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Computer Undergroud Digest Vol. 09 Issue 64
Computer underground Digest Wed Aug 27, 1997 Volume 9 : Issue 64
ISSN 1004-042X
Editor: Jim Thomas (cudigest@sun.soci.niu.edu)
News Editor: Gordon Meyer (gmeyer@sun.soci.niu.edu)
Archivist: Brendan Kehoe
Shadow Master: Stanton McCandlish
Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth
Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala
Ian Dickinson
Field Agent Extraordinaire: David Smith
Cu Digest Homepage: http://www.soci.niu.edu/~cudigest
CONTENTS, #9.64 (Wed, Aug 27, 1997)
File 1--Wired News on the Politics of Netscape
File 2--Sex is driving Internet progress, experts say (fwd)
File 3--Commerce Dept encryption rules declared unconstitutional
File 4--AOL Target of Credit Card Scam
File 5--E-Mail Advertising (fwd)
File 6--Novadigm Sues Marimba
File 7--ADVISORY/Novadigm CEO Rebuffs Marimba
File 8--Cu Digest Header Info (unchanged since 7 May, 1997)
CuD ADMINISTRATIVE, EDITORIAL, AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION APPEARS IN
THE CONCLUDING FILE AT THE END OF EACH ISSUE.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 21 Aug 1997 10:25:52 -0800
To: fight-censorship@vorlon.mit.edu
Subject: File 1--Wired News on the Politics of Netscape
Source - fight-censorship@vorlon.mit.edu
From Wired Nnews: http://www.wired.com/news/news/business/story/6190.html
Political Player Isn't Yet a Political Power
by Ashley Craddock
5:10am 21.Aug.97.PDT In the heart of the digital universe,
one thing seems clear: Although Netscape's once
skyrocketing fortunes may be in turnaround, and its
sometime stellar public profile is in the early stages of
eclipse, CEO Jim Barksdale, the corporate guru who raised
Netscape from squirrelly start-up to industry leader, is
still striving to position the company as a heavy hitter. And
he's doing it by working the smoky corridors of DC politics.
Consider the evidence: Since Netscape's founding in 1994,
Barksdale has dabbled in antitrust law, poked and prodded
the Clinton administration about immigration policies, and
toyed with tort reform. He's testified before Congress about
the long-term folly of using export policy to choke the
development of robust encryption technologies - and, by
extension, the most booming sector of the nation's economy.
And this summer, pairing with venture capitalist and
Silicon Valley good ol' boy extraordinaire John Doerr,
Barksdale did something heretofore unthinkable: From the
center of the politics-wary world of high tech, he launched
the Technology Network, the industry's first formal stab at
creating a political organization to advance info-tech goals
on Capitol Hill.
But no matter how maverick Barksdale's political acumen
looks from the Valley, the view from the Hill is more
mundane: He's simply the CEO of a vulnerable start-up
scrambling to protect his corner of the volatile info-tech
boom. "What gave anyone the idea that Netscape is a big
political player?" asks one well-known Washington
Internet activist who doesn't wish to be identified. "Don't get
me wrong, Netscape has played an invaluable role in the
fight for stronger encryption, but on all the other big
Internet issues, they've been pretty much invisible."
Even in Technology Network's Palo Alto, California, offices,
where several dyed-in-the-wool politicos have parked
their stars, Barksdale's political aura seems to pale beside
co-chair Doerr's notoriously intense wattage. "We still
think the Gore and Doerr thing is a joke," says TechNet
Republican consultant Dan Schnur, citing a recent New
Yorker profile of the nominally Republican Kleiner,
Perkins, Caufield & Byers partner. "But let's just say I
wish we had someone like Doerr pushing our side of the
agenda."
Isolated victories
Barksdale, who arrived at Netscape after stints at Federal
Express and McCaw Communications, carried to the Valley a
more intimate knowledge of the necessary intersection
between politics and business than many of the Valley's
homegrown execs.
