Grisoft, developer of the AVG family of security software products, today announced the acquisition of Exploit Prevention Labs, a pioneering developer of safe surfing technology that protects Internet users against malicious web sites and drive-by downloaded exploits. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The deal is expected to be finalized by December 31st 2007.

“Unsafe hyperlinks and the poisoning of legitimate websites represent one of the biggest threats facing computer users since the advent of viruses,” said J.R. Smith, CEO of Grisoft. “The research and technology behind Exploit Prevention Labs’ LinkScanner product family will enable us to provide our 60-plus million users with access to the most complete protection against internet security threats. Our combined operations will give us the dual advantages of fast reaction and deep research capabilities over other vendors attempting to address this space.”

The acquisition will allow Grisoft to leapfrog the safe surfing initiatives of other anti-virus vendors, who have focused on database-driven approaches that are incompatible with the dynamic, elusive nature of these threats. Exploit Prevention Labs' experience has shown that real-time analysis is the most reliable method of protecting users against fast-moving Web 2.0-style attacks by cybercriminals.

“Web exploits are a dynamic problem that requires a real-time solution,” said Roger Thompson, co-founder and CTO of Exploit Prevention Labs. “In today’s Web 2.0 world of user-generated content and hyperlinked-everything, a web page can be safe one minute and dangerous the next. LinkScanner technology provides definitive real-time threat protection at the time that matters most - when the user clicks the link.”

The need for real-time solutions and fast reaction times has been particularly clearly demonstrated over the past few weeks with the exploiting of Alicia Keys’ and other musicians’ MySpace pages and the infective banner ads that appeared on major sports information sites.

Most of Exploit Prevention Labs’ 18 employees - including key executives Roger Thompson, Greg Mosher and Chris Weltzien - will join Grisoft. Roger Thompson becomes Chief Research Officer (CRO), Greg Mosher becomes VP of Engineering, and Chris Weltzien becomes VP of Business Development.

Short-term product integration plans include adding LinkScanner technology to AVG Anti-Virus Free and offering LinkScanner Online, a free on-demand URL scanning service, directly from the AVG web site. Grisoft also expects to maintain LinkScanner Pro, Exploit Prevention Labs’ flagship product, as a standalone offering.

Grisoft and Exploit Prevention Labs will combine their threat research operations, providing research centers on three continents (North America, Australia, and Europe) offering AVG users the benefit of around-the-clock malware research 365 days a year.