Kaspersky began its exodus from the USA by removing its antivirus software from computers across the country and replaced itself with UltraAV, a different antivirus product from a different company. The change is part of Kaspersky’s withdrawal from the US following a federal sanction in June over security concerns with its Russian origins.
The transition began on September 19, 2024, according to posts on Reddit from impacted users. The switchover was announced earlier this month, but Kaspersky did not tell users exactly when the swap would take place or that UltraAV would be automatically installed.
US Kaspersky users’ licenses are being transferred over to UltraAV as part of the switch, and Kaspersky promises no price increase will occur in the transition. It’s still possible to log into your US-based Kaspersky account, but licenses will be shown as expired and point to a page about UltraAV
When UltraAV appeared on their computers without them having installed it, many users believed that they’ve been saddled with malware and possibly hacked, and took to Reddit and the Kaspersky forum to complain and ask for advice on how to remove it.
UltraAV’s FAQ page says that UltraAV has been activated on Windows computers, but Mac, Android, and iOS users must download it. This will surely cause distrust from the users and will make them move away from the newly installed UltraAV.
