Kaspersky Anti Virus

Features

Kaspersky Anti-Virus features include real-time protection, detection and removal of viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, adware, keyloggers, malicious tools and auto-dialers, as well as detection and removal of rootkits. It also includes instantaneous automatic updates via the "Kaspersky Security Network" service.

According to Kaspersky, "Kaspersky Security Network service allows users of Kaspersky Lab security products from around the world to help facilitate malware identification and reduce the time it takes to provide protection against new (“in the wild”) security risks targeting your computer." Kaspersky Lab maintains a strict privacy policy for use of this service and asserts that volunteering to use this service by sending certain information "contains no personally identifiable information about the user and is utilized by Kaspersky Lab for no other purposes but to enhance its security products and to further advance solutions against malicious threats and viruses."

Microsoft Windows users may download an antivirus rescue disk that scans the host computer during booting inside an isolated Linux environment. In addition, Kaspersky Anti-Virus prevents itself from being disabled by malware without user permission via password access prompts upon disabling protection elements and changing internal settings. It also scans incoming instant messenger traffic, email traffic, automatically disables links to known malware hosting sites while using Internet Explorer or Firefox, and includes free technical support and free product upgrades within paid-subscription periods.

Awards

According to AV-Comparatives, Kaspersky Anti-Virus rates highly amongst virus scanners in terms of detection rates and malware removal, even despite the fact that the program has failed two Virus Bulletin tests in 2007 and another two in 2008. For example, in latest Malware Removal test done by AV-Comparatives the Kaspersky Antivirus 2013 was awarded the highest "Advanced+" rating and was able to successfully remove all of 14 malware samples used in that test and in the following File Detection test Kaspersky Antivirus 2013 was also able to achieve the same "Advanced+" rating with a 99.2% sample detection rate. In addition, PC World awarded Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6 the highest rank in its 2007 anti-virus comparative. The well-known and highly regarded Ars Technica lists Kaspersky as one of the best choices for Anti-Virus on the Windows platform.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus was "A-listed" by the UK PC journal PC Pro in late 2007, where it scored very highly for detection and removal of malware. PC Pro attributes this to “a combination of the software’s heuristic scanning and uncompromising approach to database updates. While many packages check for new virus signatures on a daily basis, Kaspersky runs to an hourly schedule, improving your chances of being immunized before an infection reaches it.”

Limits

Kaspersky Anti-Virus lacks certain features found in Kaspersky Internet Security. These missing features include a personal firewall, HIPS, Secure Keyboard, AntiSpam, AntiBanner and parental control tools.

Also, Kaspersky, like the majority of its competitors, is incompatible with many other anti-virus and anti-spyware software.

Macintosh

The newly released Macintosh capable edition of Kaspersky Anti-Virus is compatible on (Intel Processor Based) Mac OS X Tiger and higher to include the brand new version Mac OS X Snow Leopard, released in August 2009. Kaspersky Lab internal testing concludes consuming only 1% CPU impact on performance and is designed to maintain a user friendly Mac-like interface with which Mac users are familiar. Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Mac contains definitions to detect and block malware affecting Windows, Linux and macOS alike. Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Mac also scans shared folders of users running Windows using Virtual PC on capable Apple Macintosh personal computers.

Linux editions

An edition of Kaspersky's anti-virus solution for Linux workstations is available to business consumers. It offers many of the features included in the mainstream version for Windows, including on-access and on-demand scanners.

Specialized editions of Kaspersky Anti-Virus are also available for a variety of Linux servers and offer protection from most forms of malware.

System requirements

A DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive, Internet Explorer 8 or above and Windows Installer 3.0 or above are also required for the installation of Kaspersky Anti-Virus in Windows. The latest version can either be downloaded from their official website or purchased through retail.

Security flaws

In 2005, two critical flaws were discovered in Kaspersky Anti-Virus. One could let attackers commandeer systems that use it, and one allowed CHM files to insert malicious code.

In March 2015, Bloomberg accused Kaspersky to have close ties to Russian military and intelligence officials. Kaspersky slammed the claims in his blog, calling the coverage "sensationalist" and guilty of "exploiting paranoia" to "increase readership," but did not indicate whether these claims are true or not.

In June 2015, United States National Security Agency and United Kingdom Government Communications Headquarters said NSA and GCHQ agents broke Kaspersky antivirus software so that they could spy on people, leaks indicate.