Avast Acquires AVG For $1.3 Billion To Create Security Software Giant (venturebeat.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from VentureBeat: Security software giant Avast Software has acquired rival AVG Technologies. Avast will pay $25 in cash for each of AVG's outstanding ordinary shares, in a deal amounting to around $1.3 billion. Avast said that it's acquiring AVG to "gain scale, technological depth and geographical breadth" and so it can "take advantage of emerging growth opportunities in internet security as well as organizational efficiencies." The combined company will have access to "400 million endpoints" -- that is, devices that have some form of Avast or AVG application installed. Almost half of those are mobile too, which is key in a world that is increasingly shifting away from the desktop. With access to more devices, this will serve the joint company a bigger pool of data on malware, meaning it should be better positioned to offer better security products. "We are in a rapidly changing industry, and this acquisition gives us the breadth and technological depth to be the security provider of choice for our current and future customers," said Vince Steckler, CEO of Avast. "Combining the strengths of two great tech companies, both founded in the Czech Republic and with a common culture and mission, will put us in a great position to take advantage of the new opportunities ahead, such as security for the enormous growth in IoT." The boards of both companies have approved the acquisition. However, AVG's shareholders still need to approve the deal, which Avast expects to happen between September and October 2016.

Comments

uh-oh...

[fishscene]

I'm an AVAST user. For years, AVG has been well-known to bring good computers to their knees. I specifically remember an entire classroom of computers slowing to a near stand-still because AVG initiated a scan. Presentations had to be halted, etc... For years afterward, every computer that had AVG was very slow and when switched to AVAST, speed up immensely. If Avast even hints at becoming slower after this buyout, I'm finding a new antivirus. I have no loyalty.

Are antivirus (especially free one) still relevant

[Eloking]

First off, all virus come from the internet nowadays. Yeah there's USB stick, but, in most case, you plug them between stuff at your house.

Add a good browser paired with ad-block kinda remove all threat from your usual website. Now even Chrome block you from entering website with reported attack. Even sending virus through email seems like a challenge with build-in antivirus check scanning the crap out of every byte in your attached file.

And, as a final layer of security, there's the new Microsoft antivirus (Defender, ex. Microsoft Security defender) that seem to give a decent security. And it's got the most importing feature that all others antivirus seem to lack, it's not a virus itself.

How many time I have checked a slow laptop only to uninstall Norton and see it running fine again? And what about the other free antivirus? When they don't put adware and trick you into giving them money, they just simply sell your data : http://www.pcmag.com/article2/...

So, back to my initial question, are antiviruses still relevant today?

Re:ugh

[CastrTroy]

I'm not sure what the solution is. The main reason that Windows is "insecure" is that it allows you to run whichever program you tell it to. There are other types of exploits out there, but 99% of the problems the people encounter with their computers are from things that they have actively chosen to run. The only way to really stop this is to adopt a walled garden approach like we have with iOS. Linux or MacOS are both vulnerable to user stupidity in the same way as Windows, it's just that usually there are more intelligent people running Linux or MacOS. I've known plenty of people with Macs who've ended up with Malware.