Kaspersky Anti-Ransomware Tool for Business

The program homepage is scarce in terms of information; it lacks information about how the program works or which threats it protects against. The press release is not of much help either.

The help file of the program, accessible after installation, is of more help. While it does not mention any ransomware types by name, it reveals what the program does to protect the system.

It runs in the background at all times, and monitors program activity. Upon detection of malware, it will automatically add it to the block list. The security program uses various methods to detect threats according to Kaspersky. It uses its own signature database, and Kaspersky's Security Network which is a cloud-based service that aggregates information from Kaspersky users.

Kaspersky's tool will perform rollback operations for actions of the malicious application. This includes restoring changed files or changes to the windows Registry.

For that, Kaspersky Anti-Ransomware for Business keeps a history of program activity.

The Anti-Ransomware Tool provides little in terms of preferences or options. The start page lists information about detected threats and actions. There you find a link to the settings.

You may change the trace level there, disable the program's self-defense mechanism, and add proxy server information on top of that.

The only other menu provided by the program is the "manage applications screen. There you find listed applications that were blocked by the program in the past.

You may use the screen to unblock programs or add programs to the list of trusted applications which protects them from being identified as problematic by Kaspersky's tool.

Kaspersky's Anti-Ransomware Tool for Business is free, but by using it you agree to provide information to Kaspersky in return (to increase the protection level according to Kaspersky).

Among the many bits of information is the hardware and software of the computer, information about downloaded and started applications, unique application installation IDs and unique computer IDs, information about checked files, and information about digital certificates that are in use.

You find the full list under "about data provision" in the help file.

It is near-impossible to judge the program without running lengthy tests to see how effective it is in protecting Windows PCs against malware threats. It is probably a good idea to wait until this has been tested in the wild, or if you have the capabilities, tested by yourself before deciding on whether to install it as a protective program on Windows.