David, thanks for this thorough and thoughtful post. Sorry you had to
go through all this; but thanks for sharing the end result with us.
Jan
On 11/18/16, David Goldfield <dgoldfield1211@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Kaspersky Antivirus: A Review for Screen Reader UsersYou are invited to visit the moderator's Web site at WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
As I indicated in a previous post regarding screen reader accessibility
of antivirus software
<https://davidgoldfield.wordpress.com/2016/11/04/question-which-antivirus-program-works-best-with-my-screen-reader-answer-you-might-be-asking-the-wrong-question/>,
I felt the need to switch to a new antivirus program after Microsoft
Security Essentials (Windows Defender in Windows 8 and 10) failed to
stop malware from crippling my computer. I’m aware that many people have
used MSE or Defender for some time and may never experience an infection
but this was a choice I felt needed to be made. The gentleman who worked
on my computer recommended Kaspersky Antivirus.
<http://usa.kaspersky.com/products-services/home-computer-security/anti-virus/>
After reading a positive review of the product in PC Magazine
<http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2460689,00.asp>, I decided to give
the program a try. What follows is an account of my experiences with
installing and using the software from the perspective of a screen
reader user. My screen reader is NVDA <http://www.nvaccess.org>, running
on a Dell OptiPlex 740 machine
<http://www.dell.com/us/dfb/p/optiplex-740/pd> with 8 GB of RAM. The
operating system is Windows 10 Pro
<https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/>, although I started using
Kaspersky on the same system running Windows 7.
This review discusses Kaspersky Antivirus specifically with the NVDA
screen reader. While I do use the free version of Window-Eyes
<http://www.windoweyesforoffice.com> as a secondary screen reader, NVDA
has been my access package of choice since the summer of 2009. Some of
what I’m about to document may produce different results with other
screen readers, so your mileage will likely vary. I will eventually
update this post to discuss how the program performs when using
Window-Eyes. For now, this review will focus entirely on the
accessibility of Kaspersky Antivirus with NVDA.
A year ago, I started out using Kaspersky 2015 after using Microsoft
Security Essentials for over five years, as I was not satisfied with the
level of protection offered by MSE. The installer for Kaspersky 2015 was
100% accessible, being rendered just as though I were reading a Web
page. Informational text and controls were also nicely labeled and
installing it was both quick and 100% screen reader friendly.
Unfortunately, the installer for Kaspersky Antivirus 2016 was completely
inaccessible to screen readers. Whether I used arrow keys or screen
review commands, none of the text was visible to NVDA. However, I was
still able to install the 2016 version using the 2015 installer, because
the installer presents a check box, which you would select if you want
the program to automatically install newer versions of the software.
This meant that I could run the nicely accessible 2015 installer and
have it install the 2016 version.
A few weeks ago, I saw that Kaspersky Antivirus 2017 was available. I
downloaded the 2017 installer, ran it and saw that it was just as
inaccessible as the 2016 installer. No problem, I thought. I'll just run
the 2015 installer, have it download the newest version and I'll have
the 2017 edition of the software with no drama.
This, unfortunately, was not to be. First, when I ran the 2015 installer
it told me that the installer could not complete because one of the
program folders was not empty. I was a bit flabbergasted, since I
assumed that the program would just upgrade my current version but I
guess the 2015 installer doesn't know how to deal with an installed 2016
version. No problem, I thought, I'll just uninstall the program but I
ran into an error doing that and I can't now remember what the message
was. No problem, I thought again, I'll just clear out the folder which
should make it happy and avoid further drama.
However, Windows wouldn't allow me to do that, even with admin rights.
No problem, I thought, I'll just look for the Kaspersky removal tool. I
found it, downloaded it and ran it. The good news was that the program
had accessible keyboard controls. The bad news was that the removal tool
had a captcha, which it insisted that I solve before it allowed me to
remove the software. There are several captcha solvers, such as Rumola
<http://skipinput.com/>, which I use and recommend. However, these
decoders only work within Web browsers, not in other applications,
making this a complete blocker for me. I sent a few tweets about this to
Kaspersky Support and asked if one of their reps could do a remote
session where they could access my computer and install the software.
They sent me some direct messages, indicating that this could be done.
However, when I called them they said that remote access was a premium
support service and that I needed to pay for it. I told them that it was
not right that I should have to pay for remote support, considering that
I can't even install their software independently and can't even remove
the current version due to a captcha. I finally got disgusted,
disconnected the call and called the Microsoft disability answer desk.
