According to several Kaspersky users who posted online, the antivirus software on their computers was suddenly replaced by a different program called UltraAV. Many customers said they did not know this would happen.
One user wrote on Reddit that they “woke up to find Kaspersky completely gone, and Ultra AV installed instead.” Other Reddit users said the same thing happened to them too. People complained about it on other websites as well. A man who used to sell Kaspersky products was unhappy that the software changed without asking customers first.
Kaspersky no longer sells products in America because of a government rule. In June, officials said Kaspersky could not be sold after July 2024. The company was allowed to provide security updates until September 29th.
Kaspersky made a deal with UltraAV’s owners in early September to move customers over. UltraAV said on its website that Kaspersky users would get the new software using their existing subscription. It is not clear when this message first appeared online.
Kaspersky confirmed the switch to UltraAV. An employee said Kaspersky worked with UltraAV “to make the transition seamless.” This meant customers got an automatic update on September 19th to move to UltraAV. This ensured protection would continue without interruption.
However, some customers said they were not notified about the change. Avi Fleischer, a former Kaspersky reseller, said the software removed Kaspersky and installed UltraAV on his computers without permission. He removed UltraAV right away.
A former top cybersecurity official said Kaspersky had “total control” of customers’ PCs by automatically removing one program and installing another. While UltraAV says all customers were told in early September, not everyone seems to have received the message before the unexpected software swap.
