Kaspersky calls off antitrust dispute with Microsoft

Kaspersky, the popular computer security firm based in Russia, has withdrawn its antitrust complaint against software giant Microsoft though the dispute is not totally gone. The security vendor lambasted Microsoft for allegedly taking advantage of its market influence to edge out antivirus providers.

The dispute arose from the new changes Microsoft introduced in the Creators Update that made Windows Defender the preferred security tool for Windows 10. The Creators Update removes some third-party security products from PCs that upgrade to the update. For Kaspersky, that means exposing users to security risks. The move also aims to force out security vendors, according to Eugene Kaspersky, founder and chief executive:

Several years ago Microsoft decided to overhaul the Windows platform. Ostensibly this was in the name of better ease of usage, security, performance and so on. Behind the scenes what Microsoft was up to was elegantly seizing niche markets: squeezing independent developers out of them, taking their place, and offering users their own products, which in many cases were in no way better.

Kaspersky further lamented that Microsoft automatically deactivates all security software it deems incompatible without warning. Microsoft would then install its very own Defender antivirus. He added:

But what did it expect when independent developers were given all of one week before the release of the new version of the OS to make their software compatible? Even if software did manage to be compatible according to the initial check before the upgrade, weird things tended to happen and Defender would still take over.

Kaspersky has temporarily lifted its complaints against Microsoft to create more time for talks between the two companies. The security vendor says it will ask the Redmond giant to make specific changes to the OS before escalating the complaint to the European Commission. At the moment, Kaspersky says the company is satisfied with Microsoft’s efforts to be more inclusive of third-party antivirus products for Windows 10.

RELATED STORIES YOU NEED TO CHECK OUT:

• This is the list of Kaspersky products with limited functionality with the Creators Update
• 10 best antivirus programs for browsing
• Kaspersky furious at Microsoft’s Windows 10 antivirus products