New Interface to iPass Corporate Access Service Enables Better Integration of Wi-Fi Networks into Enterprise Connectivity Solutions - at Work, at Home and on the Road

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., June 16 /Wi-Fi Technology News/ -- iPass Inc. (http://www.ipass.com/) announced today a new version of the iPassConnect(TM) interface to its iPass Corporate Access enterprise connectivity service. The iPassConnect 3.0 service interface is focused on providing enhanced control to the enterprise IT department of how, where and by whom corporate networks are accessed while at the same time enabling a protected and simple user experience across a broad range of connectivity technologies -- including Wi-Fi hotspots, on-campus wireless LANs and home broadband services for telecommuters.

"iPass recognizes that enterprises invest lots of research, time and money to build and secure their corporate networks," said Ken Denman, CEO of iPass. "The iPass philosophy is to deliver global connectivity across a broad array of technologies while leveraging existing enterprise investments in security infrastructure. The new service benefits delivered through iPassConnect 3.0 should greatly improve the ease with which connections over public Wi-Fi hotspots, on-campus WLANs and home broadband and Wi-Fi networks can be brought under the control of an IT department -- without significant incremental cost or risk to the enterprise. iPass works to protect the IT investment already made by our customers."

The new version of iPassConnect is more than an upgrade to the company's 2.x series client. After considerable research and development that included working directly with customers, the iPassConnect 3.0 is a complete redesign. The older client was based on technology developed in the earliest days of iPass to aggregate dial-up networks. This new modular design of iPassConnect 3.0, coupled with tighter integration with the company's virtual network technologies, allows iPass to more easily integrate new IP network technologies and policy-based systems as well as scale the service to meet the requirements of enterprise customers.

Making Wi-Fi Connectivity Easier

iPass worked with customers and technology partners to improve the users' connection experience across a broad range of connectivity technologies, but especially in Wi-Fi environments. To determine product requirements, iPass ran focus groups on four continents to analyze how actual remote and mobile workers make connection choices.

To connect using the new interface, a user may only need to know where he is located, and the available connectivity options are presented to him. Should any iPass Enterprise-Ready Wi-Fi hotspots be in range, they are presented to the user for simple selection. When the user selects a Wi-Fi network, the iPassConnect 3.0 interface will handle the configuration of the user's Wi-Fi hardware for proper operation. The user need not have any interaction with the Wi-Fi device.

"The iPass Corporate Access service has become an important tool for our mobile and remote employees," said Vickie Ellis, Division Manager at John Deere. "The significant multinational reach and speed/flexibility by which services were able to be provisioned made iPass a good fit for integration with our existing VPN solution. In the past eighteen months we were able to easily deploy their service to a targeted portion of our mobile workforce and soon began to realize a cost savings. It was far easier to let iPass handle the network piece, especially since their service worked with our existing VPN solution. We are currently beta testing the new iPassConnect 3.0 interface and have found that iPass has worked to make the often complicated use of Wi-Fi as easy to use as dial."

"Wi-Fi is still not as easy-to-use as users want, but more importantly it is inherently insecure," said Matthew Kovar, Director, Security Solutions & Services at The Yankee Group. "Depending on where you are and how you access a hotspot, there can be several elements that require configuration. To be successful, a public hotspot must allow the greatest number of people as possible to access it, which causes many providers to neglect security and interoperability issues. iPass has addressed these challenges for the enterprise by creating a virtual network that integrates with a wide variety of its customers' security solutions. iPass has achieved this with a new interface that makes Wi-Fi as easy to use as dial-up and virtually as secure as accessing a network from the corporate LAN."

Securing Wireless Connections:

iPass Secure End-to-end Encrypted Login (iSEEL) and 802.1x Access Control

To protect user passwords during authentication, the iPassConnect interface now supports iPass Secure End-to-end Encryption Login (iSEEL) technology. iSEEL technology is currently being deployed on the iPass virtual network.

iSEEL uses a combination of public key cryptography and a unique session ID to enable the extension of iPass protection of user passwords from the client, through the iPass virtual network, all the way to the enterprise network -- across access methods supported by the iPass virtual network.

iSEEL is designed to shield user passwords from being compromised on wireless and wired networks. Since it uses a session-specific variable to encrypt the passwords, even an encrypted password that is recorded and replayed by a hacker to gain network access may have only limited value.

