Verizon Online Adds Anti-Virus Protection to Outsourced E-mail Products at No Additional Charge

RESTON, Va. - Verizon Online is now offering virus-scanning protection as part of its outsourced e-mail offerings for its small- and medium-sized business customers. This new anti-virus feature scans and identifies computer viruses, worms and other forms of malicious code and content on e-mail attachments and can help to prevent many viruses from reaching the customer's network.

''With this high performance, server-based solution, we can offer a more stable and secure e-mail environment for our customers,'' said Tim Eggleston, director business services. ''We wanted to provide our customers tools for protection of their communications systems and their critical information. While no Internet security system is ever 100 percent infallible, we think the Trend Micro security products provide an increased level of security against computer viruses that was not previously available to small business users.''

Verizon Online's outsourced e-mail services for small businesses will help fill the niche between standard e-mail services offered to residential customers and resource and capital-intensive systems purchased and operated by companies with large information-technology (IT) departments. Verizon Online offers smaller businesses a protected environment with expanded storage and sophisticated features to meet the demands of a growing business.

Outsourced e-mail gives the appearance of much larger organizations while freeing small businesses to focus resources on their core business. Verizon Online owns and manages the mail system, offers online upgrades, and provides 24-by-7 support and rapid disaster recovery through redundant servers, online backups, and online maintenance.

According to recent research, over 91 percent of computer viruses are transmitted via e-mail attachments, costing companies over $17.1 billion annually since 1999.

''Smaller companies are often unable to adequately protect their corporate networks because they do not have the internal resources to monitor and maintain sophisticated virus protection solutions,'' said Eggleston. ''Verizon Online can now offer these firms a cost-effective alternative.

For more information on Verizon Online's products and service tailored for small-medium businesses, call 1-877-483-4111.

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Verizon Online is a full-service Internet service provider, offering a complete suite of dial-up, DSL and dedicated Internet access services for residential consumers and small and medium-size businesses. Dial-up and dedicated Internet access from Verizon Online is available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. DSL Internet access services are available in 26 states and the District. Verizon Online also offers businesses a robust portfolio of Web hosting and outsourced e-mail services across the country.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with 112 million access line equivalents and 27 million wireless customers. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world. A Fortune 10 company with approximately 260,000 employees and more than $65 billion in annual revenues, Verizon's global presence extends to 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com