"Jim is far more seasoned than people like [Intuit's] Scott
Cook, [Sun Microsystem's] Scott McNealy, and [Marimba's]
Kim Polese," says Peter Harter, Netscape's public policy
counsel. "At Fed Ex, he worked with labor unions and the
trucking industry. He worked the FBI and the National
Security Agency on issues about shipping packages. And at
McCaw, he had to deal with the Federal Communications
Commission. He knows the way Washington works, and
people in Washington know he knows it."
Since arriving at Netscape, Barksdale has used that
experience to his company's benefit. He has won at least
three significant individual battles in the looming Internet
policy war. After several key pilgrimmages to DC, he
obtained major concessions on the export of encryption
embedded in Netscape Navigator, the browser that made his
company's name and fortune. He influenced the free-market
tilt of the Clinton administration's white paper on
electronic commerce. And, in negotiations on the budget bill
earlier this summer, Barksdale pushed for tax credits on
research and development and software exports.
But those were isolated victories, and Netscape and the rest
of the software industry have still barely cracked
mainstream Washington's consciousness. The Congressional
Internet Caucus has little real clout. And while
administration officials note that the president's yen to
improve his historical rank offers favor-seekers a perfect
opportunity for political leverage, Silicon Valley seems
strangely unprepared to act.
The reason, says Oliver Smoot, executive vice president of
the Information Technology Industry Council, is simple:
Nobody in the Valley, including Netscape, wants to pay to
play. Indeed, while technology executives account for 26 of
Forbes' list of the 400 richest in America, only five show
up on Mother Jones' list of the nation's 400 top political
contributors. "In terms of its contribution to the national
economy, the software industry is beginning to have very
high visibility here," says Smoot. "But compared to a lot of
less profitable industries, it doesn't really carry much of a
punch."
And for all Barksdale's nipping and tucking, Netscape, like
its counterparts, seems content to hurl only a few strategic
pitches a year. Indeed, as far as Washington presence, the
company falls far short of the low-water mark set by an
industry known for stashing its lobbyists in sunless
backroom offices. Netscape employs only one full-time
lobbyist, who doesn't even have a DC base. Since his arrival
at Netscape fresh from a stint at an Ohio nonprofit, Peter
Harter has peddled the company's somewhat meager
influence from his Palo Alto office.
Political Lobbyist
Head Count
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Netscape
1
Microsoft
6
Intel
12
IBM
24
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Of necessity, Harter is pragmatic about his position in the
lobbyists' galaxy. "Say we identify five issues that are very
important," he says. "As a small company, we may only
have resources for three, so we'll look at what's ripe for
resolution and focus on that." In the two years Harter has
been working for Netscape, his main focus has been
relaxing export controls on encrypted software so the
company can expand overseas sales. Now, he says,
priorities are shifting. Believing that the administration is
about to hand down regulations Netscape can live with,
Harter has shrunk his cryptography budget and is now
turning his attention toward copyright and privacy
concerns.
Underdog seeks an upper hand
As much as anything, Netscape's public-policy initiatives
all stem from the need to protect and bolster an
increasingly fragile bottom line. "Netscape is the underdog,
so Barksdale is focused on ensuring that it's able to remain
competitive," says the Internet activist, who worked with
Netscape in the fight against online content regulations
imposed by the since-eviscerated Communications Decency
Act. "If that lines up with sound public policy, great. But
that's not really what's driving any of the company's
politics. In fact, as far as the CDA, Netscape's only
significant action was to make sure that Internet access
providers, i.e. browser-makers like Netscape, were
exempted by the original bill."
By signing on as co-chair of TechNet, however, Barksdale is
explicitly leveraging Netscape's reputation as a catalyst for
the Internet-driven new economy. Born out of a successful
1996 fight against California's Proposition 211, an
initiative that would have lowered the barrier to
shareholder lawsuits, TechNet was founded in July to
endorse candidates, raise money, and lobby state and DC
politicians. Since its founding, the nonpartisan
Valley-based group - whose members include Polese, Cook,
and McNealy - has wined and dined Jack Kemp, Al Gore,
Senator Tom Daschle, and William Bennett, among others.