Improving Enforcement of Enterprise Security Policies

The iPassConnect 3.0 interface enables extending client security policy enforcement to leading anti-virus software packages Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition and Network Associates' McAfee VirusScan. The new interface can now ensure that users have both anti-virus and iPass-integrated personal firewall software up and running before establishing a VPN connection to the enterprise. It can also be configured to auto-launch this software if it is not already running. Should such systems become disabled during the session, the iPassConnect interface immediately tears down the connection.

In addition, the combination of iSEEL technology and iPass policy enforcement should assist IT managers in restricting unsecured access by forcing all iPass access to come through the iPassConnect interface. This helps to ensure that users coming in from the iPass network are in compliance with enterprise security policies.

Safer and Simpler Wi-Fi at Work, at Home, or on the Road

Beyond public Wi-Fi hotspots, the iPassConnect interface and Corporate Access service are focused on simplifying and helping to secure corporate connectivity over private Wi-Fi networks -- either at home or on the corporate campus. For on-campus Wi-Fi networks, the Corporate Access service allows creation of a custom "phonebook" for adding IT-approved on-campus access points and it also supports new 802.1x access control methods for Wi-Fi LANs, including LEAP, TLS and TTLS.

For home Wi-Fi LANs connected to broadband Internet connections, users can add their WLAN to a personal "phonebook." In both the home and on-campus scenarios, users can take advantage of the Wi-Fi auto-detection, Wi-Fi auto-configuration and policy enforcement features described above.

Improved User Logon to Windows NT Domains Across All Networks

To simplify end-user connectivity into Windows NT Domains, iPass has created a prelogon capability to perform operations on NT-based systems (Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP) before a user logs onto the network. Occurring during the power-up sequence when the user must key in CTRL-ALT-DEL, the prelogon capability enables a user to log onto the NT domain and is designed to give him the same access to network resources he would have if he was connecting from his desk on campus.

Part of a Complete Enterprise Connectivity Solution

The iPassConnect interface is the user-facing component of the iPass Corporate Access enterprise connectivity service that runs over the iPass virtual network.

The iPass virtual network provides mobile workers with the ability to access their enterprise networks through one of over 18,000 access points including 16,000 dial-up POPs and over 2,000 broadband connections, including over 1,500 Wi-Fi hotspots and more than 500 Ethernet-enabled venues. The iPass virtual network integrates networks of over 200 providers into an enterprise-ready and policy-managed service offering.

Beyond safe and simple connectivity for the end-user, the iPass Corporate Access service includes a complete set of "after-the-sale" elements including:

-- Professional implementation and training services
-- Account management personnel and tools
-- Help Desk support through the iPass intelligent Online Quality reporting tool

About iPass

iPass Inc. (http://www.ipass.com/) provides software-enabled enterprise connectivity services designed to give employees secure access to information and applications on the corporate network from approximately 150 countries around the world. As a virtual network operator (VNO), iPass offers enterprise employees a range of Internet protocol-based connectivity technologies, including wired and wireless broadband service at airports, hotels and conference centers worldwide. The iPassConnect(TM) interface can be easily deployed across multiple computing devices and operating systems within an enterprise. Once deployed, the iPass service gives the corporate IT department enhanced control over how network resources are accessed. Founded in 1996, iPass is headquartered in Redwood Shores, Calif., with offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Source: iPass, Inc.

CONTACT: John Sidline of iPass, +1-650-232-4112, or jsidline@ipass.com, or Ellie O'Rourke of The Hoffman Agency, +1-408-975-3057, or eorourke@hoffman.com, for iPass

Web site: http://www.ipass.com/ By: From: http://www.ipass.com/