Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 703 The first sword strike after landing: slaying fellow travelers.

Without time to think, Pang Dongzi immediately ordered, "Regardless of who posted it, immediately organize a team to modify the code overnight and generate a new variant, following this line of thought. Be quick!"

Although Pang Dongzi received help from unknown enthusiastic individuals, he was still facing a combination of Kaspersky and 360, and was always at a disadvantage. Although the expansion speed of the 2345 family of software was fast, the retention rate was not high.

If you install it on ten computers, within a day, six of them will be compromised by Kaspersky 360.

To address this issue, they minimized the number of programs included in the suite, keeping users' computers in a state between slow and smooth. As long as the user's computer doesn't experience severe lag, they generally wouldn't think to install Kaspersky or 360 Security Guard.

And their computer's antivirus software couldn't detect this whole suite of malware at all.

2345 is like a mouse now, constantly trying to find ways to cheat and take shortcuts.

The current situation of 2345 also stirred up strange feelings in Zhou Hongyi's heart.

2345 cannot perish.

If the wolves are gone, then Kaspersky and 360 Security Guard will also come to an end.

His deputy just finished reporting that the latest 2345 variant has used an extremely clever code obfuscation technique to bypass their behavioral analysis-based proactive defenses once again, nearly doubling its survival time.

This is a very good sign.

They will continue this tug-of-war until only the two sides remain, the spear and the shield.

This is the result he wanted.

“Boss, this can’t go on.” The deputy said worriedly, “Pang Dongzi is like an unkillable cockroach. We update the rules, and he can immediately mutate. Our engineering team is exhausted and a lot of energy is being spent on this.”

"Speak," Zhou Hongyi suddenly said, her voice exceptionally clear in the quiet office, "Isn't the power we hold in our hands a bit of a waste?"

The deputy was taken aback, not understanding what the boss meant.

Weren't we supposed to be discussing how to deal with 2345? Isn't this boss's idea a bit too far-fetched?

Zhou Hongyi turned around, her eyes behind her glasses gleaming with burning ambition, and laughed: "Our current behavior monitoring engine can accurately identify all sorts of small actions from 2345. So, what about Rising's memory scanning module? Jiangmin's file monitoring driver? Even Kingsoft and Trend Micro's seemingly normal system calls?"

The deputy gasped. He had followed Zhou Hongyi since the founding of 3721 and knew exactly what Zhou Hongyi wanted to do.

He said in a trembling voice, "Boss, this... this will cause public outrage, and wouldn't this be considered an abuse of the permissions Microsoft gave us?"

“Abuse?” Zhou Hongyi scoffed, walked to the whiteboard, picked up a marker and said, “We are maintaining the security and stability of Microsoft systems. We have a responsibility to remind users of any software behavior that may cause conflicts, consume too many resources, or affect the user experience, and even help users optimize them. Isn’t that the original intention of us creating Kaspersky 360?”

He drew a large circle on the whiteboard to represent the entire security software market, and then drew a small dot in the middle to represent 2345.

"We used nuclear weapons to deal with such a tiny thing." He pointed to the arrow representing Microsoft kernel permissions and said, "Now that we have nuclear weapons, are we just going to use them to swat flies?"

He circled the small dot with his pen, then pressed the pen tip heavily on the large circle, saying, "Our target should be here! The entire security market!"

He looked at his deputy, his tone leaving no room for argument, and said, "Prepare a car immediately. I'm going to see Ivanov. This matter must be done jointly by our two families. I think he will definitely be interested."

Half an hour later, Zhou Hongyi arrived at Kaspersky's China regional headquarters, in Ivanov's office, with her deputy.

Zhou Hongyi didn't beat around the bush and directly revealed his thoughts.

Leveraging Microsoft's underlying advantages, the company redefines the behavioral norms of security software, placing all competitors in a position of being judged. By using the banner of system security and user experience, it dismantles its competitors' market foundation without firing a shot.

Ivanov listened quietly, his fingers crossed on the table, his blue eyes flashing with shock.

He was a shrewd businessman and instantly saw the huge profits behind it.

The pricing power derived from a monopolistic market, unparalleled user control, and a pivotal position in the entire internet ecosystem.

But the risks are equally huge, which will make them the target of public criticism.

