Kaspersky anti-virus program ban | What the Tech?

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WHAT THE TECH?) — The Biden administration has banned an anti-virus program you may have on your computer over fears of ties to the Russian government.

There are serious concerns that Russians could use a program called “Kaspersky” to infiltrate and maybe shut down every computer using it in the United States.

Many consider Kaspersky the gold standard in anti-virus programs. Federal and state agencies, critical infrastructure, hospitals, and businesses all used it. It’s also based in Moscow and that has U.S. security experts worried the Russian government could demand the company turn over data or even control of the computers running the anti-virus program.

Anti-virus programs have unrestricted access to any computer running it. Nefarious software can install files like malware and keyloggers so it knows what you type on the keyboard.

For example, software installed on millions of computers could simultaneously execute a command to shut down at any moment using a “kill switch”. In explaining the ban, Mark Warner, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee said:

“We would never give an adversarial nation the keys to our networks or devices, so it’s crazy to think that we would continue to allow Russian software with the deepest possible device access to be sold to Americans,” Warner said.

To find out if Kaspersky is on your computer, open settings, then choose “Apps”. If you see it and want to remove it, follow the uninstall instructions.

Or, use a program like Revo Uninstaller which scans the entire computer looking for hidden files Kaspersky may have installed and then deletes them.

The ban will prevent new downloads, installs, and updates of Kaspersky products. It goes into effect in September to give businesses time to install other anti-virus software.

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