Kaspersky has TWO products, one called an 'Antivirus' program, the other an 'Internet Security' program, of course the latter also has antivirus included as well.

But why should there be any SECURITY features in the 'Antivirus' version? There should not be any.

So many companies seem to blur the line between security and antivirus programs. But I thought the reason Kaspersky has created two programs was to make them distinct from one another, but when you start adding any security features in your antivirus applications, you haven't made the distinctions big enough.

I wish Kaspersky simply made an antivirus program with no security features, and just included them in the Internet Security application as they should be.

Just because someone has good security doesn't mean they are immune from viruses, and just because someone has a good antivirus program doesn't mean they have good security, so why even bother to place Security features into an antivirus program? Some argue to have these things included in one program the way Kaspersky has done, but also many people like to keep security and av applications separate and use different programs to handle the functions of each. For security I have a hardware firewall and it's all I need, for spyware and malware I have other applications, and then for an AV I just like to use an AV program, and that's all, and this is also typical the way many users and companies operate security and av solutions.

This is also why you give consumers options and you create what your company has done, TWO applications, and it should of been done that way, give one group strictly an antivirus program, and for others that want more, give them the added security options, yet your company has not made a PURE AV ONLY application, your company has gone and placed security features in them.

Allow users a REAL choice to have just an antivirus program, and then give those that need more in the Internet Security program, but PLEASE remove the security features in the AV, otherwise this is not a PURE AV application.

I personally have no need for these features in KAV 2009, and would hope in the future they will be removed, these should not be in a REAL PURE AV application these should only be in the av security application:

Anti-Phishing
Security Analyzer
Browser Configuration

Also these tools should be removed too. This is really getting into bloat and some serious over kill. I applaud Kaspersky for wanting to give more tools to help with system restore, but I leave that to other software applications I also already use, again these should not be in a REAL PURE AV application:

System Restore
Rescue Disk


If Kaspersky wants to now start getting into system recovery, then PLEASE make an application for this, but PLEASE don't start cramming it into your ANTIVIRUS program, along with security tools, AGAIN this is not the purpose of a REAL PURE AV application. I personally don't need one size fits all, and one application to do everything for me.

KAV is starting to take on to much bloat, at least PLEASE make the AV as an AV application, allowing experienced users a simpler tool without all the need for all of these tools. Then for the inexperienced users that feel that they need everything, then give it to them in the Internet Security Application.

I use to think Kaspersky made a nice light product with their AV, at least they did in the past, now it seems they are trying to jump into the McAfee/Symantec bloatware wagon, and it's really a shame to see.

The KAV 2009 is not an antivirus application, it's a security application, PLEASE give consumers an ANTIVIRUS application. If your company is going to CALL it an ANTIVIRUS program, then PLEASE keep it as an AV application ONLY!

Thank you!

P.S. Will the developers see this post, if not, does anyone know of an email contact I can send this to them, because I really want them to read this.

did you actually test and use this tools? i am sorry but IMO you have no idea what you are talking about. while i understand and agree that we don't want and need bloated applications... none of the above functions (or any other that are available in KAV at the moment) make KAV bloated, they are all related to fighting malware and are essential functions that help protect the users this days where "pure anti-virus" alone simple is not able to provide enough protection. while i understand that some users prefer and use other tools that might do similar things, none of the above tools make KAV slower or harder to use so it is only positive from Kaspersky to push such technologies and security practices to the masses (and no, masses are not using special additional tools). and as an experienced user i guess you should be able to find the custom installation button

I've been working in Computer Technology/IT for around 10+ years I know exactly what I'm talking about. Let's not starting throwing words and names around here...

Anti-Phishing has nothing to do with malware. True Anti-Phishing is about ID theft and fraud, etc...

The Security Analyzer also has nothing to do with malware, it's about SECURITY VULNERABILITIES.

The Browser Configuration also has nothing to do with malware it's also about SECURITY VULNERABILITIES.

Let's be CLEAR and HONEST here, and talk FACTS! Just because there is a hole in a system or a security vulnerability, you think that means you'll get a virus or have spyware/malware problems? A security issue doesn't necessarily mean you're going to have a virus or malware problem.

Anytime you add more than you need it's called BLOAT. You're taking the perspective like most Windows users do that it has to mean BIG and OVERLOADED. Let's not forget there is more then one world of computer OSs then Windows, and in the other part of the world, anything that isn't needed is BLOAT!

The System Restore and Rescue Disk has nothing to do with fighting viruses and malware, these tools most certainly are not needed.

I know where the customization is at, and that is not the POINT, there is no need for any of these tools, and if someone wants them, then give them to a user in the Internet Security application, and leave an antivirus program as an Antivirus program.

There is also nothing in the Custom Setup to remove the recovery tools:



An Antivirus program is enough in the hands of an experienced users along with a few other tools better suited for the job. Anyone of good experience and understanding hardly ever uses one companie's tools to help fight issues because there is no company out there that has just the ONE tool, or set of tools to do the job, and Kaspersky is no exception here either, that is also why they should of just made this as a AV and that is all, because there are much better tools for dealing with malware, and system recovery.


