It's a case of David versus Goliath in the software industry, or at least, that's what the founder of Kaspersky Lab would like to have you think.
The security company, which interestingly likens itself to the biblical David, is facing off with Microsoft, obviously the giant in this battle for dominance in the antivirus wars.
Eugene Kaspersky, the developer behind the popular Kaspersky antivirus software, has lodged a complaint in Russia, and soon in the European Union, against Microsoft over allegations of anticompetitive behavior.
Windows Defender Bundled With Windows 10
Kaspersky is criticizing the way Microsoft has been bundling its own brand of antivirus software — the Windows Defender — with the Windows 10 upgrade.
But this isn't the first time Microsoft has come under attack for its aggressive way of peddling its software. Reminders for customers to switch to Windows 10 were constantly pushed out via pesky, sometimes even deceptive, notifications.
In the case of the Windows Defender, it wasn't simply a notice to upgrade.
Upon actual installation of Windows 10, Microsoft's latest and greatest operating system, into one's computer, the new OS scans for the presence of third-party antimalware tools — like the Kaspersky antivirus — and deactivates them.
"When you upgrade to Windows 10, Microsoft automatically and without any warning deactivates all 'incompatible' security software and, in its place, installs — you guessed it — its own Defender antivirus," Kaspersky argues in his ominously titled blog post, "That's It. I've Had Enough!"
Kaspersky vs Microsoft
The bundling together of Microsoft's OS with a built-in antivirus is genius for those who no longer want to shop around for a different brand of antimalware. But for others well acquainted with the best protective software on the market, who know the intricacies of a third-party tool like the Kaspersky antivirus versus Windows Defender, the move somehow leaves device owners with a very limited range of options for their antivirus.
"Microsoft elegantly seizes niche markets by squeezing out independent developers and offering users its own products, which are in no way better," Kaspersky notes.
'Incompatible' Security Software
That's not all there is to Kaspersky's gripe against Microsoft's domineering ways. Independent developers were also said to have been given only one week to create software suitable to the new iteration of the OS.
"Even if [the] software did manage to be compatible according to the initial check before the upgrade, weird things tended to happen," says Kaspersky, "and Defender would still take over."
Instead, he wants Microsoft to give independent developers ample time to create bug fixes, and not simply one week to rush things. Otherwise, any other third-party software would fall into pitholes that would lead to the default Windows antivirus kicking in.
