“Recent developments should serve as a stark warning, not just to the federal government, but to states, local governments, and the American public, of the serious dangers of using Kaspersky software,” New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen says. Politicians are reacting to this week’s revelations.
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Those companies offered to uninstall Kaspersky software free of charge, regardless of where it was purchased, run a virus scan on the computer, and replace the software with McAfee LiveSafe antivirus software with a year’s license free. Office Max and Office Depot also pulled the software from sale. And if customers don’t want to uninstall the software themselves, one of Best Buy’s Geek Squad agents will do it free within that time window. The retailer is letting consumers who had already purchased Kaspersky software and had an active subscription to exchange it free of charge for 45 days. In response to worries among consumers, the Best Buy electronics chain stopped selling Kaspersky products in mid-September. The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, or US-Cert, the Homeland Security division charged with assessing cyberthreats, didn’t respond to questions about the safety of Kaspersky antivirus software for consumers. “Kaspersky antivirus products and solutions provide broad access to files and elevated privileges on the computers on which the software is installed, which can be exploited by malicious cyber actors to compromise those information systems,” the DHS wrote in the order, citing concerns “about the ties between certain Kaspersky officials and Russian intelligence.” Last month, the Department of Homeland Security issued an order-officially called a binding operational directive -to federal agencies to remove Kaspersky software from government computers within 90 days. However, O'Rourke says, if you ever reinstall the operating system from a disk or USB recovery drive, it’s likely that the Kaspersky software would be reinstalled along with the rest of the operating system.Ĭoncerns over Kaspersky software have been building. With these machines you uninstall the software the same way. Some laptops come preloaded with Kaspersky antivirus software.
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“You run the uninstaller, wait for it to say that it’s done, and then reboot your computer.” Fisco notes that Windows Defender Antivirus, which is built into Windows 10, is a different story: “You can disable it, but you can’t uninstall it.” In the past, it could be difficult to uninstall antimalware software, but that’s no longer true, according to Consumer Reports tester Rich Fisco. Consumer Reports recommends security packages from several companies, including AVG, Avira, G Data, and Symantec.
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However, we will continue to monitor this developing story.Ĭonsumer Reports is currently devoting more resources to security testing and is working with outside partners to develop better standards for digital products.Ĭonsumers who use Kaspersky products now but would like to make a change have a number of options.
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Consequently, we have not changed its recommended status in our ratings. We have not independently tested the software for its vulnerability to this kind of attack. “As a consumer you have to think ‘What am I giving away when I sign up and use this software?’”Ĭonsumer Reports included Kaspersky Internet Security 2017 in its testing of antimalware packages, and the product did well in such tasks as blocking access to phishing sites and protecting PCs from malware loaded on devices plugged into USB ports. “One of the things people don’t realize, by installing that tool you give the right to pull any information that might be interesting,” says Chris O’Rourke, another former NSA cybersecurity expert who is the CEO of cybersecurity firm Soteria. Such software is designed to scan a computer comprehensively as it searches for malware, then send regular reports back to a company server.
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“For any consumers or small businesses that are concerned about privacy or have sensitive information, I wouldn’t recommend running Kaspersky.”īy its very nature antivirus software is an appealing tool for hackers who want to access remote computers, security experts say.
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“It’s a big deal,” says Blake Darché, a former NSA cybersecurity analyst and the founder of the cybersecurity firm Area 1. government, say there is reason for concern. It’s not clear whether Kaspersky software poses a threat to consumers’ computers, but security experts, including those who used to work for the U.S.