Content Technologies' MIMEsweeper Stops BubbleBoy Worm; Three-Pronged Approach Provides Protection.

KIRKLAND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 10, 1999--

Content Technologies, specialists in content security, has a three-pronged approach to stopping the BubbleBoy Worm.

According to information found at the Network Associates and other AV vendor Web sites, The BubbleBoy Worm sends itself to every contact in a user's Outlook or Outlook Express address book and sets a registry key to indicate that the email distribution has occurred. Subsequent occurrences of BubbleBoy will not spread. This worm is written in VB Script. There are two variants; the b variant is encrypted.

With MIMEsweeper products, users can stop the worm at the SMTP gateway or on the e-mail server by quarantining or blocking messages

-- by analyzing the content of the e-mail body

-- by searching the subject line

-- by using compatible anti-virus tools

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BubbleBoy may include the following tell-tale signs:
From:             (person who sent worm unintentionally)
Subject:          BubbleBoy is back!
Body:             The BubbleBoy incident, pictures and sounds

The key to defusing BubbleBoy and other threats is finding them, which MIMEsweeper does with considerable dispatch using recursive disassembly. Recursive disassembly is the ability to reduce e-mail into its most basic components -- decoded, decompressed, and split into subject line, message body and attachments. That means even viruses or other threats such as Trojan Horses hidden in Excel spreadsheets within Word documents in compressed attachments are discovered. MIMEsweeper will protect entire networks from a new threat with a simple change made only once at the SMTP gateway.

"We have seen other threats like these and know how to help companies avoid network downtime and save IT resources from threats such as these in the past," said Peter Kershaw, president of Content Technologies. "The cost to companies who take these threats lightly can be huge. We recommend a content security solution like MIMEsweeper that stops threats like this right at the gateway so that precious network resources aren't wasted."

MIMEsweeper's open architecture means it works in conjunction with most anti-virus engines to provide maximum network security. While traditional virus solutions don't react until a virus has penetrated the network, MIMEsweeper finds the virus and brings the anti-virus engine into play at the gateway.

In addition to enhancing anti-virus capabilities, MIMEsweeper minimizes the legal liability of corporate e-mail use. MIMEsweeper can be configured to stop e-mail threats including confidentiality breeches, offensive language/harassment, spam and spoof; and can quarantine designated file types, block e-mail based on file size, and add legal disclaimers to messages.

To download MIMEsweeper for the free 30 day test drive, the location is: http://www.us.mimesweeper.com/downloads/forms/msw4.htm. Custom configuration data for MIMEsweeper 4.0 user's can be downloaded from: http://worm.us.mimesweeper.com/worms.

Companies who are concerned about security and productivity issues such as these and want advice on additional protection measures should contact Content Technologies at 888/888-6883.

About Content Technologies

Content Technologies develops Internet content security and policy management tools. Content Technologies' flagship product MIMEsweeper, first shipped in 1995, provides complete content security by monitoring and managing use of e-mail, the Web and other intranet/Internet communications. More than 4,600 customers and four million users have deployed MIMEsweeper to enforce their Internet usage policy and protect against content threats that include: misuse of e-mail and the Web, confidentiality breaches, exposure to e-mail legal liability, Spam and Internet-borne viruses.

MIMEsweeper's policy-based engine makes it the content security standard of global technology leaders. Content Technologies has partnerships and OEM agreements with security vendors that include Check Point Software, Cisco, IBM and others. MIMEsweeper is sold direct and through select reseller channels made up of VARs, system integrators and Internet service providers. For additional information, call 800/982-6109 or visit the Web site at www.contenttechnologies.com.