American Megatrends Inc. (AMI) and Ancora Technologies Announce Strategic Alliance to Offer BIOS Based Security Products

BIOS pioneer American Megatrends Inc. (AMI) and Ancora Technologies Inc. announce strategic alliance to offer BIOS based security products utilizing Ancora“s Platform Security Anchor ™ (PSA) technology (as described in US Patent 6,411,941). The first offering, Ancora Online™, scheduled to be released in Q2 2005, provides ”consumer strong authentication" for online service providers such as online banks, online retailers and ISPs.

Atlanta, GA / Irvine, CA, February 16, 2005 -- The recent “phishing attacks” on online banking accounts highlight the need for an effective yet convenient 2nd factor authentication in addition to a password. Ancora Online ™ provides “consumer strong authentication” that balances consumer convenience with effectiveness and cost. Ancora Online ™ enables consumers to designate which computer or computers may access their online account. Stealing passwords becomes useless as the hacker will not be able to use a stolen password to access the consumer“s account without physical possession of the consumer”s computer.

PSA ™ is a security technology that embeds encryption keys in the core of the PC, its motherboard. This approach achieves a higher level of reliability and security than software-based technologies and a higher level of convenience than hardware-based ones (i.e. tokens and smart cards).

“The strategic alliance with Ancora allows us to enter the security field and leverage our BIOS expertise and knowledge”, said S. Shankar, AMI president. “We see great value for consumers in BIOS based security products.”

“The BIOS is the core of the computer and is the only component that enables the highest level of reliability and convenience. These attributes are critical for widespread consumer acceptance of security technologies”, said Miki Mullor, CEO of Ancora. “We are very pleased to have AMI as a strategic ally. AMI”s knowledge and credibility accelerated our product development efforts and ensures that Ancora products will always be compatible with the latest PC platform technologies"

“Our first product, Ancora Online, offers a solution to the online ID theft problem caused by ”phishing attacks“, stated Ancora President Al Saavedra. ”When we designed the product, it was important for us to build a product that consumers want, making usability, convenience and cost high priority design goals"

The following key differentiators highlight Ancora Online"s strong position in the consumer authentication market:
• Convenience and “ease of use”: Ancora Online is fully transparent to the consumer and requires no changes to the current user experience and behavior.
• Reliability: Being based in the PC BIOS, Ancora Online is isolated from usability problems related to user activities, hard drive problems and malicious viruses and spyware.
• Cost: zero variable cost related to acquisition and deployment.
• Practical: fits all real world usage scenarios. Allows consumers to self-manage their designated computers, puts no restrictions on current usage models of online services.
• Web deployment: deployed electronically over the web, compatible with all popular browsers.
• Industry backing: Ancora Online is co-developed with American Megatrends Inc. (AMI), maker of AMIBIOS ™ and a dominant technology company with over 20 years experience in the BIOS space.
• Instant Compatibility: Ancora Online is compatible with 100% of the PC market install base.

A demo of the product is available at the company"s web site: www.AncoraTech.com

About American Megatrends Inc.
Founded in 1985, American Megatrends Inc. (AMI) has dedicated its resources to providing OEMs, resellers and systems integrators with leading edge computer technologies. Privately held, AMI is best known for its BIOS, but it also supplies state-of-the-art hardware, software and utilities to over 55 percent of today’s high-tech manufacturers. AMI offers high-density motherboards, disk subsystems and innovative storage solutions and is a voting member of the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA). Headquartered in Atlanta, AMI has locations in the U.S. and throughout the world including Chennai, Munich, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo to better serve its customers.

For more information on AMI, its products or services, call 1-800-U-BUY-AMI or visit www.ami.com.

About Ancora Technologies Inc.
Founded in 2004, Ancora Technologies Inc., is focused on development and licensing of security products based on its patented Platform Security Anchor ™ technology.

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