Kaspersky support site for UK Customers

[Blackcat]

I have found the the support forum and general support over at the main Kaspersky site over in Russia virtually non-existant.

However for UK customers for Kaspersky AntiVirus there is a UK support site which, and I can vouch for this, will reply to your queries within hours. They are very helpful and they managed to resurrect KAV Monitor for me so I can now run it as my running AV.


The address is support@kasperskylab.co.uk.

[Paul Wilders]

BlackCat,

-{ Quote: "However for UK customers for Kaspersky AntiVirus there is a UK support site" }-

Could you provide an URL? On a side note: "UK customers only" will hardly cover the majority from KAV users ::). Eugene should take care of a good staff running the worldwide support board IMO.

regards.

paul

[Blackcat]

URL for the UK support site is www.kaspersky.co.uk.


This I know is not ideal for non-UK customers but maybe some of us UK people here at wilders can post some general problems from anyone over to the UK site???

They have been very helpful to me as I have received several e-mails in a matter of a couple of days and I have therefore managed to solve my problem of not being able to run the KAV Monitor. They are also looking into the problems of the AntiHacker firewall for me as well.

I consider support to be very important in the decision of buying or staying with software so with the UK site I will now be staying with Kaspersky. However if I was reliant on the main Russian site it would have been bye bye Kaspersky.

[Paul Wilders]

Blackcat,

Thanks for the link.

-{ Quote: "I consider support to be very important in the decision of buying or staying with software" }-

Couldn't agree more!

regards.

paul

[muf]

I have to disagree. I've contacted the Russian support a number of times and i've e-mailed suspicious files as well. I have never had to wait more than 24 hours for a response. Even so, its nice to see we have a uk support to call upon.

muf

[solarpowered candle]

I wonder if part of the problem with the russian site is the language difficulty for some of there technicians (or maybe I am being too kind here ) Although in my numerous communications with them over anti virus and antihacker there seem to be responses followed by very long silences extending into weeks. I downloaded the 3.5 version from the swiss site and found , they were pretty fast in there response to my email , even though I am in the southern hemispere (within a few hours)http://www.avp.ch/

[solarpowered candle]

What would be very good would be if someone from Kaspersky could come here to the forum and address issues as there are many people who are members and many others who come here , who utilise Kaspersky products and such would , as has shown by other software developers who do take the time to come here , helped tp not only promote their product , but offer good assistance to the user. Maybe we should hit them up with such a suggestion,

[solarpowered candle]

Just to say . that since posting my last post above and emailing Kaspersky (Russia),to one person their who i have found really easy to communicate with ( Igor Kurzin), He has said he will communicate these ideas to his colleges, regarding support here at this forum,and although time may be a problem, he would like to drop in and give his personal support whenever he can do so. The reply from Igor at Kav labs came back within 30 mins of my email. very good response and support and with another query I had.

[Igor K.]

Gentlemen, support at Kaspersky Lab is not a fake. Lots of efforts are made to improve support quality and response time. The goal is to establish the best customer service ever. A couple of months ago there's was set up a US phone line. It is toll-free and you can call 24x7:
1-800-803-21-52
US support e-mail is service@kaspersky.com

Registered users can also send e-mails to support@kaspersky.com or get help at forum:

The forum is far from perfection, but better smth than nothing: http://www.kaspersky.com/forum.html

:)

[Tinribs]

Hmmm, Igor K?? If you are the real Igor K then welcome, but I have my doubts.......(a public ICQ number?...) :-\



ps, I hope I'm right otherwise I'll look a complete fool, in fact I'm going into the garden now to dig a hole ready to bury my head in it....... ;)

[solarpowered candle]

Hello Igor , thanks for dropping by . I know that you are very busy but your help with many issues that users face with there KAV products will be greatly appreciated, hope we may bombard you with many questions . Thank you and may I be the first to welcome you ,
kind regards,
Robert :)

[Igor K.]

Hello, Tinribs!

I'm a little confused. When was publishing an ICQ number something unusual? Many cultures - many customs, I guess.

Anyways you made me smile. :)
Please try to refrain from burying your head in the garden, it may serve well at this forum, what do you think? ;)

[Igor K.]

Hello, Robert!

My superior colleagues at work will consider your ideas.

This forum seems very nice and quite useful. I will try to drop in every now and then to answer questions about KAV.

