Beginning on Thursday, Kaspersky, a Russian cybersecurity company, has been removing its anti-malware software from customers' computers across the United States. Instead, it has been automatically installing UltraAV's antivirus solution without any prior notice.
This move comes after Kaspersky's decision to shut down its U.S. operations and lay off U.S.-based employees. This was in response to the U.S. government adding Kaspersky to the Entity List, a catalog of "foreign individuals, companies, and organizations deemed a national security concern" in June.
On June 20, the Biden administration also announced a ban on sales and software updates for Kaspersky antivirus software in the United States starting September 29, 2024, due to potential national security risks.
In early September, Kaspersky assured its customers via email that they would continue receiving "reliable cybersecurity protection" from UltraAV (owned by Pango Group) after Kaspersky stopped selling software and updates for U.S. customers. However, these emails failed to inform users that Kaspersky's products would be abruptly deleted from their computers and replaced with UltraAV without warning.
According to several online customer reports, UltraAV's software was installed on their computers without any prior notification, causing many to worry about potential malware infection.
UltraAV is part of Pango Group, which controls multiple VPN brands and Comparitech, a VPN software review website. On its official website, UltraAV assures Kaspersky customers that they will be able to leverage all of the additional premium features once the transition is complete.
Kaspersky has also released an official statement regarding the forced switch to UltraAV, stating that it "partnered with antivirus provider UltraAV to ensure continued protection for US-based customers that will no longer have access to Kaspersky's protections."
The company further states that UltraAV has a similar feature set to its products and asked customers to review a FAQ page on UltraAV's website or contact its support team for more information.
