The rise and fall of Kaspersky?![]()
Best Buy Ends Kaspersky Software Sales Over Russian Spying Concerns-Hothardware.com
Will more follow? Such as several major big sales sites/stores... Will Several Countries' governments warns against having something to do with kaspersky?Yeah, the ball have started rolling.
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"If these briefings are actually occurring, it’s extremely disappointing that a government agency would take such actions against a law-abiding and ethical company like Kaspersky Lab," Kaspersky said at the time. "The company doesn’t have inappropriate ties with any government, which is why no credible evidence has been presented publicly by anyone or any organization to back up the false allegations made against Kaspersky Lab.
The only conclusion seems to be that Kaspersky Lab, a private company, is caught in the middle of a geopolitical fight, and it’s being treated unfairly, even though the company has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyber-espionage or offensive cyber efforts.""
Kaspersky Lab Has Been Working With Russian Intelligence
Emails show the security-software maker developed products for the FSB and accompanied agents on raids.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ab-has-been-working-with-russian-intelligence
"Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab boasts 400 million users worldwide. As many as 200 million may not know it. The huge reach of Kaspersky’s technology is partly the result of licensing agreements that allow customers to quietly embed the software in everything from firewalls to sensitive telecommunications equipment—none of which carry the Kaspersky name.
That success is starting to worry U.S. national security officials concerned about the company’s links to the Russian government. In early May six U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agency chiefs were asked in an open Senate hearing whether they’d let their networks use Kaspersky software, often found on Best Buy shelves. The answer was a unanimous and resounding no. The question, from Florida Republican Marco Rubio, came out of nowhere, often a sign a senator is trying to indirectly draw attention to something learned in classified briefings." -
Dr. AMK, Ashtrix, Vasudev and 1 other person like this. -
Mr. Fox, Ashtrix, Vasudev and 1 other person like this.
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Following NSA-Kaspersky Fallout, US Businesses Move to Pull the Firm’s Products from Shelves-Wccftech.com
"A bombshell report published last week alleged that Kaspersky’s antivirus program was used by the hackers working for Russia to hack into the computer of a NSA contractor. The Moscow-based firm is fighting for its survival now as businesses move to remove its products off the shelves."hmscott likes this. -
It's pretty crazy for the US and any of its allies to trust the Russians or Chinese with anything as sensitive as security software. We can add a few more countries to the list of never trust, but those two are at the top of the list, along with North Korea, Cuba, Iran and Iraq. That's about as intelligent as asking wolves to stand guard over the sheep. I thought it was pretty crazy and ironic to learn that the US Government was using Kaspersky software. They never should have entertained such a foolish notion in the first place. Getting along and making amends is a good thing. We are all citizens of the same planet. But, being stupid and naive is as much our fault as theirs; and probably even more our fault for thinking it was safe to trust a company from the former Soviet Union with any sensitive matters relating to national security.
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Last edited: Oct 11, 2017Papusan likes this. -
Israel hacked Kaspersky, then tipped the NSA that its tools had been breached
https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...8ce774-aa95-11e7-850e-2bdd1236be5d_story.html
"In 2015, Israeli government hackers saw something suspicious in the computers of a Moscow-based cybersecurity firm: hacking tools that could only have come from the National Security Agency.
Israel notified the NSA, where alarmed officials immediately began a hunt for the breach, according to people familiar with the matter, who said an investigation by the agency revealed that the tools were in the possession of the Russian government.
Israeli spies had found the hacking material on the network of Kaspersky Lab, the global anti-virus firm under a spotlight in the United States because of suspicions that its products facilitate Russian espionage."Last edited: Oct 11, 2017 -
Last edited: Oct 11, 2017
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Many people are still using Kaspersky tho.,.. We live in dark times...
BTW, I really suggest everyone should stop using AV. That is like inviting viruses. It means that you have a 24/7 backdoor open to the servers of who knows and that the traffic can be opened by who knows and why knows. I tend to download and run a lot of software, I think that viruses are more injected by the AV than they are not... -
StormJumper Notebook Virtuoso
Starlight5 likes this. -
It's the active scanning of activities, ports used, destinations accessed, and a few other goodies that makes active System AV / Security software valuable.
You can also disable the features completely when benchmarking, and other activities where you don't want interference or cycles stolen.