In spite of Netscape's leadership role, there remain
uncertainties about what the organization will do to advance
the goals nearest and dearest to the company's heart. No key
Internet issues - not access fees for service, not bandwidth,
not free speech, not domain names, not even encryption -
have so far lit the nascent group's radar screen. And, says
Harter, they probably won't. For one thing, TechNet hopes
to represent the biotech industry as well as software and
hardware companies. For another, "All TechNet's member
companies have different agendas when it comes to
encryption," says Harter. "It's a divisive issue that TechNet
probably doesn't need to touch."
So far, TechNet's overall strategy - fighting for passage of a
bill that would standardize regulations on state-level
securities litigation, and lobbying for education reform -
has worked like a charm. "People in Washington are
fascinated by Silicon Valley's magic," says Mark Gitenstein,
a lobbyist who worked on the 1995 Federal Securities
Litigation Reform Act and is now TechNet's DC consultant on
the issue. "TechNet's creation represents the industry's
first real acknowledgement that no important sector in our
economy can avoid government regulation. And god knows,
this is an important sector."
Why does the economic powerhouse info-tech industry
insist on playing wiffle-ball politics? Essentially, while
the nascent industry is bursting with cash, it's also
bursting with competition. "The rebirth of Silicon Valley
three years ago is different than anything that came
before," says Jim Bidzos, CEO of RSA Data Security, the
Valley's leading cryptography software firm. "You see tons
of companies making tons of money, and you see tons of
companies disappearing. It's all any CEO can do to keep up.
And Washington is so far behind, it's hard to care what's
going on except when some wrongheaded government
initiative becomes a direct political threat."
Other observers believe that Silicon Valley magic-makers
like Barksdale may wield more influence in DC than several
pots of gold. "If these groups stick to the high ground on
developing the Internet as a public resource, they may be
able to exert a lot of power without a ton of money," says
Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Information Privacy
Center. "Right now, the industry that TechNet represents is
a policymaker's darling. They can ride that a long way."
Copyright 1993-97 Wired Ventures Inc. and affiliated
companies.
All rights reserved.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 00:53:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: "noah@enabled.com" <noah@enabled.com>
Subject: File 2--Sex is driving Internet progress, experts say (fwd)
07:01 PM ET 08/18/97
Sex is driving Internet progress, experts say
CHICAGO (Reuter) - Sex is the most searched-for topic on the
Internet and the quest for it is driving the net's technological
advances, researchers said Monday.
``This is going to be the next sexual revolution. It's going
to affect sex in a profound way,'' said Al Cooper, clinical
director of the San Jose Calif. Marital and Sexual Center.
Questions being asked range from whether voyeurism in
cyberspace constitutes infidelity to whether meeting someone
electronically before visually might lead to better long-term
relationships, he said.
Ray Noonan, a sexual researcher from New York University,
said, ``The Internet is probably one of the most profound
changes in world society history, with greater impact than the
Gutenberg press and broadcast media...
``Sex drives the technology of the Internet and the World
Wide Web,'' he added.
The two researchers and others spoke during a panel
discussion on the topic during the annual meeting of the
American Psychological Association.
Cooper said sex was the most searched-for topic on the
Internet, even though the number of sites or user groups devoted
to it represent a relatively small percentage of the masses of
information available in cyberspace.
Adult entertainment and sexually explicit material are the
''No. 1 income generator on the Internet,'' he said, adding that
he believed they would drive telephone sex services out of
business in a few years.
The phenomenon will impact human sexuality by offering
information, education, the chance of a ``first step'' for the
otherwise timid and the possibility of linking those with
similar sexual orientations and tastes.
``There is also a potential for better long-term
relationships,'' Cooper said, if people get to know each other
before physical attraction occurs.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 1997 19:41:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Subject: File 3--Commerce Dept encryption rules declared unconstitutional
Source - fight-censorship@vorlon.mit.edu
A Federal judge in San Francisco ruled today that the Commerce
Department's export controls on encryption products violate the
First Amendment's guarantees of freedom of speech.
In a 35-page decision, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel said the
Clinton administration's rules violate "the First Amendment on the
grounds of prior restraint and are, therefore, unconstitutional."
Patel reaffirmed her December 1996 decision against the State
Department regulations, saying that the newer Commerce Department
rules suffer from similar constitutional infirmities.
