Kaspersky May Have Uninstalled And Installed Itself On Your Computer

It was a subtle move and not many are aware that last week cybersecurity company Kaspersky started deleting its anti-malware software from computers located in the United States. The company replaced it with a downloaded antivirus software from UltraAV.

To those who are familiar with the company, they know that the Russian company was added to the U.S. government’s Entity List and subjected to a ban on sales and updates within the United States earlier this year. As a result, the company released a statement to BleepingComputer in July that it had decided to shut down its U.S. operations and lay off its American employees.

These developments may not be a public secret, but it is safe to say that not many knew about them. As a result, Kaspersky’s sudden and badly explained decision to automatically delete its software came as a surprise to many.

Emails went out at the start of September informing customers that the company had teamed up with UltraAV to provide continued protection for customers even after Kaspersky withdrew from the United States. The emails did not, however, make it clear that this continued protection would be automatically installed on their computers.

For those who didn’t see the email for whatever reason, the transfer came as even more of a shock. Users on Reddit and other forums have been expressing their confusion about the situation along with their distrust of the new UltraAV software. One poster even worried their desktop had been compromised when they woke up to find their Kaspersky antivirus software gone and UltraAV in its place.

This distrust isn’t surprising since little is known about the company other than its connection to multiple VPN brands such as UltraVPN, Hotspot Shield, and Betternet. According to customer reports online, many people are uninstalling UltraAV because of this — and because it appeared on their devices in such an unsettling way.

Kaspersky has since posted an official statement explaining that it took this action to make sure customers "would not experience a gap in protection upon Kaspersky’s exit from the market.” The post also went on to say the company had chosen UltraAV because it offered similar features and products to Kaspersky. For instance, people who used Kaspersky’s VPN service also found UltraVPN installed on their devices.