• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Microsoft buys antivirus technology, will offer own product

Posted on: Tuesday, 10 June 2003, 06:00 CDT

SEATTLE (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday it will acquire antivirus technology from a Romanian software company and develop its own antivirus product, stepping into a market it has long ceded to others specializing in software security.

Microsoft signed an agreement to buy the intellectual property and technology assets of antivirus software and consulting firm GeCAD Software Srl. of Bucharest for an undisclosed amount. Some of the company's software developers will join Microsoft, but all details haven't been finalized, said Mike Nash, corporate vice president of the Security Business Unit at Microsoft.

Microsoft plans to release its own antivirus product at an unspecified future date, but has not decided whether basic antivirus technology will be bundled into its Windows operating system, Nash said. The company will sell corporate customers and consumers subscriptions for the updated innoculation files that protect against new viruses.

Nash said Microsoft needs to do more on its own to protect its customers from viruses and other malicious programs, in addition to working with security companies, such as Symantec Corp. and Network Associates Inc., which make the most popular antivirus programs for consumers.

Shares of Symantec and Network Associates both fell in trading after the announcement by Microsoft, which rose nearly 4 percent.

The president of Network Associates, Gene Hodges, said Microsoft told his company it would not bundle antivirus capability into the Windows operating system, although Nash said that was still undecided.

Network Associates announced an alliance last month with Microsoft to share sensitive details about the latest computer threats facing Windows users.

``We intend to keep up with the alliance unless Microsoft changes it plans from what they've told us,'' Hodges said.

One analyst, Michael Rasmussen at Forrester Research Inc., compared Microsoft's decision to ``mafia-type'' behavior of offering additional protection for customers who pay extra for it.

``The world does not want Microsoft to be a security vendor, it wants Microsoft to provide secure products,'' Rasmussen said.

Microsoft, which has struggled to improve its software security under its ``Trustworthy Computing'' campaign, has been sensitive to public criticism about the susceptibility of its products to computer viruses. The company has responded by tightening the security of its popular Outlook e-mail software, but its reputation has largely hinged on consumers successfully using products outside Microsoft's control.

Antivirus vendors have been painfully aware what could happen if Microsoft moved into the business. Network Associates and Symantec, for example, have starkly warned investors their business could suffer dramatically if Microsoft decides to build antivirus features into Windows.

Network Associates cautioned in a November 2002 filing with U.S. regulators that such a move by Microsoft ``could render our products obsolete and unmarketable.''

------

On the Net:

http://www.microsoft.com

http://www.symantec.com

http://www.nai.com

More News in this Category