Micro-blogging site Twitter might be an incredibly popular social networking destination, but with irritating direct messages wanting to show “what others have been posting about you”, it has also become a favoured destination for cybercriminals.

Twitter is looking to curtail the spread of malware via its site by revealing its acquisition of web security company Dasient.

Dasient specialised in solving web-scale security problems dealing with malware as well as other kinds of online abuse. The company launched a web anti-malware platform that can scan URLs and websites for harmful content in 2009. The following year it released an anti-malvertising service to protect ad networks as well as publishers from malicious ads.

This acquisition, which is effective immediately, sees Dasient’s  technology, tools, as well as its software team being transferred to Twitter. The financial terms of this transaction were not disclosed.

 

“By joining Twitter, Dasient will be able to apply its technology and team to the world’s largest real-time information network. As part of this merger, Dasient is winding down its business and is no longer able to accept new customers,” an announcement read on the Dasient blog.