Kaspersky Free Antivirus worldwide roll out begins

Martin Brinkmann
Jul 26, 2017
Updated • Jul 28, 2017
Security
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Kaspersky announced the worldwide rollout of Kaspersky Free, a free limited version of Kaspersky Internet Security, yesterday.

We reviewed the initial version of Kaspersky Free back in 2016 when Kaspersky began to distribute it in selection regions. While the security program was released only in those regions, downloads were not restricted to them.

Kasperksy plans to roll out the free version of the company's security software to a worldwide audience starting this month.

The roll out will happen gradually between July and November 2017, and cover all regions of the world. The first wave includes the United States, Canada and most Asia Pacific countries, the second in September Africa, Latin America and India, the third in October Europe, Japan and South Korea, and the final wave Vietnam and Thailand in November.

Windows users interested in Kaspersky Free can download the product right away on the Kaspersky website. Note that it may not be offered as a localized version right now. This downloads a stub installer which downloads the main package when you run the installer. The package has a size of about 140 Megabytes.

Note: You are prompted during installation about joining the Kaspersky Security Network. You share more data with Kaspersky when you participate, but benefit from better protection as well.

Note 2: Kaspersky Free Antivirus requires that you create a Kaspersky portal account. Account creation is optional.

Kaspersky Free Antivirus

The application itself focuses on protecting the computer against malicious software. It comes with file, web, instant messenger and email protection modules, and may be used to scan the system at any time as well.

First thing you may want to do after signing in is to update the database. The main program interface lists scan and database update options only that are active. The other four options -- Safe Money, Privacy Protection, Parental Control and Protection for all devices -- are not available in the free version.

They are displayed to highlight what users get when they upgrade to the paid Internet Security product.

A click on more tools displays additional security modules and tools that are provided. All you get there however is access to the on-screen keyboard, the quarantine, and the cloud protection configuration.

The remaining tools -- Software Cleaner, Trusted Applications mode, Vulnerability scan and more -- are not available in the free version.

A click on scan provides you with options to run a full, quick or selective scan. You may schedule scans so that they run regularly. You cannot schedule a single scan however but only repeated scans.

Kaspersky protects the system against malicious software while it is up and running. The protection uses the same engines that Kaspersky's commercial products use. Independent tests by organizations such as AV Test or AV Comparatives suggest that Kaspersky's protection engine is one of the best in the industry.

As far as options are concerned: you can disable protection modules, e.g. IM Anti-Virus, manage exclusions and performance settings, and more.

One advantage of Kaspersky Free is that it is lighter in terms of resource usage than Kaspersky's commercial products. Kaspersky notes that the free version does not come "with all the usual nonsense" that free antivirus solutions ship with such as "advertising-oriented user-habit tracking and confidentially infringements".

Closing Words

Kaspersky Free is a one of the better free antivirus solutions that are available for Windows. While it requires registration before you may use it, it seems to be less annoying and privacy invasive than some of the other free solutions that are available for the operating system. (via Deskmodder)

Now You: Which antivirus solution do you use?

Summary
Author Rating
4 based on 19 votes
Software Name
Kaspersky Free Antivirus
Operating System
Windows
Software Category
Security
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Comments

  1. valparaiso said on October 12, 2017 at 9:13 pm
    Reply

    They are supporting by now following languages:

