Does Kaspersky Free Include Phishing Website Protection?

[Thoughts]

It's unclear whether Kaspersky Free (21.8.5.452 and higher) provides phishing protection.

In the comparison table of subscription plans, although Free is not shown, Basic (which I believe was dropped and no longer offered) shows that the Anti-Phishing feature is not included in Basic. On the assumption Kaspersky Free is similar or lower in features to Kaspersky Basic, is it correct that Kaspersky Free does not protect against phishing/fraudulent websites? Kaspersky Subscription comparison table here

I ask this because the YouTube channel Computer Solutions, ran an extensive test on Kaspersky Free and it provided excellent malware protection, but achieved only 70% detection of new phishing websites. Version tested Kaspersky Free 21.8.5.452 (KSN was enabled in test)

I'd be grateful if you could clarify, what website protection is offered by Kaspersky Free, and if 70% phishing detection was an anomoly, or whether Kaspersky Free does not as thoroughly protect against phishing websites as Kaspersky Standard, or even as well as Security Cloud Free, which achieved a 100% detection rate when previously tested by the same YouTube channel.

Thank you for taking time to read this. 

Edited February 19, 2023 by Thoughts

[JaffaCakes118]

Yes Kaspersky Free includes the Web Antivirus/Safe Browsing module which includes phishing protection as well as blocking malware sites.

Edited February 19, 2023 by JaffaCakes118

[Thoughts]

Hello JaffaCakes118

Thank you for your comment.

Anti-Phishing is certainly a tick box option within the Safe Browsing section of Kaspersky Free, but when you read through the Anti-Phishing section of the Basic, Standard, Plus user guide it states Check the web address against the database of phishing and fake crypto web addresses (in some subscription plans)

Kaspersky Basic was one subscription that did not include Anti-Phishing, so it's unclear whether Kaspersky upgraded Kaspersky Free beyond what would have been Kaspersky Basic, or whether there is still a difference in phishing website detection rates, between Kaspersky Free and the higher plans, or even the older Security Cloud Free.

The phishing test by Computer Solutions might simply have been bad luck/an anomoly, but 70% is a poor detction rate, especially when their much older test of Security Cloud Free achieved 100%. 

A feature completely absent, is perfectly understandable, a feature potentially operating at a lower level of protection, could be of concern and why I asked for clarification. I.e. whether some phishing websites might be blocked by Kaspersky Standard, but not detected by Kaspersky Free.

The higher plans obviously provide additonal layers in particular areas, but its unclear whether malicious website protection is identical between Free and the paid plans.

If it is the same, then Kaspersky Standard and Plus might also have poor phishing site detection.  

[Flood and Flood's wife]

Hello @Thoughts, 

• Go to: Kaspersky Free, on the left-hand side, in the Search ?field, type Phishing, there's 11 entries where phishing is mentioned or extended detail is provided. 
• Apart from the Safe Browsing module, which @JaffaCakes118has already mentioned, KSN also offers protection, IF used. 

Thank you?
Flood?+?

Edited February 19, 2023 by Flood and Flood's wife
Added s2.

[Thoughts]

Hello Flood and Flood's wife

Thank you for your comment, and I was aware of phishing appearing in the user guide.

Free isn't shown in the subscription comparison table, but the now discontinued Basic is, which did NOT include phishing protection. And so in light of Kaspersky Free's poor phishing detection in the test mentioned above (70% detection), I'm wondering whether Kaspersky Free provides an identical URL detection level as Standard, Plus etc.?

If URL detection is identical across all subscriptions, then Standard, Plus etc., might also have weaker phishing protection than Internet Security, Security Cloud etc. Security Cloud Free achieved 100% phishing site detection in an older test. 

As mentioned, the test might have been an anomaly, but the channel's been around for a few years, and their testing procedure, appears to be fairly thorough. It was unusual seeing a Kaspersky product perform so poorly in one regard. Particularly URL detection with KSN enabled.

[Flood and Flood's wife]

Hello @Thoughts, 

Correct - Free is not shown in the Kaspersky Basic | Standard | Plus | Premium - Comparison of subscription plans, because Kaspersky Free is a completely separate documentation set. 

We don't agree with the conclusions you've come to based on the video; in fact, we've just repeated one of the tests & got a different result. 

Thank you?
Flood?+?

[Thoughts]

Hello Flood and Flood's wife

Thank you for the comment. I am aware of Kaspersky Free's documentation.

As a thought, it might be worth someone from Kaspersky reaching out to the Computer Solutions channel, to see if there was any particular reason for the poor result. Emsisoft did this only recently, when their software performed poorly, and Computer Solutions were more than happy to retest a later version. 

They tested 21.8.5, and Free was recently updated to 21.9.6, so I'm unsure what changes occurred.

Finally, to avoid confusion, if Kaspersky Basic doesn't exist, it would be helpful to remove it from the subscription comparison table. Ideally, Kaspersky Free would be included in the table, but I can understand if Kaspersky might not wish to do that. 

Thank you once again for your time.

[Flood and Flood's wife]

Hello @Thoughts, 

You're most welcome!

• Regarding Basic: please refer to Kaspersky: Basic, Standard, Plus, Premium - info & FAQ - by Danila T. as a source of accurate information. 
• ATM Basic is still available as a download in some regions. 
• The *new version* rollout is not complete, it's not unreasonable to expect there will be tweaking of resources - when that happens & IF & when software changes & OR software becomes unavailable. 
• It's also well within the realm of possibility that many of the marketing decisions that are made are commercial in confidence & will never be disclosed outside the business, just like every other business, across the globe. 

Thank you?
Flood?+?