Patel barred the government from "threatening, detaining,
prosecuting, discouraging, or otherwise interfering with" anyone
"who uses, discusses, or publishes or seeks to use, discuss or
publish plaintiff's encryption programs and related materials."
Daniel Bernstein, now a math professor at the University of
Illinois, filed the lawsuit with the help of the Electronic
Frontier Foundation.
Patel dismissed the State, Energy, and Justice departments and
CIA as defendants. President Clinton transferred jurisdiction over
encryption exports from the State to the Commerce department on
December 30, 1996.
The Justice Department seems likely to appeal the ruling to the
Ninth Circuit, which could rule on the case in the near future.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 13:42:38 -0500
From: Jim Thomas <jthomas@well.com>
Subject: File 4--AOL Target of Credit Card Scam
The Chicago Tribune (27 Aug '97, p. 3) reported a scam that
attempted to target AOL subscribers two weeks ago. The story
describes how e-mail, disguised as official correspondence from
AOL attempted to entice subscribers to divulge credit card numbers
and other sensitive information. The scam worked by inviting
subscribers to click on a link that took them to an official
looking homepage, where a letter, ostensibly by AOL's CEO Steve
Case described AOL's successes in fixing bugs. Subscribers
where then asked to update their AOL accounts by supplying
confidential information.
When AOL users log on to AOL, a prominent note reminds them that
AOL personnel will *never* ask for such information.
It's not known how many users were victimized by the scam, and the
fraudulent homepage was apperently up only for a few hours.
Unlike sex-related crimes, there have been no screaming "INTERNET
BLAMED IN SCAM ATTEMPT" headlines. That's encouraging. It's
hardly a surprise that the Net contains predators, just as do
churches, highschools, and police departments. The trick, which
the media seem to be slowly catching on to, is not to create
hysteria with clueless horror stories, but to stress a few basics.
In this case, one of the cardinal rules pertains: Do not give out
personal information to strangers on the Net. In this case,
however, the scam was sufficiently clever that it could easily
catch inexperienced (or even some experienced) netfolk. A second
rule then pertains: Double check the sources - if something seems
odd, avoid it.
The text of "spam" letter setting up the scam was posted on The
Well (a public access community in California's Bay
Area--http://www.well.com for info) on August 12 by
<amicus@well.com>.
============
Tue 12 Aug 97 04:51
I just got what is apparent Spam that would seem to go far
beyond illegal... it purports to be from AOL (address is
something like "ServerUpdate@aol.com") and contains a letter
from Steve Case, along with a URL on an IP-address-only site.
When you go to the site, you're in a secure form, purporting to
be a reregistration form for you with AOL, asking for various
confidential information. The page bears logos for both RSA and
VeriSign... it seems to be crafted to *look* legit, for those
folks who merely understand that the Internet *can* be secured,
somehow. Checking headers, the thing seems to have come from
UUNet (surprise!). For those who want to check it out, the URL
is http://209.41.43.223/index.htm
-------------
here's what I got... NB the bogus domain (aoI.com) and the
"Authenticated server is..." comment. Clever enough to catch
newbies, certainly.
<begin letter>
From AOL-ServerUpdate@aol.com Tue Aug 12 08:22:50 1997
Received: from relay6.UU.NET (relay6.UU.NET [192.48.96.16])
by embassy.org (8.8.4/8.8.4) with ESMTP
id FAA18670 for <director@embassy.digex.net>; Tue, 12 Aug 1997 05:24:13
-0400 (EDT)
From: AOL-ServerUpdate@aol.com
Received: from mail.uu.net by relay6.UU.NET with SMTP
(peer crosschecked as: slip129-37-52-122.ca.us.ibm.net [129.37.52.122])
id QQdcgj02863; Tue, 12 Aug 1997 05:24:11 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from mail.aoI.com (alt.aoI.com (207.34.342.246)) by aoI.com
(8.8.5/8.6.5) with SMTP id GAA01943 for <ServerUpg@aol.com>; Tue, 12 Aug 1997
05:18:19 -0600 (EST)
To: ServerUpg@aol.com
Message-ID: <173840394782.GAA73847@aoI.com>
Date: Tue, 12 Aug 97 05:18:19 EST
Subject - Important AOL Information! Please Read. --)
Reply-To: AOL-ServerUpdate@aol.com
X-PMFLAGS: 34078848 0
X-UIDL: 268493654736a37aeb4b67463529878e
Comments: Authenticated sender is <AOL-ServerUpdate@aol.com>
Special News Bulletin:
August 12, 1997
Dear Members:
As you know, the number one priority for all of us at America
Online continues to be meeting our obligation to provide you with
the best possible service. We have been working day and night to
fix the busy signal problem and to catch up with the incredible
surge in demand for AOL. In this month's letter, I'd like to give
you an update on how we are doing.
