Applied Digital Solutions Announces Anti Hacking Initiative to Protect Small Businesses.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

PALM BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 2000

-- New Small Office Security (SOS) Program Includes Free

Hacking Prevention Tips and Manufacturers Rebate on

the Affordable WebRamp 700s Firewall Product --

Applied Digital Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSX) and Ramp Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: RAMP), a leading provider of easy-to-use, shared Internet access devices, today announced a Small Office Security (SOS) program designed to give small business the tools they need to protect themselves from hackers.

The attacks on several major Web sites earlier this year have raised serious concerns about Internet security for businesses of all sizes.

For a limited time Applied Digital Solutions will offer a $40 manufacturer's rebate from Ramp Networks on the award-winning WebRamps 700s, a comprehensive security solution that includes firewall security, virtual private networking and content filtering for small businesses and home offices. Customers can call [phone] for details of the rebate.

"The temporary shut down of high-profile Web sites like Yahoo, eBay, and Amazon.com have exposed the vulnerability of companies that rely on the Internet," said John Humphreys, Vice President of Ramp's Access Business unit. "Hacking can lead to significant loss in revenue and customers. Many small businesses are not aware of the affordability and ease-of-use of firewall solutions like the WebRamp 700s that can protect them from this type of Internet sabotage."

The back-to-back assaults earlier this year appeared to be a coordinated series of Denial of Service attacks. With this type of assault, hackers flood the router with requests, thereby overloading it and blocking legitimate requests from being processed. These attacks are not designed to breach the network, but rather to overcome the network's capability to handle any other traffic. Although Denial of Service attacks are not new to large companies, the growth of the Internet makes small businesses vulnerable to this type of attack.

The WebRamp 700s protects Internet-connected businesses from hackers and intruders, preventing theft, destruction and manipulation of critical business data by implementing stateful packet inspection, a technology used in enterprise-level firewall products. The 700s is preconfigured to detect and thwart Denial of Service attacks such as Ping of Death, SYN Flood, LAND Attack, IP Spoofing, and other assaults. The product also prevents employees from accessing objectionable Web sites and news groups with content filtering. The product is popular with small businesses and home offices that have cable or DSL Internet access.

"Small businesses can no longer afford to leave their network unprotected, especially when connected to the Internet through a high-speed cable or DSL connection," said Richard J. Sullivan, Chairman and CEO of Applied Digital Solutions. "The WebRamp 700s provides a broad range of functionality that the small office needs, including firewalling, VPN, and content filtering. By offering anti-hacking information, the SOS program makes it easy and affordable for every small business to protect themselves."

About Ramp Networks

Ramp Networks is a leading worldwide provider of high-speed Internet access solutions. The company provides a fully scalable platform for software and services that enables small offices to leverage high-bandwidth Internet-based communications and applications. Designed for security, interoperability and performance, the award-winning WebRamp product family includes analog, ISDN, IP fax, firewall and broadband Internet access products, such as ADSL, IDSL, SDSL, G.Lite and cable solutions. Ramp's customers include small businesses, branch and affiliate offices of major corporations. Ramp Networks is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, with sales locations throughout the world. For more information, visit their Web site at http://www.rampnet.com.

About Applied Digital Solutions

Applied Digital Solutions is a leading edge, single-source provider of e-business solutions. The company differentiates itself in the marketplace by enabling e-business through Computer Telephony Internet Integration (CTII). With five-year revenue growth (from 1994 to 1998) of 64,012%, Applied Digital Solutions is ranked as the fifth fastest-growing technology company by Deloitte & Touche in its 1999Technology Fast 500 listing. For more information, visit the Company's web site at http://www.adsx.com .

Statements about the Company's future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts are 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, and the Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequently occurring events or circumstances.