Kaspersky accuses Microsoft of anticompetitive bundling of antivirus software
In some situations, Windows 10 will disable third party anti-malware products. — Billionaire Russian anti-virus developer Eugene Kaspersky has penned an angry blog post titled “That's It.
Context & Ripple Effects
Eugene Kaspersky's 'That's It' post escalates a year of friction between antivirus vendors and Microsoft over Windows 10's handling of third-party anti-malware, which in some situations disables rival products outright. The accusation lands awkwardly for Kaspersky itself: a year earlier, ex-employees alleged the company tricked rivals' antivirus programs into flagging false positives, so its antitrust posture arrives with credibility baggage.
The dispute also fits a pattern for Kaspersky as an aggrieved platform dependent: two years later it would file a similar antitrust complaint against Apple in Russia over App Store policies on parental-control apps.
First-order effects
- Microsoft faces a formal antitrust challenge to Windows 10's default behavior, forcing it to defend whether disabling third-party anti-malware is a security measure or a bundling tactic that favors Defender.
- Third-party antivirus vendors lose install base at the moment of OS upgrade, since Windows 10 can deactivate their products without user action.
Second-order effects
- Microsoft ultimately conceded enough — better visibility and help with compatibility reviews — that Kaspersky Lab agreed to drop the complaint in 2017, setting a template where platform owners defuse vendor revolts with technical accommodations rather than pricing concessions.
- The fight sharpened a parallel critique from browser makers, who argued invasive third-party antivirus software can make PCs less secure — giving Microsoft a security rationale for tightening what third-party software may do inside Windows.
Third-order effects
- If OS owners keep absorbing security functions by default, independent endpoint-security vendors are pushed up the stack toward enterprise services and niche detection work, while consumer antivirus consolidates around whatever the platform permits.
- Kaspersky's repeated complaints against Microsoft and then Apple show small national champions testing whether regional antitrust regimes can discipline global platforms — a playbook other regulators were watching.
The trend: Platform owners are converting default control of the access layer into de facto displacement of third-party security software, with vendors forced into antitrust complaints they rarely win outright.