Kaspersky users report that their antivirus software has been replaced with UltraAV without their permission
Many people have complained that the products of the Russian-based security company Kaspersky have been switched to 'UltraAV' by the American cybersecurity company Pango Group. The background to this is the US government's ban on Kaspersky.
Some Kaspersky customers receive surprise forced-update to new antivirus software | TechCrunch
Kaspersky deletes itself, installs UltraAV antivirus without warning
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/kaspersky-deletes-itself-installs-ultraav-antivirus-without-warning/
On June 20, 2024, Kaspersky was banned from selling and providing its products in the United States due to concerns about its ties to the Russian government. As a result, Kaspersky's American subsidiary, Kaspersky Lab, Inc., was prohibited from providing products to the United States, and was unable to continue operating its services or providing updates after September 30 of the same year.
Kaspersky closed its US branch and laid off employees, but the issue of what to do with the approximately 1 million American users who used its products remained. That's when security company Pango Group stepped up and offered to take over all of Kaspersky's customers and migrate them to Pango Group's 'UltraAV.'
This proposal was agreed upon, and Kaspersky users were to be migrated to UltraAV. Pango Group announced on the UltraAV website that 'Kaspersky users will be able to access UltraAV with their existing subscriptions by mid-September. No action is required to migrate,' and the company said it notified all Kaspersky users of the migration to UltraAV in early September.
Pango Group rescues about 1 million Kaspersky users after sales were suspended in the US - GIGAZINE
However, some users, unaware of the notification, began to report that their security software had been replaced without their consent. Some users expressed concern, saying, 'I was scared, thinking that a virus had somehow infiltrated my system. I had no idea about the migration,' while others expressed confusion over the difference in behavior, saying , 'Actions that were not considered a threat by Kaspersky were considered a threat by UltraAV,' and shared how to uninstall UltraAV.
Although users had been notified, the fact that their security software had been replaced without their permission was described as 'an example of a huge risk,' according to a former senior US government cybersecurity official. Avi Fleischer, a former Kaspersky reseller, said, 'Users should have been given the choice to accept UltraAV or not.'
A person claiming to be a Kaspersky employee said on the company's official forum that the transition was 'to make it as seamless as possible' so that users would not feel any gaps.
Related Posts:
in Software, Posted by log1p_kr