PatchLink Broadens End-Point Security Capabilities Through Support of Network Access Protection Technology from Microsoft

Business Wire, July 26, 2004

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- PatchLink(TM) Corp. (www.patchlink.com) today announced its support for Network Access Protection technology from Microsoft, which will allow PatchLink to further extend its ability to deliver end-to-end solutions for secure network access that meet both organizational and end user demands. An extensible standards-based solution that enables organizations to block unsecured computers from accessing a Windows-based corporate network, Network Access Protection is supported by PatchLink as well as more than 25 other complementary technology providers.

"We're pleased to welcome PatchLink Corp. as one of the first supporters and preliminary reviewers of Network Access Protection technology," said Steve Anderson, director in the Windows Server Group at Microsoft Corp. "Network Access Protection is an important technology that will help customers lower the cost of managing access needs on Windows-based platforms while simultaneously providing more control to IT professionals."

Already working to advance the end-point security technology cause (also known as "clean room") across a variety of operating systems and security layers, PatchLink CEO Sean Moshir noted, "Network Access Protection is a vital security initiative and critical to any corporate or public sector organization battling to keep its distributed network protected from the viruses, Trojans, and malicious worms that so easily infect networks through laptop and mobile device connections. It is a great day when Microsoft takes a stand for such an important security technology initiative. PatchLink is pleased to be able to offer this technology solution to our patch and vulnerability management customers as well."

Scheduled to be available in an updated release of Windows Server 2003 Update, codenamed "R2", Network Access Protection technology delivers a uniform method for detecting the health of a remote computer such as a laptop attempting to connect to a network. This computer's access to the corporate network is restricted until compliance to policy is validated and the computer is updated to current security policy levels. PATCHLINK UPDATE(TM) will be updated to support Network Access Protection technology to assure each end-point computer's compliance with security best practices as well as patch, anti-virus and configuration policies prior to granting access to the enterprise network.

Moshir added, "PatchLink's support of Network Access Protection emphasizes our continued commitment to providing cross-platform, Internet-based architecture to the broader industry for the development and production of end-to-end security and systems management solutions."

About PatchLink Corp.

Consistently ranked by industry experts as the proven leader in patch management and having the largest installed subscriber base of patch management software, PatchLink Corp. (www.patchlink.com) celebrates enterprise security success since 1991. With a strong reputation for providing the IT community with unparalleled network and security management software products, today PatchLink's software is installed on millions of nodes worldwide. PATCHLINK UPDATE(TM) is the company's security-centric, cross-platform patch and vulnerability management software product. Through automatic and accurate detection of patch-related vulnerabilities, PATCHLINK UPDATE provides efficient and flexible remediation according to company policies and baselines across all enterprise platforms and boundaries.

(C)2004 PatchLink Corp. All rights reserved. PatchLink, the PatchLink logo, and the PatchLink product names and logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of PatchLink Corp. In addition, other companies' names and products mentioned in this document, if any, may be either registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.