Trend Micro to Buy Anti-Spyware Firm

Following the footsteps of Microsoft, Trend Micro announced on Monday that its U.S. division will acquire Intermute, a developer of anti-spyware programs, to strengthen its suite of security products. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Microsoft late last year acquired Giant Software in order to fight the increasing problem of spyware on Windows machines. The acquisition of the company led to the release of Microsoft Anti-Spyware Beta in early January.

"Trend Micro continues to be wholly focused on providing our customers with security solutions that offer advanced protection against unpredictable, malicious threats," said Eva Chen, CEO and co-founder of Trend Micro.

"The acquisition of InterMute further strengthens our ability to execute upon our anti-spyware strategy and their technology and products are entirely complementary to our own."

Intermute's software will still be available as a re-branded standalone Trend Micro product; however, the company said it intends to add the software's capabilities into other products across its lineup.

Research firm IDC recently reported that two-thirds of all computers have some kind of spyware on them, and in some cases, computers were found with hundreds of spyware applications on them. Infected computers exhibit slow response times, unwanted pop-up ads, and in some extreme cases, can cause Windows to crash altogether.