Kaspersky Antivirus Review 2024: Is This Russian-Based Software Safe?

Kaspersky is a good antivirus product with a troubled history. It has always rated highly on independent test results, and our own hands-on testing has found that its one of the best antivirus options when it comes to effective virus detection. 

Unfortunately, Kaspersky was named a threat to national security because of its ties to Russia, ultimately leading to it being completely banned from sale in the United States starting September 2024. In response, Kaspersky holds that the decision was made purely for political reasons rather than anything to do with the product itself.[1] 

Despite the high-stakes drama, we took a deep look into the infamous antivirus software to see how well it performs for people living outside the U.S.

Kaspersky antivirus overview

Price	$27.99–$38.99/first yr
Free plan	Yes
# of devices protected	1 - 10
Malware scans	Manual and scheduled
EICAR test results	3/3
Firewall	Windows only
Phishing protection	Partial — no Safari support
Compatibility	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
Extras	Ad blocker, VPN, password manager, parental controls, Web cam and mic blocking, performance optimization, data leak checker, private browsing, safe money, secret vault, file shredder, Wi-Fi safety
24/7 customer support	Yes — Premium plan only

Our experience testing Kaspersky

We tested Kaspersky on a Windows laptop based in Canada. We were impressed by the sheer amount of features the Premium tier included and found that everything worked as advertised.

We were able to get the app installed and set up with no issues. The user interface was sleek, but there's a lot of information to take in so it may take some time to get used to it. 

We started with a quick scan and were happy to see it only took a couple minutes. The full scan took almost half an hour, but was able to find some fake virus files we hid on the computer, which is a good sign. Kaspersky automatically removed the offending files, but you can toggle manual threat management off or on if you’d rather isolate and delete the files yourself.

While running the scan, we didn’t notice any slowdown of normal usage on our computer. You also have a bunch of advanced settings you can play with to zero in on the type of files and locations you want to scan.

On top of the scans, Kaspersky boasts some impressive features. The web plugin reports on blocked trackers. It also provides a separate keyboard to avoid keylogging and has a section specifically for financial transactions.

Kaspersky also kept us on top of various security issues on our computer. This included letting us know when a new device connected to our Wi-Fi:

It also detects if an app is accessing your webcam, which can do wonders for your peace of mind. Unfortunately it kept telling us that Google Chrome was accessing our webcam, which according to forum users is because Chrome will periodically check if it can still access it. 

One thing to note is the PC version has many more features than the Mac version. Mac users will find they get much less bang for their buck. In our initial tests on a Macbook, the scans all worked well, but the extra features were either tedious to set up or just not available.

Overall, we found Kaspersky has a clean, user-friendly interface and relatively straightforward controls. If the security woes aren’t a concern, Kaspersky is an easy and affordable solution for someone looking for enhanced web monitoring. 

Who is Kaspersky best for?

• Recommended for PC users who want excellent protection proven by AV-TEST results but also understand the controversy over the country of origin of the product.

If you're outside of the United States and aren't worried about potential Russian intervention, then Kaspersky is one of the best antivirus you can get. It blows independent tests out of the water, provides more extra features than you can dream of, and does it all swiftly and efficiently.

But if you're a Mac user, be prepared for less fancy features. And if you're in the United States, well...plan to find an alternative.

Kaspersky cost

Kaspersky offers three products for home users: Standard, Plus, and Premium. Standard price starting at $27.99/first yr, Plus starting at $33.99/first yr, and Premium starting at $38.99/first yr. The renewal price is subject to change. 

Kaspersky’s pricing is on par with other products offering similar features, such as Norton 360 ($29.99–$99.99/first yr), McAfee ($29.99–$249.99/yr), and Bitdefender (Free–$40.99/first yr).

	Kaspersky Standard	Kaspersky Plus	Kaspersky Premium
Price for first year	$27.99/first yr	$33.99/first yr	$38.99/first yr
# devices supported	1, 3, or 5	1, 3, or 5	1, 3, 5, or 10
Compatible with	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
Manual and auto scan
Real-time protection
Online banking protection
Phishing protection
Firewall
Ransomware protection
Performance optimization tools
VPN
Password manager
Identity theft protection
Parental controls
Details	Learn More	Learn More	Learn More

Kaspersky antivirus features

The best features of the Kaspersky Standard antivirus product are the web monitoring and scanning features:

• Web antivirus
• Web tracking
• Online banking protection
• URL advisor
• On-screen keyboard
• Full scan
• Quick scan
• Scheduled scan

Malware and antivirus scan

Kaspersky offers both manual and automatic scanning features. You can do a full or quick scan at any time. There is also the option to schedule a scan. Running a full scan while still using your device doesn’t seem to be a problem.

