Attn: Business & Technology Editors

PureMessage Protects Enterprises from Dangerous New Threat: Software
Identifies Combined Spam and Virus Propagation Techniques 

VANCOUVER, BC - August 27, 2003 - ActiveState, the leader in enterprise
email management software, is successfully protecting large enterprises
by identifying and stopping a new and growing threat to corporate
networks: spam-based, email-borne viruses.  Last week, the Sobig family
of worms was the fastest and most widespread virus deployment to date,
signaling a dangerous new trend in the convergence of virus and spam
techniques.  As a result, email management software that can catch both
incoming and outgoing spam at the email gateway is more
business-critical than ever.

Using PureMessage by ActiveState, customers such as Developers
Diversified Realty Corp (DDRC), a leading real estate investment trust
(REIT) that owns and manages approximately 400 retail operation and
development properties, were able to successfully block the Sobig-F
virus, just like any other unwanted spam message.  

Roy Dew, DDRC's director of technology, elaborates, "There are
companies--rather large companies--who have experienced major downtime
with the recent rash of viruses. We have escaped unscathed. Last week,
our PureMessage server quarantined over 8,000 email messages with
viruses in a 30-hour period. It paid for itself in just two days."

How Virus Writers and Spammers Work Together

The latest virus outbreaks (Sobig, DA-Downloader) have a common element:
the ability to download and install arbitrary software on the infected
machine.  This could allow a virus writer to install open proxy or
webserver software on thousands of machines, creating a hidden network
that can be used to deliver more spam or host their destination sites.
When also carrying a virus, spam messages can have a debilitating effect
on a corporate network in minutes, and are extremely difficult to
contain.  

Up to 70% of spam is now sent through open proxy servers (servers that
don't require a password or login), allowing the creation of hundreds of
thousands of virus copies that can't be traced back to the actual
sender.  A proxy is a spammer's preferred tool because it provides
anonymity, enabling messages to evade less sophisticated spam filters
that rely on source blocking techniques only.  To a lesser extent,
proxies also allow spammers to avoid identification and/or prosecution
from local or state authorities.  

How to Protect Corporate Networks

PureMessage's gateway filtering technology builds on source blocking to
safely identify spam through a unique combination of heuristics, spam
directories, spam signatures, and learning algorithms.  Security
policies trap suspect activities potentially caused by unidentified
viruses.  For example, an enterprise can create a policy that prohibits
more than 50 outbound messages from a single user during the hours of
10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.  Combined with gateway and desktop virus
filtering, corporations can prevent all virus threats from entering and
infecting corporate networks.   

Sophos Anti-Virus, from leading enterprise anti-virus provider, Sophos,
integrates with PureMessage to provide a fully integrated anti-spam and
anti-virus solution.  "There are now computers openly scanning the
Internet for open relays so spammers and virus authors can jump from one
machine to the next," said Gary Thomassen, head of product management at
Sophos.  "The ability to combine Sophos's anti-virus technology with
PureMessage offers IT the assurance that they are protected not just
against current viruses and malicious code, but future variants as
well."

Giga Research warns that many organizations have a false sense of
security, assuming that their firewall will stop this type of attack
from being exploited.  The reality is that firewall defenses are not
enough--what about the road warrior or home office worker who gets hit
with a virus on the road and then connects to the corporate network?
Giga reports that we are now firmly into an era of "blended" threats
that incorporate multiple propagation techniques, and note the challenge
of detecting new viruses, or variants of known viruses, that have
increasingly been identified using heuristic techniques.  They recommend
businesses keep an eye on the evolution of detection capabilities,
particularly heuristics.

"Problems surrounding email security today lie partly with businesses
that have not yet instituted bullet-proof network security.  Spam won't
ultimately be stopped until businesses take responsibility both for what
comes into and what leaves their network," said Jesse Dougherty,
director of development, ActiveState.  "Last week's events underscore
the need for every business to take a two-pronged approach to email
security through a combination of powerful anti-spam and anti-virus
solutions."

About PureMessage
PureMessage by ActiveState is a server-based email filtering solution
providing spam and virus protection, and enabling the creation and
enforcement of other email hygiene policies for inbound and outbound
messages.  PureMessage safely identifies and quarantines spam using a
combination of heuristics, spam directories, and spam signatures,
delivering the most effective spam filtering with low IT administration
and end-user effort.  PureMessage supports AIX, HP-UX, FreeBSD, Linux,
and Solaris.  More details are available at:
www.ActiveState.com/PureMessage.

About ActiveState Corp.
ActiveState enables enterprises and IT professionals to increase
productivity and organizational efficiency.  PureMessage by ActiveState
empowers organizations to take control of their email communications by
protecting against spam and viruses, and enforcing email policy.
Additional information on ActiveState's industrial strength anti-spam
software for enterprises and professional tools for programmers is
available at: www.ActiveState.com.

Media & Analyst Inquiries:
Lori Pike, ActiveState
LoriP@[...].com
604.808.6655

Katey Stewart, Horn Group
kstewart@[...].com
415.905.4019

ActiveState and PureMessage are trademarks of ActiveState Corp.  All
other company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.


Copyright ActiveState Corporation 2003.

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