Google grabs malware blocker

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 30 May 2007 06:02

IT Industry - Strategy

Security software provider GreenBorder has been acquired by Google, according to a terse message on the company's website: "GreenBorder Technologies, Inc. has been acquired by Google, Inc. We will continue to support our existing customers through the end of their current subscriptions."

The company's GreenBorder Pro software works with Internet Explorer 6 and 7 plus Firefox 1.5 and 2.0 to create a sandbox isolating browser activity from the rest of the computer so any malware installed by a site vanishes at the end of the session.

Google has not announced the acquisition yet, let alone the price it paid or its plans for the software. The company already provides warnings in search results for pages that may install malware.

One possibility is that it will offer GreenBorder Pro as free software (GreenBorder previously offered a free consumer version) in an attempt to maintain trust in the web - an important issue if its business is to prosper. Google Pack already includes Norton Security Scan and Spyware Doctor Starter Edition, so GreenBorder would not be out of place.