back to article Red panic: Best Buy yanks Kaspersky antivirus from shelves

US big box retailer Best Buy has pulled from its shelves Kaspersky Lab's PC security software amid fears of Kremlin spies using the antivirus tool to snoop on Americans. Despite there being no concrete evidence to indicate that the security software is a threat, the retail chain is ending its long relationship with Kaspersky, …

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    1. Captain Badmouth
      Coat

      Re: a turn around

      "Be sure to stand on the porch, that way you'll see the far away glow in an eire light."

      Let's leave Eire out of this, they've got their own problems...

      Mine's the one with the ticket to Tír na nÓg via Hy-Brasil in the pocket.

  1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

    So governments don't trust software from other countries because of the possibility of backdoors put in at the behest of those other countries' spooks and we as users increasingly don't trust software from our own countries because of the possibility of backdoors put in at the behest of our own governments' spooks. It's all going terribly well, isn't it?

  2. scotitan

    Re: It's all going terribly well, isn't it?

    Well when you stop to consider that 95% of all that technology comes out of the United States and the other 5% from the communist block, you soon get a feel for what's clean and what isnt.

    Dell computer's photographed in North Korea - dispelling the myth that they dont have internet, unfortunately it doesnt inform you or them about "LoJack" installed by DELL inside the BIOS which is a huge threat vector for someone to attack that machine, which was also how the spook's broke into several of there targets. "Genie" & Apple dashboard, well yeah that one was a given. BlackBerry powered by the GCC and Nutrino, OpenBSD powered by the GCC, Microsoft Windows powered by WatCOM. Not a lot of choice about what software to use, unfortunately.. when you attack one, it would appear you attack them all.. Probably why everybody has gone directly into paranoia over-drive and the "communists" all smuggly going "see we told you they couldnt be trusted!" look what they've done to there own freedoms!

  3. scotitan
    IT Angle

    Grease

    They've greased there fingers with 95% of it, abusing open source and open standards along the way...

    Bad I.N.T.E.L.L.I.G.E.N.C.E - intel chips with hidden "Me" controllers and poorly documented power management features. Below par AMD chips along the same lines with PSP microcontroller with again closed source drivers and binary blobs. Crappy firmware, with persistant hard-disk drive infectors, I've got one of those disk's and contrary to persistance or there claims of persistance you can over-write the UEFI boot sector with your own boot-loader.

    I rarely find myself having to shout "Unclean - Unclean!" but it does happen more often than not with Microsoft crap.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I use AVG, and Avast!

    Seems to work, only had two fails so far and both times it appears to have been RAM issues.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Childcatcher

    The War Against Terror (TWAT)

    +1 insightful

    Wish I'd noticed that earlier, in fact I think that rather obvious acronym has been missed by a lot of people for very long time (*). A lot of Brits from this parish (at least) should be hanging heads in shame

    (*)I don't recall the memo, if one was sent

  6. Kiwi
    Trollface

    Lemme guess..

    US big box retailer Best Buy has pulled from its shelves Kaspersky Lab's PC security software amid fears of Kremlin spies using the antivirus tool to snoop on Americans.

    Lemme guess... They replaced it with good 'ol Norton, which lets anyone and everyone spy, without so much as an "Excuse me, are you supposed to be running on this computer?"

    Or maybe MSIE, no doubt letting malware get through "by design" given recent flaws in Windows and IE 11.2Edge...

  7. lawndart

    No one mention that ZoneAlarm uses Kaspersky as its antivirus or merkins will be disabling their firewalls too.

  8. trisul

    Strange article

    I really cannot understand the logic here. Putin is wageing cyberwar against the West, FSB has control over Kaspersky and we are meant to tolerate this ... because our own intelligence services have access to our companies?!? We are to give our infrastructure: water, electricity, traffic, telecoms to an enemy nation ... because our own intelligence services have the same access?!?

    This is like saying we must allow robbers into the house because policemen can also enter.

    1. Pascal Monett Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: Strange article

      You need to update your irony detector.

      Let me spell it out for you : The USA, a country that spies on the entire world and can force any company on US soil to hand over any data wherever in the world it was recorded, is complaining that, gasp!, Russia is doing the same thing and has a product that is sold on US soil ! Run to the hills ! Make sure only AMERICAN products can spy on you !

      Are things a bit clearer now ?

