Kaspersky antivirus software automatically deletes itself from U.S. users' computers and installs UltraAV without warning.

Some US Kaspersky security users got a big surprise when their protection was suddenly replaced by UltraAV due to a government ban. But Kaspersky’s demise has been looming for years.

Customers in the US using antivirus software from the Moscow-based cybersecurity company Kaspersky are finding that the software has been deleted and replaced by antivirus protection from a different company,

Some US-based users of Kaspersky antivirus products have found their software replaced by product from by a low-profile entity named "UltraAV" – a change they didn't ask for, and which has delivered them untested and largely unknown software from a source with a limited track record.

Kaspersky's antivirus software deletes itself across the US and installs UltraAV instead without notifying customers. Some are frustrated and struggling to uninstall the new program.

That lack of user interaction — or request for consent — is what confused and concerned some former Kaspersky customers.

Kaspersky deleted its anti-malware software from computers across the United States and replaced it with UltraAV's antivirus solution without warning.

Last week, users of Kaspersky anti-virus software found that the software had been uninstalled from their computers and that UltraAV's anti-virus had been installed in its place. The users had not consented to or initiated any of it.

After U.S. ban, Kaspersky's American customers were automatically migrated to UltraAV antivirus, in some cases without the customers' knowledge.