TORONTO, January 27, 1999 -- Symantec Corporation (Nasdaq: SYMC), the world leader in utility software for business and personal computing, was awarded Best Software Partner for 1998 by El Segundo, Calif. - based Merisel, Inc. on Tuesday, January 19, 1999. The event, attended by more than 140 executives from the industry's top manufacturers, offered a high-level business review of Merisel's 1999 North American business strategy.

Criteria that were considered for this prestigious award include profitability, support of Merisel programs and overall support for Merisel resellers.

"Symantec is a strategic software partner and has shown a strong commitment to our resellers and to growing our mutual businesses," said Tracy Robbins, Merisel's vice president of software. "Symantec continues to be a market leader in existing categories, such as remote access, as well as new categories, as it has shown recently with Norton SystemWorks."

"Symantec's partnership with Merisel has been a tremendous business opportunity and we are now honoured to have been selected to receive this award," said Dana Siebert, executive vice president, Worldwide Sales, Marketing and Services at Symantec. "Symantec is committed to providing our customers with the best software solutions available and with Merisel's help, we look forward to continuing our prosperous relationship."

About Merisel
Merisel, Inc. (Nasdaq: SYMC) is a leader in the distribution of computer hardware and software products. Based in El Segundo, Calif., Merisel is a Fortune 500 Company with reported 1997 sales of $4.05 billion. Merisel distributes a full line of 25,000 products and services from the industry's leading manufacturers to resellers throughout North America. Merisel's corporate Web site is located at www.merisel.com.

About Symantec in Canada:
With 250 employees, Symantec's Canadian operations are headquartered in Toronto with offices in Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver. For information on Symantec products or current promotions, contact the Canadian office at (416) 441-3676 or access Symantec's Canadian Web Site. Symantec is an active member of the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft (CAAST).

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.

Founded in 1982, the company's global operations span North America, Europe, Japan and several fast growing markets throughout Asia Pacific and Latin America. Traded on Nasdaq under the symbol SYMC, Symantec Corporation is based in Cupertino, Calif., and employs more than 2,000 people. Information on the company and its products can be obtained by calling (800) 441-7234 toll free, (541) 334-6054 or accessed on the World Wide Web.

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