    Arabic: https://products.s.kaspersky-labs.com/multilanguage/homeuser/kfa2018/kfa18.0.0.405aben_ar_13150.exe
    Russian: https://trial.s.kaspersky-labs.com/registered/f5i2ph0ogqyb1fmlu6af/kfa18.0.0.405abru_13021.exe
    Turkish: https://products.s.kaspersky-labs.com/turkish/homeuser/kfa2018/kfa18.0.0.405abtr_13011.exe
    Danish: https://products.s.kaspersky-labs.com/danish/homeuser/kfa2018/kfa18.0.0.405abda_13316.exe
    Swedish: https://products.s.kaspersky-labs.com/swedish/homeuser/kfa2018/kfa18.0.0.405absv_13315.exe
    Norwegian: https://products.s.kaspersky-labs.com/norwegian_bokmaal/homeuser/kfa2018/kfa18.0.0.405abnb_13318.exe
    Finnish: https://products.s.kaspersky-labs.com/finnish/homeuser/kfa2018/kfa18.0.0.405abfi_13261.exe
    Portuguese: https://trial.s.kaspersky-labs.com/registered/sgilobb0gl9ygr4ipvf7/kfa18.0.0.405abpt_13157.exe
    French: https://products.s.kaspersky-labs.com/french/homeuser/kfa2018/kfa18.0.0.405abfr_13241.exe
    Chinese Simplified: https://trial.s.kaspersky-labs.com/registered/eziypqdzh2p3cnj1c48o/kfa18.0.0.405abzh-hans_12797.exe
    Chinese Traditional: https://products.s.kaspersky-labs.com/multilanguage/homeuser/kfa2018/kfa18.0.0.405aben_zh-hant_13148.exe
    Spanish: https://trial.s.kaspersky-labs.com/registered/bq7s46riky0q4at44hgl/kfa18.0.0.405abes_13158.exe
    Italian: https://products.s.kaspersky-labs.com/italian/homeuser/kfa2018/kfa18.0.0.405abit_13294.exe
    German: https://products.s.kaspersky-labs.com/german/homeuser/kfa2018/kfa18.0.0.405abde_13240.exe
    Dutch: https://products.s.kaspersky-labs.com/multilanguage/homeuser/kfa2018/kfa18.0.0.405abnl_fr_13320.exe
    Korean: https://products.s.kaspersky-labs.com/korean/homeuser/kfa2018/kfa18.0.0.405abko_13277.exe

  2. Mark said on July 29, 2017 at 8:44 am
    Reply

    There’s always free cheese in a mouse trap.

  3. Igor said on July 27, 2017 at 9:35 pm
    Reply

    So much BS ITT !!
    Oracle and 90% of the Silicon Valley Corporations started with CIA funding.
    It’s on wikipedia look it up.

  4. Bruno said on July 27, 2017 at 9:29 pm
    Reply

    Is it free for commercial use?

    1. Bruno said on July 27, 2017 at 9:33 pm
      Reply

      Answering my question: No. “Software may be used by individuals only for personal non-commercial use.”

  5. augustwest said on July 27, 2017 at 7:40 pm
    Reply

    Don’t see many Dem’s wanting to use this, in fear of being branded with a “Russian Connection”.

  6. Thiago said on July 27, 2017 at 9:57 am
    Reply

    “Note 2: Kaspersky Free Antivirus requires that you create a Kaspersky portal account”

    Martin, not is necessary create account to use. It is completely optional.

    1. Miguel said on August 27, 2017 at 1:25 pm
      Reply

      While creating the account may seem “optional”, if you don’t create an account, a prompt to register/create account will appear every time the computer starts. Can you get rid of it somehow?

      1. Miguel said on August 30, 2017 at 11:31 am
        Reply

        Thanks, that registry modifications did the trick, although the registry key has now a newer number version.

    2. Martin Brinkmann said on July 27, 2017 at 10:09 am
      Reply

      Thank you, have corrected this.

  7. Anon said on July 26, 2017 at 6:50 pm
    Reply

    From license agreement:
    6. Provision of information (if applicable)
    6.1. In order to enhance the protection of information and improve the quality of the Software and services, You agree to
    automatically provide Kaspersky Lab with the following information of a statistical and administrative nature: information
    about installed programs, license data, information on detected threats and infections, checksums of processed objects,
    technical information about the Computer and devices connected to it, information about online activity of the device as
    well as You agree that such information can be provided to third-party service providers. More information is available at
    help.kaspersky.com.
    6.2. In order to identify new information security threats and their sources, enhance the operational protection of Users of
    the Software, and improve the quality of the product, You agree to automatically provide Kaspersky Lab with information
    specified in the Terms of Use of Kaspersky Security Network.
    Also, You can activate and deactivate the Kaspersky Security Network service at any time in the Software settings window.
    You further acknowledge and agree that any information gathered by Rightholder can be used to track and publish reports
    on security risk trends at the Rightholder’s sole and exclusive discretion.
    If you do not wish to provide information to the Kaspersky Security Network service, You should not activate the Kaspersky
    Security Network service. If service is already activated, you should immediately de-activate the Kaspersky Security Network
    service.
    Kaspersky Lab protects the information received in accordance with applicable governing law and Kaspersky Lab’s rules.
    Kaspersky Lab uses the information received only in an anonymized form as part of aggregated statistics. These
    aggregated statistics are generated automatically from the original information received and do not contain personal
    information or any other confidential information. Initial information received is destroyed upon accumulation (once a
    year). General statistics are kept indefinitely.

