There was a brief discussion about Kaspersky Internet Security at today's hearing.

[procon]

. A senator was asking the military guys if they had installed Kaspersky on any government systems and some said it was used in the past, but not currently. It caught my attention because I've used the program in the past, and I know it was developed in Russia,but I didn't know what the connection was at the hearing.

Officials fear Russia could try to target US through popular software firm under FBI scrutiny

snip...

In February, the Department of Homeland Security issued a secret report on the matter to other government agencies. And the FBI is investigating the nature of Kaspersky Lab’s relationship to the Russian government, sources with knowledge of the probe told ABC News.

The company has repeatedly insisted it poses no threat to U.S. customers and would never be used as a government tool.

Current and former U.S. officials, however, point to company executives who previously worked for Russian intelligence and military agencies. They worry that Kaspersky Lab’s software could allow state-sponsored hackers to steal users’ files, read private emails or attack critical infrastructure in the United States.

Kaspersky Lab’s possible relationship with Russian intelligence services “makes a lot of people in the national security community uncomfortable,” said Eric Rosenbach, a cybersecurity veteran who until January was the Defense Department’s chief of staff.

In particular, current and former U.S. officials fear Kaspersky Lab products have the potential to facilitate Russian cyberattacks on power grids or other key utilities.


Much more at the link:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/officials-fear-russia-target-us-popular-software-firm/story?id=47295729

[whathehell]

1. Oh shit, my husband put that in our computer..

[LeftInTX]

2. It isn't cheap either.

I used to use it, but the reason I stopped was the cost.
I thought it was an excellent product.
It came with some decent options to control unwanted programs, registry keys, bho's, junk files etc.

My son told me the free stuff was just as effective.
I've got AVAST free now.
I'm sure if protects against malware, but in terms of fine-tuning my system it isn't very helpful and I don't know if the paid version of AVAST would provide better options.

[procon]

3. I have Avast now, and it does what I need

It came as a trial with my computer and I bought the subscription. There are several versions that offer different features and I opted for the Premiere which covers most of the security, ad blocking and anti-viral, stuff, but not everything. They still try to get more money from you by peddling separate modules for registry tweaks and purging junk files.