McAfee Acquires SpamAssassin Network Associates gobbles anti-spam firm. The security software specialist buys anti-spam company Deersoft, the first in a series of planned acquisitions by the company to help people thwart unsolicited e-mail. [CNET News.com]
"With Deersoft, we have acquired extensions to the leading open-source 'blacklist' application, and we will add applications that detect spammers even before they appear on blacklists, supplementing that with the ability for customers to filter internal content with very tight control," Art Matin, president of McAfee for Network Associates
Acquiring a blacklist filter technology (Deersoft is the maker of SpamAssassin) fits well within the McAfee subscription model and complements their anti-virus product line. Like virus definitions, spam blacklists need constant updates. Look for Symantech to follow with its own acquisitions. But blacklists are, at best, 95% effective and result in in false positives, and with spam volume increasing look for further extension into whitelist approaches.
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