Brightfilter And Advascan To Target Email Security Menace in UK Schools and Local Government

Brightfilter Limited, provider of the Brightfilter(tm) web content filtering software, and Adva Technologies Limited, provider of the Advascan(tm) total email security platform, today announced their partnership to address the urgent need to protect schools and local government authorities from email born viruses, spyware, malware and spam. Brightfilter(tm), the leading-edge solution for web filtering, provides web content control and protection from spyware, phishing and malware sites. The service is developed in the UK and designed specifically for education, home and small-business users. The Advascan(tm) total email protection platform is a natural complement to web filtering. This new partnership will bring Advascan’s antivirus, antispam and content control service to over 10,000 schools in UK using Brightfilter(tm), as well as government agencies. Vadim Opeskine, Chairman of Advascan said: [i]“Brightfilter and Advascan share a common strategy of focusing on the best technology for the application. Brightfilter’s position in the market is rightly deserved. Together we will bring an integrated solution against online threats to the huge number of existing Brightfilter customers.”[/i] Peter Hodgson, CEO of Brightfilter said: [i]“UK schools and local government need online protection that is totally reliable, easy to manage and cost-effective. Brightfilter plus Advascan is a winning combination; the Advascan technology will bring world-class antispam and antivirus to thousands of UK users. With this technology, Brightfilter will deliver even more value to its growing user base.”[/i] Brightfilter Limited, based in Bath, UK, is the developer of the Brightfilter(tm) web content filtering software. The company was founded by Peter Hodgson in 2003. Customers include ISP’s, Government Agencies and Local Authorities including some 10,000 schools in the UK Adva Technologies Limited is the UK developer of internet security software including the Advascan(tm) platform for email antispam, antivirus and content filtering. Adva’s customers and partners are in over 20 countries and include Government Agencies, major corporations and Internet service providers. For further information: [b]Vadim Opeskine[/b] Chairman Adva Technologies Limited 0845 0539331

ISP’S OFFERED LATEST FILTERING SOFTWARE with INTERNET WATCH FOUNDATION PROTECTION INCLUDED

As internet access continues to escalate, parents face a series of concerns about their children’s necessary access to the internet from home - for research, school projects and general leisure use. Whilst most schools employ network level filtering to protect pupils from unsuitable material online, many home PCs are not covered to the same extent, and do not deliver the same quality or control. This can be an additional problem in an era where children are frequently more computer literate - and familiar with the web - than their parents. With this in mind, Bath-based web filtering company Brightfilter has launched a partnership project with all the UK’s major ISP’s, offering them an opportunity to introduce parents to one of the most sophisticated, new generation filtering products on the market. Through the scheme, ISP’s can offer free trials of the solution to their subscribers and choose whether to charge for the service or “bundle” it in with other service offerings. According to Brightfilter Founder and CEO, Peter Hodgson, "A recent survey by the London School of Economics found that while 57% of children have come into contact with pornography online, only 16% of parents are aware of this. Children are protected at school, but they may be lulled into a false sense of security when they get home. We want to educate parents to the fact that a real solution exists to tackle this problem. In addition, the Brightfilter solution blocks access to identified phishing and spyware sites which typically attempt to steal personal data, even credit card and bank details to commit serious fraud." Although a few internet service providers do offer some protection in their more expensive monthly packages, these solutions typically require a bespoke browser, can be complicated to set up, and require specific email addresses for each family member for the filtering to work. Brightfilter’s creators believe their product is different. As Hodgson says, "You can set up Brightfilter in a couple of minutes, it works with all browsers and ISP’s and requires no technical know-how. Film censor classifications, U, PG, 12a, 15 and 18, are the default profiles so each child can be protected appropriately in seconds. Parents can choose unrestricted access for themselves, even on the same PC that the children use, and all users are protected from identified spyware and phishing sites." Brightfilter’s database employs the URL blacklist maintained by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to ensure that illegal pornographic content involving children is never accessible - even inadvertently by adult surfers. Says Hodgson, "We already supply 10,000 schools in the UK with their network-level filtering solutions, and we believe ISP’s are ideally placed to spread awareness to parents of the need and availability of high quality home filtering products such as Brightfilter." [b]Victoria Barry[/b] Red Carpet Marketing Ltd 0870 3500242 [url='mailto:victoria@red-carpet.co.uk']victoria@red-carpet.co.uk[/url]

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