Prepare now for an upcoming change in Kaspersky Antivirus Technology
Hi, this is Gary Hauck from the Forefront Rapid Response Engineering Services team. My team is responsible for providing engine and definition update packages for the Forefront Server and Antigen products. I am writing today to inform you of an upcoming change to the Kaspersky Antivirus engine and the important action that many of you will need to take within the next several months to prepare for this change.
In early 2010, Kaspersky will end of life the engine version that is being distributed today in the Forefront Server and Antigen 9 products. Microsoft is planning to commence distribution of Kaspersky’s newest SDK 8 engine to replace this on January 4th 2010. This new Kaspersky engine has a requirement that certain files that are part of the engine reside within a subfolder tree. Due to a limitation in older releases of Forefront and Antigen, this new engine requirement is a problem that will result in engine update failures. Microsoft has resolved this limitation in the latest shipping build for all Antigen and Forefront products. This means that in order to continue to consume Kaspersky engine updates after January 4th, 2010 you must be running a release that can accommodate this new Kaspersky engine subfolder structure.
Please review the table below to determine if this change affects you and plan for the specified action:
Product Version |
Required Action |
Microsoft Antigen 9 for Exchange Server (Version 9.0.1055.xx) |
Upgrade to Antigen 9 for Exchange Server SP2 prior to January 4th, 2010. |
Microsoft Antigen 9 for Exchange Server SP1 (Version 9.1.1097.xx) |
Upgrade to Antigen 9 for Exchange Server SP2 prior to January 4th, 2010. |
Microsoft Antigen 9 for Exchange SP2 (Version: 9.2.1097.xx) |
No action required. |
Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server (Version: 10.0.0566.xx) |
Upgrade to Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server SP2 prior to January 4th, 2010. |
Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server SP1 Possible versions (including rollups): 10.1.0746.xx 10.1.0809.0 |
Upgrade to Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server SP2 prior to January 4th, 2010. |
Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server SP2 (Version 10.2.0942.0) |
No action required. |
Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint Server (Version 10.0.0566.xx) |
Upgrade to Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint Server SP3 prior to January 4th, 2010. |
Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint Server SP1 Possible versions (including rollups): 10.0.0720.0 10.0.0700.20 10.0.0703.xx |
Upgrade to Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint Server SP3 prior to January 4th, 2010. |
Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint Server SP2 Possible versions (including rollups): 10.1.0802.0 10.1.0815.0 |
Upgrade to Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint Server SP3 prior to January 4th, 2010. |
Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint Server SP3 Version 10.2.0942.xx |
No action required. |
Microsoft Forefront Security for Office Communications Server Version: 10.2.0308.xx |
No action required. |
Gary Hauck
Development Lead
Forefront RRE Services
Comments
Anonymous
December 08, 2009
Hi Gary, Is this still a valid change as there haven't been any .bad files or notifications since this blog was released in Aug 09? Cheers PutneyBoyAnonymous
December 08, 2009
Since my blog article was published, Kaspersky has extended the end of life date for their Kaspersky 5 engine. The release of the Kaspersky SDK 8 engine for Forefront and Antigen is no longer January 4th, 2010. While there is no firm date currently set for release, it will likely be pushed out into the early second half of 2010. Despite this change in engine release plans, there are still benefits of upgrading to the latest service packs and we continue to encourage customers to migrate to the latest service packs at their earliest convenience. -Gary HauckAnonymous
December 09, 2009
Thanks Gary, thats a major relief after changing our estate over to different vendors last month, this would have been an additional headache to sort out before year end! Merry Christmas! Putneyboy