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Antivirus manufacturer Kaspersky has officially began drawing down its operations in the U.S., moving current customers to UltraAV, beginning September 19, 2024, ahead of its formal leave at the end of the month.
"Kaspersky antivirus customers received a software update facilitating the transition to UltraAV," the business wrote in a post announcing the switch on September 21.
"This update ensured that users would not experience a gap in protection upon Kaspersky's exit from the market."
The Russian business, which was barred from selling its software in the U.S. owing to national security concerns, claimed it "worked closely" with UltraAV to guarantee that the standards of security and privacy were maintained after the transfer.
However, several customers who received the upgrade have turned to Kaspersky's forums and Reddit, saying that Kaspersky's software was immediately uninstalled and replaced with UltraAV without any prior notification.
UltraAV, in a FAQ, claimed "all Kaspersky U.S. users with a valid email address associated with their accounts received email communication detailing the transition process" commencing September 5.
However, it seems that the notification apparently neglected to expressly mention that the transfer of software in user computers would be an automated procedure.
"I was using Kaspersky, didn't realize they'd be shuffling us off to some rando [antivirus] in September," one user remarked in a post on Reddit. "Nearly had a heart attack when I started my PC today and found a program I didn't download."
A U.S. corporation, UltraAV is part of Pango Group, which also sells various other VPN programs including UltraVPN, OVPN, and VPN360. It counts more than 25 million current users across its brands, and over 650 million lifetime users.
Update#
Following the release of the news, UltraAV issued the following comment with The Hacker News -
Following the Biden administration’s announcement that it would ban Kaspersky Labs (KL) from selling or updating antivirus software in the United States effective September 29, 2024, the company reached an agreement with Pango Group to automatically transition all U.S. Kaspersky customers to its UltraAV antivirus product. This endeavor was meant to minimize the chance that KL users would be left vulnerable for any amount of time after their required removal from the market.
KL started notifying this shift to U.S. consumers on September 5. All KL users with valid email addresses got direct communications and all users had access to transition alerts in-app, on MyKaspersky account pages, and via Kaspersky Labs' websites.
UltraAV is a mature technology, developed and enhanced for more than 20 years. It integrates the latest threat information and employs innovative approaches like AI and smart heuristics to identify malware. With Ultra AV, consumers will have equivalent safeguards to those they had with KL at the same rate. Beyond typical antivirus and VPN services, UltraAV will also feature Identity theft safeguards, including transaction tracking, real-time warnings for symptoms of fraud, lost wallet protection and $1M identity theft insurance. For a thorough comparison of characteristics, please consult this chart.
Users wanting additional information on the transition should visit Ultrasecureav.com/faq or contact out to UltraAV customer support.