Automatic and Secure Authentication System Now Available for Web Sites and Internet Service Providers.

PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 27, 1997--Auric Web Systems Inc. Wednesday announced the availability of Automatic and Secure Authentication (ASA), a revolutionary technology that allows any Web site on the Internet to identify and authenticate a customer browsing the site.

The authentication is very secure and completely automatic, so Web site surfers do not need to type in any information to be identified by the Web site server.

ASA provides the foundation for various Internet-based electric commerce (EC) applications, as well as a simple and transparent way for subscribers to a site to gain access without tedious passwords.

When someone wants to make a purchase at a Web site, the site does not need to ask the customer for any information. Instead, the site server sends a charge request to an ASA server, where both the customer and the Web site are securely authenticated. Then, the charge for the purchase is forwarded to the customer's credit card or debit account. The entire process for the customer is as simple as clicking a button on the Web site.

Customers do not need new software or hardware and can enjoy the full benefits of ASA using any standard computer, modem and Internet browser, including Netscape Navigator and MS Internet Explorer. Once a customer connects to the Internet via a standard PPP dial-up account provided by the Internet Service Provider (ISP), the customer can be identified and authenticated at any Web site with the click of a button.

"ASA creates what we call a Virtual Proprietary Network, where customers no longer need to worry about sending private data such as credit card number over the Internet, dealing with special encryption technology or maintaining different IDs and passwords for different Web sites," said Ko Ikudome, president of Auric Web Systems.

"The ASA system provides the security and access tracking benefits of a proprietary network with the ubiquity and flexibility of the Internet."

The majority of the ASA software resides at the ISP's facility and is an extension of the existing dial-up user authentication system. A Web site only needs to add a single plug-in software module. "We've just released the system, and already have a number of ISPs interested in licensing ASA technology," said Ikudome.

Additional information is available at http://www.auricweb.com or by email to [e-mail]

CONTACT: Auric Web Systems, Pasadena

Roger Schulz, 818/564-2781

[e-mail]