LISTSERV® Brings Simplicity and Added Security to E-Mail Communication

Ease of use and virus protection among key improvements


Bethesda, MD (May 22, 2002) – L-Soft today announced the release of a new version of its flagship e-mail list manager, LISTSERV®. The 42nd major release since the software was originally launched in 1986, LISTSERV 1.8e is equipped with a redesigned Web interface that greatly facilitates list management. In addition, L-Soft has partnered with F-Secure® (HEX: FSC), a leading provider of anti-virus technology, making LISTSERV 1.8e the first and only e-mail list manager in the industry that screens e-mail for viruses.

E-mail list communication is becoming an integral part of many businesses' messaging platform, largely because of its usefulness as a customer communication tool and comparatively low cost. "After a turbulent year, the strategy for most of our customers is back to the basics," said Eric Thomas, L-Soft founder and CEO. "Organizations are demanding dependable, scalable and professional software solutions to support e-mail communication with their customers, and this is what LISTSERV is all about."

LISTSERV 1.8e includes new Task Wizards that guide list administrators through each aspect of e-mail list management. Concise step-by-step instructions are provided for every function, while detailed clarifications are readily available from the comprehensive online help. "I am very excited about the new LISTSERV 1.8e version," said Paul Russell, Senior System Administrator for the University of Notre Dame. "Several changes in this version are the direct result of enhancement requests and other feedback from list owners and site administrators, and demonstrate that L-Soft is responsive to its customers' needs."

In response to the ongoing problem of e-mail-abetted virus propagation, L-Soft has integrated F-Secure Anti-Virus protection into LISTSERV 1.8e. "The proliferation of viruses transmitted via e-mail lists is a serious problem that, luckily, has a simple and dependable solution: virus scanning in the e-mail list manager," Thomas said. "Our partnership with F-Secure will help protect most of the 230,000 LISTSERV lists from viruses." In 2001, the estimated worldwide economic impact of computer viruses reached $13.2 billion. The three largest LISTSERV 1.8e beta-test sites block more than 45,000 infected messages per day, representing four percent of total mail delivered.

LISTSERV 1.8e also includes filtering features that provide greater control over the type of messages that may be posted to discussion lists. The improved attachment filter gives list administrators control over which types of attachments (graphics, Word documents, etc.) can be accepted on their list. The new content filter rejects messages containing specified words or phrases, which is particularly useful for eliminating spam and unwanted automatic messages, such as "out-of-office" replies.

LISTSERV 1.8e includes the following new features:

  • Task Wizards and Help Buttons: Task-oriented wizards simplify list management and give convenient access to LISTSERV's extensive feature set, without having to learn complicated commands.
  • Virus Protection: LISTSERV 1.8e is secured by F-Secure Anti-Virus.
  • Enhanced Database Support: LISTSERV can now communicate with multiple databases and supports IBM DB2 (in addition to Oracle, MS SQL Server, MySQL, and any ODBC-compliant database).
  • Enhanced Reporting: List administrators can generate an array of reports, for example, 'subscribe' and 'unsubscribe' requests.
  • Subscriber Profile Page: Subscribers can manage all their list subscriptions on a single screen.
  • Enhanced Attachment Filter: List administrators can choose which types of attachments may or may not be posted to their lists.
  • New Content Filter: List administrators can set LISTSERV to reject postings that include specified words or phrases.
  • In all, LISTSERV 1.8e contains 97 enhancements from the previous version.

LISTSERV is available for Windows 2000/NT; Unix: Solaris (SPARC/Intel), Linux (Intel and IBM S/390), AIX (PowerPC), Tru64, HP-UX, IRIX, FreeBSD, BSDi; OpenVMS (Alpha) and VM.

F-Secure Anti-Virus is available for Windows and Linux only.

About L-Soft

L-Soft develops and sells software and outsourcing services for managing e-mail newsletters, discussion groups and marketing campaigns. Founded in 1994, L-Soft's has been instrumental in the proliferation of e-mail marketing due to the popularity of its flagship software, LISTSERV®. Since then, L-Soft has expanded its portfolio of products and services to include e-mail delivery, outsourcing and consulting services.

Recognized in 2001 as Maryland's 23rd fastest-growing technology company by Deloitte & Touche, L-Soft offers products that deliver more than 35 million messages a day to about 140 million list subscriptions. With offices in the U.S. and Europe, the company serves more than 2,500 customers across the globe including AOL, British Airways, Microsoft, The Wall Street Journal, Bell Canada and Lifetime TV.

L-Soft Press Contact

Susan Brown Faghani
1-301-731-0440, Ext 4
https://www.lsoft.com/contact/econtact.asp?id=pressinfo


LISTSERV is a registered trademark licensed to L-Soft international, Inc.

See Guidelines for Proper Usage of the LISTSERV Trademark for more details.

All other trademarks, both marked and unmarked, are the property of their respective owners.


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