InterMute - AdSubtract Blocks 1 Billion Internet Ads

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AdSubtract Blocks 1 Billion Internet Ads

Industry’s Hottest Ad and Cookie Blocking Software Reaches Major Milestone

BRAINTREE, MA. March 17, 2000 - AdSubtract.com announced today that its Internet ad and cookie blocking software has now blocked well over 1 billion Internet ads for its users. AdSubtract is currently offering AdSubtract Standard Edition software free to users from its website at www.adsubtract.com. AdSubtract SE is also available on PCWORLD's website and on ZDNET’s website, where it has been awarded a 5 star rating.

While this number may make some advertisers and ad-servers - like industry giant DoubleClick (Nasdaq: DCLK) – very unhappy, it represents an enormous benefit for AdSubtract users. AdSubtract not only blocks Internet ads to make the web faster and more pleasant, it also allows users to selectively block “cookies” to protect a user’s privacy. Cookies are used by ad-servers to track a consumer’s online habits while shopping or surfing the net. The relationship between Internet ads and ‘bad’ cookies is little understood by the general public, i.e. that most cookies used for online-profiling are delivered to user’s computers via advertisements.

“Consumers finally have a choice to protect their personal information and exercise some control over Internet content,” said Ed English, president of AdSubtract. “Opting out from cookies on a site by site basis is not enough. The over one billion ads blocked by our software proves that there truly is a better way. Our many happy users seem to agree. The feedback we’ve received from individuals, consumer advocates, and corporate users has been overwhelmingly positive. Consumers say that they love the uncluttered look and the increased speed. Corporate users love AdSubtract because it blocks ads before they are delivered, increasing the effective bandwidth of their network, and consumer advocates have called it a victory for individual privacy.”

Privacy concerns on the net have recently sparked government inquiries into the acquisition and use of personal information by Internet ad-servers and web sites. Internet ad-servers have also come under fire recently, most notably when DoubleClick announced plans to correlate online profiling data with offline demographics. Stung by criticism in the press and among privacy advocates, DoubleClick put its plans on hold – at least for the moment.

AdSubtract software can be installed in less than 30 seconds, and automatically configures itself to work with any browser. Professional and Server versions of AdSubtract will be available soon.

About InterMute, Inc.
InterMute, Inc. develops and distributes Internet software to make the web more productive, pleasant, and private. Based in Braintree, Massachusetts, InterMute's software 'Subtracts the Ads' and protects online privacy. For further information, visit the InterMute web site at www.intermute.com.