Microsoft buys anti-spyware maker

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft Corp., pushing to bolster its Internet security offerings, has acquired anti-spyware maker Giant Company Software Inc., the companies said.

Microsoft said in a statement that it plans to use Giant Company's technology and intellectual property in its Windows software to give computer users new tools to protect them from spyware and other deceptive software.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The world's largest software company said it plans to make available to Windows customers a "beta" test, or preliminary version of a spyware protection and removal tool, based on the Giant AntiSpyware product, within one month.

The upcoming software will scan a customer's PC and locate spyware threats and help remove them. It can also be set up to block unwanted software from being installed on a PC. The product will work with Windows 2000 and later versions.

Spyware is malicious software that takes various mutant forms that range from generating unwanted pop-up advertising on screens to installing unseen programs that secretly record a computer user's keystrokes or take over a PC.

Such software can slow a PC's performance, steal a person's passwords or personal information or otherwise render it unusable. A November 2004 IDC study estimated that 67 percent of consumer PCs are infected with some form of spyware.

Details of the new Microsoft anti-spyware software beyond the planned test, including product plans, pricing and a timeline for delivery, are not yet available, Microsoft said.

Key personnel from Giant will join Microsoft's security efforts. More details can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/spyware.

The Microsoft announcement coincides with the merger agreement by security software rival Symantec Corp. to acquire Veritas Software Corp. for $13.5 billion, one of the industry's biggest ever combinations.

Separately, Goldman Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund said he raised his estimates modestly on Microsoft for the company's fiscal years ending in both June of 2005 and June of 2006.

The higher estimates reflect "a bit better PC demand, which should boost earnings for Microsoft's fiscal second quarter ending in December by $140 million, a $100 million contribution from Microsoft's hot new Halo 2 video game and another $100 million in favorable currency translation effects, he said.

Shares of Microsoft edged up 12 cents to $27.23 in morning trading on Nasdaq.