Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 700: The Goal, the Security Godfather.

Ivanov admired Zhou Hongyi greatly, believing that this guy could definitely become Kaspersky's biggest asset.

He not only replicated the success of 3721 on 360 Security Guard, making it simple to use, compact and practical, but also made it free to use while most antivirus software was charging fees. This move undoubtedly won people's hearts.

Moreover, to avoid provoking hostility from antivirus software companies, this guy publicly promised that 360 would never become an antivirus software company, making him a good darling in the eyes of antivirus software companies.

Therefore, Kaspersky partnered deeply with 360. As long as you installed 360 Security Guard, you could get a free activation code for Kaspersky for six months. As the antivirus software with the most installations in China, Kaspersky successfully helped the newly emerging 360 Security Guard build a golden reputation.

Most importantly, Zhou Hongyi possesses exceptional technical skills and controls a vast pool of hacker resources comparable to those of the Red Hacker Alliance.

In the past six months, Zhou Hongyi has been riding high. He has successfully latched onto Kaspersky, and now he can enjoy a life of leisure, drinking wine and eating snacks. Life couldn't be more comfortable.

Zhou Hongyi was not surprised to receive Ivanov's call.

He just didn't expect that Ivanov would get involved in the war between Momo Group and Microsoft so soon.

However, he quickly realized that what they, who work in security, fear most is the day when Microsoft disappears from the scene.

Their own development and profitability are closely related to Microsoft.

In the study of Ivanov's villa on the outskirts of Yanjing, Zhou Hongyi sat opposite Ivanov, a cigar between her fingers, looking quite natural.

“Zhou, at today’s meeting, Waters revealed his hand.” Ivanov swirled the clear cocktail in his glass and went straight to the point: “Whoever can solve those damn malware will be Microsoft’s only built-in partner in Asia.”

Zhou Hongyi, wearing his signature red polo shirt, slumped lazily into the sofa. He smiled with narrowed eyes but didn't reply.

Ivanov knew what he was waiting for and continued to press the issue: "I think this is your chance to shine. As long as you help me win, our cooperation can be further deepened. For example, we can create a special zone for 360 in Kaspersky software. Just imagine, every computer pre-installed with genuine Windows will have your product on it from the moment it's turned on, and you won't be able to delete it. That's a huge piece of meat."

Zhou Hongyi finally moved, picked up the wine glass but didn't drink, just stared at the water droplets condensed on the glass.

“Mr. Ivan,” a sly smile gleaming behind his glasses, said, “the meat on the plate smells delicious, but you have to tell me first, will you break your teeth when you bite into it?”

He raised his eyes, his gaze sharp, and said, "I've studied those things on the market now. They're tricky, and the people behind them are quite capable. Let me be frank with you, these rogue software programs are definitely related to Cheng Yi of Momo Group. You're asking me to stir up a huge hornet's nest for Cheng Yi."

"Don't you think this is courting death?" Zhou Hongyi said bluntly, as if testing Ivanov's resolve.

"A hornet's nest?" Ivanov leaned forward and said in a deep voice, "Zhou, if Cheng Yi's hornet's nest takes over the entire forest, where will we, who make a living by hunting, find food? Can a closed system like Momo accommodate people like us?"

"I'll just ask you one question: if Momo Group gets angry, will you choose to give up? Or push me out to take the blame?" Zhou Hongyi stared directly at Ivanov, trying to see what he was thinking.

“We are all friends, how could I push my friends away?” Ivanov’s eyes were very bright and serious as he said firmly, “After this battle, we are comrades who will advance and retreat together.”

Zhou Hongyi was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled, downed her wine in one gulp, and said, "Fine, I'm on your pirate ship!"

Zhou Hongyi didn't say that he had been waiting for such an opportunity all along.

He did publicly promise not to create antivirus software, but dealing with malware and rogue software is precisely what 360 Security Guard excels at.

If he can achieve a resounding victory this time, 360 Security Guard will become famous throughout the country.

Ivanov knew he was tempted, and he smiled, refilled Zhou's glass, and said with a laugh, "Zhou, this is definitely not a pirate ship, this is your fishing boat to reap a great harvest."