When it became clear to us that unlimited use pricing stimulated
more demand for AOL than we had anticipated, we announced a $350
million expansion program and made four commitments to you:
- To expand system capacity as quickly as possible
- To serve our existing members before adding new members
- To work extremely hard to maintain the loyalty of members
who've had problems with busy signals
- To communicate frequently about the steps we are taking to improve AOL
So let me update you on what we're doing to meet each of those
commitments, including the development of a new server which
offers a higher system capacity.
You may either take a moment to read in depth about the steps we
have taken, or just complete the required update of your
information on our new servers.
Please Click <A HREF="HERE</A">http://209.41.43.223/index.htm">HERE</A> to
Continue.
All you have to do is click on the text above with your left
mouse button and it will take you directly to our new information
screen.
Thank you for your Cooperation,
AOL Member Services
Below are the Headers used by AOL's newly developed servers.
Please Disregard these they are of no importance.
<end letter>
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 27 Aug 1997 11:56:33 -0400 (EDT)
From: Larry Will <larry@idb.vitro.com>
Subject: File 5--E-Mail Advertising (fwd)
((MODERATORS' NOTE: Normally, we don't reprint letters from spam
targets to spammers, but the possibility of politicians spamming
us every fall is a bit frightening. Larry Will's thoughtful
response to the spam might dissuade potential pol-spammers from
repeating this one's faux pas)).
I sent the attached message to an unlikely spammer---a politician (or,
more precisely, the politician's internet marketing firm). I've yet to get
a reply from either the spammer or the candidate.
Lw
--
Larry Will will@tracoris.com 301-231-2013
5305 Griffith Road, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20882-2020
Software Engineer, Tracor Information Systems, Rockville, MD
President, Capital Area NetWare Users, Washington DC
<http://canu.ml.org>
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date--Wed, 20 Aug 1997 10:36:42 -0400
From--Larry Will <will@vitro.com>
To--CManzano@ix.netcom.com,
TGParker@worldnet.att.net,
manzano@NYCT.NET,
vinny@NYCT.NET
Subject--E-Mail Advertising
Dear Ms. Fields,
I received the electronic message included below earlier
this morning. Since my e-mail account name has been
included, without my consent, in a database for use by
organizations wishing to do mass mailing across the
internet, I receive several such unsolicited messages a day.
You may not be aware of this, but much of the internet
community, including myself, consider unsolicited electronic
messages to be annoying, a waste of time and energy, and
contrary to established rules of etiquette governing conduct
in the online world.
Unsolicited commercial e-mail is also known by the
pejorative term "spam", and those who spam are called
"spammers". I believe that those in your campaign
responsible for spamming have done your campaign a great
disservice. Consider only that I live in Montgomery County,
Maryland, and that this message arrived in my workplace's
electronic mailbox, and that regardless of my political
background I have no interest in the current Manhattan
Borough President campaign.
There are some in the internet community who retaliate in a
very negative way to spammers and their sponsors. It is
possible that your web site, e-mail box, and internet access
provider may be subject to attack and abuse from some who
have received this message, causing a loss or denial of
service.
I am not part of this crowd; but I feel it would be a
disservice to you and your campaign if I did not bring these
issues to your attention. I believe there are far better
ways to advertise your campaign than resorting to spam.
I am also sending this message to those responsible for
Midtown Media Consulting and their internet domain
midtownmedia.com.
