Question Can Kaspersky be trusted not to share with motherland?

[cartaphilus]

I know that many 5 eyes software can be asked the same question. However I am in the USA and it's citizen so personally they already know me. However, I am not a Russian citizen nor want to support Russia especially after what's going on at the moment. That being said, I can't ignore the fact that Kaspersky has been stellar in detections for many years.

Hence my question. Can Kaspersky be trusted not to subvert my system and my data for their governments gain?

Thank you

 

[YuanJiawj]

I think you should also worry about Google, Apple, Norton, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Threads, they are U.S. brands, and the U.S. is not exactly a country that evokes or brings peace to the world.

Beyond that, Kaspersky is a great AV, I'm currently using it, and it is really amazing, its privacy is good and reliable. Unless you are a secret agent of the FBI or CIA, then you should be worried.

 

[plat]

This has always been a nebulous issue. Kaspersky has really made an effort for "transparency" (whatever that means nowadays) and has offices outside of Moscow--including in the US/Massachussetts and the United Kingdom. Kaspersky has made its source code available for US inspection following that scandal a few years ago where all US gov't agencies dropped Kaspersky and issued general warnings about using it.

However, if you read its "About Us"--it's really impressive what-all Kaspersky supports on a global scale.

But... then the Ukrainian war happened and it's another cloud. So, in all honesty I don't know what to think and will therefore steer clear. I admire K, though. I use its KVRT tool now and then. But that's about the extent of it for now.

 

[ScandinavianFish]

The only real risk of Kaspersky is if a rogue employee were to plant malware in it's updates, similar to a supply-chain attack. However, I assuming Kaspersky, especially due to being a cybersecurity company, have implemented measures against such compromisese, though this is a possibility for any company, including the US, which I argue pose a larger threat as we almost predominately use US software, from browsers to the Operating System's.

 

[MuzzMelbourne]

Don't panic... the US government sent all your secrets to Milawi yesterday...

I understand your question though... personal choice really.

But, I think @YuanJiawj has a good point though. You have far more to worry about from 'homegrown' threats/mishaps than Kaspersky poses... IMHO.

 

[cofer123]

I know that many 5 eyes software can be asked the same question. However I am in the USA and it's citizen so personally they already know me. However, I am not a Russian citizen nor want to support Russia especially after what's going on at the moment. That being said, I can't ignore the fact that Kaspersky has been stellar in detections for many years.

Hence my question. Can Kaspersky be trusted not to subvert my system and my data for their governments gain?

Thank you

Not completely, no. But the same can be said about any other security solution.

However, I would trust them over any American-based security company. Remember that the only reason this whole "Kaspersky is spying on you!" stuff began was because Kaspersky discovered those NSA hacking tools and made them public.

 

[MuzzMelbourne]

...those NSA hacking tools and made them public...

Allegedly. Totally denied by Apple and largely debunked by industry... AFAIK.

 

[Xeno1234]

Kaspersky has transparency centers setup around the world which review its code. Its also not really in communication with the motherland much anymore, its safe.

 

[cartaphilus]

This has always been a nebulous issue. Kaspersky has really made an effort for "transparency" (whatever that means nowadays) and has offices outside of Moscow--including in the US/Massachussetts and the United Kingdom. Kaspersky has made its source code available for US inspection following that scandal a few years ago where all US gov't agencies dropped Kaspersky and issued general warnings about using it.

However, if you read its "About Us"--it's really impressive what-all Kaspersky supports on a global scale.

But... then the Ukrainian war happened and it's another cloud. So, in all honesty I don't know what to think and will therefore steer clear. I admire K, though. I use its KVRT tool now and then. But that's about the extent of it for now.

I do use the kvrt tool. How effective is it in detecting and disinfecting an infected system vs having Kaspersky installed?

 

[Jonny Quest]

I have Plus installed on one of my notebooks so I can keep up with it and track its changes, updates etc. It is one of the best out there, so it can just be a personal comfort decision.

 

[Xeno1234]

I do use the kvrt tool. How effective is it in detecting and disinfecting an infected system vs having Kaspersky installed?

Basically its just a scanner but with Kaspersky u have Sys Watcher which is a behavioral blocker utilizing I believe deep learning via KSN and also behavioral heuristics. Their behavioral blocker is EXTREMELY good. There is practically nothing that can compare to it besides maybe Checkpoint Harmony's Behavioral Guard.

 

[plat]

I do use the kvrt tool. How effective is it in detecting and disinfecting an infected system vs having Kaspersky installed?

Thank the gods I've never had to understand how it works--not yet anyway. But one esteemed forum member here thinks highly of KVRT.

Example

I do use 2 others also--nice to have a few little different ones in your arsenal maybe.

 

[vtqhtr413]

I know that many 5 eyes software can be asked the same question. However I am in the USA and it's citizen so personally they already know me. However, I am not a Russian citizen nor want to support Russia especially after what's going on at the moment. That being said, I can't ignore the fact that Kaspersky has been stellar in detections for many years.

Hence my question. Can Kaspersky be trusted not to subvert my system and my data for their governments gain?

Thank you

If you're a government official or contractor or you work for a tech company with secrets worth steeling, you would want to consider that question, otherwise you have nothing the Russian government wants.

 

[Brie]

Putin is trying to spread chaos in the USA. 75% of Kaspersky's infrastructure is in Russia, AFAIK.

there is a law in Russia that says if Putin says to do something and a Russian does not do it,

they would go to prison. Kaspersky could mess up many American's PC's because American's are

paying taxes for the weapon's sent to the Ukraine. just my opinion.

 

[russ0408]

I to use premium, and love it. I don't Kaspersky is worse than any other antivirus. They all collect data, personally I think Norton is a lot worse than Kaspersky.

 

[Xeno1234]

Putin is trying to spread chaos in the USA. 75% of Kaspersky's infrastructure is in Russia, AFAIK.

there is a law in Russia that says if Putin says to do something and a Russian does not do it,

they would go to prison. Kaspersky could mess up many American's PC's because American's are

paying taxes for the weapon's sent to the Ukraine. just my opinion.

mg data processing is in switzerland and their HQ isnt in russia anymore

 

[cartaphilus]

Putin is trying to spread chaos in the USA. 75% of Kaspersky's infrastructure is in Russia, AFAIK.

there is a law in Russia that says if Putin says to do something and a Russian does not do it,

they would go to prison. Kaspersky could mess up many American's PC's because American's are

paying taxes for the weapon's sent to the Ukraine. just my opinion.

Yeah figured. Same as China. Anything sold in China is owned by the government. You can't even own land or an apartment in China. Everything is on a 99 year old lease from the government. Hence I am kind of iffy about using tools made by those two nations since at any time the gov can say "Simon says".

Than again I am currently testing Deep Intel AV and that is made by Israel.... so .... hmm...

 

[cartaphilus]

mg data processing is in switzerland and their HQ isnt in russia anymore

Where does Eugene reside? If in Russia then it doesn't matter where the data centers are located as long as the top echelon of the company still resides in Russia. People who disagree with the leader tend to accidently fall out of windows there.