Security News > 2022 > August > NortonLifeLock and Avast $8.6b deal gets provisional yes from UK regulator

That closer look is pretty much done and dusted and the CMA has provisionally decided that the deal doesn't raise competition concerns in the UK. This is due to existing players, including the duo's main rival in the UK, McAfee, and Microsoft's bundling of its own security applications into Windows.

Microsoft has adopted somewhat of a scattergun approach to cybersecurity in its flagship operating system; what is built into Windows is known as Windows Security and includes Microsoft Defender Antivirus.

The confusion seems to have spread to the CMA, which noted that "Microsoft Defender is not sold as a separate product" in its report while Microsoft states in its FAQs "Microsoft Defender is a part of the Microsoft 365 subscription."

The CMA did note the arrival of Microsoft Defender for Individuals in June, which it said does indeed need that Microsoft 365 subscription.

Microsoft Defender, being part of Microsoft 365, can't be purchased as a stand-alone product.

The CMA did say that user numbers taking advantage of Microsoft's solution are "Both very high and growing very fast" but were not included in the analysis due to its inclusion in Windows.

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https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/08/03/norton_cma/