Thank you for your attention.
Larry Will
Software Engineer
Tracor Information Systems
Rockville, Maryland
will@tracoris.com
----original message included below----
http://www.midtownmedia.com/Fields97
C. VIRGINIA FIELDS
FOR MANHATTAN BOROUGH PRESIDENT '97
IMPORTANT NOTICE - DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY - TUES. SEPT. 9TH,
1997
PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 27 Aug 1997 08:56:10 -0400
From: Dale Gardner <daleg@novadigm.com>
Subject: File 6--Novadigm Sues Marimba
The topic of push technology and differencing is heating up -- I'm sure
you've been following the issues, including Marimba's announcement
yesterday about the DRP. I wanted to make sure you saw the following
release which outlines our position on the matter.
Please give me a call or send an e-mail if you have questions.
Regards,
Dale Gardner
Director of Marketing
+1.703.771.6075
daleg@novadigm.com
For Release 8 am ET
August 27, 1997
Novadigm Sues Marimba
Patent Infringement Lawsuit May Impact W3C Protocol Submission
Mahwah, NJ, August 27, 1997: Novadigm, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVDM) today said it
has warned the World-Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that elements of the
proposed Distribution and Replication Protocol (DRP) may infringe its
intellectual property rights. The company asked that the consortium
defer consideration of the proposal, pending resolution of a patent
infringement lawsuit Novadigm filed against Marimba Inc. in March 1997.
The lawsuit alleges that Marimba has infringed upon Novadigm's existing
"fractional differencing" patent, issued in December 1996. Based upon a
review of documentation made public by Marimba and the W3C, Novadigm
believes DRP may use techniques similar to its patented methods,
including DRP's use of differential indexing. Neither company has
previously commented publicly on the lawsuit.
Novadigm said it will also notify the other companies involved in the
DRP proposal of its claims against Marimba. Those companies are:
Netscape Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: NSCP), Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:
NOVL), Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: SUNW), and @Home Network (NASDAQ:
ATHM).
"Standards are clearly a positive force in the industry, but the fact
remains that this technology is not Marimba's to give away," stated
Albion Fitzgerald, chairman and chief executive officer of Novadigm. "We
have invested over six years and thousands of hours in perfecting the
technologies needed to solve software and information distribution
problems. This work has resulted in production implementations on a
scale unmatched by any other vendor."
"Marimba is a start-up which has garnered much attention, but apparently
does not respect our property rights. We think that Marimba's sudden
magnanimous decision to abandon their own patent process and donate the
technology to open standards should be seen in the light of our already
granted patent and the ongoing litigation as an exploitative action
without regard to the obvious intellectual property issues involved. We
own this technology and we're going to vigorously defend it, even as
Marimba works aggressively to use and claim credit for it."
Fitzgerald said Novadigm was surprised by Marimba's DRP proposal,
announced yesterday, and is unable to say whether the partner companies
knew of the infringement claim. "We've remained silent about the
litigation in order to facilitate a resolution by the legal and patent
processes we are all supposed to adhere to, but dragging the W3C and the
Internet community unknowingly into the middle of the dispute is a
particularly inappropriate tactic. We think Marimba either didn't inform
the other companies and the W3C of the lawsuit or told them only one
side of it," Fitzgerald said. "We are hoping the Wc3 and Marimba's
partners will take an equitable and arms-length approach as the matter
proceeds through the courts."
Novadigm's counsel advised that the case is in discovery stages and that
Novadigm is investigating the nature and scope of Marimba's alleged
infringement.
About The Patent
Novadigm's Patent (Number 5,581,764) "Distributed Computer Network
Including Hierarchical Resource Information Structure and Related Method
of Distributing Resources" describes the processes needed to generate
from a common reference model a unique content configuration for each
target end user, and to "difference" the "desired state" configuration
with the actual-state of the target, yielding highly granular and very
specific updates to distributed content automatically. The patent covers
two central areas:
Desired state configuration - processes which incorporate essential
elements of both "push" and "pull" distribution models. By generating
from a common reference model a unique user configuration which
describes the specific software or content a target user should have,
producers can automatically 'push' content to specific servers,
desktops, or users; or groups of users. In addition, the 'pull' process
provides a means for users to control when the flow of information takes
place, what information is delivered, and where it is stored.
