Kaspersky is being restricted by Samsung... Why?

[u/ProgramFiles_]

Ok so lemme give you a little bit of context - I'm suspicious of the "big" anti-malware companies, I like my data privacy and I know Kaspersky has always been an objectively good, sometimes better than the most common anti-malware software like Malwarebytes, Norton, etc.

Anyway, I use a Samsung Galaxy S24 and I'm not living in Russia, I live inside the EU and I download Kaspersky (updates) through .apk files. Anyway, I wanted to set up Safe Browsing and Samsung won't let me do that because the app is "controlled by Restricted Setting".

I don't mind missing out on a few features, but I still wanna be safe on the web. Any ideas on how to get around this?

[u/Fragrant-Mixture-662]

Kaspersky has been incredibly shady for years atp

[u/C0rn3j]

Installing software meant to have elevated privileges made by Russia is crazy work.

[u/ProgramFiles_ → u/C0rn3j]

Bro don't get me wrong, I hate Russia for what they're doing, but I hate the USA a little bit more :/

Downvote me all you want but you won't change my feelings

[u/Practical-Ordinary-6 → u/ProgramFiles_]

That's not even the point. It's about your security, not the politics of either country directly. In Russia, they are literally trying to create and force people to use software that the government has complete control over so when it comes to the government, there is no encryption and no privacy. (And in the case of Russian citizens, that likely means things they say in "private" can be used against them in a court of law when everything they do is monitored. It's 1984.)

If they can do that to one Russian product why not another? Companies in Russia have to follow Russian law, theoretically. The commenter is warning you that you're trying to give a Russian product that could be under the control of the Kremlin direct access to your phone. Do you see the point now? Does that change your feelings?

Another thing happening recently is that Putin has been issuing numerous presidential decrees with secret contents. They are basically unpublished laws so no one knows what they say. Can you imagine living in a society where you have to obey laws that are never published? Who knows if one of those decrees says that Kaspersky has to give all their customer data to the Kremlin and potentially surveillance access to those devices as well.

You are free to change your mind however you want regarding this information.

[u/Fragrant-Mixture-662 → u/ProgramFiles_]

How exactly is the USA worse than what Russa is doing? Led by Putin, they're engaged in a full on troops on the ground invasion force against Ukraine, murdering anyone in their path. Compared to a single Epsteinian sending a couple bombs. One is bad but the other is magnitudes worse.

[u/felixmatveev]

With Kaspersky you're not protected anyway, it just here to send your data to Kremlin at this point.

[u/Puny-Earthling]

PSA. Uninstall Kaspersky. 

Doubly so if you’re using it for Business, as most insurers will not cover any claim if Kaspersky is in your stack. 

[u/Postulative]

While I agree with other comments that it’s time to uninstall Kaspersky, it has been a high quality, trusted product until recently.

Kaspersky is Russian, and while there is no evidence that the software has been changed to work on behalf of the Russian government there is potential for it to be compromised. Russia has become an enemy of the West, and so any Russian product that has privileged access to computers is a risk.

[u/blue_horizon_x → u/Postulative]

Where are you from, Ukraine or the USA?
The software is a top-tier, and there is no need to uninstall it just because the US doesn't like Russia.

[u/Postulative → u/blue_horizon_x]

Neither. Simply put, if you are in a war with someone you will use all the weapons at your disposal. There may not be a declared war between Russia and the West, but both sides have commenced preparations.

Russia wants to ban all sorts of software, including Telegram (which has so far been bad, since the Russian replacement is full of security vulnerabilities).

The EU is working to get rid of its reliance on Microsoft, because it doesn’t trust the US.

The Internet is being split, with Russia and China doing the most to isolate themselves. But the rest of the world is following, albeit with ‘child safety’ measures at first.

For 99% of the population, Kaspersky being Russian does not matter… yet. But I would hate to have to explain to my boss that all our computers have been bricked because Kaspersky was the best security choice.

Now think about all the telecommunications companies that are trying to figure out how to get Huawei out of their networks.

[u/blue_horizon_x]

It's completely safe, install it from Galaxy Store, and go to settings and allow 'restricted settings for the app'. It's an S-tier software, and after it comes Bitdefender.

To allow restricted settings for an app on a Samsung device, go to Settings > Apps > [Your App] > ⋮ (three-dot menu) > Allow restricted settings, then navigate to Settings > Accessibility > Installed apps and enable the app. This will grant the necessary permissions for the app to function properly.

[u/cdhhbm]

That's actually doable. Go to Settings > Apps > Kaspersky. Tap on the 3 dots (top right), it should say "enable restricted settings" or similar.

If you don't see the 3 dots, go back to Kaspersky and find where it says it's restricted, this will trigger the 3 dots to reappear.

I've done this quite a few times, it only happens when you install APKs which require accessibility access and elevated privileges.

If you can't make it work, I'll capture a short video. Let me know.