You also MISSED what I said earlier, make the program STRICTLY an AV program for people that can handle this, have the experience and don't need anything else and the users with less experience, well, let them use the other program for their needs.

Kaspersky is calling this an Antivirus program, and it's not, it's also a Security, and Recovery tool, and I was just pointing out that if you're going to call it an Antivirus program, then keep it as such, because as it stands right now it's not.

P.S. By your definition of computer needs, you make it seem like people need ONLY tools to help them fight issues, do you understand what I'm saying here? Tools are not the ONLY solution to fighting problems, it also understanding how the problems begin in the first place, it's called being PROACTIVE, and if you are not PROACTIVE as a user, all the tools in the world aren't really going to help. Real protection and help is understanding FIRST how to be safe and taking proper precautions, it's understanding how to use your SYSTEM and the WAN to stay safe, so please don't say that just using an Antivirus in the world today is not enough, because it is, IF you know what you are doing, and the REAL point here is to get EDUCATED, not cram a bunch of tools down people's throats and now think they are going to be safe, because I've seen many years of people with all the tools in the world at their disposal, and guess what? They still have problems!

The point is the users refuse to get educated about simple things

And the point I made was if they don't want to get educated, then cramming all the tools in the world isn't really going to help, because in the end, they are always going to keep running into problems.

I work as a Computer Tech, I personally have installed some of the best tools on people's computers to help them stay safe, and there is the other side to this story, they DON'T USE THEM!

In the end if users don't get educated or learn how to use their tools they are going to constantly run into problems, and I have seen them get so bad that eventually what had to happen was the system had to be reformatted, or restored.

The one tool these people really need to have is a Backup/Imaging program, so when they kill the box from a lack of education and the lack of using tools, they just hit the RESTORE button and put the system back with a CLEAN image, now that's what these people really need.

If you think KAV 2009 with all it's little tools is really going to help, well, the developers really need to think this strategy over, and like I said before, if you want to give them the tools, then GREAT do so in the other application, or applications and KEEP the one that is called an ANTIVIRUS program, a ANTIVIRUS program, because it's not right now.

PEACE

P.S. Where in the Custom Setup can you remove the system recovery and rescue disks?

It amazes me that all posts begin with " I work in IT related field for x number of years", it is actually quite funny because I am in the same industry. You do not hear me screaming about it, and prove your point otherwise. The additional tools do not make the program anymore slower or require additional resources. Those tools NEVER interfear with regular operations. If we had an AV, it would have been a command line scanner. Great for performance, not very user friendly.

well i have no wish to continue discussing/arguing about this because we simple seem to have a different point of view on few things...

a pure anti-virus tool is an tool that detects only file infecting viruses, so today no anti-virus is really an pure anti-virus. nothing is black and white here. so, if you agree on the additional detection of worms, backdoors, trojans, rootkits, spyware, adware,... why not phishing detection, phishing is absolutely pushed forward with the help from other malware and it is absolutely a real threat to the users (some users want that cookies are detected and cleaned and similar garbage, i don't agree with them since for now i see no real danger from them). would you also remove the rootkit detection technologies and vulnerability detections in the scanner? where do you draw the line?

security analyzer and browser configuration ware added as part of the integration of the AVZ tool. the integration of this tool gives KAV huge new powers of detecting and removing malware and those parts of it that are integrated as security analyzer and browser configuration try to help the user to lock down the machine and disable some of the more common infection vectors (malware entry point in to the system) that are actually not needed by most users. and again i can say that we simple have a different point of view on few things here. personally i just cannot understand how can you say that vulnerabilities are not related to malware, since they are absolutely the main vector of infections this days. you say that education is the number one thing here. for me this is simple so 5 (or more) years old thinking. why? because you can be evgeny kaspersky, bruce schneier, peter szor or who ever you feel like is the most educated, if you are seating behind an vulnerable system you will get infected without ever noticing a thing. if security professionals are not searching for vulnerabilities and developers are not fixing them because malware is using them to infect the machines, then why even bother with vulnerabilities? and no nowhere, even not now, i have said that education is not important or that tools are all you need, don't quite me on things i did not say. i believe in a healthy measure of everything, a golden middle so to say.

system restore and rescue disk are there to help fix and recover from the more advance and complex malware that normal anti-virus is simple not able to detect and remove...

people (yes even the uneducated ones) this days are much safer with an well patched and locked down computer (disabling usb autorun is one simple but great example of this) then with an pure anti-virus. there is no pure anti-virus this days, only maybe some command line scanners (a note to developers: this reminds me that i would still like to have an stand alone (free?) command line version of KAV )

i was very much of the same opinion for a long time and i hear this again and again (from the more educated users and professionals), however lately i have come to a different conclusion. i see now that much better systems security models are possible. so it is the fail of the industry and the security professionals that the situation is like it is (and that it is moving forward so slowly). we are the ones that find joy and excitement in all this (technology, computers, security, malware,...), not all people see some meaning for life in this and they really should not need to or be responsible for that.



and for the most part of this i even don't disagree with you

I'm not saying I'm disagreeing to any of these features and options, I'm just saying that if you want to have them, then include them in another application, and if not, then as stated make it so that in the Custom Setup you can remove them. I see that all the options can be removed except the system restore and rescue cd.