  8. Aegir said on July 26, 2017 at 3:10 pm
    Reply

    Very interesting, unfortunately it makes my PC unstable. Am I the only one experiencing this? Kaspersky free installs two programs, Kaspersky Secure Connection in addition to the antivirus itself.

    1. Aegir said on July 27, 2017 at 5:40 pm
      Reply

      This is worse than I thought. The PC was so unstable (slow and unpredictable) that I had to uninstall this. Kaspersky Secure Connection is not a good idea IMO.

    2. Anonymous said on July 27, 2017 at 5:40 pm
      Reply

      This is worse than I thought. The PC was so unstable (slow and unpredictable) that I had to uninstall this. Kaspersky Secure Connection is not a good idea IMO.

  9. Emil said on July 26, 2017 at 2:46 pm
    Reply

    Remains to be seen if they can rival Avira with respect to quality and unobtrusiveness in their free product. And of course, the idiotic and hateful american paranoia about Russia is a bonus spectacle to keep watching it!

  10. happysurf said on July 26, 2017 at 12:57 pm
    Reply

    Interesting new entry in the AV world.
    I use Qihoo 360 Total Security completely free and full of interesting tools.
    Take a look at http://www.360totalsecurity.com/en/
    I suggest you to make a review in the future.

    1. TianlanSha said on July 26, 2017 at 4:53 pm
      Reply

      I *COULD* say it’s a good antivirus software, but it’s really not. It comes with many useless tools I don’t need – junk cleaner, optimizer, tool for updating Windows, advertising other software, etc…

      I’ve specifically uninstalled the telemetry patches of Windows 7 and forbid them from installing ever again so I wouldn’t count on this tool to keep it like this, for all I know, the next time I start my PC, all those patches might be installed again.

      I guess it’s good if you install it on the computer of a person who clicks on Nigerian prince e-mails, like and old person, a kid or any adult who doesn’t really care about computers.

    2. John in Mtl said on July 26, 2017 at 4:33 pm
      Reply

      Ha! A Chinese security company and product. Now which would you rather trust, the Russians or the Chinese? I have nothing against people of Chinese origin, nor of Russian origin. On matters of business, spying, security? that’s another matter entirely…

      I’ll put my money with Kaspersky.

    3. TarKi said on July 26, 2017 at 1:36 pm
      Reply

      I’ve been using them for about two years on two Windows 7 machines, and so far those remained nicely free of viruses. (despite regularly downloading stuff and visiting higher-risk pages for live sports streams and such)

      I too would be very interested in a “Qihoo 360 Total Security” review. Especially in terms of the types/amount of data that is sent to Qihoo…

      PS: One reason for me to start using Qihoo 360 was the integration of Bitdefender and Avira scan engines, which you can activate in the settings.

      1. jasray said on July 26, 2017 at 4:09 pm
        Reply

        https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2422024,00.asp

        Anyway, I found uninstalling 360 to be quite the chore.

        The idea of introducing a “new” product without any comparison to similar products deceives readers and forces one to read through the dialects and lenses of different users for better alternatives or vague “yea, nay” opinions.

        PC Mag offers some comprehensive testing if and when it publishes information on “new” products.

        So, we go back to Sam for some ideas:

        http://www.freewaregenius.com/the-best-free-antivirus-for-windows-january-2016/

        Then, we find a site that does the work:

        https://www.av-comparatives.org/

        and

        https://www.av-comparatives.org/performance-tests/

        Now, we have some “real” information upon which we can make an informed decision based on the scientific method rather than the Emersonian transcendent intuition method.

  11. Fena said on July 26, 2017 at 11:40 am
    Reply

    one year only

    funny after I installed it blocked ghacks

    1. Thiago said on July 27, 2017 at 9:09 am
      Reply

      After 1 year you only install new version and receive more 1 year.

