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i4NET's iXPresso software provides a direct-connect link between a user's desktop PC and a predetermined web site. Sounds so simple but, with the software auto-starting from a CD-ROM, it is the only automatic way of taking a user directly to a web site.

There are two main areas of risk relating to Internet security. One is establishing the fact that the person connected to a site is authorized to do so, and the second is ensuring that interactive data dialogue between individuals and the web is conducted safely away from prying hackers.

The resulting solution on offer from i4NET addresses the two main areas of risk with a few more benefits thrown in for good measure. i4NET has developed a software gateway product called iXPresso. But unlike any other such product, the user isn't asked to add a peripheral or even install software on a PC, it just sits on and runs totally self-sufficiently from a credit card-sized CD-ROM disk. It doesn't even need the presence of a browser because it includes its own.

i4NET Limited started with the premise that security must be scalable. It should start off at a low and understandable level and then progress in terms of complexity, capability and cost as demanded by site security policies. It also believed that solutions, no matter how complex, should be simple to use.

iXPresso is developed exclusively in the Java programming code. At its heart is a direct-connect browser engine that has been built to meet Sun's philosophy of 'write once, run anywhere.' Java also means that iXPresso can be rapidly modified and updated to keep pace with the latest Internet standards across all platforms.

iXPresso also has a very secure browsing environment. It supports TSL v1.0, and SSL v2 and v3 to provide communications privacy over the Internet. This protocol support allows client-server applications to communicate in a way that is designed to prevent eavesdropping, tampering or message forgery.

Additionally, it has Rijndael data encryption as an option. This is the same algorithm that has been adopted by the US government for the DES-replacement advanced encryption standard (AES). As a result, iXPresso has a very high level of real-world security to combat the perception of an unsafe trading environment on the web - a level of security that is not available from any other web browser.

Despite its small footprint, iXPresso has a level of functionality and flexibility that rivals the big-brand desktop browsers. This makes it more of a true systems tool than simply a surfing facility - it even has a 'sandbox' firewall to protect the user from rogue Java scripts and as part of its customization interface, it allows web addresses to be embedded in it. Thus the end user doesn't even know the web site name to which connection is made. And, while highly complex inside, it presents an easily customizable interface for web designers and resellers to incorporate into their customer solutions.

In simple terms, i4NET has produced a powerful web site software 'key' that can be tailored to suit the complexity of the application. When put on its credit card-sized CD-ROM, known as an iKey card, and inserted into a PC, it enables a user to gain access to an 'invisible' unnamed site.

The company has also devised a way by which each card can have unique numbering and thus, once logged on, the iKey card is personalized to an individual. This personalization coupled with its unique copy-protection technology makes the iKey card the only way for a user to go "on-line without a click," to quote i4NET's promotional literature. The personalization can be used as an authentication tool but, compared with hardware tokens and biometric hardware, it requires no hardware or software modifications to the PC because virtually all PCs today have a CD-ROM reader.

The iKey card is a credit card-sized CD-ROM that houses the iXPresso software. Apart from just making an automatic connection to a web site, the card has a patented copy detection system, it offers individual card numbering and identification, a sandbox firewall and AES encryption options. So, like a key to a door, the iKey can be as simple or as complex as the application demands.

For example, in the area of networking, using iXPresso, it is possible to design a low-cost virtual private network (VPN) product that sets new levels of security, flexibility and cost performance. An iKey card, with personal numbering, copy protection, the sandbox firewall and iXPresso can be developed to take an authorized individual directly into a company's private network. All the data on the card is encrypted so that there is full protection against hackers and fraud. The card is also pre-programmed with the discrete URL of the corporate central server. The system can also have a PIN of up to 10 digits alphanumeric code to be added for each user. The card then becomes the only way into that company's private network and intranet.

As a VPN system, it is superior in terms of value for money when compared to any other solution on the market. The iKey card is far more secure than any smartcard, yet the corporate users have access to their company's confidential intranet from anywhere in the world, on any laptop or desktop with a CD-ROM drive.

That's just one example of the use of iXPresso in the networking area. But the applications of this tool are vast - such as 'Club Card' airline reservation systems, warranty registration and reference material for manufacturers, debit cards, pre-paid Internet access, special-interest groups and a range of virtual catalogues.

We found the system easy to use, with no installation process! The CD-ROM cards are surprisingly robust and still worked after typical wear and tear with scratches and dust. Copies of the cards made with a standard CD-ROM writer failed to authenticate to the test web site we had been given to connect to, so the copy detection system works. The CD-ROM cards are not expensive, so it is the lowest-cost option for companies and web site owners that need a cost-effective solution to their security requirements.
  

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