Arxceo Announces Industry’s First Windows XP Embedded Network Security Appliance

Ally IP1000 firewall companion adds anomaly-based intrusion prevention and anti-reconnaissance to frustrate attackers and stop worms

San Francisco, Ca, February 15, 2005– Today, Arxceo™ Corporation, a provider of anomaly-based intrusion prevention and anti-reconnaissance technology, announced immediate availability of the Ally IP1000™ at the RSA Conference, the network security industry’s most prestigious event. Arxceo’s Ally IP1000 is the first security appliance based on Microsoft Corporation’s Windows XP Embedded (XPe) operating system and the only security product to provide active and passive anti-reconnaissance capabilities with anomaly and behavior-based intrusion detection and prevention. The Ally IP1000 prevents network reconnaissance, spoofed traffic, session hi-jacking, DNS cache poisoning, data leaks and protocol abuse – dynamically blacklisting computers when appropriate – with its patent-pending Tag-UR-IT™ and Plug and Protect™ (PnPro) technologies. The Ally IP1000 frustrates attackers and stops worms by confusing the reconnaissance results their attacks require and prevent other attacks based on protocol abuse and statistical analysis. The Ally IP1000 can be purchased from authorized Arxceo resellers for an M.S.R.P. of $7,995.

Arxceo’s Ally IP1000 is the perfect companion for existing firewalls and other critical security points within an organization’s network, such as high-traffic intersections or in front of centralized server and storage segments. Attackers cannot target the Ally IP1000 as it does not use a network stack or IP address and therefore is invisible on the network. Arxceo’s Tag-UR-IT architecture enforces proper protocol behavior and authenticates IP addresses while preventing exploits. Simply stated, Tag-UR-IT tags packets as they enter or exit an Ally-protected network segment. These tags, or fingerprints, contain special encoded information the

Ally IP1000 uses to analyze and prevent network attacks including zero-day exploits. The Ally is an in-line security appliance that provides omni-directional analysis and protection for network traffic while ensuring traffic always flows with NetFailOpen™, an unattended network relay for planned and unplanned downtime. Arxceo’s unique approach delivers outstanding performance without expensive proprietary hardware – finally giving administrators a high-performance, low cost product to bulkhead critical network segments.

Arxceo’s Ally IP1000 complements existing security products from vendors such as Cisco, Juniper Networks, Check Point, Nokia and others. Most security devices available today operate by matching incoming network traffic against a database of known attacks – often referred to as “signatures”. Unfortunately, this means that new attacks or even variations on old attacks can sneak past signature-based detection devices. Arxceo’s Ally stops these attacks by detecting malicious behavior without the continuing requirement for updating or relearning normal patterns, eliminating false positives because of periodic spikes in valid business traffic.

Arxceo’s Plug and Protect design provides the quickest deployment, easiest configuration and simplest management of any intrusion prevention appliance in the market. Arxceo chose Microsoft’s Windows XP Embedded operating system to provide familiarity and ease-of-use in administration to its customers as well as the superior development environment for its engineers. Arxceo’s Tag-UR-IT architecture benefits from the advanced security framework design in Windows XP Embedded along with the most robust driver support in the market. These benefits provided a rapid time-to-market product availability with a more secure driver and operating system integration, using the most tested platform in the industry.

“We are pleased Arxceo chose Windows XP Embedded to develop its Ally IP1000 security appliance because it combines a standardized platform and complements existing security products,” stated Jane Gilson, director, Mobile and Embedded Devices Division at Microsoft. “Windows XP Embedded enhances Arxceo’s anti-reconnaissance and anomaly attack prevention technology through a combination of XPe’s easy-to-configure and easy-to-manage features.”

“We’re very pleased with the enthusiasm our beta customers have communicated about the Ally IP1000’s attack prevention capabilities,” stated Don Davidson, President and CEO. “And we’re excited to pioneer the use of Microsoft’s Windows XP Embedded for security appliances.”

About Arxceo Corporation

Arxceo Corporation develops network intrusion prevention systems that assist firewalls by improving their security and performance and also provide omni-directional protection for internal network security. Arxceo’s Tag-UR-IT technology fortifies the network protocol stacks of devices it protects while adding anti-reconnaissance, anti-address spoofing and anti-DoS protection – even against zero-day exploits. For more information, visit www.arxceo.com.

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Arxceo, Tag-UR-IT, Plug and Protect, PnPro and the Arxceo Logo are trademarks of Arxceo Corporation. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.