NetMaster Free - No School Needs to Face Porn Risk

NetMaster Free - No School Needs to Face Porn Risk

No School Needs to Face Porn Risk: CommSoft's NetMaster Free To All Kiwi Schools

AUCKLAND - 17 July 2002 - CommSoft Group Ltd (ASX/NZSE: CSG) confirmed today that NetMaster Office, its award-winning internet monitoring tool, is free to all schools. "We made NetMaster Office free to schools over a month ago," says NetMaster marketing manager Martin Searancke. "As schools increase their use of IT and the internet, there's a public good requirement for them to have internet monitoring systems in place, as we've seen over the last few days. We also recognise that many schools don't have budgets that allow them to purchase every piece of software they'd like, so we've decided to make NetMaster Office free to schools." For schools, NetMaster monitors internet activity by students and staff as it happens, including: web browsing; viewing news groups; down loading files; audio, video, data downloads; and quantity and size of emails, both sent and received. Administrators such as school principals or IT managers can easily generate reports including: who is spending the most time browsing on the internet; which websites are being visited most often and by which PC; the cost of time spent and data downloaded from the internet; and time of day usage trends.

"Over 60 schools have already taken up the offer, and we'd like to see a lot more do so," says Searancke. "As well, we recommend that all schools have a responsible internet use policy in place so that all staff and students understand their rights and obligations with internet use." As well as monitoring, CommSoft's NetMaster can also block access to objectionable material. NetMaster's blocking feature is designed to be quick and simple to implement, without intruding on network performance. Without any change to the way NetMaster is connected to a network, it is possible to specify categories of sites or individual sites that users should not visit. Some commentators have compared workplace internet monitoring to an intrusive big brother technology. "But really, most workplaces require employees to account for use of office equipment like faxes, printers and cell phones, so why not internet use as well?" adds Searancke. NetMaster Office features:

1. Simple to use and interpret: designed for non-technical people to use

2. Flexible 'exception reporting' to highlight unusual Internet use

3. Sniffing technology meaning no network overhead

4. NetMaster will track absolutely everything

5. No restriction on the number of PCs on a single subnet: perfect for schools.

Schools interested in a free copy of NetMaster Office should call 0800 NETMASTER (0800 638 627).

ENDS

About CommSoft Group Limited

CommSoft Group Limited (ASX/NZSE: CSG) is an international leader in the development of niche software products for the telecommunications industry. CommSoft develops and markets leading edge telecommunications and Customer Relationship Management software to help all kinds of enterprises make better use of their telecommunications equipment through better cost management, increased staff productivity and improved customer service. Its products are bundled with products and services by some of the world's largest telecommunications suppliers. More information is available at www.commsoftgroup.com.

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