Open Market Web Site Launches Free "Internet Security" Cambridge, MA, Oct 10 -- In a teleconference, Open Market launched a three-pronged attack on Internet "security breaches" that includes an online "security checker" for multivendor Web browsers belonging to end users, free upgrades from the Netscape Secure Server to the Open Market's Secure WebServer, and the giveaway of sample code to operators of "any extensible secure Web server." The trio of security remedies will all be available free of charge starting this week from the Open Market Web site at <http://www.openmarket.com>, officials reported during the teleconference. "Our entire business is based on people having trust in open networks," noted Shikhar Ghosh, Open Market's chief executive officer (CEO). "We'll make a significant investment, with the view that all of will suffer if (the public) loses trust." Consumers are only "gradually gaining some confidence" in the Internet, according to Ghosh. But recently, reports have surfaced of security problems with the Netscape Secure Server, and some Web sites using the Netscape product have been "saying they are going to go off the air." As a result, he added, Open Market is introducing a policy that allows licensed users of the Netscape Secure Server to download Open Market's Secure WebServer "at no cost." The other two planks in Open Market's new pro-security Web "resource center" are "informational," the journalists and analysts were told. Open Market will work with the makers of Web browsers to track information on "known problems" with browsers, including browser tampering. "We will (also) inform the (Web) software companies of problems," the CEO maintained. The Open Market Web site will perform a database look-up on the type of browser in use, and will then report back to the user on any security issues known to be associated with that kind of browser, elaborated Open Market's Win Treese. "One strength we have is that we don't have a browser. We are agnostic," Ghosh told the telephone audience. Open Market also performs "extensive testing" on Web browsers. "We do as many as several hundred versions of browsers coming in at any time. We definitely expect (to) unite the industry, rather than dividing the industry," he added. The sample code to be offered from the Open Market Web site will provide "underlying code" for "reference implementations on what are the major ways of handling the known (Internet security) problems," according to Ghosh. "To reiterate, security is one of those pillars on which the entire industry rests," contended the Open Market chief, to conclude the teleconference. Contact: Open Market, 617-621-9500; Press Contacts: Wendy Ziner, Open Market, 617-374-6508; Dawn Geary or Merrill Freund, Schwartz Communications for Open Market, 617-431-0770) -----