Prodigy licenses Cyber Patrol to enhance parental controls for Internet, Chat; Access controls allow parents to restrict access to inappropriate Web sites, USENET newsgroups and Chat Rooms

Business Wire, Feb 26, 1996

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 26, 1996--Prodigy Services Co. and Microsystems Software Inc., of Framingham, Mass., today signed an agreement to offer Microsystems' Cyber Patrol Internet access management software to Prodigy members at no additional charge.

Prodigy was the first major online service to offer parental access controls, beginning in the late 1980s. The Cyber Patrol program, which Prodigy plans to make available as an optional download, is an enhancement to Prodigy's existing controls, and would allow parents to block children's access to inappropriate Web sites, Chat rooms, and USENET newsgroups. This specific version of Cyber Patrol would work with Prodigy, its proprietary Web Browser, Newsgroup Newsreader, and Netscape's new browser, which will soon be made available to Prodigy members at no extra charge.

Cyber Patrol contains regularly updated listings of sites and other content it considers inappropriate because of sexual and other themes. The site listing, called CyberNOT list, is organized by categories so parents can assign a different set of category values uniquely for each child in the family. When a child tries to access a newsgroup or Web site that has been identified as inappropriate by Cyber Patrol, the program automatically blocks the site and won't allow it to be displayed on the computer.

Children who access Prodigy through CyberPatrol would still be able to surf the Net and visit thousands of educational and entertaining sites like the Smithsonian and NASA, as well as special Prodigy-created Web sites like KidsZone and Planet Teenager.

"With our new Web-centric format, the Internet is an important part of the whole Prodigy experience," said Prodigy President and CEO Ed Bennett. "With the addition of Cyber Patrol, parents and teachers would be able to set limits on where kids can visit in cyberspace, and still let them benefit from all the extremely valuable content on the Net."

Nigel Spicer, president and COO of Cyber Patrol, says, "Microsystems developed Cyber Patrol on the belief that the responsibility for content control lies with the individual user. Parents have the right as well as the responsibility to be actively involved in shaping the online experience for their children."

Microsystems Software Inc. is a privately held company based in Framingham that develops and markets creative, cost-efficient Internet and productivity software. In 1995, its first year of eligibility, Microsystems ranked number 223 on the Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing privately held companies.

Microsystems products include: CaLANdar, the leading enterprise-wide calendar/scheduling software; Cyber Patrol Internet filtering software for home and school; Cyber Sentry Internet filtering and license metering for corporate networks; and HandiWARE, a family of adaptive access software solutions for persons with disabilities including screen magnification, word prediction and keyboard alternatives. Its European operations are headquartered in the offices of Microsystems Software International Ltd. in Ascot, Berkshire, U.K.

Prodigy Services Co., a partnership of IBM and Sears, is creator and distributor of Prodigy, the pioneering consumer online service that's been available nationally since 1990. The company also funds promising Internet-based content providers through its Wildflower Partners division, which debuted last December with the purchase of an equity stake in SonicNet, the number one provider of alternative music content on the World Wide Web. Next month, Prodigy Services Co. will expand its offerings when it begins the market trial of an Internet-only access product featuring an innovative $1-an-hour pricing plan with no monthly subscription fee.

CONTACT: Prodigy

Mike Darcy, 914/448-8846

darcy@prodigy.com

or

Microsystems

Susan Getgood, 508/879-9000

susang@microsys.com