DallasMike56

Ah well, Mr. Flood, I may be having difficulty getting my question across clearly. I understand that Kaspersky VPN does not routinely keep log files I understand that Kaspersky VPN tech support WILL keep log files upon request, and clearly there is no need for Kaspersky VPN tech support to notify the customer in this case, as the log files were kept upon that same customer’s request, BUT !!! THE QUESTION IS: WILL AND DOES KASPERSKY VPN ALSO ON OCCASION KEEP VPN LOG FILES WITHOUT NOTIFYING THE CUSTOMER BY THE ORDER OF A SWISS COURT????Note that VPN providers in every part of the world ARE REQUIRED to follow the local law where they are located, and in this Kaspersky in Switzerland is no different than any other VPN provider, even given the reasonably good privacy laws of Switzerland. The question is NOT whether a Swiss court can order Kaspersky VPN to maintain a log file -- because a Swiss court clearly can. Now such a court order can’t make log files from the past magically appear -- if they were never kept, they can’t be pulled out of thin air. But it CAN affect things going forward. And in the good ole USA, for example, a VPN provider can be forced by the US government to A) BEGIN keeping logs of particular customers, and B) NEVER TELL THE CUSTOMER THAT SUCH LOGS ARE BEING KEPT. One hopes Switzerland is less totalitarian than the US. And, if not, you clearly couldn’t answer the question anyway. BUT… just perhaps, NOT in a specific case, but generally, the following question could be answered: HAS KASPERSKY VPN EVER BEEN ORDERED BY A SWISS COURT TO MAINTAIN A VPN LOG FILE?

Well, Berny, it would be great if VPN logs were ALWAYS nonexistent. However, based upon the reply I received from Kaspersky Technical Support, apparently VPN logs ARE sometimes kept. One supposes that if they can be kept at the behest of Tech Support, they can be kept at the request of a Swiss court too. Often law enforcement agencies insist that their snooping be kept private, and that those subject to surveillance NOT be informed. Many VPN providers prefer to not tell their customers this unpleasant fact, as it severely undercuts the rationale for purchasing a VPN in the first place. I would suspect that Kaspersky must comply with Swiss law, of course. My question is (not in any specific case, but just generally) has Kaspersky VPN EVER been required by Swiss law enforcement to maintain VPN logs and turn them over? How often does this occur? Are you allowed to inform your customers, specifically, that they are under surveillance? Surely, you can inform us (the customers) whether GENERALLY these legal requirements are something Kaspersky VPN is subject to? To reiterate my initial point as an American… I WISH KASPERSKY WERE STILL BASED IN MOSCOW. At least then you wouldn’t potentially be subject to the American FBI attempting to surveil 200,000 Americans via requests to Swiss courts, as they are attempting to do RIGHT NOW with Proton Mail.

Some VPN services boast that they do not maintain “log files” detailing which of their customers logged in and who they connected to. Personally, as an AMERICAN, I was happier when Kaspersky was based in Moscow, because at least then one could be confident that an American FBI subpoena would be ignored, even if Kaspersky VPN maintained log files. I also use Swiss based Protonmail. Today I hear that the American FBI has subpoenaed the metadata of 200,000 American users from Proton mail …. If a Swiss court agrees, then Proton mail will fulfill the FBI’s request. THE NEXT STEP of the FBI will be to subpoena the Swiss log files of Kaspersky VPN. WHAT IS KASPERSKY GOING TO DO ABOUT THAT? If a Swiss court orders Kaspersky to comply with the request… DO YOU HAVE VPN LOG FILES AND ARE YOU GOING TO TURN THEM OVER AND ARE YOU GOING TO TELL US THAT YOU DID?????????????????????