COMPUSERVE INTRODUCES NEW PARENTAL CONTROLS; LIFTS GLOBAL SUSPENSION OF
NEWSGROUPS

Partnership with Microsystems to Provide Cyber Patrol Puts the Power to
Restrict Access to Content in the Hands of the Individual

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 13, 1996 -- CompuServe, the world's leading Internet
access provider and most extensive online information service, today
introduced a number of parental controls and content restriction tools
while announcing that it would discontinue suspension of access to more
than 200 Internet newsgroups. This announcement comes after the company
temporarily suspended access to the newsgroups as a result of a German
investigation into Internet content.

"The introduction of parental controls lets us put the power to control and
restrict content access where it belongs -- with the individual user,"
said Bob Massey, CompuServe's president and chief executive officer.
"Combining parental controls with lifting the newsgroup suspension
reaffirms our commitment to online safety for families and our position
that responsibility for Internet content lies with those who create it or
put it on the Internet, not with the access provider.

"A key issue in Germany was the availability of content to minors. We are
confident that our parental controls will meet any requirements under
German law and will also offer tremendous value to our members." Massey
added that access to five newsgroups separately identified as containing
explicit child pornography materials will remain suspended pending further
legal investigation.

CompuServe's new Parental Controls Center (GO CONTROLS) creates an alliance
with Microsystems Software, Inc., a leading content review company and the
developer of Cyber Patrol(R) Internet filtering software. The Center
offers CompuServe users the ability to:

* Restrict access to those Internet services accessible through the
CompuServe Information Service, consisting of Newsgroups, File Transfer
Protocol, and Telnet;

* Restrict access to several services on the CompuServe Information
Service, identified by Microsystems, which may contain adult-oriented
content;

* Selectively control direct Internet access (e.g. through a browser) to
various content by using Cyber Patrol Internet "filtering" software,
including a one-year subscription to Microsystems continuous content
review services, a $70 value that is free to CIS members worldwide;

* Read the online "Child Safety Online" publication jointly produced by the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Interactive
Services Association, of which CompuServe is a member;

* Join the Parental Controls Forum to discuss content control issues with
other users and to access helpful information;

* Nominate additional content for review and automated filtering by
providing input directly to the Cyber Patrol Internet Research team, a
group of parents and teachers employed by Microsystems.

"Our Parental Control Center and all of its tools, including the free Cyber
Patrol software, related documentation and the Child Safety publication
are now available in English and German and will be followed by French and
Spanish versions," Massey said. "We are committed to doing everything
within our power to help people create the kind of online experience they
want. We believe that parental supervision and controls, not government
regulation and legal confrontation, are the best way to serve the
interests of the growing, global cyberspace community."

Nigel Spicer, president and chief operating officer for Microsystems
Software, Inc. said, "We are excited about working with CompuServe to
provide a global solution to the challenge of parental controls and
content review. We developed Cyber Patrol on the belief that
responsibility for content lies with the individual user, and that parents
need to be actively involved in shaping the online experience for their
children. It is clear that parents worldwide want a flexible solution, and
we are pleased that in cooperation with CompuServe we are able to provide
Cyber Patrol to them."

Cyber Patrol can be downloaded from the CompuServe World Wide Web site
(http://compuserve.com) and the SPRYNET Web site (http://sprynet.com).

Cyber Patrol is an Internet filter and access management tool that allows
parents to restrict Internet access to certain times of day, limit the
total time spent on-line in a day and block access to Internet sites they
deem inappropriate (including WWW, File Transfer Protocol, Gopher,
Internet Relay Chat and Usenet newsgroups) all via an easy-to-use
interface. Cyber Patrol also can be used to control access to local
applications such as games and personal financial managers.

According to Spicer, Cyber Patrol is the only Internet filter with parental
preference controls that let users easily restrict Internet sites
according to their own values. It is also the first Internet filter to
work with all browsers, including 32-bit browsers, and to include built-in
support for the emerging ratings systems such as Safesurf and Platform for
Internet Content Selection (PICS).

The software comes loaded with the "CyberNOT Block List," a listing of more
than 6000 researched Internet resources containing material which parents
may find questionable. Using the CyberNOT List, users can reinforce their
own personal values and judgment as they adjust children's access to
specific Internet sites. Parents may select all or any of the content
categories and can also manage Internet access by general content, time of
day or specific Internet site. Cyber Patrol works with for Windows 3.1,
Windows '95 and Macintosh (System 7.x).

Microsystems Software, Inc. is a privately-held company based in
Framingham, Mass. 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, UK.

CompuServe is an H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) company.

Founded in 1955, H&R Block is a diversified services company and the
world's leader in tax preparation and online information services. H&R
Block Tax Services handled almost one in every seven returns filed with
the Internal Revenue Service in 1995, serving 17.1 million taxpayers in
more than 9,500 offices worldwide.  CompuServe operates the most
comprehensive online network in the world, providing services to more than
900 corporate accounts and more than 4.3 million users in 147 countries.
 
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