At the end of September, Kaspersky forcibly uninstalled it from about 1 million Americans' computers and replaced it with a new antivirus called UltraAV. Many were surprised and appalled that they were not asked to agree to the changes. The move was the final result of the U.S. government's ban on the sale of Kaspersky software in the country and, at least in theory, spelled the end of Kaspersky in the United States.
However, not everyone in the United States has given up on Russian antivirus software. Some Americans have found ways around the ban and are still using Kaspersky antivirus software, according to a TechCrunch survey.
Several people in the United States said in posts on Reddit that they were doing well as Kaspersky customers. When TechCrunch asked them about their motives, the reasons ranged from being skeptical of the reason behind the ban, to having already paid for the product, or simply preferring the product over its competitors. Wide variety.
“It is well known to be the best [antivirus] We boast a world-class track record. There is no real evidence that it is 'spyware' and you cannot blindly believe anything without evidence to back it up,” a US-based Reddit user who goes by Blippyz told TechCrunch in a direct message.
YouKnowWho_13, another Reddit user in New York, continues to use Kaspersky Antivirus, but worries about allegations that Kaspersky exploited access to some Americans' computers to siphon sensitive data to the Russian government. He said he had not.
“Hey, I'm just a cashier…” they told TechCrunch, implying they weren't an interesting target for cyberespionage. He added that the Kaspersky sales ban was “a little too harsh” and unnecessary. “[I] I've been used to it for 10 years. The power of habit, lol. It's a wonderful product. ”
There are two ways for these users to circumvent the sales ban. First, it means they bought the licenses and keys before the ban, and are not violating the sales ban or sanctions by sending money to the Moscow-based cybersecurity firm. Second, they are using a VPN or manually adding non-US servers to their list of update servers. This means that in Kaspersky's eyes, they are effectively not US users.
Kaspersky did not respond to TechCrunch's request for comment.
Avi Fleischer, a longtime Kaspersky user who lives in Brooklyn, New York, told TechCrunch that he still uses the software on his home computer. Fleischer said that once the ban fully takes effect, Kaspersky Security Network, a service “designed to receive and process complex global cyber threat data,” will no longer be available. , explained that they were able to obtain virus definition updates by specifying the update. Connect your server to a server outside the United States.
“And now we can automatically update virus definitions,” Fleischer said, adding that he does not use a VPN.
YouKnowWho_13 said he purchased an international license key from eBay. Like other companies, it said it has added update servers outside the United States to its Kaspersky app to continue receiving security updates.
YouKnowWho_13 says he will switch to antivirus competitors ESET or Bitdefender once his license key expires.
Another Reddit user, Das1996, told TechCrunch that he uses a VPN to get updates and has a license key that expires in about three to four months. Once that happens, they said, they will decide what to do. But “if a VPN option works well for me, I'll continue to use it,” Das1996 said.
Reddit user Domingothegamer, who turned to the website for help when he couldn't update his Kaspersky software, said he still had a three-year license for 10 devices with two years remaining. For them, leaving Kaspersky Lab “feels like a big waste just because it's banned.”
They said you don't even need to use a VPN and other than adding new servers to get updates, it's “the same service as always.”