AOL Launches Comprehensive New Security Suite to Help Protect Members from Viruses, Spyware, Identity Theft

AOL today launched its new Safety and Security Center to make iteasier for AOL members to protect themselves against viruses, spyware,phishing attacks, identity theft, and other online threats. The AOLSafety and Security Center consolidates the industry's mostcomprehensive set of automatic online safety tools -- includinganti-virus software, spyware protection, a firewall, phishingprotection, and more -- in a single, convenient location. Securityfeatures are automatically updated to help protect vulnerable members,in particular those using always-on broadband connections, from newand emerging threats.

"A broadband connection is basically an open pipe to the Internet,which means that high speed users are particularly vulnerable tothousands of new viruses and spyware threats as they emerge," said JoeRedling, President, AOL Access Business. "That's why it's so importantfor our members to have safeguards like anti-virus, spywareprotection, phishing protection and a firewall as they move into thebroadband world. Through the Safety and Security Center, AOL offersthe most comprehensive set of automatic online safety tools availableanywhere -- for both dial-up and broadband members -- all inconvenient place. Our goal is to offer a simple, one-step solutionthat makes it easy to stay safe online."

In addition to the integrated anti-virus, anti-spyware, andfirewall features, the AOL(R) Safety and Security Center also givesmembers easy access to other safety and security features, includingspam settings, Parental Controls, pop-up controls, Money Alerts, andComputer Check-up. AOL members using AOL(R) 8.0 or higher can downloadthis standalone product at no additional charge from AOL Keyword:Safety or www.aol.com/safety.

Among the safety and security features found in the AOL Safety andSecurity Center:

-- Virus protection powered by McAfee that is automatically-updated when the user is online to help protect members' entire computers from viruses, trojans and other online threats.

-- AOL(R) Spyware Protection 2.0, launched in September, that offers four different levels of protection against more than 28,000 known spyware, adware, and sneakware programs. ASP 2.0, powered by CA, is automatically updated to help protect users against new and emerging threats.

-- Phishing protection that helps prevent theft of personal information by blocking access to known phishing sites when members are using the AOL software or the new AOL(R) Explorer browser.

-- A leading firewall, powered by McAfee, that helps protect members against hackers and other attacks from the Internet, which is provided to AOL members on both dial-up and broadband connections.

-- Robust Parental Controls that help limit access by children to inappropriate content on the Web and allow parents to configure custom controls, such as an online timer and a regular AOL(R) Guardian "report card" of their activity online.

-- AOL(R) Money Alerts to help protect members from offline identity theft by warning them whenever a credit card charge or bank account transaction is made over a preset limit.

-- A single unified console that updates users about the status of all of the AOL security software on their computer, including anti-virus, spyware protection, firewall, phishing protection, Parental Controls, spam protection, pop-up controls, and more.

-- Easy-to-adjust settings, with a default setting that automatically does a comprehensive scan of members' computers at regular intervals for online threats.

-- One-click combined virus and spyware scans.

-- Home network monitoring through Network Magic.

The launch of the AOL Safety and Security Center is beingsupported by a major broadcast advertising campaign to alert currentand potential AOL members to the comprehensive protections provided inthe suite.

More information about AOL's new Safety and Security Center can befound at http://www.aol.com/safety.

About America Online, Inc.

America Online, Inc. and its subsidiaries operate a leadingnetwork of Web brands and the largest Internet access subscriptionservice in the United States. Brands include the AOL(R) service, theAOL.com(R) website, and the AIM(R), MapQuest(R), Moviefone(R),Netscape(R), CompuServe(R) and ICQ(R) services. America Online offersa range of digital services including the TotalTalk(R) voice service.The company also has operations in Canada and Europe. America Online,Inc. is based in Dulles, Virginia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary ofTime Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX).