Quick answer: Kaspersky can no longer be sold or updated in the United States. The US Commerce Department banned new sales from 20 July 2024 and antivirus updates from 29 September 2024, and Kaspersky has since left the US market. Outside the US, including in India, Kaspersky still sells its antivirus as Kaspersky Standard, Plus and Premium, which replaced the older Anti-Virus, Internet Security and Total Security products. Kaspersky still scores well in independent lab tests, so for buyers outside the US the decision rests more on trust and the company’s Russian ties than on detection.
We first published this as a 2020 review of Kaspersky’s antivirus, rating, pricing and features. A great deal has changed since then, especially Kaspersky’s legal position in the US. We updated the page in October 2026 using official US government notices, Kaspersky’s own pages and dated independent test results. We have not tested the software ourselves.
The US ban on Kaspersky: what happened and when
Kaspersky Lab was founded in Russia, and its links to the Russian state have been questioned in media reports since at least 2015. The original version of this article described reports that Russian hackers had used Kaspersky software to obtain US intelligence material. Kaspersky has always denied wrongdoing. The official actions since then are:
- 13 September 2017: The US Department of Homeland Security issued Binding Operational Directive 17-01. It ordered federal agencies to identify and remove Kaspersky-branded products from government systems.
- 20 June 2024: The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a Final Determination banning Kaspersky Lab, Inc. from providing antivirus and cybersecurity software in the US. The same day, BIS added three Kaspersky entities to its Entity List: AO Kaspersky Lab and OOO Kaspersky Group in Russia, and Kaspersky Labs Limited in the UK.
- 21 June 2024: The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 12 Kaspersky executives. The company itself and its founder, Eugene Kaspersky, were not sanctioned.
- 20 July 2024: Kaspersky could no longer enter into new agreements with people or businesses in the US.
- 29 September 2024: Kaspersky could no longer send antivirus signature or software updates to US customers or operate its cloud network, the Kaspersky Security Network (KSN), for them. Reselling and licensing Kaspersky software in the US also became prohibited.
BIS said existing US users face no legal penalty for keeping Kaspersky installed, but that anyone who continues to use it “assumes all the cybersecurity and associated risks”. Without updates, an antivirus quickly stops protecting you. In September 2024, Kaspersky moved its remaining US customers to UltraAV, a product of Pango Group; some users reported that the switch happened without warning. If you are in the US and still have Kaspersky installed, remove it and choose another product.
Other governments have also been cautious. Germany’s federal cyber security agency (BSI) has warned against using Kaspersky products since 2022, a position Kaspersky disputes.
Is Kaspersky safe to use outside the US?
Kaspersky remains on sale in many countries, including India, and its software still receives updates there. Kaspersky’s main response to the trust concerns is its Global Transparency Initiative:
- Since November 2018, files that European users choose to share for analysis have been processed in data centres in Zurich, Switzerland. Users in the US and Canada were moved there by November 2020, as were users in several Asia-Pacific countries, including India. Latin America and the Middle East followed in March 2022.
- Kaspersky runs Transparency Centers where approved partners and government stakeholders can review its source code, software updates and detection rules. Its page lists 13 centres. The US centre in Woburn, Massachusetts closed in July 2024.
- Kaspersky says independent auditors have examined its processes. These include SOC 2 Type 2 audits since 2019 and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification for its data services, most recently renewed in November 2025.
These measures address where data is processed and who can inspect the code. They do not remove the concern that the company is headquartered in Russia. Whether that matters to you depends on who you are and what you protect. A business with government or defence customers should follow its own security policy and any national guidance.
Current Kaspersky products
The three paid plans in the original article (Kaspersky Anti-Virus, Internet Security and Total Security) have been replaced by Kaspersky Standard, Kaspersky Plus and Kaspersky Premium. Kaspersky’s support site explains how to move a licence from the old products to the new ones. Installing a new plan removes the old apps.
Kaspersky’s Indian website lists these products for home users in October 2026: Standard, Plus and Premium, Kaspersky Safe Kids, Kaspersky Password Manager, and antivirus apps for Windows, Mac and Android. Plan features listed there include real-time antivirus, online payment protection, a password manager, a data leak checker and identity protection, with Premium adding extra protection and 24/7 remote IT support. The site offers a 30-day free trial of Kaspersky Standard rather than a permanently free product. We could not see prices on the site, so check the current price for your device count before buying.
Independent test results
The original review gave Kaspersky “100 on 100” for malware protection without saying where the score came from. Here are dated results from the two main independent labs:
- AV-Comparatives, Consumer Summary Report 2025 (published 14 January 2026): Kaspersky Premium received a Top-Rated award, Gold awards for Malware Protection and for low false positives, Silver for Advanced Threat Protection, and Bronze for Real-World Protection.
- AV-TEST Awards for the 2025 test year: Kaspersky Premium won in the Best Usability and Best macOS Security categories. For the 2024 test year, AV-TEST gave its Best Protection award for consumers to Kaspersky Plus.
These results show strong detection. They say nothing about the political and legal questions above, which are a separate decision.
Cloud protection and your data
The original review highlighted Kaspersky’s cloud protection, which runs through the Kaspersky Security Network (KSN). KSN lets the software check files and websites against Kaspersky’s cloud database in real time, and it relies on data sent from users’ computers. Joining KSN is optional and requires accepting a separate KSN statement that explains what is collected. Read it before you accept, and know that you can switch KSN off in the settings. The original article noted that the setting was hard to find; menus change between versions, so look under the protection or data-sharing settings in your version.
Password manager
Kaspersky Password Manager stores your passwords in an encrypted vault protected by a master password. It can generate strong passwords and fill them in automatically. The original article said the free version could store only 15 entries. Kaspersky now lists a password manager among its plan features, so check what your plan includes rather than relying on the old limit.
Our view
On detection alone, Kaspersky remains among the strongest products in independent tests. In the US, it is no longer an option. Elsewhere, weigh the test results against the trust concerns and your own situation. If you would rather avoid the question, Windows already includes Microsoft Defender Antivirus, and our guide on whether a free antivirus is good enough explains when that is sufficient. For other options, see our list of antivirus software for PC or our Bitdefender Antivirus Plus review.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kaspersky banned in the US?
Yes. Under a Commerce Department Final Determination of June 2024, Kaspersky cannot sell its antivirus to US customers (from 20 July 2024) or send them updates (from 29 September 2024).
Is it illegal for an American to keep using Kaspersky?
The Commerce Department said existing users face no legal penalties, but that they assume all the security risks. Because Kaspersky can no longer update its software in the US, the protection stops being current.
Is Kaspersky banned in India?
We found no such ban. Kaspersky’s Indian website was selling and supporting its products in October 2026. Organisations should still follow any sector-specific security rules that apply to them.
What replaced Kaspersky Total Security and Internet Security?
Kaspersky Standard, Plus and Premium. Kaspersky’s support site explains how to move an existing licence to the new plans.
Does Kaspersky have a free antivirus?
Kaspersky’s Indian site offered a 30-day free trial of Kaspersky Standard in October 2026, not a permanently free product.
What happened to US Kaspersky customers?
In September 2024, Kaspersky moved its US customers to UltraAV, an antivirus from Pango Group, before the update ban took effect.
Checked in October 2026 against the US Commerce Department’s 2024 Final Determination on Kaspersky, CISA’s Binding Operational Directive 17-01, Kaspersky’s transparency and product pages, and AV-Comparatives and AV-TEST results for 2024 and 2025.
