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Office Depot, Best Buy Pull Kaspersky Products From Shelves (bleepingcomputer.com)

Posted by msmash on from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.

Catalin Cimpanu, reporting for BleepingComputer: Both Office Depot and Best Buy have removed Kaspersky Lab products from shelves. The ban has been in effect since mid-September, and the two chains are offering existing Kaspersky customers replacement security software. The first store to remove Kaspersky products from shelves was Best Buy, on around September 8. At the time, the FBI was pressuring the private sector to cut ties with the Russian antivirus maker, which was the subject of a Senate Intelligence Committee on the suspicion it may be collaborating with Russian intelligence agencies. Kaspersky vehemently denied all accusations. A week after Best Buy removed Kaspersky products from shelves, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Binding Operational Directive published ordering the removal of Kaspersky Lab products off government computers. A day later, Office Depot announced a similar decision to ban the sale of Kaspersky products in its stores. Additionally, Office Depot is letting customers exchange their Kaspersky copy with a one-year license for McAfee LiveSafe.

9 of 155 comments (clear)

  1. Kaspersky may well be innocent by mi · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm perfectly willing to believe, the authors of the Kaspersky software and the owners of the company want to have to provide a good anti-virus and do not want to cooperate with Russia's spies. But the decision may not be up to them — Russian government has many more instruments at their disposal to convince businesses and individuals to "cooperate", than do the governments of free(er) countries.

    Yes, American government has some such instruments as well — just pick, who you trust more...

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    1. Re:Kaspersky may well be innocent by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Do as we say or we'll confiscate your business, your assets, imprison your family, and beat you senseless

      That's about how I'd figure that conversation would go in Putin's Russia.

      The real question here is: In 2017, can we trust ANYTHING to run on our computers that we didn't compile ourselves, after personally vetting the sourcecode -- and then, can we trust the compiler to not be compromised, too? Really, honestly, seriously, I'm starting to feel like we're getting to that point -- and even if what we're running isn't compromised as soon as it's installed, there doesn't seem to be much of anything that can prevent the mahcine from being compromised externally, unless you're never connected to the Internet, ever -- and even then, security researchers keep exposing exploits that can compromise a computer that's completely air-gapped.

    2. Re:Kaspersky may well be innocent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Pick the one that can hurt you the least. Who is the greater threat Russian secret police or American? Trust but verify. RR

    3. Re:Kaspersky may well be innocent by Archon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "This should be enhanced by the fact that the American government has apparently seen something so concerning that they are reacting to it with law enforcement assets and have bared it's use within the DOD."

      Is this the same government that deliberately start wars and invade other countries based on their own propaganda (aluminum tubes and babies being pulled from incubators, anyone)? Yeah, I thought so. So now it's show your proof or GFY.

    4. Re:Kaspersky may well be innocent by Presence+Eternal · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You're forgetting about TPM. You may be fully compromised even when the machine isn't booted.

  2. They probably refused to ignore NSA malware by gweihir · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And now they are killed via a classical attack on their reputation, which may or may not be completely without merit. Of course, this only concerns the US market.

    --
    Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  3. "off the shelves" = zero impact by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Remember when you'd buy software? With a disc in a cardboard package? From a retail store you'd have to enter?

    No? Me either.

  4. They should've... by nwaack · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They should've just let themselves get hacked and had all their customer's information stolen. Then the IRS would've probably given them a multi-million dollar contract!

  5. Is there any actual proof of anything? by fredrated · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Or do we just trash businesses based on opinion?