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Company Press Release

Sex Site Surfing in Workplace at Epidemic Level

New Study from Elron Software Determines that 62% of Participating Organizations Have Employees Accessing Sexually Explicit Web Sites During Work Hours

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Sexually explicit web sites are being accessed by employees during work hours at nearly two thirds (62 percent) of responding companies, concludes a survey of reports submitted by organizations evaluating Elron Internet Manager(TM) -- a software tool for monitoring Internet usage. The study was released today by Elron Software Inc.

The study also found that almost one-third (27 percent) of these respondents have taken punitive action against employees for inappropriate web surfing -- surf-abuse. Examples of the action taken by these organizations to combat surf-abuse include: verbal warnings, written reprimands, payroll deductions, and termination.

``These results are staggering,'' said Stephen Elliot, Senior Analyst at In-Stat Group. ``There is a phenomenal amount of information available on the web, and companies need to be aware of the pitfalls, as well as the benefits.''

``This study shows that inappropriate web usage is widespread in the workplace, and that companies are taking action to limit their risks and to optimize employee and network resources,'' said Elliot.

Study Methodology

Survey participants installed Elron Internet Manager on an evaluation basis to determine how their Internet connection was being used by employees. Respondents monitored Internet usage for a minimum period of three days and then submitted the actual Internet usage reports to Elron Software where the results were tabulated. Over 100 companies responded to the survey.

Reasons for Limiting Surfing Abuse

Three considerations drive the need for corporate monitoring of inappropriate Internet usage: employee productivity; cost of network bandwidth and resources; and potential negative publicity and legal liabilities resulting from inappropriate use of the Internet.

First, employers are typically concerned about the impact of non-business related surfing on employee productivity (and the costs associated with wasted time/salary). A second concern is that Internet access is not free. Excessive non-business Internet usage results in significant organizational costs -- e.g., upgrading network resources such as leased lines, routers, disk storage, and printers to handle the increased load -- and wasted time caused by slow network response or unreliable connections. Lastly, inappropriate usage of the Internet may result in legal liabilities and/or negative publicity. For example, if an employee displays inappropriate material (e.g. pornography) at his/her workstation and a co-worker is subjected to it, the company can be held liable for creating a hostile work environment.

Elron Software's ``Workplace Internet Surf-Abuse Study'' is available on the Internet at http://surf-abuse.elronsoftware.com.

About Elron Internet Manager

Elron Internet Manager is the #1 Solution for Internet Reporting and Management. The Elron Internet Manager provides real-time analysis and reporting of outbound Web usage (surfing) in order to increase employee productivity, reduce the risk of legal liability, and improve network bandwidth usage.

Any organization may conduct the test described above to evaluate how their employees are using their Internet connection by downloading a free trial of Elron Internet Manager from ( http://www.elronsoftware.com/imtrial/ ). To learn more about the features and functionality of Elron Internet Manager, visit the Elron Software corporate web site at ( http://www.elronsoftware.com ) or call Elron Software direct at 800-406-5828. Pricing starts at $995 for fifty users.

About Elron Software, Inc.

Elron Software Inc., Network Management Division, is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Company develops, sells, and supports network management products for Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - news) Windows NT, Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL - news) NetWare, and Internet-connected networks. Elron Software Inc. is a private, wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Elron Electronic Industries, Ltd., a $1.2 billion multinational company (Nasdaq: ELRNF - news) headquartered in Israel. 

SOURCE: Elron Software, Inc.