CYBERMEDIA’S OIL CHANGETM UPDATE SERVICE IS AN "INVISIBLE BESTSELLER" – ENDS ITS FIRST YEAR WITH MORE THAN 800,000 USERS AND SUBSCRIPTION RENEWALS ON THE WAY

"Versionless" Software is Easy to Try, Easy to Renew, Annuity-Based Revenue Stream Promises High Return for CyberMedia’s Bottom Line

-- 1997 Oil Change users can renew in ‘98 for only $19.95/year --

Santa Monica, Calif.¾ January 7, 1998¾ Just one year after shipping its top-selling, award-winning Oil Change; automatic software update service, CyberMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:CYBR) is proud to announce its Oil Change automatic software update service has reached multiple benchmarks of industry acceptance and that customers are already resubscribing to the 1998 version at a brisk pace.

On December 19, electronic mail messages were sent with instructions on how to renew the service and within hours of receiving the message, loyal Oil Change users began resubscribing. Renewals are only $19.95 if current users resubscribe before their existing subscription expires – or $29.95 thereafter.

"Oil Change is a stellar example of the future potential of electronic commerce on the Internet," said CyberMedia CEO and President Unni Warrier. "It is the first true "versionless" Internet software application."

"We were uncertain at first how users would respond to the idea of a product that will never have an "upgrade" but is simply renewed every 12 months like a magazine," Warrier said. "However, resubscription rates are already exceeding our expectations, indicating that this is indeed a viable business model that will provide a recurring revenue stream with minimal cost of goods. Oil Change is the future of software – a small application that can be downloaded quickly from the Internet, versionless, easy to use, and continually refreshed with the latest information."

Oil Change works like a "digital oil change" to automatically replace outdated software and hardware drivers with new, clean updates. Originally introduced in October, 1996 the Internet-based Oil Change crosses the line between a product and a service. It can be purchased in retail software stores, as well as purchased and downloaded directly off the Internet. Since introduction, it has been included with hardware from leading vendors, attracted an array of online distribution and software bundling partners, shipped Internationally in Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom and has received rave reviews and many awards.

"Versionless Software"

Unlike traditional "static" software applications, Oil Change is "versionless". The main application functions much like a "browser" running resident on the user’s PC. The user pays not for the application, but the content, which is continually updated to reflect the latest changes in software and hardware products. Six major updates to Oil Change have been delivered to users since introduction, including support for "push" technology to automatically notify users when updates are available, updates for thousands of popular new games, tax program updates and even IRS tax forms.

Rather than providing just one annual version 1.0 that users must discard and replace with version 2.0 and so forth, Oil Change’s content, function and interface change continually. Six weeks before their one year expires, users are notified via electronic mail and invited to resubscribe.

Annuity-Based Revenue Stream

"Central to recognizing the significance of Oil Change in our product/service mix is the annuity-based revenue stream which it generates over time," said Warrier. "When an Oil Change user signs up for another year of service at $19.95, most of that revenue goes directly to our bottom line with no cost of goods. This is also extremely convenient for customers – they simply provide a credit card number to renew. There is no need to read an article to find out the next version of the product is soon shipping, and no form to fill out and mail in."

An "Invisible" Bestseller

"Because a large percentage of our sales are directly from the Internet, or via hardware OEM bundling agreements, PC Data and other retail-based sales data significantly under-represent the actual sales of Oil Change, or for that matter, any software product or service that sells heavily over the Internet, such as Netscape Navigator." said Bob Davis, Vice President of Marketing, CyberMedia.. Sixty-five percent of Oil Change users purchase through retail channels; 30 percent more buy directly from CyberMedia’s web site or online malls.

High Trial Conversion Rate

"Half of our users have already converted from free trial to paid status," said Davis. "This is high for an industry where few trial products achieve conversion rates above 20 percent. It means that our trial users immediately see the value of the service and are willing to pay for it." There are 18 million Internet users in the US according to IDC -- about one million of them have already tried Oil Change.

