Kaspersky - trusted or not given what has just happened?

Yorkshire_Midge

Llanelli66 said:

Kaspersky is banned in the US from any government contracts which is a permanent ban. Anyone using kaspersky do you really know that there is no connection to Moscow and is your money ending up there. I have now been in contact with 2 MP's who have told me they will raise this with the necessary authorities.

You're right - that ban has been there a while.  The UK National Cyber Security Centre also strongly recommended back in 2017 that it should not be used in areas of UK critical/sensitive infrastructure/data. You can read the guidance here.

The above being said, there are clear parallels with such bans and Huawei in China. The fact we have stopped their kit being used in 5G infrastructure and the like doesn't necessarily mean that individuals will/should stop buying Huawei smartphones.

The difference of course, is that Russia is now clearly out of control and waging war, and Kaspersky is a cyber security product and still headquartered in Moscow, and that is what has tipped the balance in my mind.  Shopping around for a cheap key-only deal means the cost of peace of mind was actually very small too.  I have to say I wasn't impressed by Eugene Kaspersky's subsequent attempt to try to be neutral on the matter either. 

I wrote to my MP last week requesting the NCSC update their guidance for industry and consumers so we all have some clear direction even though I'd already made up my own mind by then.  

stalinsdaughter

Computeractive is selling Norton 360 Premium  2 years  10 devices  for £19.99 .

ttps://store.computeractive.co.uk/p36210-norton_360_premium_2022_10-device_2-yr

You have to put a h in front of link as it won't post the link properly.

Llanelli66

stalinsdaughter said:

Computeractive is selling Norton 360 Premium  2 years  10 devices  for £19.99 .

ttps://store.computeractive.co.uk/p36210-norton_360_premium_2022_10-device_2-yr

You have to put a h in front of link as it won't post the link properly.

Thats what I went for in the end, thats £10 per year also, they have a free password manager which is great. That saves me another £25 per year as I have been a user of lastpass. 

greyteam1959

Why on earth do people still pay for things like this ??
Waste of money.

Yorkshire_Midge

greyteam1959 said:

Why on earth do people still pay for things like this ??
Waste of money.

Options are:

1. Stick with Defender which is now nearly as good as some of the top names - but I do have a bit of a problem with an offering from the outfit who often give us bug ridden code in their OS in the first place
2. Go with a free AV which again, is going to be nearly as good as some of the paid for products, but do we honestly think they will be funded well enough to attract the best people to deliver the best product?
3. Go for for one of the top products from a company whose sole focus is cyber security - but buy a cheap key only deal and renew it yourself
4. As option 3 - but pay a shed load of money for full retail packs and auto renewals

Of the above, I personally think the only waste of money is number 4. I've come across very few serious computer users/corporates who would be satisfied with option 1 or 2.  

[Deleted User]

Completely agree with Yorkshire_Midge. £1 per device per year is a no brainer.

flaneurs_lobster

Customers of RBS/NatWest can obtain a copy of Malwarebytes Premium for free, Norton Antivirus (and Password Manager) is a freebie for BT Broadband users. 

Yorkshire_Midge

flaneurs_lobster said:

Customers of RBS/NatWest can obtain a copy of Malwarebytes Premium for free, Norton Antivirus (and Password Manager) is a freebie for BT Broadband users. 

Very good point - and reminds me that Barclays were offering Kaspersky free a few years back but pulled the plug on that as a precaution when the NCSC guidance came out in 2017. 

cx6

Llanelli66 said:

stalinsdaughter said:

Computeractive is selling Norton 360 Premium  2 years  10 devices  for £19.99 .

ttps://store.computeractive.co.uk/p36210-norton_360_premium_2022_10-device_2-yr

You have to put a h in front of link as it won't post the link properly.

Thats what I went for in the end, thats £10 per year also, they have a free password manager which is great. That saves me another £25 per year as I have been a user of lastpass. 

Just make sure you have a note in your diary to cancel in 2 yrs time otherwise you might get an nasty auto-renew shock.

newlywed

I have free kapersky on my mobile.

any suggestions for a free antivirus for Samsung phones and also for iPads?
thanks