By Dave Porter

(AXcess News) Reno - Chip-maker, Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC), announced a buyout offer for computer security provider McAfee Corp. (NYSE: MFE) that Wall Street hailed for its shear size, yet beyond the buyout comes privacy concerns when you look at the access to information the security provider has and how it could be used against Intel's competitors.

The deal, valued at $7.7 billion rattled the stock market early Thursday morning, pushing McAfee's shares up more than 57% at the close of trading while Intel's stock languished.

McAfee's largest competitor Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) holds the largest market share though for Intel to buy Symantec the price tag would have been too great to tackle, assuming the world's no. one computer security provider would have gone for a sale in the first place.

Now the term, "Intel Inside" will have new meaning - literally giving the world's biggest chipmaker an advantage over competitors in have permission to access desktop and laptop files at their deepest level - all in the name of security.  Yet its access to information itself that has some privacy experts worried as to what Intel might do with the information it gathers.

Intelligence gurus over at Cervella.com, a leader in online media intelligence services to the web publishing industry, say that its not what Intel will do but what it might be able to do.  "Accessing sensitive information on anyone's desktop or laptop computer can be too tempting a circumstance for any technology company in the computer business - albeit one that manufactures components," said Cervella's Senior Research Analyst.  "The question itself will most likely be overlooked by the Federal Trade Commission, who's only interest is fairness in competition."