Microsoft Acquires Linux Company, Then Discontinues Its Popular Linux Antivirus Product

by , 10:00 AM EDT, June 13th, 2003

Microsoft has once again raised the spectre of being a completely unreformed predatory monopolist, of which the company was convicted in its landmark antitrust trial. IDG.com is reporting that Microsoft is purchasing a company called GeCAD, whose main business is providing virus support at the server level for Linux servers. The company also has a small Windows aspect to its business, but the lion's share of the company's revenue comes from its Linux offerings.

According to the IDG article, once Microsoft completes its acquisition of GeCAD, it plans to discontinue the Linux aspect of the antivirus product line, call RAV antivirus. This has raised questions in some quarters about whether or not the purpose of the acquisition was to gain technology, or simply remove a major Linux product from the market. In the IDG article, Microsoft denies such a move, though it would be in line with many of Big Redmond's efforts at gaining and securing market share for its products throughout much of the last two decades. From IDG.com:

Users and resellers of RAV AntiVirus, popular especially on Linux platforms, are in limbo after Microsoft Corp. announced plans to buy the RAV technology from Romania's GeCAD Software Srl.

The RAV product line will be discontinued after Microsoft completes the acquisition of the technology, Microsoft said. GeCAD, which claims its products protect over 10 million users worldwide, will support current customers through the end of their contracts, Microsoft said.

The acquisition has observers questioning Microsoft's ultimate intentions and wondering what the Redmond, Washington, software maker wants with technology that powers leading virus scanning tools for e-mail servers on Linux platforms, rivals to Microsoft's Windows and Exchange products.

"I don't know why Microsoft bought a Linux company, GeCAD's Windows business is really small compared to their Linux business," said Andreas Marx, an antivirus software expert at the University of Magdeburg in Magdeburg, Germany. Marx has just completed a test of GeCAD's antivirus software for Linux and found that GeCAD "is really the best antivirus solution for Linux."

GeCAD's RAV AntiVirus for Mail Servers supports a host of e-mail server products, including the free Sendmail, Qmail and Postfix, and is available for a variety of operating systems, including many flavors of Linux and BSD. Pricing per e-mail domain instead of per mailbox is another major draw for users, experts and users said. GeCAD resellers in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. interviewed by IDG News Service say the bulk of their RAV sales are sales of RAV Antivirus for e-mail servers on a Linux platform.

There's much more information in the full article at IDG.com.

The Mac Observer Spin:

If anyone needed any more proof that Microsoft has not changed its abusive monopolistic ways, here it is. That it is so blatant just makes it that much more sad. The purchase of RAV technology is obviously a calculated move to sink Linux, for without key support applications, like a solid antivirus package, many corporate users will be more hesitant about using Linux.

The in-your-face irony is that much of the virus scanning needs for the Linux platform, though not all, is because of all of the viruses that appear on Microsoft's products. Many organizations use Linux as cross-platform file servers, and because files from Microsoft applications may sit on that server, it must be scanned to thoroughly rid the organization of the virus infestation using a Linux based virus scanner.

The crux of the matter is that Microsoft is using profits gained from its monopoly on Windows and Office in order to try and leverage more market share for its server offerings. That is illegal under the Sherman Antitrust Act, since Microsoft has been held by the courts to be a predatory monopoly, and this development should serve as proof positive that the Bush administration's settlement with Microsoft is an utter and complete failure.

Microsoft to kill popular Linux antivirus product