Have a great day! :)

Igor

[root]

Hello Igor. Nice to see you here.
I do hope you drop by from time to time.
I am very anxious to know when Kaspersky comes up a KAV version 4 that is as light on resources as the 3.5 version available on the Swiss site.
I know about not using the CC and I know not to monitor in compressed files, but still Kav 4.x is a resource drain.

[SKA]

KAV is only AV product with a widely fragmented user base - some still using version 3.5 Swiss while others try 4.0.9 then go to other AVs due 4 too aggressive. No other AV has two widely used versions,yes ?

My direct question to Igor is: as far as detection goes - Is there ANY weakness/limit of KAV 3.5 engine compared to 4 engine ? I see blind recommendations for version 3.5 everywhere on the web for last 1 year - if its so good why would anyone use 4 ?

SKA

[Firefighter]

To SKA from Firefighter!

That question belongs in my category to so called "silly" questions.

I have visited on these sites some months and I haven't so far seen so thorough question about KAV 4.0!

All the best to SKA! ;D :o 8)


"The truth is out there, but it hurts!"

Best regards,
Firefighter!

[Pieter_Arntz]

Hi Firefighter,

There is no such thing as a "silly question." !!
The only thing that can possibly be silly about a question is when someone is not willing to at least consider the answers he gets.

Regards,

Pieter

[Firefighter]

To Pieter_Arntz from Firefighter!

When I was at school, we were taught that "silly" questions are the best ones, because too often people have deviated too far from the main point.

I mean that "silly" questions are the best ones! ;D ;)

"The truth is out there, but it hurts!"

Best regards,
Firefighter!

[Pieter_Arntz]

Hi Firefighter,

Thnx for explaining that. It might have been interpreted the wrong way.

Regards,

Pieter

[Firefighter]

To Pieter_Arntz from Firefighter!

Too often av-producers have lost the main point while making av:s. Kaspersky is one of those who have understood the purpose of finding viruses best than ever.

The "silly" questions to av-producers are:

1. What is a virus?

2. What does a virus need to be able to spread?

3. What we have to find first then, to prevent infections?

If we understand those all, we can make the best av-program ever! ;D ;) 8)

"The truth is out there, but it hurts"

Best regards,
Firefighter!

[Igor K.]

To Root:

I have to admit that some previous versions of Monitor (4.0.1.x) could be a disaster on a computer no matter what settings you chose. From this moment on, when we have version 4.0.5.60 of KAV Monitor, I can say that it works faster that version 3.5. But you need to obey some rules: like not having any other AVs running. In version 5 (a beta is to be released in a couple of months) you even will be prompted during the installation to remove other AV software before setting up KAV.

There are cases when a Monitor (latest version) slows down a PC notwithstanding the fact that many options are turned off, such as “code analyzer”, “memory scan”, “compound files”, “sectors scan”. In this situation you would like to investigate deeper into the problem. Try to turn on “show information about clean objects in report” and see checking of what files causes slowdowns. You may want to exclude by mask such files as *.mpeg, *.mp3 or some huge graphic files.

Sometimes problems with speed occur when you had previous versions installed then uninstalled and then you installed some new version and it does not work as expected. As you could notice we don’t have an uninstaller for KAV. Users forget or don’t know about Control Panel -> Add and Remove Programs possibility and delete the KAV folder, go to registry and try to clean up some entries, but all in vain, after the installation there are huge problems. For such cases we developed a special utility: KAV Registry Cleaner. Often a reinstallation with this utility corrects all problems you might have.

On my computer at work (Athlon 1.4, 256 RAM, WinXP Pro SP1) and at home (Athlon 1.3, 256 RAM, WinXP Home) 4.0.9.0 KAV works fine. I only unchecked “mail databases”, “plain mail” (Mail Checker does the job)
and “archives”. I don’t see any difference in speed if I work with Monitor or without it. We only recommend to pause Monitor when playing games or doing back-up.