“Zhou,” Ivanov said slowly, his voice low, “Your idea is bold, but have you considered that it will completely change the rules of the game in the market? We may face class-action lawsuits, or even antitrust investigations. And Microsoft, if the pressure is too great, may not continue to support us.”

“Ivan,” Zhou Hongyi leaned forward, her eyes burning, and said, “Rules are made by the strong, and we are the strong now. Litigation? By the time they finish their legal procedures, the market will already be ours. As for anti-monopoly? We are two companies, what monopoly? Besides, our actions are promoting competition and cleaning up the market environment.”

"Since they can't eliminate those rogue software programs, they should have withdrawn from the market as soon as possible."

"As for Microsoft..." He revealed a sly smile and said, "The stronger we are, the safer and more stable the Windows system will be in China. This will only benefit their government and enterprise procurement and brand image. Waters is a smart man; he knows what to choose."

He emphasized, "Think about it, Ivan. At that time, it won't just be pre-installed. For all Windows users in China who want a safe and stable system environment, the first and only choice they will think of is your Kaspersky antivirus and our 360 security guard. This is not a promise Waters made to us; this is the reality we are about to create."

Ivanov's eyes flickered with uncertainty as he weighed his options intensely.

Ultimately, the desire for a huge market share and industry dominance outweighed concerns about potential risks.

He took a deep breath, nodded heavily, and said, "Alright, Zhou, we'll do it your way. But the plan must be meticulous, and the action must be swift. We can't give them time to coordinate their response."

"Don't worry!" Zhou Hongyi smiled and said, "I already have a preliminary plan. I will personally optimize the behavior monitoring rules precisely. The initial targets are Rising and Jiangmin, the two companies with the largest market share and the deepest penetration into the system's underlying layers. At the public opinion level, we will launch a campaign to create an atmosphere that the coexistence of multiple antivirus software is harmful. At the market level, we will prepare a highly aggressive migration plan. Once their users start to waver, we will pounce on them immediately."

"And most importantly, we'll operate this together for free for a period of time," Zhou Hongyi said.

"Free operation? Then how will the revenue come from?" Ivanov was taken aback.

Why is it being offered for free?
Zhou Hongyi laughed and said, "Don't worry, even if it's free to operate, the revenue will be more than when you charge for it."

"Oh? Do you have any ideas?" Ivanov knew that 360 Security Guard was free, and he was also curious about Zhou Hongyi's profit model.

Zhou Hongyi lowered her voice and said, "Tie me up."

Ivanov's eyes narrowed instantly.

Bundle?

If antivirus software bundles software with other programs, are they considered security software or malware?
Ivanov pondered, "This is not appropriate; it will ruin our reputation."

"If you don't want to go for bundling, there are many ways to make money, such as pop-up ads, or putting a news pop-up in the lower right corner of the user's computer and pushing some news, or using technical means to tamper with the user's homepage and charge hao123 a high browser homepage mounting fee. There are too many ways to make money."

After careful consideration, Ivanov nodded and said, "Let's give it a try, but we'll only promise three months of free service; we won't announce permanent free service like you have."

"Three months of free service is enough," Zhou Hongyi smiled happily. A few days later, a seemingly ordinary Kaspersky 360 security update package was pushed out.

The update log states: "Optimized behavior monitoring logic, improved the ability to detect and remove new and persistent malware, and enhanced system compatibility."

However, behind this seemingly ordinary update are the judgment rules that Zhou Hongyi's technical team has carefully adjusted.

The rule base has been quietly updated to include a high level of attention to specific behavioral sequences of several core processes of Rising Antivirus, as well as a compatibility risk assessment of the Jiangmin KV series driver loading and file scanning modes.

These rules are set up very cleverly, with the thresholds positioned in a gray area, so that they will not give false alarms when the competitor's software is running perfectly normally, but will precisely trigger warnings when it performs some slightly more advanced system operations.

At first, it was just a sporadic phenomenon.

However, some company users soon discovered that on several computers with both Rising Antivirus and Kaspersky 360 installed, Kaspersky 360 would display a warning message when running demanding design software: "[RsMgrSvc.exe was detected attempting a high-risk system call, which may affect software stability. We recommend taking action.]"

Some college students also posted on the forum seeking help: "I installed Jiangmin and Kaspersky/360, but upon startup, it prompts that KvMonXP.sys has a potential conflict with the system. What's going on? After clicking the one-click repair, Jiangmin stops working."

