The search advertising company has been prepping anti-virus scanning for its web-based email client, a development sure to spur antacid sales at places like Symantec and McAfee.
Why should an antivirus scanner from Google for its Gmail service worry firms that make antivirus software for laptop and desktop machines? It’s a very short step from Gmail to the Google Desktop tool, and from there to thousands of pieces of hardware.
If Google makes that a free step for users, a likely possibility since every other service aside from advertising and search appliances from Google is free, then big-time AV makers have a problem.
It’s one thing for a tiny swath of tech-savvy users to grab a free copy of Grisoft’s AVG or a similar product. For Google to make a free, easy-to-implement AV client that its legions of users can grab is another matter, one that kicks publicly traded AV makers right in the earnings announcements.
As Garrett Rogers of ZDNet noted, Gmail’s “What’s New” page was updated with the pending antivirus scanning information, and provided some context to the development:
Google already has excellent spam filtering and phishing detection, this is another way Google will gain “trust” points with their users. Right now GMail only blocks .exe files which have a high probability of being viruses. By disallowing .exe files, most viruses don’t get through, however a full fledged anti-virus feature should help eliminate viruses completely.
Those “trust points” Rogers mentioned demonstrate why commercial AV makers for the personal market should be afraid, very afraid.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