Some have either builtin or add-on features like tracking installs and what applications change in storage / registry, so when it comes time to uninstall those security tools can reverse all the things the application installed / changed, often far more than the application uninstaller does.
The more you learn, the more control you have over computer tasks, services, activities, and the more you can avoid problems before they have a chance to start.
Browser tools like uBlock Origin, EFF Privacy Badger, and several others are actually very helpful whether you use System AV / Security tools or not, they will block a lot of problems if you keep them up to date.
You really can't rely on just one tool these days, all avenues of attack need to be covered. And, to know those takes time and effort, more effort or more time, it's up to youGeorgel, Starlight5 and Papusan like this. -
Antivirus software is 'increasingly useless' and may make your computer less safe
Is your antivirus protecting your computer or making it more hackable?
"Internet security experts are warning that anti-malware technology is becoming less and less effective at protecting your data and devices, and there's evidence that security software can sometimes even make your computer more vulnerable to security breaches."
Chrome has a massive copycat extensions problem
Mr. Fox, Starlight5 and hmscott like this. -
Hopefully the Security software catches their own software being hacked as well as or better than they do for other applications.
As he says in the article the original / correct / safe uBlock Origin is the first item listed, but you can also find it through other means than the "store" only - like a google search that takes you to the authors site, and then to the right entry in the appropriate store.
There's no reason to give up just because there are "copy cat" extensions, learn to avoid them and find the original before installing
https://www.ublock.org/
https://github.com/chrisaljoudi/uBlock#getting-started
Firefox
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock/
Chrome Store
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock/epcnnfbjfcgphgdmggkamkmgojdagdnn
Chrome Manual Install
https://github.com/chrisaljoudi/uBlock/tree/master/dist#install
Opera: Opera shares Chrome's underlying engine, so you can install uBlock simply by grabbing the latest release for Chrome.
It's much more helpful to post how to find the correct downloads, than scare off people from downloading altogether with fear mongering...IDK why that article didn't include the correct locations for downloads.Last edited by a moderator: Oct 17, 2017Starlight5 and Papusan like this. -
Take a try on "noScript"addOn for Firefox, using it from 2010 (has java and hyperlink withelisting, plus xss protection and other things) very light resources needed.
I'll still using KIS until my licence end..Starlight5 and hmscott like this. -
aaronne likes this. -
Maybe an half refund, because running from March...Lol
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I've got no harmful secrets on my laptop, everyone feel free to look at, please dont use it as vehicle of infection(like a botnet one)
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Starlight5 Yes, I'm a cat. What else is there to say, really?
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I think that some folks are much more likely to run into problems than others, say, I don't randomly download content that is supposed to pe paid from sites that make it look free, and I don't search for anything that includes unhealthy things, so I clear about 99% of issues myself. The only other two sources where viruses could come from is from a direct attack, which I highly doubt an AV could help me avoid, or myself clicking into something that clearly looks like low quality bait, which again, is something I doublt the AV could clean.
Having no AV doesn't mean having an open door, it means you're invisible. AV have user databases, they keep a port open to you, that is something scarier than not hainving them. Most sites are clean nowadays, Google will not index suspicious sites and it will let you know if you're closing to reported malware sometimes. I'm like...
You see a flashy button? Don't click it
You see a blinking button? Don't click it
You see something that looks like it is offering a dubious deal? Don't click it
Getting ads? AdBlocker
Want to be safe? HTTPS Everywhere
I don't say that AV is inherently bad all the way, there are good ones, but I really do advice everyone to read the user agreement and terms of usage before installing an AV if they want to be truly protected.hmscott, Papusan, Starlight5 and 1 other person like this. -
Georgel and Starlight5 like this.
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Starlight5 Yes, I'm a cat. What else is there to say, really?
@Georgel I'd add NoScript to the bunch, at the very least.
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EDIT::: I only see those:
Last edited: Oct 12, 2017Starlight5 likes this. -
Starlight5 Yes, I'm a cat. What else is there to say, really?
@Georgel it's a browser extension that blocks JavaScript and other scripts, only allowing those you personally whitelisted. It can be frustrating at times, but totally worth if you really care about your security and/or privacy.
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I disabled noscript because it blocks every thing insecure and you need to know how it works.
