Kaspersky is moving its customers to UltraAV

I received an email from Kaspersky that I will be migrated over to UltraAV. I have no clue who this company is and after googling, I found a thread in a forum with many wondering the same thing.

Most (if not all) said they would not or will not move to this company, for various reasons. (Many included, 'I have no idea who they are' and 'This is just wrong.')

I was set to get Bitdefender as some in that forum said they would do if they were in that situation or had already done as they had been a Kaspersky user. (One person complained that he already had a problem with Bitdefender, I didn't really understand what he was talking about.)

My only question is: What would you do?

1) Go with UltraAV
2) Not go with UltraAV and go with Bitdefender
3) Not go with UltraAV and go with (state your choice).

I will add this: As my username says, I am NOT techie. So anything I go with cannot be more difficult to use than Kaspersky.

Yes, I am looking for help on how to proceed.

For the other readers: More info: https://www.pcmag.com/news/use-kaspersky-antivirus-software-youll-be-migrated-to-pangos-ultraav
 
I use ESET security suite. I think if you could handle Kaspersky, you could handle this one.  Another good option would be Emsisoft.

Thank you, I will look into ESET.

I do see conflicting information online for Bitdefender: no firewall AND yes firewall.

No Firewall is on PC Magazine, yet Bitdefender site says it has a firewall. And to be honest, I believe PC Mag before a company's own website.

Many times over the year this website has promoted Windows Defender AV and Firewall as the way to go. It is every bit, and in some cases better, than other AV programs including Kaspersky.

Bitdefender can cause issues.  If use it the 1st sign of any problem is to uninstall it.

 

Nothing wrong with Defender.  Can add Configuredefender to it and Windows Firewall Control.   Am still a happy Norton user since 1990.  All the BS about using resources has not been try for 20 yrs.

You can follow the Best Practices for Safe Computing - Prevention of Malware Infection.

Additionally, you can click here to get ConfigureDefender by Andy Ful to strengthen Microsoft Defender Antivirus.

Setting the Protection Levels in ConfigureDefender to "High" is a good baseline and recommended for most users.

The ConfigureDefender.exe file is the second option on the GitHub website that you should download, save to your desktop, and run.

You can use Windows Firewall Control to manage Windows Firewall.

You can also use AdGuard MV3, uBlock Origin Lite (MV3), or Malwarebytes Browser Guard to block ads, scripts, and trackers in your Web Browsers.

However, AdGuard MV3 and uBlock Origin Lite (MV3) are better at blocking ads than Malwarebytes Browser Guard MV3, and this is by design.

Good luck!

After MANY years with KIS (since it was a niche security product), I replaced KIS with ESET Home Premium on my main production box a few weeks ago because my license expired & there was no way to extend it until the September 29 deadline.

So far, so good.
The features are very similar to KIS, although there's been a learning curve navigating settings & configuration in the GUI.
My only complaints thus far:
- the GUI is dumbed-down
- phone support hours are limited
- their forum is essentially worthless (extremely low traffic)
- a few UI/UX features I expected are not available

I'll install it on my other devices in the coming days

Edit: I used the 30-day Free Trial to test drive it before purchasing a license on Amazon (~ $20 cheaper than a 3-device, 1-year license direct from ESET.)

Edited by MoxieMomma, 07 September 2024 - 05:24 AM.

I would not use an AV that very few have ever heard of, UltraAV.

 

Bitdefender is a highly rated product, it depends on which version you get, I know for a fact that several of their version have a firewall.

 

Eset is fine too but lots of options to configure it to get the maximum potential out of it.

 

Or Defender with Configure Defender, good as any.

I was a ten-year user of Bitdefender Total Security.  It is good, but it consumes considerable RAM and CPU time.  I was active in their Forums.  There a lots of bugs reported that take time to correct.

 

I migrated in May 2024 to Kaspersky Premium.  Since I am in Canada, the US ban does not apply.  Kaspersky is the better product, IMHO.

 

If I had to decide, I think that I would follow MoxieMomma's recommendation and test drive ESET.

 

Kaspersky won Product of the Year Award for 2023, but to be fair, Bitdefender scored second, being awarded the Outstanding Product of the Year award.  The two products have been jockeying positions in the top five rankings in recent years in AV Comparatives Labs testing, which is a very reputable source of antivirus product performance.

 

Source: https://www.av-comparatives.org/tests/summary-report-2023/

 

Windows Defender received no awards last year.  That said, it is free and it is an effective antivirus app for most users who don't insist on having the very best.

 

At the end of the day, it is YOUR computer, so YOU decide how effective your antivirus application should be.  Personally, I want the best combination of protection, stability, and reasonable computer resource consumption.

 

Even more important than antimalware solutions is having a robust backup strategy.  No one antivirus product can protect a user from all threats to their by malware, and have no ability to assist you should your hard drive(s) fail, as they all do eventually or file corruption.

 

Personally, I team my antivirus app with Malwarebytes because it deals with specific classes of malware that are not the focus of most antivirus solutions.  One does have to configure the appropriate exceptions in both products so that they play nicely in the same sandbox.

 

I endorse midimusicman79's first reference in his reply to research the excellent topics here written by quietman7.

 

Have a great day.

 

Regards,

Phil

You can create weekly Disk Images to back up your entire computer with your files, folders, and Windows 11. Here is a list of available Disk Image Software.

 

You can, for example, use the Macrium Reflect 8 Home Free Trial for 30 days and then purchase Macrium Reflect 8 Home.

 

You can also use Malwarebytes 5 Free if you prefer NOT to pay, but if you are comfortable spending, you can use Malwarebytes 5 Premium.

 

There is an article on Windows Security: Microsoft Defender Antivirus & More, and another on Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security.

 

There is also an article on How to Run Malwarebytes Alongside Another Antivirus and another on Add Malwarebytes to the allow list on other apps.

 

Good luck!

I thank all of you for your input!!

 

You can also use Malwarebytes 5 Free if you prefer NOT to pay,

 

Malwarebytes FREE is only an on-demand scanner.

It will only pick up malware that is already on the system.

It does NOT provide real-time protection to help PREVENT infection.

You are welcome, NotTechie2!

Thank you, MoxieMomma!