This one totally caught us off-guard — proc manufacturing giant Intel acquires software threat industry leader McAfee. Though it looks on paper a good purchase for Intel, we still don’t see the logic here. But Engadget reports:
Well, we got our copy of McAfee Antivirus for $29, but it looks like Intel had something a little more substantial in mind. The latter has picked up the Santa Clara-based security / antivirus company for a cool $7.68 billion, which works out to $48 per share in cash. Intel informs us that it will function as a wholly owned subsidiary (under the control of its Software and Services group). This comes hot on the heels of the company’s acquisition of TI’s cable modem unit, and possibly signals a new focus on security for connected devices. “The cyber threat landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years, with millions of new threats appearing every month,” said McAfee CEO Dave DeWalt.”We believe this acquisition will result in our ability to deliver a safer, more secure and trusted Internet-enabled device experience.”
The full post here.
McAfee now carries Intel DNA. Is that good or bad?
This might just be a “purely business” venture for the guys at Intel. We do not see any tech breakthrough in the offing from this acquisition, and we disagree with Mr. DeWalt here. The best protection for us, barring totally isolating your system from the internet and not plugging in USB devices (e.g. USB hard drive, USB DVD burner, USB flash drive etc.), is still a regular and efficient back-up habit.
Some things that we speak of and champion:
- Back up important data to external locations — external hard drive, DVD-RAM, blu-ray discs
- When working with critical media files, save directly to portable hard drives, or output to USB blu-ray burners for blu-ray media
- Set a schedule to back up personal data — photos, media, home movies to external media
- Label your back-up stuff coherently!
If you regularly do this, you can be rest assured that your data will remain safe and usable, as well as keeping your system healthy.
