ll step in if no other security solution is present.
If Windows Security isn’t your thing, there are plenty of fine alternatives out there — alternatives that are not only highly rated but programs you’ve actually heard of.
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In Canada, Kaspersky’s actions fall under Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation. It is illegal to install software on someone’s computer without their consent. If this happened to any Canadians, they could raise a complaint with the CRTC. If the CRTC investigates and confirms it, the person/business doing it could be fined. Of course if the offender is not resident in Canada, there’s not much the CRTC can do to you.
And who knows whether Ultra AV is infected with Russian spyware or not?