Eugene Kaspersky, confounder of Russian security firm Kaspersky, recently announced that his company has filed lawsuits against Microsoft with the European Commission and the German Federal Cartel Office. Let's mention that he had done the same at the end of 2016 to the FAS Antimonopoly Service).
Kaspersky claims that Microsoft is using unfair tactics to force users to only have Windows Defender, Windows 10's default antivirus. In a blog post today, Kaspersky accuses Redmond of disabling third-party antivirus when upgrading to Windows 10, using its dominant position to promote its own product security.
"Το antivirus της Microsoft λειτουργεί σε όλες τις εκδόσεις των Windows 10 για οικιακούς χρήστες: είναι αδύνατο να το απενεργοποιήσετε εντελώς, και αδύνατο να διαγραφεί. Μέχρι πρόσφατα κανείς δεν σε ρωτούσε αν το χρειάζεσαι ή όχι. Υπήρξε μια εποχή που, ακόμα και αν χρησιμοποιούσατε μια διαφορετική λύση ασφαλείας, το AV της Microsoft έτρεχε περιοδικά," αναφέρει ο Kaspersky.
Microsoft, according to Kaspersky, does so mainly because its protection software has failed to remain competitive and because third-party security products are much more powerful, and continues accusing the company of using its anti-virus product only because it is for a market driven by others.
"Αυτός ο περιορισμός ισχύει μόνο για τα antivirus - με τα οποία η Microsoft προσπαθεί να ανταγωνιστεί (και δεν το κάνει πολύ καλά) για χρόνια. Αλλά σε προηγούμενες (πριν από την 10) εκδόσεις των Windows δεν υπήρχαν τέτοια ειδικά μέτρα. Έτσι, όπως φαίνεται, μετά από χρόνια χωρίς επιτυχία (στον ανταγωνισμό με άλλα antivirus), η Microsoft έχει καταφύγει στη χρήση των εναλλακτικών τακτικών που γνωρίζουμε.
Microsoft not only removes Windows third-party protection products when upgrading but does not give suppliers enough time to prepare their security software for new versions of Windows. And that's one of the reasons that is finally blocked when upgrading is done, says Kaspersky.
Finally, Microsoft appeals to support fair and healthy competition, while calling on other security providers to participate in this effort and file anti-monopoly proceedings against the company.
Microsoft has already published a statement stating that it does not violate international competition rules and is willing to work with the antitrust agencies to address all these claims.
