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

Posted by BeauHD on from the join-forces dept.

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.

13 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. new company by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    is called "Avavg"

    1. Re:new company by lgw · · Score: 2

      More likely "Avast Accumulation of Bureaucracy". Still, I doubt they can become so large and awkward that their products reach the quality level of Norton AV. I think quantum physics protects us from having two adjacent products at absolute zero.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  2. Isnt AVG free? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why would you pay for it?

    1. Re: Isnt AVG free? by mschwanke97402 · · Score: 2

      Well as I am told the former big guy at AVG that turned that product into more adware than not moved to Avast to accomplish the same goal. It only makes sense that he buys out his former company and puts all of his handiwork into one business.

  3. ugh by LichtSpektren · · Score: 3

    It's rather appalling that there even exists a multibillion dollar anti-virus industry for Windows. Although I'm not entirely blaming Microsoft here, since almost every single one of these shite companies are snake-oil salesmen that poach upon Windows' reputation for being insecure (it still is, but avast or AVG aren't going to fix it).

    1. Re:ugh by CastrTroy · · Score: 3, Insightful

      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.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
  4. And I'm just sitting here running Bitdefender by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Informative

    Avast and AVG's free products are both dedicated to the notion that they can harass and annoy you into giving them money. Does that work on people?

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  5. uh-oh... by fishscene · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:uh-oh... by The-Ixian · · Score: 4, Informative

      AVG was ok back in the day.

      They had a pretty good client/server product that made central deployment very easy.

      At the time, it ran circles around Symantec's client/server software.

      But then, around 10 years ago, AVG started going down the same road that Symantec went down. Adding feature bloat to every new release.

      Within a couple of years, AVG had destroyed their lean software.

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
  6. Re:AVG constantly upselling by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 4, Informative

    AVG used to be good and then it got very bloated.

  7. Are antivirus (especially free one) still relevant by Eloking · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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?

    --
    Elok
  8. Re:Are antivirus (especially free one) still relev by wbr1 · · Score: 2
    Windows defender sucks ass. See here: https://www.av-test.org/en/ant...

    Far below industry average. So yes AV is still relevant. For more data, try here: http://www.av-comparatives.org...

    --
    Silence is a state of mime.
  9. Re:Are antivirus (especially free one) still relev by wbr1 · · Score: 2
    Your reliance on ad hominem (the animal porn jibe), shows the weakness of your position. MS Defender is just that-decent. I manage a shop that handles 100s of PCs a month. We used to recommend Defender (MSSE at that time). It is free, lightweight, and had a good capture percentage. The capture percentage has steadily dropped for 1.5 years or more. This is born out in serious real world (not PC world) testing and in our experience.

    User training and good web and spam filtering should always be the first line of defense, but when determining security, there are much better free options than Defender.

    Also, you are more likely to get a virus from a religious site than a porn site, my proclivities for donkey sex be dammed. http://irregulartimes.com/2013...

    Furthermore, you know where most of our infections come from? For businesses it is targeted spam, and occasional drive-by malware. For home users it is free streaming sites (download this updated flash player to watch GoT), or kids trying to get the newest free mod/cheat for minecraft (sometimes other games, but mostly 9-12 year olds and minecraft).

    --
    Silence is a state of mime.