Man
Professional
- Messages
- 3,222
- Reaction score
- 815
- Points
- 113
Why do Americans still secretly use Russian antivirus?
At the end of September 2024, about a million American users faced an unexpected situation: Kaspersky antivirus was removed from their computers without their knowledge, and a new product called UltraAV appeared in its place. This was a consequence of the US government's ban on the sale of Kaspersky Lab software in the country, which in theory should have put an end to the presence of the Russian company in the American market.
However, as it turned out, not all Americans are ready to abandon the usual antivirus. Some have found ways to circumvent the ban and remain loyal to Kaspersky products despite the sanctions.
Reddit users were asked about the reasons for this decision. The answers turned out to be different: someone is skeptical about the sanctions themselves, and someone simply believes that the Laboratory's solutions are superior to analogues.
One of the users under the nickname Blippyz said in a private message to TechCrunch: "Everyone knows that this is the best antivirus in the world with a rich history. There is no real evidence that this is 'spyware' and I cannot blindly believe in something that is not supported by facts."
Another user, YouKnowWho_13, said he was not worried about allegations that Kaspersky Lab was allegedly abusing access to Americans' computers to transfer sensitive data to the Russian government. "Look, I'm just a cashier," he said, hinting that he wasn't an interesting target for cyber espionage. He also added that he considers the ban on the sale of Kaspersky Lab products "excessively harsh" and unreasonable. "I have been using it for 10 years. The power of habit, you know. Plus, it's a really good product".
In any case, the method used by the "violators" to circumvent the restrictions is quite harmless and simple. Firstly, they all acquired a license or key before the ban was imposed, that is, by sending money to a Moscow company, they did not violate the sanctions. Secondly, they use a VPN for cloaking or have manually added a non-US server to the update list.
Avi Fleischer, a longtime Kaspersky user from Brooklyn, New York, also continues to use the software on his home computer. He explained that after the ban came into full force, Kaspersky Security Network - a service "designed to receive and process complex data on global cyber threats" - became unavailable, but it still manages to receive updates to virus databases.
The fact is that YouKnowWho_13 bought an international license key on eBay. Like others, it has added an update server outside of the United States in the Kaspersky app to continue receiving security updates. When the license key expires, the user plans to switch to competitors' antiviruses - ESET or Bitdefender.
Another Reddit man, Das1996, uses a VPN to get updates and has a license key that expires in about three to four months. When that happens, they'll decide what to do next: "If the VPN option works well, I'll continue to use their products".
Source
At the end of September 2024, about a million American users faced an unexpected situation: Kaspersky antivirus was removed from their computers without their knowledge, and a new product called UltraAV appeared in its place. This was a consequence of the US government's ban on the sale of Kaspersky Lab software in the country, which in theory should have put an end to the presence of the Russian company in the American market.
However, as it turned out, not all Americans are ready to abandon the usual antivirus. Some have found ways to circumvent the ban and remain loyal to Kaspersky products despite the sanctions.
Reddit users were asked about the reasons for this decision. The answers turned out to be different: someone is skeptical about the sanctions themselves, and someone simply believes that the Laboratory's solutions are superior to analogues.
One of the users under the nickname Blippyz said in a private message to TechCrunch: "Everyone knows that this is the best antivirus in the world with a rich history. There is no real evidence that this is 'spyware' and I cannot blindly believe in something that is not supported by facts."
Another user, YouKnowWho_13, said he was not worried about allegations that Kaspersky Lab was allegedly abusing access to Americans' computers to transfer sensitive data to the Russian government. "Look, I'm just a cashier," he said, hinting that he wasn't an interesting target for cyber espionage. He also added that he considers the ban on the sale of Kaspersky Lab products "excessively harsh" and unreasonable. "I have been using it for 10 years. The power of habit, you know. Plus, it's a really good product".
In any case, the method used by the "violators" to circumvent the restrictions is quite harmless and simple. Firstly, they all acquired a license or key before the ban was imposed, that is, by sending money to a Moscow company, they did not violate the sanctions. Secondly, they use a VPN for cloaking or have manually added a non-US server to the update list.
Avi Fleischer, a longtime Kaspersky user from Brooklyn, New York, also continues to use the software on his home computer. He explained that after the ban came into full force, Kaspersky Security Network - a service "designed to receive and process complex data on global cyber threats" - became unavailable, but it still manages to receive updates to virus databases.
The fact is that YouKnowWho_13 bought an international license key on eBay. Like others, it has added an update server outside of the United States in the Kaspersky app to continue receiving security updates. When the license key expires, the user plans to switch to competitors' antiviruses - ESET or Bitdefender.
Another Reddit man, Das1996, uses a VPN to get updates and has a license key that expires in about three to four months. When that happens, they'll decide what to do next: "If the VPN option works well, I'll continue to use their products".
Source
