By providing these capabilities in one device we greatly reduce the headaches of getting individual products to work together (and more importantly to continue to work together). Through remote upgrade capabilities, Sereniti will ensure that the device is always running on the latest firmware so consumers don't have to worry about manual upgrades.

One of the biggest differentiators that our hardware brings to the home is zero-touch network backup. By connecting each PC to the Internet, our software automatically backs up the most important files (Desktop, My Documents, email, and Favorites) and sets a daily schedule to capture incremental changes. This is done automatically and, unless the user wants to define a different backup schedule or change the folders to be backed up, no intervention is required to maintain a complete backup of all your irreplaceable data in the home.

David: Can you describe the software component of your offering?

Wade: There are three software components in our offering: the Sereniti Command Center, Sereniti Security Suite and the Sereniti Knowledge Base.

The Sereniti Command Center is the dashboard and management portal through which users can manage their home network and all of the PCs in the home. It includes functionality to manage the common PC maintenance functions, self-healing and user-initiated troubleshooting, network configuration, and all file and printer sharing.

One of the unique features of the Command Center is the Whole Home Security View that provides, in a single screen, the security state of every PC in the home. From this view, users can see if antivirus, antispyware and firewall programs are installed/activated/up-to-date. And, should a PC in the network need fixing, with a single-click most issues can be resolved without having to go to that PC.

The second software component is the Sereniti Security Suite. Sereniti has partnered with an award-winning security software company to offer antivirus, antispyware and firewall protection for up to four computers in the home. One of the major issues facing the home network is that consumers dramatically over-estimate the security of their PCs.

A study by AOL and the National Cyber Security Alliance shows that while 80% of consumers state that their PCs in the home are protected by up-to-date security applications, 67% of these either have no antivirus protection or have not updated their protection within the past week. While many consumers install an antivirus application (typically an evaluation copy that is bundled with the PC), they fail to maintain the service and can suffer long lapses in protection or worse, a catastrophic infection. The Sereniti Security Suite provides a uniform layer of protection across the home and ensures that the consumer has the latest virus and spyware definitions.

The last software component, the Sereniti Knowledge Base, is a comprehensive help system for those consumers that are eager to learn how to solve problems themselves but just lack the experience and technical know-how. Sereniti Knowledge Base is provided as a fully searchable Web-based portal and as a PC-resident help system (for times when connectivity issues hinder Web access). The knowledge base is updated daily with new help articles and guided videos.