InstallShield Software Corporation Partners With VeriSign Inc. to Provide Secure Electronic Software Distribution

Business Wire, Oct 22, 1998

InstallShield and VeriSign join forces to promote

code-signing digital certificates

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 22, 1998--InstallShield Software Corporation today announced a partnership agreement with VeriSign Inc., the leading provider of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and digital certificate solutions.

The companies have joined together to co-market VeriSign's Software Developer Digital IDs(SM) to enable the secure distribution of software by developers over the Internet.

Software Developer IDs allow software publishers to digitally sign software code, assuring customers that the software they are downloading comes from a verified source, and that it hasn't been tampered with or corrupted. Support for implementing VeriSign Software Developer IDs has been bundled with two of InstallShield's leading Internet installation and distribution products, InstallFromTheWeb(tm) and PackageForTheWeb(tm). Both products will also facilitate the trouble-free acquisition of VeriSign Digital IDs and enable simultaneous web installation and digital certificate set up.

According to Brian Hall, vice president of marketing of InstallShield Software Corporation, the alignment with VeriSign supports the InstallShield initiative to provide safe electronic software distribution (ESD).

"We believe that the key to utilizing the Internet for business is to ensure that it is a reliable and secure channel for mission-critical transaction processing," explains Hall. "Our partnership with VeriSign will make it easier for developers to include digital certificates with their installations and provide the end-user with added security above and beyond standard encryption for e-commerce applications."

"VeriSign has partnered with some of the world's leading Internet companies, including Cisco, Microsoft, Netscape and Network Associates to provide a higher level of secure electronic commerce and communications," says Anil Pereira, director of marketing for VeriSign. "Our partnership with InstallShield continues our focus on providing software companies the ability to offer their customers leading security technology."

The Technology

InstallFromTheWeb allows developers and end-users to easily "Web-enable" an existing Windows installation for a seamless and trouble-free web-based software download and installation process. PackageForTheWeb, available with the company's flagship product, InstallShield(R) Professional, enables the creation of file formats required for Internet delivery of a developer's component applications. InstallFromTheWeb and PackageForTheWeb allow easy Software Developer Digital ID implementation by merely specifying the Software Publisher Credential (SPC) and Private Key (PVK) files.

Digital IDs are based on public key cryptography. The identity of the ID holder is bound to a pair of unique electronic keys that can be used to sign and encrypt digital information. The public key is widely distributed to users within a sealed digital certificate software file, while the private key is kept safe and only used by its owner. VeriSign's Software Developer Digital IDs interoperate with Microsoft's Authenticode(tm) and Netscape's Object Signing(tm) technology to assure users of the origin and integrity of software.

InstallFromTheWeb and PackageForTheWeb can be ordered via the InstallShield web site (http://www.installshield.com) and by phone at 800/374-4353 and via a network of authorized resellers. InstallFromTheWeb is priced at $395 and PackageForTheWeb is priced at $295 (suggested retail prices). VeriSign Commercial Software Developer Digital IDs are available for $400 per year. For more information about digitally signing your software using VeriSign's Digital IDs and InstallShield's Internet distribution systems, please visit http://www.installshield.com/verisign.

About VeriSign

VeriSign Inc. (Nasdaq:VRSN) is the leading provider of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and digital certificate solutions used by enterprises, web sites, software developers and other individuals to conduct secure communications and transactions over the Internet and private networks. VeriSign's enterprise PKI solutions are available through VeriSign regional account representatives, resellers, and global affiliates. The company's Software Developer's IDs, Personal Digital IDs and Secure Server IDs are available through the company's web site at http://www.verisign.com.

About InstallShield Software Corporation

InstallShield Software Corporation (http://www.installshield.com) is the premier provider of innovative software deployment tools. Founded in 1987, the privately held company is recognized worldwide as the leader in software deployment technologies. Products include InstallShield(R) Professional, InstallShield(R) Express(tm), InstallShield(R) Java(tm) Edition, InstallFromTheWeb(tm), PackageForTheWeb(tm), and DemoShield(R) software products. Ninety-two of the top 100 independent software vendors and more than 100,000 corporate and commercial software developers worldwide rely on InstallShield technology to distribute their applications, including Microsoft(R) Commercial Internet System products, Visio(tm) 5.0, IBM Enterprise Suite, Symantec Visual Cafe(tm), Netscape Navigator(tm), and Adobe PageMaker(tm).