These voices were initially small and were drowned out by the praise for Kaspersky 360's continued efficient cleaning of rogue software such as 2345.

Meanwhile, Zhou Hongyi's public opinion team also began to generate buzz, posting popular science articles on various forums.

A seasoned network administrator reveals: Why shouldn't you install multiple antivirus programs on one computer?

Performance Killer? Your Computer's Lag May Be Due to Antivirus Software Conflicts!

Exclusive Review: Comparison of System Resource Usage and Compatibility of Mainstream Antivirus Software

……

These articles, widely disseminated through partner media and technical forums, appear objective and neutral, but in reality, they continuously reinforce a certain idea.

That is, multiple antivirus software programs are the culprits for system instability and performance degradation, while Kaspersky 360, with its technological advantages and deep cooperation with Microsoft, is sufficient to provide comprehensive protection.

At the same time, Kaspersky 360's one-click repair and optimization features are becoming increasingly efficient in handling these potential conflicts.

Users can often disable or even uninstall a competitor's core components without even realizing it.

When users attempt to reinstall, they will face even harsher warnings from Kaspersky 360.

In just half a month, the customer service hotlines of Rising and Jiangmin were overwhelmed with calls.

"Why does your software get flagged as a virus by Kaspersky and 360 as soon as it's installed?"

"After clicking 'Repair My Rising Antivirus,' it won't start!"

"Are you really having a conflict with the system?"

Looking at the stacks of phone records in front of him, Liu Weiming flew into a rage in his office, shouting, "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! That bastard Zhou Hongyi, he definitely tampered with our software! This is malicious competition!"

Jiangmin's management was furious. They tried to issue a technical bulletin to clarify that their software fully complies with Microsoft's specifications, has no malicious intent, and implied that some security software was abusing its privileges.

However, their voices sounded pale and powerless in the face of Kaspersky 360's overwhelming propaganda and constant well-intentioned warnings.

The market data is now starting to speak for itself.

Rising and Jiangmin saw a significant decline in daily active users, while Kaspersky and 360's installation volume rode this wave and climbed at an unprecedented rate.

A sense of panic began to spread among the other antivirus software companies.

Trend Micro's Asia Pacific president made a long-distance call directly to Ivanov's office, raising questions in a stern tone.

Symantec's legal department issued a strongly worded lawyer's letter.

Jinshan Antivirus remained silent, but accelerated its pace of technical adaptation with the Momo system.

While they were protesting in a disorganized manner, Kaspersky 360 had already gained an overwhelming advantage.

Zhou Hongyi and Ivanov handled the questions and warnings flawlessly.

Kaspersky 360 issued an official statement emphasizing that all actions are based on the primary consideration of user system security and stability. Its behavior monitoring is based on publicly available system specifications and extensive sample analysis. The statement also expressed regret over the potential risks of certain software and reiterated the importance of a single, effective security solution.

They even generously stated that they were willing to communicate with their peers on technical specifications, but only on the condition that the other party prove the absolute security of their software.

This behavior is nothing short of blatant mockery.

Moreover, it was guidance from a superior position.

Their security software has to prove that it is secure. Doesn't that sound ridiculous?

Even more devastatingly, Kaspersky 360 seized the opportunity to launch its Secure Migration Plan.

Installing Kaspersky Antivirus and Kaspersky 360 Security Guard will get you three months of free premium protection and dedicated system optimization services.

Faced with this devastating blow, companies like Rising and Jiangmin finally joined forces and began filing complaints with industry associations and regulatory authorities.

However, the complaint process is lengthy, while market share is lost by the hour.

Their technical staff were working tirelessly to modify their code to circumvent Kaspersky's special targeting, but Zhou Hongyi's team was like a pack of hunting dogs, always able to quickly adjust the rules and lock them down again.

They even had the illusion that these bastards were targeting them like malware.

Their counterattack appeared weak and ineffective.

After all, users are realistic.

When you're constantly reminded that a certain software has a problem, while another software can not only solve the problem but is also free for three months, the choice becomes simple, but behind this simplicity lies a very cruel reality.

The allure of one-click repair is especially strong for ordinary users who lack technical knowledge.

What awaited them was a crushing defeat.

(End of this chapter)