To Ska:

As far as detection of all known viruses is concerned – KAV 3.5 is equal to 4.0.
You may view some information at http://www.kaspersky.com/buyonline.html?info=26

To answer your question:

Version 4.0 uses “Heuristic code analyzer” of second generation. It is quite useful for detection of unknown viruses.
In Monitor 4.0 you can check/uncheck separate folders like in Scanner.
Very important thing – Windows XP compatibility: only KAV 4.0 is fully compatible. KAV 3.5 can be used without Control Center and compatibility is not guaranteed.
And at last – KAV 4.0 is faster.
Please try to understand – all indignation about version 4.0 and “bringing computer to a crawl” is about versions 4.0.1.x. Try package 4.0.9.0. Don’t forget to correctly uninstall previous version. ;)

[Tinribs]

Yes ignore my previous post Igor, I think maybe this flu is making me think strangely ;) Its good to see you here :)

[Blackcat]

Welcolm Igor. With your help here at wilders and the UK site I should be able to solve any present ( and future)problems with Kaspersky AV.

I am looking forward to version 5.

[S.B.]

To Igor K.

Thank you for the information in your most recent post. Alas :'(, I too have the slow down problem with KAV monitor. Could you point me to a location where I could obtain the utility, KAV Registry Cleaner? Thanks.

[SKA]

Blackcat beat me to it <g>

Dear Igor

U have my respect. 1st time on web I see a clear &
truly educative response on KAV.

KAV Reg Ckeaner - is this same as removekav.exe on ftp site ? Any latest version available - it'll truly help users improve experience with KAV.

Thanks indeed for your contribution and I hope you stay a regular here and set record right on KAV, as for sure no
one else from KLabs is doing so !

In v5 I hope you THROW AWAY "norton copy GUI" and
take a lesson from NOD32 and drop that "infamous" tree
control which has been the bane of version 4 as far as I can see. NOD32 uses no such tree control (maybe pure assembler be faster -hint, hint) !

SKA

[Igor K.]

Dear SKA and S.B.

Unfortunately KAV Registry Cleaner is not available for download on our ftp sites. Initially it was developed for internal needs. Presently KL Support sends it upon request. All KAV users are welcome to contact support@kaspersky.com and ask for this utility. Its size is 500 kilobytes unpacked and about 245kbs zipped.

For you I uploaded it onto http://webcenter.ru/~kurzin/Utility/ (utility.zip)

SKA, thanks for your suggestions, I’ve already sent them to an appropriate person for review.

Although I don’t quite understand what is wrong with “tree control”? It’s handy, is it not?


Added URL tags

[SKA]

Dear Igor

Thanks for the link -truly grateful !

<Start rant> <wake from stupor>
A- Multi points of failure in UI design cause users to mis-setup/mis-config many things & windows (9x/ 2K/ XP) itself(explorer) forgets settings/write
to disk,etc.

A.1] In 3.5 version GUI for config/setup was simple -there was only one setup screen/window with multiple tabs,and one final okay(global) button. User had chance to save as default profile or name it & that was it. I think no "explorer substitute" or "tree control" used in 3.5, only "standard" window controls/ API used.
(Side note: even MS don't use their own API/ controls so does that mean you shouldn't ?)

A.2] Desktop/standalone users: 3.5's control centre(network control centre)- users(majority) never load/install it, so fewer/NO problems & good UI experience. Updating was still a pain, not automatic.

A.3] LAN/network users - tho' many complaints on ncc ; small/medium size co's w/10-50 users found v3.5.1.6/ similar to be okay & still use even now.

A.4] v4 have multiple configs/options:
If chose Control Centre to make settings,they seem to be saved but when you open scanner/monitor you could see they were NOT saved, then one must setup/ config from inside Scanner & save profile, then go into Monitor and save, then go into Update module set it up & choose various sites(those who never tracked which update sites working never had a clue), & finally check registry to change wrong paths/filenames made by installer.

In short one needed expertise to setup AVP/KAV. No wonder its not popular in US(tho' John Dvorak really endorses it till today).

A.3] Compare -DrWeb has similar headaches (screenshots on wilders show how to set it up - none like that for KAV anywhere AFAIK).

NOD32 -ah ! simple GUI, one button setup to config window with tabs,seamless autoupdate etc. UI resembles assembler progs - small is beautiful !

AVP/KAV never had autoupdate facility like NOD32- even in v4 one must setup/settings etc. unlike NOD32 where one only enters userid & key,most other settings were preset/default.

A.4] Tree control / file explorer : great in concept & practice for programmers at KL but for users what did it give - eyecandy/bloat similar to NAV- that's all. NAV UI works but KAV's doesn't. Was it not the objective of tree control in 1st place? From marketing/business angle -however technically elegant a software/ component may be, if can't enthuse customers to pay/bring in more sales/revenues it should be dumped,yes, dumped. <Be ruthless like MS>

A.5] Why separate file explorers/screens/windows to setup scanner, monitor,update etc.- why not consolidate all into one/two windows max and be done with it ? I mean - consolidate/merge present windows/UIs for setup during install procedure itself and make it simple for enduser. KAV MUST have radical UI change to regain its place as premier AV for Windows. Linux/BSD - no UI probs there !

