Aramark, Commonwealth Edison, BankBoston and Texas Utilities Rely on Symantec to Provide Anti-Virus Protection

Companies to replace IBM AntiVirus on more than 40,000 seats worldwide

Cupertino, Calif,. - March 16, 1999 - Symantec Corporation (Nasdaq: SYMC) announced today that it has been appointed by ARAMARK, Commonwealth Edison, BankBoston and Texas Utilities to provide anti-virus protection for networks totaling more than 40,000 desktops and 1,000 servers across the world.

Texas Utilities began transitioning to Norton AntiVirus in August 1998 and anticipates completing the roll-out by the end of 1999. ARAMARK, the world-leader in providing managed services, has already converted its Philadelphia, PA head office to Norton AntiVirus and expects to complete its migration during the fall. The company has also purchased a license for 5,100 units of pcANYWHERE, Symantec's leading remote connectivity solution, to help deliver its helpdesk solution across its network.

Commonwealth Edison says it expects to begin its conversion to Norton AntiVirus later this year, as does BankBoston which will use the Symantec software across its entire retail banking organization including all branches, telephone banking centers and automatic teller machines.

In May 1998, Symantec and IBM joined forces to deliver a single family of anti-virus products under the Norton AntiVirus brand name. As part of this agreement, IBM assigned its existing customers and OEM contracts to Symantec for transitioning to Norton AntiVirus. In September, Symantec also announced that it had purchased Intel's anti-virus business and licensed a number of Intel's systems management technologies.

So far, Symantec has gained commitments from more than 4,000 companies representing over two million seats worldwide to transition to Norton AntiVirus from IBM AntiVirus and has developed services to deliver a smooth transition for customers. The service combines tools, such as unobtrusive uninstall/reinstall utilities, with on-site training and assistance from transition consultants.

Scott Hedrick, vice president of technology infrastructure at ARAMARK said: "We are pleased with the way the technology is performing on desktops and servers. Viruses from email attachments are the main potential source of infection and Norton AntiVirus is proving to be very effective at catching viruses at that level before they can infect desktop systems."

He continued: "The single extensible engine in Norton AntiVirus and the frequent provision of virus definitions means our protection is up to date, and the software appears to be very easy to use, manage and administer. So far our migration from IBM AntiVirus to Norton AntiVirus has been smooth and without incident."

Carole Rodenstein, infrastructure technology manager at BankBoston added: "Keeping our network free of viruses is critical to our business. We expect that the Norton AntiVirus solution will not only protect our network from viruses, but be easy to manage and administer as well."

Unlike other anti-virus products, the single engine architecture in Norton AntiVirus enables companies to distribute virus definitions and engine updates across multiple platforms without having to reinstall the application. All Norton AntiVirus engines come from a single code-base so that modifications or updates to the engine in response to new viruses or strains of virus can be applied by customers across multiple platforms in a single, cost-efficient deployment as part of the LiveUpdate process to install new virus definitions.

Not only does the single engine architecture reduce IS management time and cost, it also ensures that Norton AntiVirus users benefit from fast response to new threats, such as the Remote Explorer, Ethan1912 and Caligula viruses as they emerge.

Dana Siebert, Symantec's executive vice president sales, marketing and support, adds: "Symantec's corporate anti-virus business is growing strongly. These companies are among 4,000 new corporate customers that have either transitioned or committed to transition to Norton AntiVirus as a result of our alliance with IBM. We are very pleased to be working with such prestigious organizations."

About Norton AntiVirus
The Norton AntiVirus product line includes a multi-tier strategy that integrates a powerful anti-virus solution at desktops, servers, groupware servers, Internet e-mail gateways and firewalls to provide users with the most comprehensive virus detection and repair. The products provide users the security of knowing they have the most complete protection available, whether downloading files from the Internet, opening e-mail attachments or accessing floppy disks.

About ARAMARK
ARAMARK, a $6.4 billion employee-owned and operated company, is the leading provider of managed services, including food and support services, uniforms and career apparel, and child care and private elementary education. ARAMARK has over 150,000 employees serving 15 million customers at 500,000 locations in 11 countries every day.

About Commonwealth Edison
With more than $7 billion in revenue in 1998, Unicom, based in Chicago and incorporated in 1994, is the parent holding company of Commonwealth Edison (ComEd). ComEd is engaged in the production, purchase, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity to wholesale and retail customers. The utility provides service to over 3.4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population.

About BankBoston
BankBoston (NYSE: BKB), with assets of $73.5 billion and some 25,000 employees, is the nation's oldest commercial bank and New England's only global bank. BankBoston is engaged in consumer and business banking in New England; delivering sophisticated financial solutions to corporation and governments nationally and internationally; and full-service banking in leading Latin American markets. The Corporation's common stock is listed on the New York and Boston stock exchanges.

About Texas Utilities
Texas Utilities Company is one of the largest investor-owned energy service companies, with assets of approximately $40 billion and approximately 9 million customers worldwide. It is engaged in domestic and international electric and natural gas utility services, energy marketing, telecommunications, and other energy-related services.

About Symantec
Symantec is the world leader in utility software for business and personal computing. Symantec products and solutions help make users productive and keep their computers safe and reliable anywhere and anytime. Symantec offers a broad range of solutions and is acclaimed as a leader in both customer satisfaction and product brand recognition. Symantec is traded on Nasdaq under the symbol SYMC. More information on the company and its products can be obtained at www.symantec.com.

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