Anti-virus security specialist McAfee has wasted no time gobbling up SiteAdvisor, a 1-year-old startup that rates the Web to determine if a site"s content includes spyware, spam, viruses, browser-based exploits or online scams. McAfee announced April 5 it is acquiring the tiny Boston-based company that counts respected anti-spyware activist Ben Edelman among its roster of backers.
Financial terms of the acquisition, which come just one month after the official launch of the SiteAdvisor browser plug-in service, were not released. McAfee, of Santa Clara, Calif., did not say how it would integrate SiteAdvisor with its existing product suite, but a source close to the company said the plan is to leverage SiteAdvisor"s massive database of shady Web sites for use in consumer-facing and enterprise offerings. "In addition to the consumer benefits, SiteAdvisor offers great potential for our enterprise solutions as well," said George Heron, vice president and chief scientist at McAfee.