  9. Version 1.0 Silver badge

    Who would buy an AV software from Best Buy anyway?

    It's way easier to download it, if necessary on your own PC and create a bootable CD. This sounds like a publicity stunt, "Let's ban something we're not selling!"

  10. Slackness

    Excellent, where can I buy up their old stock? 10 years and zero virus infections and minimal system interference when I have to run the 'Doze.

  11. Nick Kew

    What it doesn't say

    "Under Russian laws ...

    Note the weasel words. You're meant to conclude that the Russian government has the power to require Kaspersky to spy on its users.

    OK, the company is required to assist the spy agency in its operations - well, that sounds plausible and also fair: the security services might call on Kaspersky to help with protecting vital infrastructure from a stuxnet. Or maybe the powers are more sweeping and they might be called on to help with analysing a seized 'puter for kiddie porn, or a 419-ers activities, or other such things. Noone is telling us how far those powers do or don't go.

    But - Russian law requires telecommunications service providers such as Kaspersky Lab ...? Really? So antivirus is a telecoms service? Or could it rather be language designed to mislead by conflating different issues (and projecting a politician's wet dreams)?

    Perhaps it's a skirmish in a battle between AV vendors and US security? Destination: US vendors required to install spyware; non-US vendors choose install spyware or be banned.

  12. Bob Hoskins
    Coffee/keyboard

    The War Against Terror (TWAT)

    I can't believe I haven't seen this one before.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sigh

    ""Because Kaspersky's servers are in Russia, sensitive United States data is constantly cycled through a hostile country,""

    And right there ladies and gentlemen,is why the world is so fucked up.

  14. BazzF

    Switched our family AV to Kaspersky this year. It seems strange to trust the Russians more than the Americans.

    1. Nick Kew

      You're not trusting "the Russians" or "the Americans". You're trusting one private company over another. Which seems an entirely reasonable thing to do, regardless of your politics.

  15. imanidiot Silver badge

    Did I miss the memo?

    "sensitive United States data is constantly cycled through a hostile country"

    When did the Cold War start again? AFAIK Russia and the US are still not officially enemies...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Did I miss the memo?

      About the time Vladimir Putin first rose to power. He's from the Old Guard.

  16. Aodhhan
    WTF?

    Ignorance isn't bliss

    A liberal who knows the Russian system very well and loved today by millions of Russians, whose name is Garry Kasparov can let you in on some of the things you likely believe is fine when you defend the Russian government.

    Free speech - Does not exist in Russia

    Freedom to assemble - Does not exist in Russia

    Free and fair elections - Does not exist in Russia

    You get the idea... so many values the west holds close doesn't exist at all in Russia.

    What does exist in Russia?

    Government thievery--when you have a great idea (unless you're already wealthy or part of the system), the government will take your idea, give it to one of their buddies... kick you in the balls and send you to work in a factory to tighten bolts.

    Poverty--Most Russian families still do not live in nice homes with yards.

    Like your car? Likely wouldn't have one in Russia. If you did, it would have all the features of a cheap Volkswagen.

    Widespread dissent. Despite what most people are lead to believe... Putin isn't regarded highly by the working class.

    So MI5 and FBI are spying on their own citizens... I have yet to hear a story where they are tossing people in Jail or taking away money and someone's livelihood because they spoke poorly of Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer.

    1. Richard Wharram

      Re: Ignorance isn't bliss

      Would upvote twice if I could.

  17. Mahhn

    Jeanne Shaheen

    is a cunt, that's all.

  18. partypop69

    Ridiculous.

    Russians are some of the best programmers out there. The brains behind millions of apps, software and source code. Taking 1 piece of a software off the shelves is very short sighted. It would be smarter to develop a system to detect malicious code in commercial software, open source software is much safer to run.

  19. onebignerd

    Fearmongering courtesy U.S Government

    This is based on nothing, no proof, no code, no Internet trace! I use and will continue to use Kaspersky Internet Security suite. It's the one security suite the NSA can't hack to spy with like they can others (as of the Snowden leaks) and that alone gives me a measure of security. Why don't they take him up on looking at the code? I doubt they are going to screw their reputation and export markets by sneaking spyware into their products, seriously!!

    I have less trust in Microsoft and the NSA!

    The Government is upset that there is the slightest chance Kaspersky is spyware for Russia, but they violate their own laws, Constitution and treaties to spy on everyone. What a freak'in joke!!

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