      For example: Version 2018 install = 1 year
      After expiration of version
      Install version 2019 and receive more 1 year.
      After expiration of version
      Install version 2020 and receive more 1 year.

      and continue…

  12. Forlorn said on July 26, 2017 at 11:38 am
    Reply

    So it’s an actual full fledged antivirus with no advertising. What’s the catch ?

    Are virus definitions still downloadable separately using a browser ? An offline update of virus definitions completely defeats any privacy issue since the antivirus is never able to access the network.

    Finally, to complement an antivirus-only software, one must have a firewall-only software on top. What firewall-only solutions exist nowadays, that are well rated, very granular and thorough in what they allow to block ? It doesn’t have to be free, since firewalls don’t really need to update once the trial runs out.

    I used to use the amazing Outpost Firewall Pro but the product has been discontinued. Even as it was being sold, its engine was licensed and implemented separately in the firewall products of several market leaders, such as Sophos, AVG, Avast and more. Miss it.

    1. khidreal said on July 26, 2017 at 11:45 pm
      Reply

      try glasswire. they have a free and paid version. it’s an Indian company. I honestly don’t like them, they are always saying “we are a small team located in India” as an excuse to never have things done or delay them a lot, and when they release a new version you realize you just waited 2 months for 5 or 6 bug fixes lol. at least this was what was happening like 3 years ago when I used it. but yeah, it’s a good firewall like those, just hit a switch and the whole program gets blocked. maybe you should check it out, it’s only 30MB.
      you have zone alarm firewall, but it’s harder to use. you can always use windows firewall, it’s not that hard, it also has a kind of check/uncheck list for programs, even system ones somewhere on control panel. you can try tinywall and windows 10 firewall control – they are just a easier and better graphical interface for windows firewall. that’s all I used and I “recommend”.
      than you also have more advanced stuff, like TCP/IP blockers. but windows firewall does a great job, you should try it first, you can configure it to block everything, allow everything, warn, bla bla bla… tinywall and W10FC will get that done easier – and less resource hungry. tinywall wastes like 10MB of ram and 0.1% CPU if I remember right. if something is not correct on what I said I apologize, I don’t use windows for 2 years, so it’s starting to be kinda hard to remember :)

  13. khidreal said on July 26, 2017 at 11:35 am
    Reply

    I think Kaspersky is a great antivirus. whenever I get infected and I can’t recover the computer with other tools, Kaspersky’s emergency kits and AV are my salvation.
    I just hope kaspersky business model does not turn into avast’s or avg’s one, because that would suck, I stopped using avast and avg because I don’t like how they treat your information and how they sell it, for example. I am still yet to read the privacy policy, how they handle our information and other documents they may have around, but I hope they keep it by the user account… I hope the user account is just for statistics purposes, like knowing the average amount of virus every user gets and keep track of how many people use it…

  14. nat said on July 26, 2017 at 11:26 am
    Reply

    Have you guys read in the news about Kaspersky being used by the Russians to spy on Americans? Might it have something to do with them making it free now?

    1. Clairvaux said on July 26, 2017 at 3:54 pm
      Reply

      Yes, there’ a troubling coïncidence, to say the least, between this and Kaspersky having just being banned in American security agencies (and maybe other parts of the government as well). To recap what we know :

      – The Russian spying agencies uses freelance hackers for plausible deniability. The deal is the following : we’ll turn a blind eye when you hack for profit, however there are two conditions : don’t hack Russian targets (foreigners are fair game), and if the government asks you to do something for the motherland, then it’s not a request, it’s an order.

      – Russia is waging a cyber-war against the West, and that includes covertly influencing elections as well as sabotaging critical infrastructure (electrical grids, stock exchanges, TV stations, blast furnaces, you name it). And spreading fake news and disinformation through bots and other means. The lesser, and more conventional spying activities (stealing company secrets, spying on governments) are of course going full blast as well.

      – Kaspersky is the largest, and most successful, computer security company in Russia. It enjoys worldwide recognition. One of its specific activities is to help companies and governments all over the world to counter precisely the attacks of the type I’ve just mentioned.

      – Kaspersky collaborates with its government. Teams of the FSB (ex-KGB) have been known to work within its premises. Mr. Kaspersky himself studied at a KGB university. He however denies he’s in cahoots with the Kremlin.

