CyberMedia announces new First Aid 97.

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 1996--CyberMedia Inc. (NASDAQ/NMS:CYBR) announced the next-generation of its popular, best-selling First Aid 95 software for Windows.

Like its progenitor, new First Aid 97 keeps most Windows crashes from happening; unlike anything else on the marketplace, it now adds an arsenal of proactive measures to predict, prevent, and recover from hardware and software problems, and improve performance.

New First Aid 97 for Microsoft Windows 95 (also tested to run on Microsoft's upcoming Windows 97) will be available in U.S. retail stores in mid-November for $39.95 (anticipated shelf price at participating resellers).

Its enormously rich new complement of features -- including many clever new ways to involve resources on the Internet -- advances First Aid 97 well ahead of alternatives. Its deft mix of a simple, consumer-friendly control panel (an innovative CyberMedia design) with sophisticated features and advanced self-automation extends its appeal from novice through intermediate to advanced users.

These advanced features include the first use of expert system case-based reasoning with an experiential knowledge base in a retail product.

First Aid 97 is noteworthy for the ways it makes its Internet access so transparent to users. For example, when it intercepts a Windows crash, it automatically checks the Internet to locate any updates to the program that crashed. It retrieves and installs any updates or bug-fixes it finds to help prevent future crashes.

It also uses the Internet to supplement its own knowledge base of more than tens of thousands of possible computer problems. It can search thousands of Web sites to find tips and answers to a user problem it does not already know how to resolve (e.g., what to do about a specific printer model that is streaking ink).

"We're really selling peace of mind," said Cybermedia President Unni Warrier. "Today's PC systems are so complex that few users know what to do when they face a problem. And we all know how frustrating it can be to deal with technical support hot-lines. So we designed new First Aid 97 to be able to solve tens of thousands of those problems in moments.

"Without it, it's easy to lose your work, your temper and a great deal of time. With it, what have you got to lose?"

Beyond Basic First Aid

The original First Aid 95 and its newer competitors (some are still being introduced) help prevent crashes, and perform myriad technical analyses on a system and its parameters; however, First Aid 97 stands out among competitors in its ability to resolve most problems automatically.

A new world-class development team at CyberMedia has innovated a number of exciting new capabilities for First Aid 97. These let it go beyond resolving problems to actually helping prevent and recover from them.

For example, an "Early Warning" system within its omnipresent "Guardian" continually monitors the sensors on newer hard disks. It warns users enough in advance of impending disk crashes to let them back up their data and service or replace the drive before disaster strikes.

Its "CPR" (Computer Program Reactivator) reactivates a PC when a program locks up (stops responding), giving users a chance to save their work, not just forcing them to close the program or reboot the system. Its "Emergency Care" restores a PC that won't boot up or that misbehaves after installing new hardware or software.

First Aid 97 now includes a menu selection to launch Dr. Solomon's Find Virus antivirus software, which comes bundled with it.

"We're giving time back to users," said CyberMedia President Unni Warrier. "Where First Aid 95 gave users back what might well have been down time, First Aid 97 goes much farther. We now sense oncoming problems in time to prevent them. We can now automatically fix more kinds of problems, and even extend that to being able to tweak a system into better performance.

"When a problem does happen, we offer the industry's most sophisticated diagnostics, turning hours of troubleshooting into just a moment with an expert system advisor. If the answer isn't built in, we save users support call time by connecting them to the Internet for answers. I dare say any one support incident's time spent on hold more than justifies our very reasonable price."

Extending the Medical Metaphor

First Aid 97 extends the medical metaphor of its name to act more like a complete HMO. For example, the full-time "Guardian" is a metaphorical EKG, constantly monitoring the computer to identify problems with failing hard drives, memory problems, hardware conflicts and data corruption.

The very first item that First Aid 97 presents to a user is a one-click complete system "physical" check-up. This now calls on native Windows utilities like ScanDisk (which it runs without user assistance) to help assure a thorough examination.

"The Specialist" is a system paramedic, or rather a team of advanced, in-depth troubleshooters. First Aid 97 offers Specialists for the system, for applications, for multimedia, and for online or Internet problems.

The "Advisor" is like a nurse, with help, advice, knowledge and even, for those on the Internet, connections. Its reasoning abilities come from an Inference Corp. CasePoint expert system engine, fueled by real-world experience in a knowledge base from ServiceWare Inc., the help desk online knowledge base experts. First Aid 97 marks the first appearance in a retail software package of these two legendary hallmarks of professional help desk systems.

An "Update" button is the First Aid 97 mechanism for self improvement, akin to a refresher course at a medical school. This connects over the Internet to bring in the latest improvements to the First Aid knowledge base and software for a full year (renewable by subscription).

CyberMedia Inc., founded in 1991, develops and markets software products that help Windows PC users fix or avoid problems on their own, reducing their dependency on vendor hot lines or help desk technical support. Its First Aid 95 product family has consistently been on top-10 Windows 95 business software best-seller lists since November, 1995, and has sold more than 1 million copies.

Its newer Oil Change software updates Windows software automatically over the Internet.

For additional information, contact CyberMedia Inc., 3000 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica, Calif. 90405; phone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; e-mail: [e-mail]; World Wide Web URL: http://www.cybermedia.com -0-

NOTE: First Aid is a registered trademark and Oil Change is a

trademark of CyberMedia Inc. All other trademarks are the

property of their owners.

CONTACT: CyberMedia Inc., Santa Monica

Giselle Bisson, 310/581-4700