In a Friday announcement, Internet search giant Google revealed that it has acquired the free, cloud-based virus scanning service VirusTotal, which scans files and URLs that have been submitted by users for potential malware, spyware and other security threats.

Despite the fact that neither Google nor VirusTotal has disclosed the financial terms of the acquisition deal, Google has - though refraining from giving any precise reason for the takeover - hinted that it would probably use the VirusTotal infrastructure to develop its services.

The VirusTotal acquisition appears to be a good deal for Google because of several reasons, such as its utility for Google Docs / Drive, and Google's Gmail email service which handles transfer of links and files en bloc.

So far as VirusTotal is concerned, the company has assured its existing users that the acquisition will not hamper the service; and added that it will continue to maintain relationships with outside companies even after the completion of the acquisition.

Moreover, VirusTotal has also said that it intends working with Google in the direction of adding more features to the service, along with taking measures to enhance the core `security' aspect of its service.

Noting that the acquisition underscores "great news for you (users), and bad news for malware generators," VirusTotal said in a statement: "The quality and power of our malware research tools will keep improving, most likely faster; and Google's infrastructure will ensure that our tools are always ready, right when you need them."