Georgel likes this. -
I don't know how it works! I don't know what to do there! I really would need some help and advice!
Starlight5 and Vasudev like this. -
Starlight5 Yes, I'm a cat. What else is there to say, really?
@Georgel sadly NoScript is not available for Chrome, and from what I read about Chrome alternatives - they are even less user-friendly. \=
With NoScript, you click on the NoScript icon and choose which websites that try to run scripts on the page you're currently browsing you allow to, now and in future. I imagine the alternatives should behave in similar fashion.Last edited: Oct 12, 2017 -
killkenny1 Too weird to live, too rare to die.
Have people already forgot the whole NSA debacle?
Heck, NSA even hacked Merkel, a chancellor of Germany, which is one of the closes USA's allies, because that's what allies do, right? -
StormJumper Notebook Virtuoso
Last edited: Oct 12, 2017Starlight5 and Vasudev like this. -
Your solution is even better, but then, why do you need an AV? Sounds like you're quite well protected already?
About readint those terms, some of them do state some things, the advantage is that if they do something against what you read, you can sue them for money, otherwise you're at their mercy.Vasudev likes this. -
Also use the hosts method, plus browser-specific custom blocking for ads hosted by the site itself ('hosts' would block the entire site *). Don't like flashy sites or being bothered with 'social' media stuff and with a site-specific css's you can strip them from all the fluff and in-site ad sections at the same time. Can't stomach a no-script solution though; too much hassle to white-list everything. Https will not help prevent such script infections; as long as the certificate is valid the website will remain 'secure', no matter the content hosted on it. Only after reporting the fraudulent or compromised site can the certificate be pulled and a future user safeguarded.
Running KAV on several systems and it found a website-embedded trojan yesterday. Visited no strange/suspicious sites (https everywhere active), so wherever it came from it was likely a site with compromised security without its admin being aware of that. Prefer Kaspersky mainly for two reasons; consistently good intercept score year-on-year and close to zero false positives (security should as non-intrusive as possible). The only other contender I'd consider would be Bitdefender. This gets similar top marks, showing there's a good, dedicated team behind the product and thus a minimum of lag between new threats and their remedy.
That there's NSA tools on K's servers is to be expected; you design a medicine based on the disease, which is impossible without having access to that disease. Acquiring those tools wouldn't be too hard; just find any NSA-targeted system and make an image of its drives (or write your own, based on the leaked sources). On the other hand, their servers being hacked is obviously not a good sign. A diluted version of that happened to Bitdefender, unfortunately.
Imo, it's silly to focus on country-of-origin; it's good because it is from country A and bad because it is from country B? Heck, the top-5 contenders in AV are Russian, Romanian, Japanese, Spanish and German. Wouldn't like to be a US civil servant system admin and have my choices limited to either Windows Defender or Windows Defender.
The #1 choice; backups.
*) Considering to relegate the filter job to the router; every device will benefit and we'll have a bit less traffic. Not sure everyone using the network will like that, but could give it a try for a month or so and see if anyone starts crying. Will forgo the automated solutions; these pull a list from the net and redirect to 0.0.0.0. If that site is compromised or it has a disgruntled employee then the list can happily redirect your bank's site to a dummy, with all the trouble that implies. -
StormJumper Notebook Virtuoso
Vasudev likes this. -
You get the whole Security Suite of tools, and some add-on's for other features.
Please stop trying to villify AV as if it's for suckers. At least they are thinking in the right direction. Thinking that you can build on and help educate them to add other tools, some you mentioned, some others have mentioned.
Going naked out into the internet isn't wise, and it isn't brave, and if you think you can figure out every damaging site before clicking on it, you're fooling yourself.
Adblock is getting long in the tooth, that's why most of us have moved to uBlock Origin, and it's got as much or more control and lists to keep you safer, as long as you keep the lists up to date.
Again, it's not cool to tell people to go without AV when you know at least some protection is afforded, and using that mind set to protect yourself gives way to adding other tools.
If you tell them they don't need AV, and someone else tells them they don't need https - I can't get into some sites with https - or someone else tells them that Adblock and uBlock Origin has been hacked with bad downloads - and someone else says never trust "ccleaner" because they got hacked, then all of a sudden they won't run anything.
It used to take 20 minutes after connecting a machine to the internet for Windows 2000 to get pwned.
