Microsoft has announced its intention to acquire GeCad Software, a Romanian antivirus technology developer, in order to improve the security in its Windows platform.
The deal, the financial terms of which were not disclosed, would add a team of antivirus experts to Microsoft's stable of developers and give the company the ability to offer antivirus systems across all its products, a representative said. Security experts from the 100-employee company will also work to make the Windows operating system work better with products from third-party antivirus vendors, Microsoft said.
The move is likely to change the competitive landscape for antivirus vendors such as Network Associates and Symantec, and could even raise the specter of Netscape Communications--the Internet browser leader that was sidelined when Microsoft bundled its own browser into Windows.
News source: News.com
