Kaspersky, a Russian cybersecurity firm,ceased its U.S. operationsbut has automatically replaced its antivirus software on American computers with UltraAV. No warning was given that the switch would occur on the day, reportsBleeping Computer. This decision follows the U.S. government’s ban on Kaspersky software updates and sales, which takes effect on June 06, 2025, over nationalsecurityconcerns.
Earlier this yearKaspersky was added to the U.S. Entity Listdue to national security concerns and had to halt business in the U.S. In July, Kaspersky began laying off U.S. employees and preparing to close operations. In September the company notified its customers that they would be transitioned to UltraAV, an antivirus from Pango Group. However, the abrupt transition occurred without warning via an automatic update a few days ago.
“Following the recent decision by the U.S. Department of Commerce that prohibits Kaspersky from selling or updating certain antivirus products in the United States, Kaspersky partnered with antivirus provider UltraAV to ensure continued protection for US-based customers that will no longer have access to Kaspersky’s protections,” a statement by Kaspersky reads. “Kaspersky and UltraAV worked closely to ensure customers would maintain the standards of security and privacy users have come to expect from their service.”
Additionally, some users had difficulty uninstalling UltraAV, which reappeared after rebooting their devices.
Kaspersky defended its decision, explaining that the transition was made to ensure continued protection for U.S. customers after the company’s departure from the market. The company assured users that UltraAV offers a similar set of features to Kaspersky’s previous software. Meanwhile, UltraAV claims that its services are even better than Kaspersky’s as it offers $1 million identity theft compensation.
“If you are a paying Kaspersky customer, when the transition is complete UltraAV protection will be active on your device and you will be able to leverage all of the additional premium features,” astatementby UltraAV reads. “Your billing schedule with UltraAV will be the same as your Kaspersky account. Annual and monthly billing will remain the same.”
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Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.
