Storage: Quarterdeck Announces Crash Defender Deluxe 2.0, Award-Winning Crash Protection Technology; Public Beta Version of Crash Defender Deluxe Available at www.quarterdeck.com - Product Announcement

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, Sept 14, 1998

Quarterdeck Corporation Tueday announced Crash Defender Deluxe 2.0, the most reliable crash protection utility for Windows 95/98 and Windows NT. The award-winning crash protection technology was named C/NET's Editor's Choice for Best Crash Protection. C/NET said "the company's first-generation, sophisticated crash protector is powerful and reliable, and it packs all the features you really need. In the close race between crash protectors...(it) wins by a nose."

Crash Defender Deluxe 2.0 users don't have to worry about loss of productivity and the potential loss of valuable business and personal data. It is the only crash protection solution for Windows 95/98 and Windows NT designed to automatically intercept and fix crashes and screen freezes before they cause a loss of data. Crash Defender Deluxe provides proactive protection, monitoring the system in the background to intercept application crashes and screen freezes. It also lets the user stabilize applications long enough to save valuable data and exit the application without rebooting the system and can also reactivate applications that appear to be frozen.

Preliminary internal tests against Symantec's CrashGuard, using Microsoft Office applications and 58 crash scenarios from Microsoft's Web site, show that Quarterdeck's Crash Defender Deluxe is by far the better crash protection utility, fixing 48% more crashes.

"Proven best-of-breed crash protection technology makes the new Crash Defender Deluxe the smartest and most reliable protection against crashes and screen freezes," said Gary Ulaner, director of product management at Quarterdeck Corporation. "A simple click on the Crash Defender 'Fix' button provides the most powerful and comprehensive crash protection technology available to stabilize the application and save work-in-progress. Users need reliable crash protection software if they want the security of knowing their data is protected. They also require products like these to take up as little overhead as possible. Crash Defender Deluxe 2.0 is an extremely compact solution requiring minimal system overhead."

A public beta of Crash Defender Deluxe 2.0 is available now for download and trial at www.quarterdeck.com. The file is 4018K. Users can provide comments and feedback by sending E-mail to cd2beta@qdeck.com.

Crash Protection Crash Defender Deluxe 2.0 offers crash protection that runs in the background waiting to intercept an application crash or GPF, stopping crashes before they disable an application or Windows itself and provides the user with the best chance of saving their work-in-progress. With three levels of crash prognosis - good, fair, poor - the user knows the source of the problem and the state of the crash and can make an informed decision about how to deal with it.

When it detects an impending crash, Crash Defender Deluxe alerts the user with easy-to-understand language and a visual "traffic light" that estimates the seriousness of the crash. A green light indicates that the application can be completely stabilized, allowing work to continue and data to be saved without having to restart the application or reboot the system. A yellow light indicates that the offending application can be stabilized long enough for work to be saved and the user can exit the application normally. A red light indicates the damaged application is very unstable and a loss of data could occur. Whether the light is green, yellow or red, a click on the Crash Defender Deluxe "Fix" button will stabilize the system and save the user's work.

Screen UnFreeze Crash Defender Deluxe 2.0 provides an extra level of safety for safeguarding a user's work that no other crash protection solution offers. It unfreezes applications that appear to be locked or frozen so that the user can reactivate the application long enough to save their work and exit the program normally. Crash Defender also integrates an "UnFreeze" button into the Windows Close Program dialog box (CTRL-ALT-DEL) so that users can reactivate locked or frozen applications using a familiar model.

PRODUCT AVAILABILITY Crash Defender Deluxe 2.0 is available at an estimated street price of $39.95 and will ship to all major computer retail outlets nationwide later this month. Crash Defender Deluxe 2.0 is also available direct from Quarterdeck by calling 800/683-6696 toll-free, or 573/443-3282, or by accessing the Quarterdeck online store via store.quarterdeck.com/.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Crash Defender Deluxe 2.0 requires a CD-ROM drive and 8Mb RAM (16Mb RAM recommended) and 3Mb of hard drive space for Windows 95/98; 16Mb RAM (32Mb RAM recommended) and 3Mb of hard drive space for Windows NT.

Quarterdeck Corporation is a global leader in the development and marketing of PC helpware-software specifically designed to prevent and solve PC performance problems, especially those encountered in networked - Internet and intranet - environments. The Company's goal is to make personal computing trouble-free for users and network administrators alike, while reducing the need for live technical support. Quarterdeck's current product line, which addresses storage management, system conflict resolution, virus protection, system updating, and enhanced access to networked information and communications resources, is marketed to both end-users and businesses via retail distribution, corporate resellers and OEM's, direct marketing channels, and the Internet. Quarterdeck's products are available in over 14,000 outlets throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in over 29 countries worldwide. Incorporated in 1982 and traded on Nasdaq under the symbol QDEK, Quarterdeck's worldwide headquarters are in Marina del Rey, California, with its European operations based in Dublin, Ireland. Further information may be obtained by calling 800/683-6696 toll-free or 573/443-3282, by accessing Quarterdeck's Web site at http://www.quarterdeck.com/, or by sending e-mail requests to info@quarterdeck.com.