FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Purity Software, Inc.
715 West 23rd Street, Suite O
Austin, TX 78705
+1.512.328.2288
FAX +1.512.328.2688
http://www.purity.com/
info@purity.com
Purity Software Announces WebSentinel v2.0
(Austin, TX - August 17, 1998) - Purity Software announced WebSentinel v2.0
today, a major upgrade to its popular web site security and administration
tool. With the release of WebSentinel v2.0, Purity builds on the elegant
and easy to use interface of the previous version with a slew of powerful
new features for managing a web server.
"When we shipped the first version of WebSentinel late in 1997 we showed
the Internet server community that administration of a web site is as easy
as drag and drop," said Nathan Nunn, president of Purity Software, "and
with the introduction of WebSentinel v2.0 today we extend on that same
ideal with even greater functionality."
This version of the site management tool has been created to specifically
attend to the feedback received from users of the original, expanding the
focus beyond just site security to general site management.
One of the many exciting new features introduced in this new version allows
a site administrator to easily manage a subscription-based web site by
automatically expiring user accounts on a given date, after a given number
of days, or even after the user has been served a given number of pages or
graphics in a realm.
Users can now change their own password without the need for help from the
administrator by adding a simple "Change Password" link on your web site.
Of course, the HTML pages and forms which allow password changes are fully
customizable to fit within a site's appearance. In addition, for those site
administrators who want total control over their site's appearance may now
designate HTML login forms in replacement of the standard HTTP
username/password request.
WebSentinel v2.0 now supports "superusers" through a new Administration
Group. Any user or workstation which is a member of an Administration Group
will automatically have access to all protected areas of the web site. No
need to manually provide realm access to site administrators!
To further remove strains on site administrators, WebSentinel supports a
workstation as a special type of web site user. A workstation represents
any given computer (or group of computers) by its unique Internet IP
address. Workstations may be assigned access to realms and groups as with
regular users, however when a workstation accesses the web site they are
automatically logged in without the need for a username/password
combination. Using this capability, a site administrator could define
workstation access for any machine within an office to be provided
automatic access whereas machines that do not match the workstation
definition would be challenged for a username and password as usual.
Adding capabilities beyond site security to WebSentinel's suite of
services, a new type of realm may be created to redirect a user to a
different location or URL. Using this new Redirect realm type with
WebSentinel's powerful GREP matching capabilities offers an incredibly
powerful interface for directing traffic on a web site. This new feature is
especially useful if a page or group of pages has been moved to a new
location. Using a Redirect realm, a site administrator can automatically
send requests to the new location on the server.
In addition, WebSentinel v2.0 provides support to dynamically generate No
Access and Login pages using any PIXO-compliant plug-in, and an updated
administration interface supporting the Mac OS 8 grayscale appearance,
contextual menus, and multithreaded lists similar to the Mac OS Finder.
This new version also marks an important change in the underlying
components WebSentinel requires, providing faster performance and greater
stability for large scale web sites.
These new features all complement the original WebSentinel feature set,
which includes (but is not limited to):
- an intuitive drag and drop web site management interface utilizing a users
and groups metaphor
- Finder-style labels for extended organization
- custom notes for any realm, user, workstation, or group
- easy to use interface for finding users
- custom No Access page for each web site realm
- either simple realm match strings, or the ability to use complex GREP
expression match strings for the ultimate flexibility in web site
management
- a complete web-based administration interface providing most all of
WebSentinel's capabilities from any forms-capable web browser
- caching by the server allows authentication for a security realm to be
processed wicked-fast, even when users are stored in a slow or remote
database server
System Requirements
WebSentinel requires Mac OS 7.5 or later, 1MB of RAM for the administration
application, and 1MB of RAM on the web server. WebSentinel v2.0 is
compatible with any web server supporting the W*API v1.2 standard,
including StarNine's WebSTAR, Apple's AppleShare IP, Tenon's WebTen, and
Social Engineering's Quid Pro Quo.
Pricing and Availability
WebSentinel v2.0 has a suggested retail price of US $199.00 and includes a
special version of Verona for user storage needs. Current users of
WebSentinel v1.0 can upgrade to v2.0 for US $79.00, and customers who have
purchased WebSentinel v1.0 within 60 days of this release are entitled to a
free upgrade to the new version. Educational institutions qualify for a 15%
discount on all Purity Software products.
A fully-functional demonstration version of WebSentinel is available from
the Purity Software web site at http://www.purity.com/websentinel/. To
order, follow the links on Purity's web site, or call your preferred
retailer.
About Purity Software
Purity Software, Inc. was founded in 1995, is a privately-held corporation
based in Austin, TX. The company is committed to developing the finest
products possible for the Internet community. Purity Software may be
contacted at 715 West 23rd Street, Suite O, Austin, TX, 78705, USA;
512-328-2288; fax 512-328-2688; info@purity.com.
WebSentinel and Verona are registered trademarks of Purity Software, Inc.
and are copyright (c)1996-1998. All rights reserved worldwide. All other
tradenames are registered trademarks of their respective owners.