The full scan took about 30 minutes. The product app on the desktop showed percentage progression and gave an estimated remaining scan time. The estimated scan time wasn’t accurate, as most aren’t, and changed as the percentage of scan progressed.

The quick scan took less than 20 seconds.

Neither scan was difficult to perform. The control panel has easy-to-use buttons and displays all the information necessary.

You can also create scheduled scans so you don't have to remember to manually scan your computer every day. Kaspersky gave you lots of options for setting up a schedule, including running one every minute — likely useful if you're doing something you feel is high risk.

Phishing protection

Kaspersky boasts anti-phishing and anti-spam features. It seems, however, that these features are exclusively for the Windows product. If you’re using a Mac, Kaspersky has plenty of features for privacy, but setting up phishing and spam protection doesn’t seem to be part of those options.

One of the features that helps you stay safe from phishing is private browsing, which also comes with a tracker in the app to show you how many data-gathering attempts were blocked by Kaspersky:

Firewall

Kaspersky does boast a firewall feature, which helps prevent unauthorized access to your computer from over the internet. Though this comes standard with most computers these days, having a dedicated firewall from an antivirus can help you feel even safer.

You have plenty of options with Kaspersky, letting you customize what apps you want to block or allow.

Real-time protection

The real-time protection Kaspersky offers is one of the best aspects of the product.

As you navigate the internet, there are real-time scanners looking at the web traffic crossing your machine. This is the best way for Kaspersky to pick up any malware or malicious code that may be trying to steal your information.

The real-time protection provided by the extension did block a lot of tracking cookies from logging our information on both the spammy site and when we logged into our Gmail account.

Ransomware protection

The main goal of every antivirus product is malware protection. Ransomware is a form of malware that takes your files hostage and only releases them when you agree to pay the ransom.

Kaspersky protects you against these with its feature called System Watcher, which also protects against other exploits like cryptojacking.

It'll help you rollback your system if needed and detects screen lockers before they can lock you out of your computer.

Online banking protection

Part of the browser extension for Kaspersky is dedicated to financial security. The online banking protection is meant to guard your data while visiting websites that collect and use financial information, like your mobile bank site or an online retailer.

This feature is called Safe Money and allows you to open money-related websites in a protected browser and use extra tools like an on-screen keyboard to keep your information safe from things like keylogging.

Bonus features

Some of the other notable features available on Kaspersky products:

• Kaspersky VPN: The virtual private network (VPN) wasn’t included with Kaspersky Standard but was available for purchase in our account dashboard. It’s included with Plus and Premium subscriptions.
• Password manager: The Kaspersky password manager feature wasn’t included in the Standard package. It does come included on the Plus and Premium subscriptions.
• Device optimization tools: Device optimization tools seem to only be offered on the Windows product, but they do come included with all paid versions of Kaspersky.
• Online banking protection: Not available on Safari. Available on all paid versions of Kaspersky when using Windows, Chrome, Yandex, or Firefox.
• Kaspersky Safe Kids: Parental controls app. Premium subscriptions come with one year free to try it out.

On-screen keyboard

Keyloggers are hackers that use man-in-the-middle attacks to steal login credentials. Having an on-screen keyboard can circumvent this attempt and add an extra layer of security to browsing sessions.

The downside to the on-screen keyboard is that you have to use your mouse to click the keys, which is the entire point. Obviously, if you use your keyboard, the security feature would be moot. That’s an acceptable inconvenience.

Webcam protection

One of the best features. It allows you to turn off access to your webcam. Even if you do manage to pick up a form of spyware that hacks your camera, this program blocks access.

Ad blocker

The ad blocker feature stops annoying pop-ups as well as ads that may contain malware or spyware for enhanced privacy protection.

Kaspersky test results

We put every antivirus product to the test by performing independent, in-house tests as well as relying on third-party test results to confirm our findings.

Scan speed

• Result: Average

While scan effectiveness is more important than speed, we believe that scans that take hours are less likely to be used.

We've seen scans take nothing more than a few seconds, while others have taken more than 6 hours. Kaspersky was a nice middle ground.

Scan type	Time spent
Quick scan	4 minutes and 13 seconds
Full scan	28 minutes and 46 seconds

EICAR test results

• Result: 3/3

European Institute for Computer Anti-Virus Research (EICAR) is a trusted research group that developed testing tools for consumers to make sure their antivirus products were working as intended. These tools include files that are disguised as malware so you can try to download them without actually risking your computer's health.

As part of our tests, we attempt to download fake malware files in two different ways: pressing a button to download or just visiting a page that automatically starts a download.