The study was filled with smoke, and the two men's conversation quickly got down to business.

Zhou Hongyi relaxed, leaned back on the sofa, looked into the void, and slowly said, "The old way won't work. Following behind them to update the virus database is exhausting; we can't keep up with their breeding speed. We need to do something drastic."

"How ruthless?" Ivanov asked with great interest.

“Let’s think about it another way.” Zhou Hongyi sat up straight, her eyes gleaming with the brilliance of a tech fanatic. “Don’t just focus on what it looks like; look at what it’s trying to do. Plant spies at the system’s core. Once they discover that critical files have been tampered with, or that a program is trying to secretly take root or quietly connect to some dubious servers… no matter what it’s disguised as, just shut it down. Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free.”

"You mean behavioral monitoring?" Ivanov immediately understood and said, "That requires a very deep technical foundation."

“If you and I join forces, we can definitely solve this problem.” Zhou Hongyi pointed at the other party, then at herself, and said, “Your Kaspersky provides the heavy weapons that drive the underlying system, while my 360 acts as the light cavalry, responsible for perception and interaction. We’ll take turns scanning and killing, one in the open and one in the shadows.”

Ivanov nodded thoughtfully and said, "That makes sense. But defense alone is not enough; we must take the initiative."

"To catch the thief, first catch the king." A hint of the ruthlessness he had when he was working on 3721 flashed in Zhou Hongyi's eyes as he said, "Pick a few of the most troublesome ones to use as special killing tools. This thing can't be gentle; it has to be more stubborn than psoriasis itself. We need to be able to dig out every root it has taken root in the system and crush it completely. I'm good at this."

He paused, a sly smile appearing on his face, and said, "Furthermore, it's not enough for us to just do the work; we also need to make users feel that we are acting on behalf of justice. Everyone needs to know that the slowdown of computers and the constant pop-ups are caused by these digital thugs, and that we are the ones who can uphold justice."

Ivanov fully understood Zhou Hongyi's entire fighting style.

Precise technical strikes, coupled with dominating the media.

What he admires about Zhou Hongyi is her ability to delve into technical details while also having a deep understanding of user psychology and market dynamics.

"How exactly do we do it?" Ivanov pressed.

Zhou Hongyi stood up and paced around the study, her red figure standing out conspicuously under the light.

He paused and said, "First, we need to establish a behavior monitoring system at the system's bottom layer. It's not just simple signature comparison, but real-time analysis of the program's behavior trajectory. You need to communicate with Microsoft about this."

“That’s no problem. Waters has already promised to open up more interfaces for us,” Ivanov nodded.

Zhou Hongyi added, "That's good. As long as Microsoft opens these interfaces to us, we have no reason to lose. If any program tries to modify the browser homepage without the user's knowledge, or quietly downloads other software in the background, or tries to inject into the system's core processes, we can immediately destroy it without needing to isolate or kill it."

"Yes, this requires delving into the system kernel," Ivanov pointed out Zhou Hongyi's purpose. Zhou Hongyi's real goal was to get Microsoft to open up the system kernel on genuine operating systems.

“As long as Microsoft opens up its system kernel, we will create a firewall specifically designed to target this type of malware,” Zhou Hongyi said confidently. “You have the most mature driver-level technology, and we have experience dealing with this type of software, which other antivirus software companies do not possess.”

Ivanov pondered for a moment and said, "It's technically feasible, but the development cycle could be very long. I'm afraid Waters won't be able to wait that long."

“It won’t take that long. I haven’t been idle for the past six months,” Zhou Hongyi said with a smile. “I have ready-made removal tools here. I’ve also developed special cleaning tools for the most widespread malware families. At most, I can integrate these into a firewall software within a week.”

"Are you sure you can get it done in a week?" Ivanov asked with some skepticism.

Zhou Hongyi laughed immediately. He took a sip of his mixed drink and said with a smile, "Ivan, have you forgotten what I started out doing? Nobody knows better than me how to get these stubborn things out of the system."

He walked back to the sofa, leaned down and looked at Ivanov: "However, technology alone is not enough; we need to create momentum. Through Microsoft's push notifications, official website announcements, and partner media, we want all users to know that if their computer has a problem, they should contact Kaspersky 360 Firewall. We want to become the godfather of internet security for our users."

