McAfee and Microsoft May Be Getting Closer

Talk of McAfee.com (MCAF Quote) expanding its relationship with Microsoft(MSFT Quote) has been percolating for months, but details about just what that might mean are finally starting to trickle out.

In a recent research note, Paul Rodriguez, a managing director at Boston-based investment bank Fechtor Detwiler, wrote that Microsoft is in the process of forming a strategic relationship with McAfee to bundle the antivirus software maker's products with shipments of the Windows operating system. McAfee, a dot-com spinoff of Network Associates(NET Quote), sells security software online to consumers and small businesses.

Rodriguez said his sources -- which he described in an interview as "various industry channels" -- said the deal is expected to include both a bundling arrangement and hosting component. The deal was expected to have been announced by now, and technical integration has been completed, Rodriguez wrote. ...