Table of Contents:
==================

	1.  Open letter to Tripwire customers (3/98)
	2.  Open letter from Professor Gene Spafford, Ph.D. (3/98)
	3.  Open letter from Professor Gene Spafford, Ph.D. (12/97)


1.  Open Letter to Tripwire customers, March 1998:
==================================================

Dear Customer,

As President of Visual Computing Corporation, I am pleased to announce our
acquisition of exclusive worldwide rights of Tripwire, developed at Purdue
University in conjunction with many individual, corporate and institutional
testers and users.  Please find an announcement and transition letter from
Professor Spafford of Purdue below.

Since its original release in 1992, Tripwire has grown in popularity and is
now one of the most widely deployed UNIX security tools.  Several hundred
thousand software downloads have been recorded, and we are aware of many
active large government and commercial sites using the product.

Our goals for Tripwire are to continue with the excellent effort put forth
by the original authors and many contributors since the code was originally
released.  We are planning several incremental releases in the immediate
term adding value to the core engine and user interface.  Later in 1998 we
will release a major new commercial version. 

We encourage existing and new users of Tripwire to stay tuned to our web
site at www.visualcomputing.com for more information about future releases
of Tripwire and other marketing related activities.  If you have any
specific input or questions, please direct these inquiries to
tripwire@visualcomputing.com.

Sincerely, 

W. Wyatt Starnes
President
Visual Computing Corporation


2.  Open letter from Professor Eugene Spafford, Ph.D. (3/98)
============================================================

Dear Tripwire customer, 

As you may know, Purdue University has elected to transfer management and
product responsibility for the Tripwire security system to its co-developer
Mr.  Gene Kim and his firm Visual Computing Corporation of Portland,
Oregon. 

This decision was made to ensure the continued development and support of
Tripwire and to maintain the integrity of its design goals.

The results of the arrangement will benefit you, Purdue University and
Visual Computing by allowing the product to evolve and receive the
necessary focus and resources needed to maintain its functionality in years
to come.

Furthermore, by placing Tripwire with a focused commercial entity, we
believe that there will be resources and motivation to enhance and port
Tripwire to a wider range of uses and platforms.  This can only help the
user community concerned with security.

As a business, Visual Computing Corporation will be able to invest the time
and resources for quality technical support.  They will also be in a better
position to respond to customer suggestions and integrate valuable new
features into future Tripwire releases.

A representative of Visual Computing Corporation will be available to
discuss transferring any current use of Tripwire into a formal site license
arrangement.

Thank you for making Tripwire one the most successful security programs
ever written.  I look forward to reviewing the progress of our decision to
focus the resources needed to further advance the program's functionality
and value. 

Gene Spafford, Ph.D.


3.  Open Letter from Professor Eugene Spafford, Ph.D. (12/97)
=============================================================

In mid-December 1997, Visual Computing Corporation acquired the license for
our Tripwire change/intrusion detection system.  They will be marketing an
enhanced, supported version of Tripwire for Unix-based machines, starting
sometime in the early part of 1998.  They are also planning a Windows NT
version of Tripwire for release sometimes in mid-late 1998.  I may have
some technical advisory role in these developments, but all enquiries about
Tripwire should be directed to:
    
	Visual Computing Corporation
	615 SW Broadway
	Portland, Oregon 97205
	Phone: 	(503) 223-0280
	FAX: 	(503) 223-0182
	wws@visualcomputing.com

Sometime in early 1998 we [Purdue] will transition all support questions
for Tripwire to VCC.  In the meantime, there are some patches and new FAQ
information available from the COAST ftp site:

Please also note that Tripwire is a registered trademark of the Purdue
Research Foundation, and it is also licensed to VCC.

Gene Spafford, Ph.D.

