From: Kristen Combs <kristen@metzger.com>
To: "'lwn@lwn.net'" <lwn@lwn.net>
Subject: eSoft and Hewlett-Packard Ink Redphish Licensing Agreement       
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 09:14:10 -0700 



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS:

Rich Miller/Joe Pate			Nina Piccinini
Metzger Associates			eSoft, Inc.
303-786-7000				303-444-1600 x. 3255
rich@metzger.com			ninap@esoft.com
joe@metzger.com

ESOFT AND HEWLETT-PACKARD INK REDPHISH LICENSING AGREEMENT

Hewlett-Packard in Germany to Distribute and License eSoft's Linux 
Internet Software and Embedded Systems

BROOMFIELD, Colo., December 6, 1999 - eSoft Inc. (NASDAQ Small Caps:ESFT),
the company that develops and markets the TEAM Internet( Linux(tm) software
suite for small businesses, today announced a licensing and distribution
agreement with Hewlett-Packard Company's (HP) Complementary Products
division in Germany.

As part of the agreement, the HP Complementary Product division will
distribute eSoft's TEAM Internet software suite as well as collaborate with
eSoft engineers to create customized, embedded Linux-based software
solutions to run on HP's hardware platform. Additionally, HP will provide
direct support to its customers for eSoft's solutions, with eSoft engineers
providing technical support to HP as necessary.

"The market demand for Linux-based solutions is growing rapidly, and our
redphish(tm) software solutions offer our partners significant
time-to-market advantages," said Jeff Finn, president and CEO of eSoft.
"This agreement will accelerate eSoft's products through HP's distribution
channels and provide HP the advantage of presenting these solutions to the
German marketplace."

"We are very pleased with our agreement with eSoft," said Bernd Kircher,
business development manager for HP Complementary Products. "eSoft has
defined itself as Linux market leaders and we believe that by working
together, we will provide our customers with powerful Internet appliances.
Through this licensing agreement, we are able to customize and support our
customers' network infrastructures as  they grow." 

The HP Germany Complementary products division provide their customers with
products from third parties which are complementary to the HP product line.

About eSoft Inc.
eSoft Inc. was founded in 1984 with headquarters in Broomfield, Colo. eSoft
provides a family of Linux-based Internet appliances and services that
enable small- to medium-sized business to harness the full power of the
Internet. The TEAM Internet family of products are designed for businesses
with up to 200 workstations and provides low-cost, LAN-to-Internet
connectivity and includes a range of features, including e-mail, Web
browsing, ICSA certified firewall security, a Web server, remote access and
virtual private network (VPN) functionality. Contact eSoft at 295
Interlocken Blvd., #500, Broomfield, Colo., 80021, USA; 303-444-1600 phone;
303-444-1640 fax; www.esoft.com. TEAM Internet is a registered trademark and
redphish is a trademark of eSoft Inc.

About Hewlett-Packard Company
Hewlett-Packard Company, a leading global provider of computing and imaging
solutions and services for business and home, is focused on capitalizing on
the opportunities of the Internet and the proliferation of electronic
services.

HP plans to launch Agilent Technologies as an independent company by
mid-calendar 2000. Agilent consists of HP's test and measurement,
semiconductor products, chemical analysis and healthcare solutions
businesses, and has leading positions in multiple market segments.

HP has 83,200 employees worldwide and had total revenue from continuing
operations of $42.4 billion in its 1999 fiscal year. Information about HP,
its products and the company's Year 2000 program can be found on the World
Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.

###

All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respected
owners.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements
often can be identified by the use of terms such as "may", "will", "expect",
"believe", "project", "estimate" or words of similar meaning. Readers should
not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, and eSoft will
not necessarily update these statements to reflect subsequent developments.
In addition, these forward-looking statements are subject to risks,
uncertainties and important factors that may cause actual results to differ
materially from those anticipated. These factors include adverse economic
conditions, entry of new and stronger competitors, inadequate capital,
unexpected costs, failure to gain product approval in foreign countries,
failure to capitalize upon access to new markets, the possibility that a
competitor will develop a more comprehensive or less expensive TEAM Internet
solution and delays in the market awareness of eSoft and its products.
Readers should review these factors and others, which are discussed in
reports that eSoft files with the Securities and Exchange Commission.