Today, Google acquired VirusTotal, a cloud-based virus scanning service. Neither party has released the final sale price, but we’re sure it was a good deal for both sides. And while Google hasn’t released any specific reason as to why they acquired VirusTotal, they’ve hinted hinted that they may use VirusTotal’s infrastructure to make Google services.
VirusTotal has said that they will maintain their relationships with outside companies after the acquisition is finished, so current users shouldn’t worry about death of the service anytime soon. They have also stated that they will be working with Google to add more features to the service as well as making it more secure.
In case you’re unaware, VirusTotal is a a cloud-based virus scanning service with which users can scan files by either uploading them to VirusTotal’s website or by inputting a URL. Once a user uploads a file, it’s scanned for malware, spyware and other threats.
Both VirusTotal and Google have released statements on the acquisition. If you’d like to view them, we’ve embedded them after the jump.
VirusTotal:
Our goal is simple: to help keep you safe on the web. And we’ve worked hard to ensure that the services we offer continually improve. But as a small, resource-constrained company, that can sometimes be challenging. So we’re delighted that Google, a long-time partner, has acquired VirusTotal. This is great news for you, and bad news for malware generators, because:
The quality and power of our malware research tools will keep improving, most likely faster; and
Google’s infrastructure will ensure that our tools are always ready, right when you need them.
Google:
Security is incredibly important to our users and we’ve invested many millions of dollars to help keep them safe online. VirusTotal also has a strong track record in web security, and we’re delighted to be able to provide them with the infrastructure they need to ensure that their service continues to improve.
Source: TheNextWeb