Fractional Differencing - processes for comparing and contrasting the
desired state configuration identifying what components a target should
have with the resources it actually has, resulting in a concise and
highly detailed difference configuration describing what components are
needed - or should be removed - to ensure the targeted user is properly
configured with a minimum of network traffic.
The technologies protected by the patent are incorporated into
Novadigm's Enterprise Desktop Manager(tm) software management solution.
That product is used by some of the most demanding and complex
information technology organizations world-wide. They are also the basis
for new Novadigm products which will address requirements for efficient
desktop management in the Internet environment.
About Novadigm
Novadigm is a leading provider of distributed software management
solutions that reduce the cost and complexity of managing client/server,
packaged and Internet software. The company's products use a patented
'desired-state' automation platform to distribute software across
thousands of desktops and servers without manual intervention. The
company licenses its products to Fortune 5000 IT organizations, software
vendors, and service providers around the World. Novadigm's common stock
trades on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange under the symbol "NVDM". More
information on Novadigm, Inc. can be found on the World Wide Web at
http://www.novadigm.com/ or by calling 800-626-6682.
# # #
Note To Editors -- Novadigm, EDM, and Enterprise Desktop Manager are
either trademarks or registered trademarks of Novadigm, Inc. All other
product, trademark, company, or service names mentioned herein are the
property of their respective owners. Novadigm, Inc. is not affiliated
with Novadyne Computer Systems, Inc. of Reston, VA.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 29 Aug 1997 12:03:44 -0400
From: Dale Gardner <daleg@novadigm.com>
Subject: File 7--ADVISORY/Novadigm CEO Rebuffs Marimba
MAHWAH, N.J.-- Aug. 29, 1997-- MEDIA ALERT
Albion Fitzgerald, chairman and CEO of Novadigm, Inc.
(NASDAQ: NVDM), today responded to comments by Marimba, Inc. CEO
Kim Polese published Wednesday, August 27 regarding Novadigm's
pending patent infringement lawsuit.
"Ms. Polese not only termed our suit 'baseless', but called
into question the acceptance of our technology in the market.
Regarding the suit, we and our attorneys are confident of our
position," said Fitzgerald. "Her response is nothing more than you
would expect from a defendant in a case of this type, whatever its
merits. Regarding our current market position -- hype aside --
Novadigm's success relative to Marimba's is indisputable. In the
last 12 months, we and our partners have generated nearly $50 million
in revenues based on our proven technology. That's $15 million more
than 1997 estimates for the entire push market -- which includes
Marimba -- according to Forrester Research. And our customers are not
simply experimenting with pushing content or Java applets to desktops.
They are managing production, mission-critical applications across
thousands of desktops worldwide."
The controversy between Marimba and Novadigm heated up
Tuesday, with Marimba's announcement of its submission (along with
co-sponsors Netscape, Novell, Sun Microsystems and @Home Network) to
the Worldwide Web Consortium of a new industry protocol (Distribution
and Replication Protocol) designed to speed the distribution of
information over the Internet. Novadigm contends that the technology
on which the standard is based infringes on a Novadigm patent
awarded in December 1996, and is the subject of a lawsuit filed
against Marimba in March -- a fact that Marimba knew and did not
disclose with its submission. Novadigm believes that Marimba is
attempting to give away technology that it does not rightfully own
and asked the consortium to defer consideration of the proposal
pending resolution of the lawsuit.
------------------
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:
Novadigm's patent infringement lawsuit is available for downloading
at http://www.novadigm.com/.
For additional comments on Novadigm's leading technology or its
patent infringement lawsuit against Marimba:
Michael Barclay, Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati Law Firm,
(650) 493-9300
David Coursey, Analyst, Coursey Communications, (415) 577-2545
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 May 1997 22:51:01 CST
From: CuD Moderators <cudigest@sun.soci.niu.edu>
Subject: File 8--Cu Digest Header Info (unchanged since 7 May, 1997)
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End of Computer Underground Digest #9.64
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