Review by Buzz Stephens

I can’t be sure whether it’s Microsoft or Kaspersky, but one (or both) of them has repeatedly created a mess of my Dell desktop purchased in 2014 (Win 7 pro installed). Each of the most recent three times Microsoft downloaded Windows updates, my PC was unable to reboot or install the updates. Installation stopped about midway. I was eventually able to boot my computer in Safe mode, and from there do a restore operation to return to a previously installed version of my system files. It usually took me about a half day to get up and running again. My guess is that Kaspersky’s insistence on doing its own updates during startup has somehow conflicted with Microsoft’s update routine. I also noticed that other software installed on my computer was affected by Kaspersky’s usurping system files at boot-up. This continuing conflict left me justifiably concerned whether my computer would be trashed and rendered unusable (and non-salvageable) during one of these episodes. Accordingly, I decided not to renew my subscription to Kaspersky (2014) when it expired in April, 2015.

Having now returned to Norton’s excellent security program, I have noticed that the startup issue with Microsoft’s updates (and other programs) described above has disappeared. Moreover, my PC is now noticeably faster. While I was happy with the antivirus and anti-malware protection otherwise provided by Kaspersky, the inherent risks of continuing to utilize the program were more than I elected to accept.