053007: Google buys US Internet security firm GreenBorder

May 30, 2007
Updated 09:02:03 (Mla time)

Agence France-Presse

SAN FRANCISCO -- US Internet security start-up firm GreenBorder, which specializes in using "virtualization" to create safe zones for online activities, revealed on Tuesday it has been bought by Google.

GreenBorder, which is based in Mountain View, California, where Google has its headquarters, posted a message at its website that it was acquired by the king of Internet search.

GreenBorder said it is no longer taking on new customers and will service current subscribers until their contracts expire. GreenBorder was founded in 2001 and backed by venture capital.

The terms of the deal and Google's plans for GreenBorder's technology were not disclosed.

GreenBorder lets computer operators combine hardware and software to create "virtual" machines where tasks such as reading e-mail or exploring websites can be done without exposing systems to viruses or other malicious programs.

Web-based programs that try to access files or computer registries are stopped from leaving what are commonly referred to as online "sandboxes" created by GreenBorder.

The virtual "sandboxes" vanish at the end of each session, taking hacker assaults such as spyware, viruses, and trojans with them.

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