Microsoft to buy Network Associates?

BANGALORE: It is alleged that the anti-virus major, Network Associates is to be bought over by Microsoft Corporation. Should it happen, Microsoft would then become the world's largest security software solutions company, taking on smaller competitors like Symantec, Check Point, Trend Micro, etc.

According to various reports on the web, Microsoft, flush with funds post the legal wrangle, will be making a move to acquire companies in the security and anti-virus market space as part of its move to make its soon to be released next generation Windows Long Horn, more secure and reliable.

Meanwhile, Network Associates, with a market value of $2.8 billion, had recently sold off its PGP encryption product line, its Gauntlet firewall business and most recently its Sniffer network monitoring division. It has also proposed to re-baptize itself to McAfee, its flagship anti-virus product.

According to analysts, Network Associates won over industry leader Symantec, as a good fit for Redmond based Microsoft, because of the latter's market value, which is five times more than that of Network Associates.

The last 6 to 8 months has witnessed various viruses and its variants playing havoc and causing extensive damages to users of Microsoft's Windows, which runs on 90 percent of the desktops in the world.

CIOL Bureau