How long does it take Windows 7, 8.1, 10 to get compromised without any protections while browsing the internet and downloading "cool stuff"?
Not long at alltribaljet, t456, Vasudev and 1 other person like this. -
I stopped using security software several years ago... and stopped allowing Windows Updates 4 or 5 years ago. I have tested a few security products that @Phoenix and @j95 gave me, but after a week or two I am done and remove it. I cannot remember how long it has been (but a good while) since I had a problem with malware. When I had issues with malware I was running reputable security software, LOL.
I do use TamperMonkey, uBlock Origin and uBlock Origin Extra plug-ins with Chrome. Mainly because I don't want to see ads, or listen to stupid auto-play videos blaring that I am not interested in watching, and to keep me logged out of Micro$lop's retarded Skype crap if I sign into my Live webmail account in a browser. I also use host file edits. There are plenty of known bad web sites that can be blocked that way, including some under the Micro$haft umbrella.
I do not visit naughty and nasty web sites known for malware. Any sensitive files are stored on removable media, and I can diskpart my OS drive and restore a Macrium image if a problem arises.temp00876, Spartan@HIDevolution, Papusan and 3 others like this. -
One should use every one of those programs.
I sometimes forget that I am a really odd one. I aplogize and take back my words. One should really have both AV and all the measures possible to protect himself!
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Why it's hard to trust the U.S. on Russia's alleged Kaspersky espionage
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hard-trust-u-s-russias-alleged-kaspersky-espionage-134308101.html
"The Russian government used antivirus software from the private Russian company Kaspersky to steal classified U.S. data, according to several recent reports.
The revelations, following months of vague warnings from U.S. officials, suggest that the U.S. has “direct evidence that there are ways to remote into Kaspersky and pull data back without the user’s intention,” David Kennedy, a prominent security consultant and former U.S. Marines hacker, told Yahoo Finance. “And that is very, very scary. That means that anybody in the world that has Kaspersky installed may have the potential to have their data accessed by Kaspersky.”
But many in the cybersecurity community, such as American cyberwarfare expert Jeffrey Carr, argue that the U.S. government’s allegations shouldn’t be trusted and that “Kaspersky Lab has suffered more slander from more supposedly reputable news outlets than any company in recent memory.”"
Report: German security group unaware of spies leveraging Kaspersky software
http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecu...naware-of-spies-leveraging-kaspersky-software
"A top German federal cybersecurity agency is unaware of Kaspersky Lab software being used in espionage, Reuters reported Wednesday.
“There are no plans to warn against the use of Kaspersky products since [our agency] has no evidence for misconduct by the company or weaknesses in its software,” the BSI, whose name translates to the Federal Office of Information Security, told Reuters via email.
Recent news stories have described Russian intelligence agencies using the Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab's antivirus software to search for classified information.
The Hill reported earlier Wednesday that the House Science, Space and Technology Committee plans to hold a series of hearings on the software, whose use by federal agencies is the subject of a Department of Homeland Security ban."
Office Depot, Best Buy Pull Kaspersky Products From Shelves
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...est-buy-pull-kaspersky-products-from-shelves/
"Both Office Depot and Best Buy have removed Kaspersky Lab products from shelves. The ban has been in effect since mid-September, and the two chains are offering existing Kaspersky customers replacement security software."Papusan likes this. -
Well ... why not. Blocked the bit that informed the user of the change, so never saw that message. Mighty tempting to add ' Coinhive' to the hosts list though: it can be embedded in any tool, so not catching or blocking this sort of thing elevates background cpu use, increases temperatures, diminishes battery time and lowers benchmarks.
Mr. Fox likes this. -
Now that we are here, and having this conversation, what is the absolutely best free AV program you know?
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After Spying Scandal, Kaspersky Promises to Submit Software for Review in a Bid to Win Back Trust
"Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab is trying to reestablish consumer trust after the Trump administration’s decision to ban its products citing national security risks. The company has promised that it will open up its antivirus product to independent parties to review it for security."
Kaspersky’s plans to “overcome mistrust “
In a brief statement released today (via Reuters), the Russian AV firm has now promised opening up to independent researchers who can verify that its products are fortified against government hacks.