      – Kaspersky has offered to show its code to the American government, and says it would be a fool to threaten its core asset (being trusted to fight hackers) in order to do what people suspect it might be doing (hacking its clients for the benefit of the Russian government).

      – Given the above, and the level of Russian agression, it would have been foolish for the American government NOT to have banned Kaspersky in, at least, its security agencies.

      – If you don’t work for the government outside Russia, or don’t handle any industrial or economic secrets the Russians would love to know, there’s really little chance any of the above should be a concern to you (at least when selecting an antivirus).

      1. Clairvaux said on July 28, 2017 at 2:00 pm
        Reply

        Annoyed by facts, Mr. Emil ? What’s not true in what I wrote, Mr. Putinist troll and useful Kremlin idiot ? Would you care to publish something else than insults and personal attacks to support your point ? Which is what, by the way ? Should one use Kaspersky’s products ? Yes ? No ? Why ?

      2. Emil said on July 28, 2017 at 12:04 pm
        Reply

        You are completely delusional. Are you a paid US government shill? So much stupidity is almost unimaginable…

    2. AnorKnee Merce said on July 26, 2017 at 3:49 pm
      Reply

      @ nat

      I’m not too sure about that but M$’s Windows 10 is very likely the US government’s NSA super-spyware. Hint; forced Telemetry & Data collection in Win 10, which has also been back-ported into Win 7/8.1 through monthly Patch Rollups.
      ……. In return, M$ may be getting legal immunity from the US government against being prosecuted for anti-consumer business practices, eg profit-gouging, anti-trust – bundling of apps into Win 10, invasion of privacy, etc.

      1. AnorKnee Merce said on July 26, 2017 at 8:40 pm
        Reply

        @ simon

        The back-porting of Win 10-style Telemetry & Data collection to Win 7/8.1 by M$ began around Nov 2015 through masked/hidden security updates that were supposedly to facilitate an upgrade to Win 10, eg many versions of KB 2952664. Monthly Rollups for Win 7/8.1 were introduced in April 2016. Monthly Patch Rollups became compulsory in Oct 2016.
        ……. Shouldn’t those security updates be offered to only those Win 7/8.1users who had indicated an intention to upgrade to Win 10 because those updates were useless to those who had no interest in upgrading to Win 10.? Until today, about 60% of Windows users are still on Win 7/8/8.1.

        Some Win 7/8.1 users, including myself, refused to install these “Telemetry updates”, including not installing the Rollups because they very likely contain the Win 10-style T & D collection software hidden in them.

      2. simon said on July 26, 2017 at 5:18 pm
        Reply

        I’ve often wondered about this. If true, I wonder when back-porting occurred in Win 7/8.1. At first, it seemed like the emphasis was on nagging consumers into upgrading to Win 10. Once tools became available to circumvent telemetry and nag screens, even more mysterious updates appeared.

    3. TelV said on July 26, 2017 at 1:18 pm
      Reply

      Yes, that was my thinking too. It seems Kapersky has been removed from two lists of approved vendors which can be used by US agencies: https://www.techspot.com/news/70113-kaspersky-lab-removed-government-approved-vendor-list.html

  15. g4n67v2f said on July 26, 2017 at 11:16 am
    Reply

    Yes, downloading!!!

  16. simon said on July 26, 2017 at 10:01 am
    Reply

    How does this compare to Avast Free Antivirus? i.e. system resource usage, telemetry data collection, pop-up ads, etc.

    1. John in Mtl said on July 26, 2017 at 5:01 pm
      Reply

      I had Avast Free installed on a 1-st gen i7 refurb that I purchased back in february of 2017. I found it rather “noisy” in that it constantly connected to its mothership (4-5 connections every 5 minutes do various servers) and regularly spewed an advert message of some kind or other. The GUi was somewhat cumbersome in some areas. I uninstalled it.

      I’ve been running KIS (Kaspersky Internet Security) for the last 3 years on a few of my machines and have found it very well behaved, low on resources (again, on mostly older 1-st gen i7’s + 8GB RAM), quiet and efficient. The interface pics that Martin presents in this review are very much like the full featured KIS version I’m running so I’m **guessing** the core engine is the same but with some components stripped out. In that sense it is **possibly** even lighter in resources than the original KIS – I don’t know, I haven’t tried the free version yet.