Of course there is nothing wrong with keeping malware, spyware, rootkit, worms, etc., types of detection in a AV program, I never suggested the removal of these, I only suggested the removal of the, Anti-Phishing, Security Analyzer, Browser Configuration, System Restore, and Rescue Disk. Sorry for any confusion here, of course an AV product today needs to deal with all these, and I'd never tell anyone to remove the detection of other malware threats from an AV application...

I stated before that not all vulnerabilities lead to virus or malware problems, to say they do is not correct. Many vulnerabilities lead to other areas of a system compromise, system take over/admin/root access, denial of service attacks, buffer overflows, etc...

There is nothing wrong with wanting better system protection and security, I was SIMPLY POINTING out that if you're going to call a program a ANTIVIRUS program then make it as such, that's all, and if people need more tools, then let there be the options for this in another form. Sorry I didn't clarify that AV programs also include today spyware/malware/worms/rootkits/trojans, etc... types of detections, yes of course keep all the MALWARE detection there!

No one ever said that having more applications in a program causes any system problems or slowdown.

If Kaspersky wants to continue making the KAV 2009 the way it is, no problem then, but please allow the option in the Custom Setup to remove the system restore and rescue cd as well...

Hmmm, Anti-Phising is built in many AV,Security Analizer, it help you stay away from many malware,well Browser config help you stay away from Spyware sites,exploits,System restore recover your PC from crashed settings made by malware, and Rescue Disk is tradicional recover of un-repairable system files damaged by malware(if you have only "Delete" function,simply use the disk)

So Kaspersky[2009] is winner not only in Protection from Malware, it winning in Healing,Repairing and Stealthing your PC...Just use these applications...IT WAS NEXT-GENERATION ANTI-VIRUS!!

And Custom Setup is good idea

They do and they will continue to include new things, so that part of your crusade is 100% lost already.

The custom option during install i can only agree with and it it is generally already there, if you really (unlike the majority) just want a pure oldschool AV, then just deselect web, mail-av, anti-phishing etc and end up with just a realtime file-av & a on-demand scanner.

Their is no lost crusade.

Let's be honest here there are many HIGHLY experienced computer users the world over that don't need many of these tools, that simply also need just a good real time protection/scanner, with AV/malware detection and nothing more...

Maybe companies like Kaspersky forget their is also an EXPERIENCED user base out there too...

There are also companies out there that have been specializing specifically for years above and beyond what Kaspersky has done, so another good reason not to use these tools, when companies better suited to do the job are present.

Like I said before either make an AV app, which I meant to include malware detection too, or just have all the Custom Setup options available to remove, and if they give us that with being able to remove System Restore, and the Rescue CD, then the Crusade is doing just fine...

Sorry I logged out and couldn't edit my last reply to include something else....

Part of the POINT of this post is to bring to Kaspersky the REALITY that not everyone out there using these products is inexperienced, that HIGHLY EXPERIENCED people also use these products.

What I have noticed over the years is that so many companies developing software act like they are developing this with little girls and old grandmothers in mind that have AOL accounts and don't know the difference between what a browser is and a window, and don't laugh it up because I'm very serious with this. Just take a look around at the majority of software being developed, EXPERIENCED users don't seem to come into play to often when developing.

Kaspersky, if they want to continue developing, then at least as it was mentioned here, need to have all of the extras available to be removed from the Customs options, and they need to start showing the world that they acknowledge and realize that there is an EXPERIENCED USER BASE in the world. In layman's terms, not everyone is CLUELESS...

THANKS

I found this reported by PC Magazine regarding Anti-Phishing in KIS:

KIS2009 blocked just 44% of the phishing URLs, compared with 67% for IE7 and 81% for Firefox. NIS2008 came in second with 76%. The antiphishing feature won't harm your system, but both IE7 and Firefox have better protection built in—nearly twice as good, in the case of Firefox.

If there is truth to this, then the Anti-Phishing in KAV & KIS isn't worth using, or having...

1) Both KIS/KAV remains highly customizable for the experienced user-base
2) If you go just by one single test, shame on you and your experience of 10 years in IT field
3) Targeting a product towards a broader range of people is not really a bad idea for product reachability

I couldn't help it. It was an autonomic response.

You will have to learn to control those functions.


As to what you mention DasFox some of those items are not "active".
Maybe the team will look at this topic and make a judgement. I'd say it has been duly noted by them too.
Who knows, maybe it will be something they change in the installer in future versions.
There will always some that like some things, some like other things. Some like all-in-one products, some don't, it's a hard topic to keep on top of.

On a funny note about those loose functions, hehe...

It's really true if you look at the marketing of most software companies, it's as though the experienced user base doesn't exist and everyone using software they have determined needs training wheels...

Exactly, maybe it will be implemented in future versions..........either way, the suggestion is already made and we're starting to go around in circles.