“We’ve nothing to hide,” the company’s Chairman and CEO Eugene Kaspersky said. “With these actions we’ll be able to overcome mistrust and support our commitment to protecting people in any country on our planet.”
While the company hasn’t named who will be reviewing the source code, its statement suggests that an “independent source code review” will be “undertaken with an internationally recognized authority” and will start by Q1, 2018.
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Best Buy sells a ton of stuff to people that like to think of themselves as being tech savvy, but frequently are not... kind of like the Walmart of electronics... lots of average/ordinary stuff. Not saying Kaspersky or Best Buy are bad. Only an observation that if it is not on the shelf when they want to spend their money, the sheeple will buy something else.Papusan likes this. -
Tinderbox (UK) BAKED BEAN KING
Barclays Bank give me free Kaspersky with Internet Banking, I have use it off and on for years, But i prefer Avast as the firewall is easier to use, Also for the last 6 month Kaspersky has been in the news linked to the Russian government, I have been expecting Barclay to drop Kaspersky.
Free Avast would be nice, Please not Mcafee for the love of god not Mcafee.
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Ahahahaha, that MCafee thingy is really awful. Most companies get it because they offer really good prices though
I remember using ESET or NOD32 something something back when I was using AV software. Did that one fall down?
Also, Romania has a lot of development for Bit Defender. How is that in the large picture? -
Kaspersky's Software Has Copied Non-Threatening, Inactive Files
"Kaspersky's antivirus software has in some cases grabbed files from user computers in an arguably improper way. CEO Eugene Kaspersky has confirmed its software sometimes takes files that aren't immediately threatening , which has generated some concern."
"Because the Russian antivirus company is already facing claims of improperly using its software to help the Russian government, any evidence of collecting "inactive" or non-threatening files is likely to be met with questions."
And why should you trust more on Micro$haft? Or Facebook + all the other spy boxes out there?Kaspersky just follow the rest
Georgel likes this. -
Trump Administration Finds Kaspersky Products in About One-Sixth of All US Agencies – Cleanup Begins
"In a statement to Congress earlier today, DHS has said that about one-sixth of all government agencies have detected some trace of Kaspersky Lab’s software on their systems."
"Jeanette Manfra, assistant secretary for cyber security and communications at DHS, told Congress that all but six of the government’s 102 agencies have submitted reports to DHS about removing Kaspersky products. Manfra added that the Department has no “conclusive evidence” at the moment that suggests that any of those networks were breached as a result of their use of Kaspersky software." -
UK cyber agency targets Kaspersky in warning on Russian software-cnbc.com
"Britain's main cyber security agency on Friday warned British government agencies to avoid using anti-virus software from Russian companies, the latest in a series of moves targeting Moscow-based security software maker Kaspersky Lab." -
Kaspersky Lab Is Closing Its Washington Office After Losing US Government Business
"After the US government’s ban on the Russian antivirus maker, Kaspersky, the company has announced it’s closing its Washington DC office. The office was mainly used to focus on government clients. The company has said that it will continue to do business with non-government customers in the United States via its remaining offices."Georgel likes this. -
Kaspersky Ban Gets Trump Approval – US President Signs Federal Ban on Russian Company into Law
While signed into bill now, Kaspersky has already written off its government contracts anyway following the initial ban earlier in September. The Russian cybersecurity company closed its Washington offices and said it will start focusing on private clients, including the financial sector. The company has continued to deny any and all allegations. However, Christopher Krebs, a senior cybersecurity official at the Department of Homeland Security, said (via Reuters) today that the company’s response to the ban did not “contain any information that would change the administration’s assessment of Kaspersky Lab.”
“The case against Kaspersky is well-documented and deeply concerning,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen said in a statement. “This law is long overdue, and I appreciate the urgency of my bipartisan colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee to remove this threat from government systems.”
Georgel likes this. -
More Lawsuits: Kaspersky Lab Sues Trump Government Over Software Blacklist
The Moscow-based antivirus firm, Kaspersky Lab, has sued the United States Department of Homeland Security for blacklisting the firm’s products from the federal agencies. The firm said on Monday it has unduly suffered as a result of this ban just because the Trump administration believes the AV firm has links to the Kremlin.
The rise and fall of Kaspersky?
Discussion in 'Security and Anti-Virus Software' started by Papusan, Sep 9, 2017.