Symantec and McAfee Takes Direct Hit
November 21, 2008 by Milo Riano
Filed under Computers
Didn’t Microsoft kill Netscape? Maybe they have forgotten about numerous lawsuits regarding their monopoly stance. Apparently, both Symantec and McAfee has taken direct stock hits with Microsoft’s announcement on their security freebie called Morro.
Both the stocks of Symantec and McAfee has taken a nosedive in anticipation of declining sales following the freebie offering from Microsoft. Microsoft Live OneCare was probably a freebie as well but maybe Microsoft didn’t want to nudge anyone in the business; but now, they just don’t care.
In an excerpt: Following Microsoft’s announcement, Symantec and McAfee stocks took a nosedive Wednesday over concerns that the software giant would take a significant portion of their market share in the PC security space. Symantec shares fell 9.44 percent to $11.23, while McAfee’s dropped 6.62 percent to $26.68. However, Microsoft also fell 6 percent at $18.45
Some security companies maintain that Microsoft’s announcement is a sign of capitulation and an attempt to edge into a market dominated by established security vendors. McAfee said that OneCare, Microsoft’s consumer online security solution, captured less than 2 percent of the market since it was released two years ago, according to Reuters.
Microsoft, however, contends that it is not undermining either Symantec’s nor McAfee’s marketshare due to the fact that its new free download only provides protection against malware — a term referring mainly to online threats such as Trojans, spyware and other forms of malicious code.
In an ironic twist, I was browsing about a security package I was planning to buy for my new Lenovo S10, but after learning about the freebie, I decided to wait for it instead. I together with thousands of would be consumers of Symantec and McAfee might decide to wait which would contribute in their stock nosedive.
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