Kaspersky Gives Away Free Antivirus Version for Its 20th Anniversary; Kaspersky Free Now Available in North America
Russia-based Kaspersky Lab is giving away a free version of its flagship antivirus software worldwide, as founder Eugene Kaspersky announced on Tuesday, July 25. The launch of Kaspersky Free comes amid allegations that the company has been a target of Russian government manipulation.
Eugene Kaspersky broke the news through a blog post on the cyber firm's site on Tuesday, announcing the release of their new antivirus version, which will be free of charge. The launch also celebrates the 20th anniversary of Kaspersky Labs, marking 20 years since the cyber security company has been started, on June 26, 1997.
The rollout of the new antivirus software, called Kaspersky Free, already started with the program now available in the United States, Canada, and select countries in the Asia Pacific region. The rollout of Kaspersky Free will continue across the globe, as noted by Reuters.
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Kaspersky is positioning their free software as a quality alternative to other traditionally free anti malware software "which have more holes than Swiss cheese for malware to slip through," as the company's founder commented.
In turn, data provided by installed copies of Kaspersky Free could be used to improve machine learning and other analysis efforts that go into the development of new versions of their antivirus software.
Kaspersky Free is not a drop-in replacement for their paid version, as the blog post from Eugene Kaspersky noted. "In our paid-for versions there are many extra features, like Parental Control, Online Payment Protection, and Secure Connection (VPN), which easily justify the ~$50 for premium protection," he explained.
The new antivirus software came about as a result of an 18-month development effort, which also tested pilot versions of Kaspersky Free in several areas, including Russia, Ukraine, China, and several countries in the Scandinavian region.
Meanwhile, Kaspersky Labs continues to deny allegations that the company has ties to the efforts of the Russian government to conduct cyber surveillance on U.S. federal government agencies.