Ivanov laughed and said, "Okay, Kaspersky will open its global virus database and analysis resources to you. How fast do we need the response speed for this firewall?"

“Twenty-four hours.” Zhou Hongyi said decisively, “If a new variant is discovered, the protective warehouse must be updated within twenty-four hours. We must use speed to defeat them.”

“Zhou, you are the most professional businessman I have ever met.” Ivanov extended his hand.

The two clasped hands, this time not just for show, but to form a genuine strategic alliance.

A week later, the banquet hall of the Shangri-La Hotel in Yanjing was ablaze with flashing lights.

Ivanov and Zhou Hongyi stood side by side in the center of the stage, with the red and black logo of Kaspersky 360 Firewall displayed on the huge screen behind them.

The audience was packed, with technology journalists, industry representatives, and distributors from all over the country gathered together, all eyes focused on this highly anticipated joint press conference.

One is a leading company in the antivirus industry, and the other is a pioneer in free protection.

With these two working together, it's hard not to make headlines.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Ivanov announced in his accented but powerful Chinese, "Today, Kaspersky Lab and Qihoo 360 will jointly present a once-in-a-century gift to Windows users in China: the Kaspersky 360 Firewall."

"Today, we're going to clean up all those rogue software programs that are lingering on your computers!"

After making the announcement, he immediately instructed the technicians to begin demonstrating the product.

An XP system plagued by pop-up windows and experiencing lag was instantly and forcefully removed after installing Kaspersky and 360 firewalls and performing a one-click scan.

The browser homepage was restored, system resource usage dropped sharply, and the speed improvement was immediate.

"We don't care what skin they're wearing or what disguise they're in." Ivanov's voice echoed throughout the room through the microphone: "If they dare to secretly tamper with your settings, dare to download things in the background, dare to harass you with pop-up ads... our behavior monitoring engine will immediately take action and execute them all on the spot!"

"Now, please welcome our Chief Technology Officer, Mr. Zhou Hongyi, to the stage to talk about the positioning of this product." Ivanov handed the stage to the eager Zhou Hongyi.

Zhou Hongyi has always had a strong desire to perform. He couldn't stand still on the sidelines any longer. Before Ivanov could finish speaking, he had already jogged onto the stage.

He took the microphone and smiled, "Hello everyone, I'm Zhou Hongyi."

After attracting the attention of the reporters in the audience, he slowly said, "Our firewall combines Kaspersky's driver-level removal capabilities with 360's deep understanding of local malware. It can absolutely eradicate and remove the most stubborn malware."

"Most importantly, we're announcing that this firewall will be free to use forever! This will allow every user to enjoy top-tier security protection at zero cost!"

The moment the word "free" was uttered, it instantly ignited the entire audience.

Reporters took notes quickly, distributors whispered among themselves, and everyone realized that the rules of the game in the security software market might be about to be completely rewritten.

Reports of the press conference quickly spread like wildfire.

"Antivirus giant joins forces with security upstart to launch a free firewall."

"Kaspersky 360 is ready to take down any challenger and declares war on malware."

"Microsoft is secretly supporting it? Kaspersky and 360 may have gained low-level system privileges."

With Microsoft's tacit approval or even covert encouragement, Kaspersky Firewall began a frenzied, rapid expansion of its installation through Windows Update's recommended update channels and Kaspersky's own massive user base.

Users who had been suffering from malware were overjoyed.

Major computer malls, software forums, and university BBSs are all filled with praise for Kaspersky 360.

"Holy crap, it's really clean now. All those pop-up ads that I couldn't get rid of after a year are gone."

"The system is as fast as new, Kaspersky 360 is awesome."

"Zhou Hongyi did a great job this time; this is truly eliminating a scourge for the people."

In just a few days, the number of installations of Kaspersky 360 Firewall exceeded 300,000, and it is still growing at an astonishing rate.

It acts like a breath of fresh air, washing away the system environment contaminated by malware, and the user experience has been visibly improved.

Microsoft XP's reputation and market share, which had been steadily declining due to malware, have finally seen a glimmer of hope.

(End of this chapter)