This post in my blog is the reaction to some rumors spreading across anti-virus industry. I must clarify this question for all antivirus vendors and our readers.

Rumors about affiliation with antivirus vendors
(e.g., Kaspersky Lab, Symantec or Avira)

As an individual, I have worked for Kaspersky Lab as an outside expert. I have also worked with a Russian partner of Symantec, whose name I cannot disclose under the terms of our agreement.

As regards independence, the work I did for these companies never overlapped with my Anti-Malware Test Lab work and was in the field of marketing research.

My work for these companies was in the area of market research and other marketing projects. For example, I prepared antivirus product functionality comparisons and did other market research for Kaspersky Lab, as well as some marketing audits. In the case of other companies, my work had to do with developing analysis and promotion concepts.

Sergey Ilyin is my official pseudonym

Publicity imposes certain constraints and can be a nuisance not only to public persons but also to those around them. With this in mind, when first developing the project I decided to use a pseudonym in order to protect my personal life from unnecessary pressure from players in Russia's antivirus market.