In both cases, Kaspersky blocked the download before it even started, keeping our system completely clear of it. Some other antivirus software only quarantines the file once it's already downloaded to the system, so we were pleased with Kaspersky's more proactive approach.

Finally, we also visit a webpage that acts as if it were attempting to steal our information in a phishing attempt. Kaspersky blocked our access to this website as well, even before we downloaded the associated browser extension (a first for us).

Test	Score
Malware detection	Pass
Drive-by malware downloads	Pass
Phishing pages detection	Pass

Test results as of 10/07/2024.

AV-TEST results

• Result: Perfect scores across the board

AV-TEST is an independent researcher that tests cybersecurity products based on industry standards. The rating system is between 0 and 6 with 6 being the highest score. It's the most trusted source for independent testing for security products.

There are three types of tests: protection, performance, and usability. Protection measures how well programs can protect against malware infections. Performance measures the average influence of the program on computer speed. And usability measures how well programs detect legitimate threats.

Kaspersky regularly scores perfect or near perfect with each of its offerings when it comes to protection. On its most recent round of testing, it received perfect scores for Windows, macOS, and Android. 

Test type	Windows score	macOS score	Android score
Protection	6/6	6/6	6/6
Performance	6/6	6/6	6/6
Usability	6/6	6/6	6/6
Date	October 2024	September 2024	September 2024
Link to test	Link	Link	Link

AV-Comparatives test results

• Result: High scores across the board

AV-Comparatives is another trusted third-party antivirus tester, similar to AV-TEST. Kaspersky has also performed well on these tests historically.

Test type	Mobile security	Real-world protection	Malware protection	Performance impact (Lower is better)
Score	99.9%	98.7%	99.95%	4.1
Platform	Android	Windows	Windows	Windows
Date	May 2024	July - October 2024	September 2024	September - October 2024
Link	Link	Link	Link	Link

The best part about AV-Comparatives is it makes it easy to compare how each antivirus does in comparison to its competition. Here's how the above results did in context:

• Mobile security: Tied for first with Avast, AVG, and Bitdefender. All four had zero false positives, where Google had 10.
• Real-world protection: Came in fourth place several antivirus programs scored 99.2% and higher. Kaspersky blocked 465 threats and had six failed blocks. 
• Malware protection: Came in eighth place with five failed blocks. First place was a tie between F-Secure, Bitdefender, and TotalAV. All three had a score of 99.98% and only failed two blocks.
• Performance impact: Came in second place out of 16 different antivirus. First place was McAfee with a 2.6 score.

SE Labs results

• Result: 100%

Finally, SE Labs runs quarterly antivirus tests for both the consumer and corporate use.

Kaspersky tied for first place alongside Avast and Norton, all of which got perfect 100% scores across the board.

Test type	Home Anti-Malware Protection
Total accuracy rating	100%
Date	2024 Q3
Link	Link

Kaspersky compatibility

There’s a significant difference in functionality between operating systems and devices for the Kaspersky product. But Kaspersky claims compatibility with the following:

• Microsoft Windows 11, 10, 8, 8.1, and 7
• macOS versions 11-14
• Android tablets and smartphones running versions 8-14
• iOS devices (iPad and iPhone) running versions 15-17

Kaspersky customer support

Kaspersky provides multiple types of support for its product. The most available is the online help library which is organized by feature. The library includes FAQs and common fixes.

There’s also a chatbot on the page. The chatbot comes with preloaded topics for the most common issues. The chat also begins by letting you know you can easily reach Kaspersky support by phone and provides the phone number.

The phone support rep was empathetic, knowledgeable, and willing to help when she didn’t know the answer. I called regarding the firewall for Mac and the entire exchange took about 15 minutes. The representative did put me on hold, but that was so she could thoroughly answer my question and make sure I had all the information on the firewall feature.

If you want 24/7 device support you’ll need to purchase the premium version.

Top alternatives

There are other products out there that cost similar amounts and offer similar features without the potential for handing over your data to foreign governments. If you're not sold on Kaspersky, here are some alternative antivirus programs to check out:

FAQs

Bottom line: Is Kaspersky good?

Is Kaspersky good at what it does? If you’re running Windows systems then yes. It’s consistently rated high. But running it on a macOS is a complicated process that left this seasoned cybersecurity expert frustrated and annoyed.

Unfortunately, we can’t recommend using Kaspersky because of the potential national security threat.

Curious how Kaspersky stands up against other top antivirus products available? Check out our in-depth comparisons:

• Kaspersky vs. TotalAV
• Kaspersky vs. Norton
• Kaspersky vs. Bitdefender