      As for the global tensions between the US and Russia and how this might affect Kasperskys’ corporate behaviour and possible “partnership” with the Russian government in trying to wreak havoc on the world, well.. I don’t know. I still trust Kaspersky and their products are solid. If I ever start to doubt too much, I’ll run a long Wireshark session on a clean install in a VM; but I’m sure that if there was any “hanky-panky” with their products, it wouldn’t be long that we’d all hear about it all over the net! Besides, I don’t lend much credibility to US gov’t anti Russian propaganda hehe.

      1. V said on September 8, 2017 at 9:13 am
        Reply

        Some people are too sensitive to a simple exposition of facts and are more concerned with grammar and to call “nonsensical” to these facts, without taking into account that we are talking about innocent human beens murdered in sensesless wars by a prepotent government.

        No arguments. No ideas. Only answer is offense and hate. Their words just show what they are really made of.

        Hope they have a long and happy life.

      2. Clairvaux said on September 7, 2017 at 11:34 pm
        Reply

        Oh, I see, Mr V. So you start with a senseless and trolling comment written in bad English, full of irony and low-quality sarcasm, and then you complain about irony and sarcasm in comments.

        The United States is killing a lot of wicked people around the world, and that’s a very good thing. They are going to kill your masters too, and I’m eagerly expecting that moment. Any other questions, Mr V-Troll ?

      3. V said on September 7, 2017 at 11:05 pm
        Reply

        This happens when there’s no more arguments…
        The use of insults and sarcasm, to whom does it detract? To who receives them or to who gives them? Your answer just show us the kind of blindness many people live.
        Now it turns out that the thousands of people murdered by the USA government -and their allies- in the Middle East -and in other parts of the world-, product of their invented wars ARE NOT FACTS but opinions? Do you seriously BELIEVE that?
        If the USA government respected others, they would not have to be taking care of their backs as vulgar criminals. Pull a lion’s tail to see if it does not bite you. The USA government only reaps what it sows. It is useless to continue this talk.
        Going back to technology, no protection measure is 100% safe. It’s good to have where to choose, but given the background…
        As long as there is a target, there will be a way.

      4. Clairvaux said on September 2, 2017 at 11:04 pm
        Reply

        @ V

        Kremlin trolls don’t even bother crafting up a real assumed name, nowadays.

        What you’re talking about is not facts, despite your twisted irony ; it’s opinion (if that). For what it’s worth, it’s my opinion that it’s a very good thing that the United States “spy on everybody” (which they don’t, but never mind). That protects us against muslim terrorists. And Russian scoundrels.

      5. V said on September 2, 2017 at 6:44 pm
        Reply

        About “Facts and Beliefs” -see comment, above-. It’s a fact that USA government defends freedom and human rigths and the Guantanamo prison is a 5 star hotel. It’s a fact that USA government doesn’t spy to everything and everyone -ask to Snowden-. It’s a fact that USA government cares about to send its citizens to die for faked and “businessed” wars. It’s a fact that USA government economy is based on a rock-solid, printed-green paper -it’s good to have that printer, isn’t it?-. It’s a fact that USA government FIRST BELIEF IS humanity and not MONEY.

        It’s correct to believe in facts, not beliefs. So, I prefer not to live in such hypocresy and naivety.

      6. Clairvaux said on July 26, 2017 at 5:43 pm
        Reply

        There are people who chose to “believe” things. For instance, the head of Russia’s Human rights commission (there’s actually such a thing) has just said she “does not believe” there are any Russian secret torture prisons, despite the fact that some people say they were detained and tortured there.

        We in the West (not only in America) “believe” in facts, not in beliefs. Beliefs are fine and dandy, but they are a totally unrelated field. The fact that the Russian Human rights commissioner choses to “believe” that a reported human right infringement does not exist, instead of investigating facts and establishing the truth, speaks volumes about whose “propaganda” should be “believed”, or not.

        This is a technical site, technique is based on science, and science is based on facts, not beliefs. Whether a piece of software spies on its users is a matter of fact, not of belief.

