NETWORLD+INTEROP -- BOOTH #5089

LIVINGSTON'S SERVER-BASED "CHOICENET" TECHNOLOGY OFFERS CUSTOMIZABLE
CONTROL OVER INTERNET ACCESS

PLEASANTON, Calif., April 2, 1996 -- A new network filtering technology
that offers customized control over Internet access -- providing an
alternative to government-imposed censorship by implementing Internet
content-selection mechanisms for children or corporate employees -- has
been introduced by Livingston Enterprises.

Livingston's ChoiceNet is the first technology to take a centralized,
server-based approach to Internet access control, enabling access to a
user's authorized "site lists" from a single point, rather than requiring
filtering software and site lists to be installed and updated at every
PC.

ChoiceNet is also unique in permitting fully customized access for every
user, so that a parent, employer or Internet service provider (ISP) can
select preferred site lists -- and can even choose different allowable
lists for different members of a family, staff, organization or subscriber
base. And because it uses a "permit access" approach to accessible sites,
ChoiceNet is inherently safer than existing Internet content-control
products whose "deny access" technology allows access to anything not
specifically designated as off- limits.

Invisible to the End User

ChoiceNet is a client-server application platform that functions invisibly
to the end user on Livingston PortMaster dial-up Communications Servers,
PortMaster Office Routers and IRX Firewall Routers. ChoiceNet is designed
to be offered as a value-added service by ISPs, which will allow the more
than 1,500 ISPs currently deploying Livingston products to offer the
technology immediately to their more than 3, 000,000 users.

For dial-in users, ChoiceNet extends the dial-in authorization capability
of Livingston's RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service)
security and accounting protocol by implementing downloadable
user-specific filters from a central server, rather than utilizing shared
filters residing on the dial-in device. This enables an organization to
customize filter lists for individual users, and to easily manage and
update those lists at a single central site.

For users on local-area networks (LANs) connected to the Internet with
Livingston IRX or Office Routers, content-control lists can be applied for
the entire LAN or customized for each LAN-connected PC. Costs for
businesses or schools using ChoiceNet are significantly lower than those
associated with existing Internet content-control solutions, which require
constant updates and changes by an on-site Internet administrator.
ChoiceNet content control is implemented in an existing piece of required
Internet equipment -- the router -- which further reduces the need for a
business or school to purchase additional products.

Application Platform for Content Control, Special-Purpose Networks, ISP
Value-Added Services

ChoiceNet can be used to enforce Internet content control in a variety of
environments. At home, it can keep children from seeing sexually explicit
material on Internet web sites. At work, it can boost employee
productivity by limiting access to game or stock-quote sites from company
computers, or reduce potential employer liability by blocking access to
pornography sites.

But, ChoiceNet's utility is not limited to content control. ChoiceNet can
give ISPs a competitive edge by letting them use their existing network
infrastructure to offer value-added services such as a multi-player game
server or a fee-based content server. Previously this would have required
installation of a separate infrastructure to keep users from roaming at
will among Internet sites once access had been established; now it can be
done simply by setting up different accounts for different services and
using ChoiceNet to control access to those services.

ISPs can also use ChoiceNet to lease out network usage for specific
purposes. For example, a corporation can offer prospective customers
access to its on-line marketing materials -- but not to the rest of the
Internet -- using the ISP's existing dial-in points of presence (POPs).
The ISP can track access and bill the corporation using Livingston's
RADIUS accounting services.

Server-Based Technology More Scalable, Manageable Than PC Applications

Bruce Byrd, Livingston director of marketing, said, "As a general-purpose
access-control technology, ChoiceNet can serve as the enabling platform
for many new applications as the Internet broadens in size and scope. Many
early users, however, will focus on Internet content control for children
and corporate employees. The chief failing of existing content-control
products, such as Surfwatch and Cybersitter, is that they are PC
applications: the filtering software and all site lists must reside on
every PC. And whenever there's a site update, an ever-larger list file
must be downloaded over the Internet to each PC, taking several minutes
and consuming hard-disk space. In addition, these programs may themselves
need to be updated to work with newer versions of web browsers or PC
operating systems.

"With ChoiceNet, neither the filtering application nor the authorized (or
unauthorized) sites reside on the PC. When a user tries to access a given
site, the local dial-in communications server or router goes to the
ChoiceNet server to check that user's site list. This is infinitely
scalable and much easier to manage."

ChoiceNet addresses three additional drawbacks of PC-based products. First,
these products offer fixed sets of vendor-selected lists which cannot be
customized for a particular user (e.g., to permit access to safe-sex
instruction but block all other sex-oriented material). Second, they use a
"deny access" approach where any undesirable material must specifically be
disallowed; thus newly added -- and potentially undesirable -- Internet
sites are automatically accessible until the next time the vendor updates
its software. ChoiceNet avoids this problem by offering a "permit access"
approach that assumes nothing is allowed unless specifically indicated
("deny access" can be used, however, if the user prefers). Finally,
PC-resident software is inherently insecure, subject to deactivation by a
computer-knowledgeable adult or a precocious child "hacker."

How ChoiceNet Works

The four components of ChoiceNet are the ChoiceNet server, which resides on
a UNIX workstation and holds downloadable user-specific filters and site
lists that can contain thousands of host names or addresses; the ChoiceNet
client, included with the ComOS system software on all Livingston routers
and communications servers; the Livingston RADIUS server, which contains
user profiles and performs user authentication and accounting; and an
optional PC notification application that tells users when access to a
site has been denied.

When a user logs into a network and is authenticated, the specific filter
name specified in his RADIUS user profile is downloaded to the local
PortMaster communications server from the RADIUS server. If the user's
filter is not resident on the PortMaster, it is downloaded from the
ChoiceNet server. When the user tries to access a particular Internet
site, the filter is queried to see whether such access is permitted for
that user. The PortMaster requests a lookup of the site list stored on the
ChoiceNet server and, based on the result, either permits the access or
denies it and sends the user a message

Availability -- But No Pricing (It's Free!)

ChoiceNet is a standard feature included free with all Livingston
communications servers and routers shipped beginning in May. Users of
already installed Livingston equipment can obtain the ChoiceNet server via
the Internet from Livingston's web site, http://www.livingston.com/.

The ChoiceNet server operates on most UNIX platforms, including SunOS,
Solaris, Solaris x86, SGI Irix, AIX, HP/UX, Alpha OSF/1, Linux, and BSDI.

LIVINGSTON'S CHOICENET PHILOSOPHY

LIVINGSTON'S CHOICENET AND THE COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT (CDA) QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS

Livingston Enterprises, Inc., founded in 1986, specializes in dial-up
access and LAN-to-LAN interconnectivity. Best known for its Internet
connectivity products, Livingston supplies its PortMaster Communications
Server and FireWall IRX Router technology to more than 1,500 Internet
Service Providers worldwide. Livingston products come with free software
updates and lifetime technical support. The privately-held company is
located in Pleasanton, Calif.
 
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