A.6] Installer - just improve it & tighten QA on registry settings before release new versions.

B] Where KAV stands out compared to other AVs - update frequency & size - fastest/ smallest on market - capitalise on it ! But why no check valid uid/key on update ?

C] Price: Too high - wake up from dreams of Swiss castles/banks and smell the bacon !

D] Idea: If AV embed in BIOS/extended BIOS & autoupdate independent of OS -then maybe KL can share fees with BIOS vendor(s) !

<end rant> <back to stupor>

Others can suggest better than I, for sure there be many such betters in these forums.

SKA

[Igor K.]

Dear SKA,

Wow, I am impressed. I wish there were more rants like the one you just produced. I am sending the whole piece to a very clever guy at KL who reviews new ideas. Be sure it's not gonna be wasted.

Myself I would like to add, that version 5 will be quite different in interface and inasmuch as we are talking about simple UI have you heard about KAV Lite? All settings are preset and you control everything from one small window. I bet you know it, but just in case FYI:

http://www.kaspersky.com/buyonline.html?chapter=610707

Thanks again for your concerns and contribution! It is very valuable. :)

[SKA]

Dear Igor,

You are too kind - I do not deserve any praise -its only I saw distributors of AVP switch to NOD32 and I wondered
why KL "seemed" not to care.

Good to hear KAV Lite released - on link you gave when I
download it shows v4.0.7.1 so maybe this is old ?
I heard longback KAVLite suppose to be v4.5 maybe?
I guess the gurus here also tried it (can't remember who)-
but I'll check it out - it seems exactly what I need <g>

Thanks for the tips - hope v5 be best AV ever, yes ! yes ! Cheers to Igor in UK & all clever guys/gals in Moskva !

SKA

[S.B.]

to Igor,

Got the utility. Thank you!

S.B.

[Igor K.]

Dear SKA,

4.0.7.1 is the latest version available of KAV Lite. 4.5. is only in beta and it has never been released. (Unfortunately)

I was wondering, where do people come to this forum from? What countries are present on the list?

By the way, I'm from Moscow. What about U? :)

Kind regards,
Igor.

[solarpowered candle]

I believe SKA that our kind freind Igor resides in Russia also.
Ps. I purchased KAV lite and asked Wizard once on a thread here if it was the same virus / trojan / worm protection as the more expensive versions (personal and Pro ) he said it provided the same excellent protection as them, . I believe for $20 one cannot go wrong with the Lite and for real newbies like me its very good.

[S.B.]

Igor,

I'm American; Charlotte, North Carolina (east coast, about half-way between Washington, DC, and Atlanta, Georgia.).

Regards,
S.B.

[solarpowered candle]

I have been wondering if it is wise to start a new topic thread with something such as Kaspersky support . There are already in the last few days good info for the user and im sure over the days and weeks much more shall be here available for others to look thru . The thread says "Kaspersky support for UK customers ", which could mean that many will walk past as many do not reside in the UK. I would think a thread with something like" Kaspersky support" or such would be more universal. Just a thought .
Ideally it would be real cool to hit up Paul (forum admin) and see about having forum here for Kaspersky products. Both KAV and KAH .If you were supportive of this idea and Paul was then perhaps you could speak with your fellow colleges and suggest Kaspersky have their "unofficial"forum here . That would be a bonus for many users who do not go to the official forum and too many out there who are contemplating Kaspersky products , Also , This forum (Wilders has to be the very best,in my opinion , for learning and gaining knowledge ).
Just a thought here , I hope you do not mind me suggesting this Igor nor Paul or moderators . :)

Im from New Zealand here

[SKA]

Igor & SPC

Thanks for confirming KAV Lite's version & good performance. I will install it (guess my KAV Personal key shud work) & see how it fits my rant<g>.

Since u ask : I'm in Bangkok (Thai) just now (born in Tanzania) & Igor I am glad to know u are right there in
home of KL -- it must be very cold there <brrr>.

