McAfee provides security for HP and Toshiba

McAfee has announced agreements with HP and Toshiba to provide security software on desktops and laptops aimed at business customers.

The security vendor will provide a 60-day trial of pre-installed McAfee Total Protection Software on selected HP commercial desktops and laptops aimed at small businesses.

HP small business customers will have the opportunity to upgrade after the trial period for a fee.

McAfee said that the deal would make ensure HP customers had security out of the box after purchasing a product for their business.

McAfee consumer, mobile and small business senior vice president Todd Gebhart said: "The need to secure computers from complex internet threats is becoming a top concern for small business customers" he said.

McAfee will also provide Toshiba customers with Internet Security Suite software on laptop computers aimed at consumer, small and medium-sized businesses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Gebhar said it would expand McAfee's footprint worldwide, with security now a global issue.

It was also revealed that McAfee had made moves into the data protection market with the $46 million (23 million) purchase of data loss prevention company Reconnex.

The vendor said it was a deliberate move into a space that had opened thanks to the growing number of high profile incidents where confidential data had been stolen.

The companies said that they believed the combination of technologies would significantly improve the way they worked with data protection and network security.