Tech Shout!

On Wednesday, McAfee announced the acquirement of Boston-based SiteAdvisor. The privately held Boston, Mass. based company maintains a database of websites that it tests for spyware, adware, spam, browser attacks, and online scams.

Each site is rated by a green, yellow or red icon based on those tests. McAfee says the purchase would give an extraordinary level of security for those surfing the Internet when combined with the company’s other products.

McAfee consumer executive vice president Bill Kerrigan said, “The acquisition of SiteAdvisor illustrates how McAfee continues to understand and meet the digital safety and security needs of consumers, just as we did when we began offering Security as a Service seven years ago.”

SiteAdvisor’s technology also extends to Web searches, the companies explained. When a user searches through Google, Yahoo or MSN, the technology displays the safety rating next to the search result. In addition, as users browse the internet, a button on the toolbar would change colour based on that site’s security rating.

McAfee also said that SiteAdvisor would offer improvements for its enterprise customers. “This unique technology adds another dimension of strength and value to McAfee’s threat databases and will offer a significant corporate benefit,” company vice president and chief scientist George Heron said.

It was not revealed as to when the acquired technologies would be incorporated into future McAfee products.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but a McAfee spokesman touted the addition as a complement to existing security products from the Santa Clara, Calif. company.