<https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/instantanswers/d4978701-dabf-47d3-8827-7b9fcd13c554/contact-the-disability-answer-desk>
Within ten minutes the rep had entered the captcha solution, removed the
old version and even guided me through installing the 2017 version with
the inaccessible 2017 installer. Needless to say, while I eventually
solved my problem I did so with absolutely no help from Kaspersky, who
should have come through for me but failed miserably to do so.
If anyone who is visually impaired is considering installing this
software, you might want to save time by just asking Microsoft for help.
You might also want to tweet Kaspersky at @kl_support to express your
opinions.
Here are some comments concerning the program itself. While there are
some accessibility issues, I'm able to get around most of them and the
majority of the settings provide accessible controls.
Parts of the application are quite accessible, and other aspects are
not. If you open the Kaspersky 2017 icon from the desktop or from the
start menu, you will be greeted, audibly at least, by several unlabeled
buttons, with the exception of the Settings and Support buttons, which
are labeled. I can't speak for JAWS or Window-eyes but, with NVDA, you
can discover the function of each button by using NVDA's object
navigation keys via the numeric keypad. Once you land on an unlabeled
button, pressing insert-2 to drill down into that button's "object" and
then pressing insert-6 will clearly speak the button's label. The
buttons are actionable and so pressing the spacebar, at that point,
activates the button as you would expect. These buttons perform
functions such as update, scan, etc.
Once you activate the clearly-labeled Settings button, most of the
dialogs are accessible. It presents you with a list of options such as
settings for scanning, performance, protection, general, etc. Using
up/down arrow keys moves through these different options. Once you find
an option whose settings you wish to modify, pressing the tab key moves
through various buttons and checkboxes for those options and is
presented like a standard dialog. Most options are accessible and easy
to use and understand, whereas a few are tricky and may require some
experimentation and possibly sighted assistance to verify their
settings, such as slider controls to increase and decrease security
levels. The last option or category found in the Settings dialog is
labeled "Additional" and its dialog, by contrast, contains nothing but
unlabeled buttons. However, you can easily determine the function of
each button by using NVDA's object navigation commands as I described
earlier.
For me, the easiest method for accessing Kaspersky's functions is
through the system tray icon. Right-clicking this icon (by using the
Applications key" brings up an accessible menu, which includes items
such as Run Update, Settings, and Task Manager. Task Manager is what I
use most of the time to perform scans, although you can also use the
context menu from within Windows Explorer to scan files, folders or
entire drives.
The layout of the Task Manager is similar to Kaspersky's Settings menu,
with a list of categories which you access with up/down arrow keys,
followed by repeated presses of the tab key to explore the options for
each category. Task Manager allows you to perform quick scans, full
scans, removable drive scans as well as a category for reviewing results
of previous scans.
While performing a scan, the progress screen is accessible but it
requires heavy use of NVDA's object navigation keys to explore the
information in detail. As an example, using object navigation commands
allows you to see the percentage of the scan, which file is currently
being scanned, etc.
One odd issue is that sometimes NVDA is able to read certain parts of
the code which are not visible on the screen. As an example, there was
one screen, I forget which, that indicated that the update was
successful but also indicated that an update wasn't installed and the
program was rolling back to a previous update. These are messages which
are obviously meant to be displayed at certain times but yet those
messages are somehow being exposed to NVDA.
In spite of these oddities and varying degrees of accessibility, I
continue to use Kaspersky Antivirus and do not regret my decision to do
so. My reason is simple: I wanted a program which was highly rated when
it comes to malware protection. For years, I used Microsoft Security
Essentials because it was free, light on resources and completely
accessible with screen readers. The problem was that it wasn't
necessarily very good at protecting my system against malware. When I
had been hit by a crippling virus a year ago, I decided that I would no
longer compromise my computer's security for the sake of accessibility
and convenience and chose to go with Kaspersky. I mean no disrespect to
any of you who are using MSE or Windows Defender and who feel that the
program provides good protection. Perhaps, if you're one of those
individuals, it will provide good protection and you may never become
infected with malware. However, I simply no longer trust that program
and feel unsafe using and depending on it. For those who are looking for
a robust antimalware solution, Kaspersky Antivirus has performed well
and I hope that my review will cause some of you to consider giving the
program a try.
--
David Goldfield, Assistive Technology Specialist Feel free to visit my
Web site WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
You are invited to visit the moderator's Web site at WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
for additional resources and information about assistive technology training
services.
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