Major Industry Partnerships

Customized trial versions of Oil Change have shipped to millions more potential new users in this season’s hottest new PCs, including the entire Sony Vaio multimedia and portable PC line, and PCs from AST.

CompuServe has integrated CyberMedia’s Oil Change service with its Computing Pro, a premium service designed for computing professionals and power users. PC World also provides Oil Change as a part of its premium service package for $4.95 per month.. Other online distribution partners include CNET buydirect.com; America Online and Netscape Netcenter.

Through its Web site, Broderbund is offering CyberMedia’s Oil Change automatic software update service to all users of its PC games, including Riven™, the long-awaited sequel to Myst®, the best-selling computer game of all time.

Hewlett-Packard is collaborating with CyberMedia’s to provide Oil Change technology to update HP LaserJet printer drivers from its web site.

PC peripheral and modem makers including Diamond, Motorola and Hayes are providing Oil Change to their customers via their web sites or as a disk bundled in the box.

CompUSA bundles a customized version of the Oil Change service with every extended service protection agreement that it sells when customers buy a new personal computer.

800,000 Users In First Year

About 800,000 users who have tried the Oil Change service – and new users now log on and use a trial version of Oil Change at the rate of several hundred per day. These trials are significant because they are an extremely effective way to market the service -- about half of the users who try the service eventually sign on as full paid users. This is similar to the way that America Online and other Internet Service Providers market their services – only the conversion rate for Oil Change is higher.

A significant increase in Oil Change trials recently occurred in November 1997 when CyberMedia shipped a specialized version of the service with the hot new Broderbund game, Riven, which itself attracts several hundred new Oil Change users every week. In December, CyberMedia announced a free trial of the full service for the week from Christmas to New Year. Last year, this trial promotion prompted 10,000 new users to purchase the service.

Expanded Distribution, International and Online

Oil Change is now available as a boxed product in over 10,000 North American retail stores, including bookstores, record stores, and mass merchandisers; in Germany, the United Kingdom and Australia; and directly from major online services including the Netscape NetCenter, America Online, CNET Buydirect.com (www.buydirect.com), CompuServe, nearly every major online "mall" on the Internet, as well as direct from the CyberMedia web site.

How the Oil Change Service Works

Oil Change automatically replaces outdated, bug-ridden software and hardware drivers with clean updates. These updates are freely available on many web sites, but are time-consuming to locate manually. Oil Change scans the PC to see what’s needed, checks the Internet for the latest list of available updates, and then, with the users permission, automatically installs them. Oil Change updates are available for thousands of products, including hundreds of best-selling games and the latest income tax program updates. New updates are continually added to the Oil Change knowledge base by CyberMedia’s OEM partners and by its engineering team.

About CyberMedia

CyberMedia's mission is to help computer users, anytime, anywhere with a complete set of products and services that provide the highest quality of immediate help to computer users at home and work, all over the world.

CyberMedia's ActiveHelp(TM) product line includes First Aid, to fix Windows problems automatically; Oil Change(TM), to update PCs with the latest bug fixes, patches and drivers; UnInstaller(R), to clean Window's applications; Guard Dog Deluxe(TM), to automatically safeguard Internet security and privacy and the new CyberMedia Support Server line of automatic technical support software for corporations and mid-size businesses.

Founded in 1991, CyberMedia (Nasdaq: CYBR) employs more than 270, with company headquarters in Santa Monica, CA, and offices in San Jose, CA, Portland, OR, Washington, D.C., Japan, Ireland, and India. For additional information contact CyberMedia, Inc., 3000 Ocean Park Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90405; phone (310) 664-5000; fax (310) 664-4720; or visit the CyberMedia Web site at www.cybermedia.com.

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Note: CyberMedia and First Aid are registered trademarks and Oil Change, Guard Dog, UnInstaller and the CyberMedia logo are trademarks of CyberMedia, Inc. All other trade names are trademarks of their respective owners.

Press Contact: Giselle Bisson (310) 664-5261; giselle@cybermedia.com

Investor Relations: Stacy Simpkins (310)664-5700; stacys@cybermedia.com