McAfee.com to Host Services for SBC

Internet security ASP McAfee.com (Nasdaq: MCAF) Wednesday (Jan 10) announced an agreement with the Internet service subsidiaries of SBC Communications, Inc. (NYSE: SBC) to provide anti-virus, privacy and firewall services to their DSL subscribers.

Through this exclusive agreement, McAfee.com will host, maintain and support an SBC Security Center where customers of Southwestern Bell, Nevada Bell and SNET Internet Services and Ameritech.net can download and install McAfee.com’s software onto their personal computer for a discounted annual service fee.

The companies expect to have the security center online by February 2000. McAfee.com expects to generate up to $60 million in subscriber revenue from this agreement.

“This agreement is a testament to our leadership position as the world’s largest security and privacy Applications Service Provider,” said Srivats Sampath, president and CEO, McAfee.com. “We are glad to be working with SBC to make the end-user’s DSL experience even more secure.”

McAfee.com’s Personal Firewall Service monitors all networking activity and filters information exchanged between a PC and the Internet, thus protecting users’ valuable information from intruders and from malicious code. To this date, the McAfee.com personal firewall has yet to receive a reported breach of security, company officials say.

McAfee.com’s VirusScan Online Service includes tools and applications that combine to deliver advanced, managed, around-the-clock virus protection and information. SBC Internet Services customers will have access to the most up-to-date protection against the latest virus threats and other forms of malicious code.

McAfee.com’s Internet Privacy Service, a content filter and ad/cookie blocker designed to protect users from the negative aspects of the Internet. This technology is especially useful for parents who want a powerful tool to protect their children from objectionable or offensive content as they explore and interact on the Internet. In addition, this service provides parents with chat filtering, multiple-profile management and encryption of sensitive information, such as credit card numbers.

After announcing in late December an expected loss of $1.02 per share in the quarter ended December 31 instead of delivering the previously projected earnings of 32 cents per share, McAfee.com’s parent company, Network Associates (Nasdaq: NETA), announced that chairman and CEO William Larson, president and COO Peter Watkins and CFO Prabhat Goyal would be stepping down.

In January, technology veteran George Samenuk became Network Associates’ new president and CEO, and a McAfee.com director. Terry Davis, Network Associates’ corporate controller, was also named acting CFO. Edwin Harper, a company director since 1993, became chairman of the Network Associates board.

Last week, An Arkansas law firm announced it had filed a class action lawsuit against Santa Clara-based Network Associates for what it says are “positive but false statements about Network Associates’ current business and future prospects throughout the second half of 2000.”