AXENT Technologies, Inc. announces record first quarter revenues and earnings -- before one-time acquisition related charge.

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 1997--AXENT Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXNT), today reported revenues for the three months ended March 31, 1997 of $8,155,000, an increase of 100% over revenues of $4,082,000 for the same three-month period of 1996.

For the three months ended March 31, 1997, income from continuing operations (before one-time charge) was $774,000 or $0.06 per share, an increase of 833% over income from continuing operations of $83,000 or $0.01 per share for the same three-month period of 1996. For the three months ended March 31, 1997, operating income before royalties, interest and taxes (before one-time charge) was $248,000, an increase of $1,002,000 over an operating loss before royalties, interest and taxes of $(754,000) for the same three-month period of 1996. Results for the three months ended March 31, 1997 include the results of AssureNet Pathways, Inc. from January 7, 1997.

As previously announced, AXENT recorded a one-time charge to earnings during the quarter of $27,632,000 for in-process research and development costs as a result of the acquisition of AssureNet Pathways, Inc. As a result of this one-time charge, for the three months ended March 31, 1997, loss from continuing operations (including one-time charge) was $(26,858,000), or $(2.12) per share, compared to income from continuing operations of $83,000, or $0.01 per share for the same three-month period of 1996.

Rich Lefebvre, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AXENT said, "Our continued strong growth is evidence of the success of AXENT's strategy to secure the computing enterprise by providing the widest range of security products across multiple platforms. Adding AssureNet's products and resources positions AXENT to continue leading the information security industry."

John Becker, President and Chief Operating Officer of AXENT, said, "We are pleased with the results of the quarter which benefited from continued growth across all products and the effective assimilation of the AssureNet business. AXENT continues to focus on increasing market awareness of its product breadth and enhancing channel strength through agreements with BMC Software, Trident Data Systems, Set Solutions and other resellers."

Highlights of the quarter include:

AXENT acquired AssureNet Pathways, Inc. (formerly known as Digital Pathways, Inc.), a privately held supplier of token-based authentication products. This acquisition enhances AXENT's leadership position in enterprise information security by adding complementary remote access authentication products and Internet/intranet authentication products and by significantly expanding AXENT's indirect distribution capabilities.

AXENT announced the integration of its OmniGuard(TM) security management solutions and BMC Software's PATROL(R) application management products. This integration furthers AXENT's stated strategy to partner with and integrate its security products with leading enterprise management solution providers. The planned integration will now give BMC's PATROL customers access to AXENT's security offerings.

AXENT released OmniGuard/Enterprise Access Control for Windows 95 (EAC/95) version 1.1 to provide information protection from Java and ActiveX attacks for networked and stand alone workstations running Microsoft(R) Windows 95(R). EAC/95 version 1.1 prevents the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information to malicious Java(R) and ActiveX(R)Internet applications.

AXENT announced a strategic partnership with Trident Data Systems, an information technology solutions provider specializing in information protection products and services for government and commercial enterprises, to deliver expert security consulting services to AXENT's OmniGuard customers. With this partnership, AXENT expands its Strategic Alliance and Reseller (STAR) Partner Program to include complementary information security consulting service providers.

AXENT added new resellers, including Set Solutions, to provide customers in the financial, utility, and energy industries with AXENT's OmniGuard suite of enterprise security solutions.

PayChex, Inc., a national payroll, human resource, and employee outsourcing service provider, announced use of the OmniGuard suite of information security solutions across its nationwide network.

AXENT Technologies is a leading provider of enterprise-wide information security solutions for distributed computing environments. AXENT's OmniGuard suite of products enables organizations to centrally manage information security. In addition, OmniGuard provides enhanced data confidentiality, access control, user administration and intrusion detection across the Internet and intranets, for UNIX, Windows 3.x, Windows NT(R), Windows 95, NetWare(R) and mid-range systems. Headquartered in Rockville, MD, AXENT's broad line of security offerings is used by Fortune 1000 companies and governments worldwide to effectively secure and protect information systems in heterogeneous computing environments. Contact AXENT via Email at [e-mail], or visit AXENT's World Wide Web site at http://www.axent.com .

AXENT will hold an investor conference call today at 5:00 pm (eastern time) to review results with investors. Those investors interested in participating in the AXENT investor conference call should dial [phone]. The host of the call will be Robert Edwards, Chief Financial Officer.

Statements in this release concerning AXENT's future prospects are "forward-looking statements" under the Federal securities laws. There can be no assurance that future results will be achieved, and actual results could differ materially from forecasts, estimates, and summary information contained in this press release. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, those listed in AXENT's registration statement on Form S-4, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 6, 1997, AXENT's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and AXENT's Form 10- K, for the year ended December 31, 1996, as filed with Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 1997.

AXENT Technologies, the AXENT logo, OmniGuard, OmniGuard/Enterprise Security Manager, OmniGuard/Enterprise Access Control for Windows 95 and OmniGuard/Intruder Alert are trademarks or registered trademarks of AXENT Technologies, Inc. in the USA and in other selected countries. BMC Software and PATROL are trademarks or registered trademarks of BMC Software, Inc. Microsoft, Windows, Windows 95, Windows NT and ActiveX are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. NetWare is a registered trademark of Novell, Inc. Java is a trademark or registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX Systems Laboratories, Inc. Other trademarks and tradenames are trademarks of their respective owner. -0-

                     AXENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

                   CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

                     (amounts in thousands)



                                           March 31,     December 31,
                                             1997            1996
                                          (unaudited)


ASSETS

Current assets:
   Cash and cash equivalents              $16,086         $17,261
   Short-term investments                  18,343          18,629
   Accounts receivable, net                 5,060           4,826
   Prepaid expenses and other current
     assets                                   807             568

      Total current assets                 40,296          41,284

Property and equipment, net                 2,314           1,417
Other assets                                2,580           1,300
      Total assets                        $45,190         $44,001

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

Current liabilities:
   Accounts payable and accrued
     liabilities                           $8,681          $6,361
   Deferred revenue                         4,286           3,029
   Net identifiable (assets) liabilities
     from discontinued operations             (45)            163

      Total liabilities                    12,922           9,553

Stockholders' equity:
   Common stock                               235             203
   Additional paid-in capital              72,416          47,909
   Accumulated deficit                    (40,282)        (13,597)

   Cumulative currency translation
     adjustments                             (101)            (67)

      Total stockholders' equity            32,268         34,448

      Total liabilities and  stockholders'
        equity                             $45,190        $44,001



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                  AXENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

            CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

        (amounts in thousands, except per share data)

                         (unaudited)

                                            Three Months
                                                Ended
                                           1997       1996
Net Revenues:
   Product licenses                      $5,915     $2,674
   Services                               2,240      1,408
      Total net revenues                  8,155      4,082

Cost of net revenues:
   Product licenses                         509        111
   Services                                 425        271
      Total cost of net revenues            934        382

Gross profit                              7,221      3,700

Operating expenses:
   Sales and marketing                    4,292      2,813
   Research and development               1,897      1,084
   General and administrative               784        557
   Write-off of in-process research
     and development                     27,632       ----
       Total operating expenses          34,605      4,454

Income (loss) from continuing
  operations before royalties, interest,
    and taxes                           (27,384)      (754)

   Royalty income                           658        800
   Interest income                          369         72
   Income tax provision                    (501)       (35)

Income (loss) from continuing
  operations                            (26,858)        83

Income from discontinued operations         173      1,027

Net income (loss)                     $ (26,685)  $  1,110

Net income (loss) per common share:
   Continuing operations                $ (2.12)   $  0.01
   Discontinued operations              $  0.01    $  0.11

Net income per common share             $ (2.11)   $  0.12

Weighted average number of common
  shares used in computing  net
   income per common share outstanding   12,646      9,101

CONTACT: AXENT Technologies, Inc.

Robert B. Edwards, Jr.

301/670-3516;