        The cyber-war waged by Russia on the West is a fact, not a belief. Large parts of the Ukrainian electrical grid were destroyed through the Internet, that’s a fact. Estonia’s government sites were brought to their knees by a prolonged Internet attack, that’s a fact. A French government TV station was destroyed by an extremely professional cyber-attack, that’s a fact. A German steel furnace was destroyed by a cyber-attack, that’s a fact. The Polish stock exchange was blocked by a cyber-attack, that’s a fact. All those attacks were traced to Russia’s cyber-warriors, that’s a fact.

        This does not mean, per se, that Kaspersky products are unsafe, and that’s where facts separate from “beliefs”. Beliefs are all right for religion, magic and such. They should not be applied to science-based systems, which will only work if you get your facts right. Never mind your beliefs.

        Those facts don’t mean that Kaspersky products are safe, either. That’s why Kaspersky offered to disclose its code (behind closed doors, obviously, which somewhat limits his statement’s value).

    2. HK-Rapper said on July 26, 2017 at 4:03 pm
      Reply

      Avast Free user here, I tried Kaspersky once and it installed a “Man in the Middle style” proxy to analyze HTTPS traffic, causing my Firefox to not load some sites anymore with errors. The feature was called secure connection or something. It can be disabled in options. But it was enough to throw me off. I really dislike software messing with my HTTPS connections.

      1. ef said on July 28, 2017 at 10:37 pm
        Reply

        that’s the thing, it can’t scan https stuff without sticking in some mitm stuff. think it’s not just them that does this

      2. ERP said on July 27, 2017 at 12:33 am
        Reply

        “Secure Connection” is a VPN. It should be off by default.

      3. seeprime said on July 26, 2017 at 7:56 pm
        Reply

        Currently, Panda Free seems to be the least annoying and one of the most effective AV programs. One needs to go into settings and disable both “news” settings to keep popup ads away.

    3. Steve said on July 26, 2017 at 2:20 pm
      Reply

      Kaspersky feels pretty bloated at this point, even with a lot of the extra crap disabled (I had the same issue with Avast, both are/were premium subs). Just uninstalled it on our family machines.

      Doesn’t help with it being a Russian company either. Will be interesting to see how Kaspersky is affected with the Russian government moving to block vpn’s.

      What AV software do you guys use that doesn’t feel bloated? I am leaning towards NOD32, just the AV part. Would like opinions :O)

      1. Jed said on July 26, 2017 at 2:30 pm
        Reply

        I personally use the built-in Windows Defender as it’s good enough for my needs and is really lightweight. However, I can understand people’s needs vary so one thing may not work for someone else.

    4. Martin Brinkmann said on July 26, 2017 at 10:03 am
      Reply

      I have yet to make a comparison. So far, no popups or any other nasty things other than the forced registration. I cannot say anything about telemetry or privacy yet either.

      1. MR2 said on July 28, 2017 at 11:02 am
        Reply

        It looks like there’s no forced registration. Installed it a few hours ago, and I skipped the registration step. The product is fully operational on my PC and activated with a 1 year license.

      2. Mikhoul said on July 27, 2017 at 2:02 am
        Reply

        Hi Martin I use it since many months and NO you are not obligated to register but officially if you don’t register after few days it will nag you once a day to register…But again a simple change in the registry key will remove the nag screen.

        Same for telemetry you can remove it completely and relatively easily from the register.

        I’ve used Avira for many years but since last years it become a mix of bloatware/adware and removed the possibility to white-list files manually … So I’ve done lot of research to find a light AV and Kaspersky won for me, it’s very very light on resources you can easily tailor it for your need via registry for extra tuning and I don’t need/want the extra bloat that commercial version offer.

        It’s a good news for me since I will not have no longer to convert it from Russian to English next year after my installation and I will not have to use a VPN for the first registration.

        Here’s the links to find which registry key to change to make the nag screen disappear without registration: http://samforum.org/showpost.php?s=e52bacac04254dc782e1ffab1b628e97&p=1251299&postcount=93

      3. simon said on July 26, 2017 at 10:23 am
        Reply

        Kaspersky was my preferred AV solution about 10 years ago. It was a solid product back then, without the bloat associated with mainstream AV products. I’m curious to see how well they fare in 2017. Looking forward to your results. Thanks

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