Der Stern, 2002/09/12  (translated from German)

Vaccination for the Internet
A new data filter is supposed wipe out all viruses and to protect the net against misuse

He wants to change the world, and nothing less. If his economic success would be as big as his self-confidence, René Holzer would not work in his office building in Leipzig any more. He would have his headquarters in Silicon Valley or New York or at least in Berlin. He would play in the first league of the internet industry, right in front.

He can already talk like a big one. "We confess to the monopoly" he says, talking about his company "Nutzwerk" whose market share can not even be measured so far. "We are going to reach the user numbers of Napster", predicts Holzer in almost likeable immodesty. The music exchange net once had 60 million customers.

The success is supposed to come from a real-time data filter that has been developed by Holzer together with his co-CEO Ramona Wonneberger. It can be used to protect against right-wing extremism, child pornography and to make students more attentive. Besides, the world can get rid of computer viruses "within only a few weeks". The system is simple, patented and award-winning; among others it was awarded the Innovation Prize of the City of Leipzig.

The idea seems to be promising: Only five percent of all internet surfers use sufficient anti-virus software, says Nutzwerk. If the programs would be used in the big data traffic centers they could also protect the other users. If a new virus turns up, it can be identified and eliminated in time. Another advantage: "Together with picture recognition software almost everything will be possible", says Holzer. "We turn swastikas into doves of peace on pictures in the internet." Nice vision.

If it works. In order to lead the system to success, all big internet providers will have to take part. The question is if they would do it. Of course, it is obvious that nobody wants to catch a virus. Even swastikas should only be desirable by a few people. But beyond that? Who is going to decide what is good and what is bad? "The decision is still up to the user", assures Holzer. But who will guarantee for that? "We are a transparent company. Be glad that this technology is in the hands of Germany and not of America."

Data protectionists consider his vision a nightmare. The internet might be controlled by the secret service or the police, or even by dictators. Of course Holzer is aware of this. For the moment he only offers applications that are undisputed.

For example an ad banner blocker and the safety software for schools "SaferSurf School", which is supposed to protect children against dubious internet contents and school computers against viruses, worms and Trojan horses. In addition teachers can see which student is visiting which web pages. "SaferSurf School solves a number of problems in a very simple manner", says Thomas Hickfang of the media-pedagogical center in Leipzig, where the Nutzwerk software is already used.

Nutzwerk also offers a solution for families. The new "SurfCard" provides a safe internet access for children. They can only look at pages that are suitable for children. And Holzer even plans to pull off another coup: In cooperation with a child welfare association he wants to check the internet data streams for suspicious image files and scan them for child pornography. However, this method only works if all big internet providers would use the Nutzwerk technology. That this is not yet the case, even a man like Holzer cannot deny. Nevertheless, a number of schools are interested in "SaferSurf School", and the internet provider NTT/VERIO is one of the first big partners. "Once I have hooked one", says Holzer, "the others are going to follow suit."