SPC, its a VERY good idea to have Kaspersky general support topic or even a section/forum here - if mods/ enough people agree - I for one endorse it heartily as Igor & you clarified stuff for me on KAV that I am sure others will benefit from - even those that use/prefer other AVs as well as those who may not be in UK <g>.

SKA

[Igor K.]

Dear all,

I think creating a topic is a good idea. As for a forum... time will show. I would be only happy, but my participation won't be enough, I am afraid.
I will have more information from my colleagues, not all have expressed their opinions. Meanwhile, you may ask questions (create a new topic). I will be glad to render assistance.

It's impressive - people from all over the world post here.

Also I'd like to draw your attention to a our (http://helpdesk.kaspersky-labs.com/select.asp?lang=1) online support resource. You can find answers to a number of questions.

Regards,
Igor

[Fedorov999]

I've just sent an email to the UK support address and received answers to all my questions within 30 minutes so well done to Igor and your UK support.

Igor - I did send you a PM via this forum if you haven't noticed it yet :)

I would like to see Kaspersky using some proper Forums like this one, I notice that your own forums are for registered customers only which isn't much help to someone like myself who is trying to find out the good and bad things about your product. WE WANT PROPER FORUMS LIKE THIS :)

Kind regards,

Fedorov.

[Paul Wilders]

-{ Quote: "Ideally it would be real cool to hit up Paul (forum admin) and see about having forum here for Kaspersky products. Both KAV and KAH .If you were supportive of this idea and Paul was then perhaps you could speak with your fellow colleges and suggest Kaspersky have their "unofficial"forum here . That would be a bonus for many users who do not go to the official forum and too many out there who are contemplating Kaspersky products , Also , This forum (Wilders has to be the very best,in my opinion , for learning and gaining knowledge ).
Just a thought here , I hope you do not mind me suggesting this Igor nor Paul or moderators" }-

Suggesting such a forum is no problem at all ;) - and btw: welcome, Igor, give my regards to Eugene.

We do have a golden rule over on this board: we will host only one dedicated software forum in regard to sortalike security software. In this case, that's Eset's NOD32. Same goes for LooknStop, and the DCS products. One of the main reasons is avoiding conflicts of interests. In this context, I do agree the best solution for Kaspersky's products as far as support is concerned, is a dedicated open forum elsewhere.

regards.

paul

[Luthorcrow]

SKA -{ Quote: "v4 have multiple configs/options:
If chose Control Centre to make settings,they seem to be saved but when you open scanner/monitor you could see they were NOT saved, then one must setup/ config from inside Scanner & save profile, then go into Monitor and save." }-

If understand your post correctly you are saying that when you change settings for the monitor or the scanner in the control center, that when you open the monitor or scanner directly, that you find the setting changes not the same? If that is the case, then I am not experiencing that. All of my CC settings stick.

Am I the only person that doesn't seem to have a problem with v4? I keep reading about it being slower, and honestly, one of the middle versions was definitely too slow, but the current version that I am running is a fast on anything except on a full scan.

The GUI is a bit confusing at first, but I have to admit I am used to it now. On the other hand the Icon for v4 was a vast improvement style wise.

[Luthorcrow]

-{ Quote: " quoting: Igor K. link=board=24;threadid=6916;start=15#47176 date=1044613914]
...4.0.9.0 KAV works fine. I only unchecked “mail databases”, “plain mail” (Mail Checker does the job)
and “archives”. " }-

A question that has been bugging me for a while, what exactly is an "embedded object" as listed on the Scan Compound File menu.

I am from San Francisco.

[Igor K.]

To Luthorcrow

Scanning embedded objects

The program allows you to check for viruses not only in files, but also in the objects embedded to these files using the OLE technology.

You can check "Embedded objects" box to search for viruses in OLE objects embedded in the examined files.

To SKA

Multiple configs are possible when you start Scanner from Start -> Programs -> Kaspersky Lab... (not via Control Center). In Control Center you can have only one config for Scanner (Monitor). If it is not saved after you press "apply" and "ok" in Control Center then it is an error. There was such a problem with some previous version of KAV.
Installation of the latest version will help.

Regards,
Igor.

[SKA]

To LuthorC & Igor

Thanks for your tips - am checking out KAVLite 4.0.7.1
& KAVPersonal 4.0.9 after clean registry w/KAV Reg Cleaner referred before.

SKA

[muf]

Edited out to avoid any conflicts arising between different boards. I think we all have better things to do. Pieter