Earthlink said today that it bought the
assets of anti-spyware maker Aluria Software and plans to use the technology in its upcoming security suite aimed at business users.
The deal, which is expected to be completed in September and includes
transferring Aluria assets into a new Earthlink division, is subject to unspecified conditions, the ISP said.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Earthlink is the third-largest ISP in the country and services five million customers. With security issues such as phishing
EarthLink has offered a complete security suite since since 2003 for its customers that includes privacy and protection tools, virus blocking parental controls additional e-mail services protections.
A privately held company founded in 1999 and based in Orlando, Aluria software has more than 20 million users worldwide for its Spyware Eliminator product, according to EarthLink. The company employees 50 people.
Aluria is best known for its consumer anti-spyware application. It recently launched its first business-targeted application, Paladin.
The anti-spyware protection, based on the consumer model, is geared toward
small businesses and corporate use. The company also sells a number of
other security, protection and system optimization applications.
“Our vision is that people want state-of-the-art Internet security tools
that are intuitive and easy-to-use,” Rick Carlson, Aluria Software’s chief
executive officer, said in a statement. “We think our technology is a
perfect fit for the protection services that EarthLink offers.”