Microsoft seems to be taking a page from the Symantec playbook. They are continuing their move to aggressively acquire companies that allow them to expand into the security arena. Last year they bought GeCad, the Romanian AV company that made RAV Antivirus. Recently they purchased Giant Software and tweaked their product to create their Microsoft Anti-Spyware which is being beta-tested currently. They also recently announced that they will be releasing a standalone virus removal and cleanup tool once a month. Sybari makes enterprise AV and expands Microsoft's capabilities. It sort of remains to be seen where they are going with all of this. Will they release security applications for free? Will they roll AV and/or antispyware technology into their OS or applications? Will they jump into the security arena and compete head to head with Symantec, McAfee and Trend?

Here are some details about the Sybari purchase: Microsoft to Acquire Enterprise Anti-Virus Security Provider Sybari Software