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Security vendor acquires online privacy company

Security

Internet security vendor AVG Technologies has confirmed its acquisition of PrivacyChoice of Amsterdam to help the company expand from its 150 million active users barrier.

PrivacyChoice’s stated goal is to make privacy easier and in the last four years of its existence the company has been providing both B2C and B2B tools through a Web interface. Its flagship product is called Privacyfix. PrivacyFix is aimed at addressing web users’ privacy concerns and enables users to manage privacy settings across Facebook, Google, LinkedIn among other Web sites through a personalized dashboard. The software can indicate which Web sites may share personal information and which one’s have experienced data breaches in the past.

PrivacyChoice founder Jim Brock said the mission has been to deliver more effective and more informed choices about how your data is collected, used and shared. In AVG, the company saw strong synergies between the two for online privacy.

Brock is expected to take a vice president of privacy products job at AVG after the acquisition is approved.

There are plans under way to bring Privacyfix to Canada along with other international markets. Currently its only available in the U.S. for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, with Microsoft Internet Explorer.

The acquisition is intended to bolster AVG’s online privacy portfolio. AVG currently offers a Do Not Track feature, which actively stops Web sites from tracking users’ movements online, as a free update on certain products.

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