Kaspersky Withdraws from the U.S. Market, Automatically Substitutes Software with UltraAV, Sparking ConcernsF approval

25.09.2024

Kaspersky has officially started withdrawing its services from the U.S., transitioning existing users to UltraAV as of September 19, 2024, prior to its complete exit at the end of the month.

In a post announcing this change on September 21, the company mentioned that “Kaspersky antivirus customers received a software update facilitating the transition to UltraAV.” This update was designed to prevent any gaps in protection during Kaspersky’s exit from the market.

The Russian firm, which faced a ban on selling its software in the U.S. due to national security issues, claimed to have collaborated closely with UltraAV to uphold security and privacy standards following the transition.

However, some users have taken to Kaspersky’s forums and Reddit to express their concerns, stating that Kaspersky’s software was uninstalled and replaced with UltraAV without prior notice.

In response to these complaints, UltraAV clarified in an FAQ that “all Kaspersky U.S. users with a valid email address linked to their accounts received communication about the transition process” starting September 5. Yet, it seems the notification did not clearly indicate that the software switch would occur automatically on users’ systems.

One user shared their shock on Reddit, saying, “I was using Kaspersky, didn’t realize they’d be shuffling us off to some rando [antivirus] in September. Nearly had a heart attack when I started my PC today and found a program I didn’t download.”

UltraAV, based in the U.S., is part of Pango Group, which also provides various VPN applications such as UltraVPN, OVPN, and VPN360. The group claims to have over 25 million active users across its brands, with a total of more than 650 million lifetime users.