Russia's Anti-Virus Champion

When I bought my laptop a year ago, the sales guy suggested I install Internet security software I hadn't heard of from a company called Kaspersky. I'd used McAfee for years, but I also knew from my time in the former Soviet Union that some of the most virulent viruses, and the best virus killers, came out of Moscow. So I did.

I like Kaspersky. I've had no trouble (as far as I know at least) over the last year. And I see in a dog-and-pony show put on by the company in January that its co-founder, 42-year-old Yevgeni Kaspersky, is a fairly ambitious and colorful guy.

But, if my latest experience is any indicator, the company is having some growing pains. When I tried to renew the service last week, I couldn't get Kaspersky to respond to two emails. When I turned to the phone, I was on hold for almost an hour before I gave up. I finally got a response when emailed the media contact, saying that I wanted to do this -- write up a piece for the blog. Rapidly I was contacted not by one, but two Kaspersky people, and provided precisely the right link to get renewed. Kaspersky's representative claimed to have responded to one of the emails and not to have received the second. Whatever. Kaspersky isn't the only company with a communications problem.

I did renew. It's good software.

Photo: David Orban
Rights: Creative Commons