AOL Investigates How Its Software Got on Net

America Online Inc. said a test version of an eventual upgrade to its AOL 5.0 software has been obtained and is being distributed over the Internet. A 15-year-old boy whose AOL user name is “Kenton” says he has been obtaining details about the development of AOL 6.0 for months, posting them on his Web site and sharing them with other AOL aficionados. AOL confirmed that an “alpha” version of its upcoming AOL 6.0 software was available for download Friday morning at Techpages.com. “We are investigating how this was obtained, and we’ll take the appropriate action,” said Rich D’Amato, spokesman for the Dulles, Va.-based company. In an e-mail interview, Kenton said he made the download public as a way to encourage the company to beef up security for its internal software tests. “I’d like to stress that companies like AOL need to take more actions to prevent security lapses and breaches,” he wrote in an interview conducted over AOL Instant Messenger. Kenton denies using a third-party source or hacking into AOL and insists he did nothing wrong in gaining access to the software. The Techpages Web site is run by Ryan Neeley, whom Kenton calls an “Internet contact” of his. Neeley could not be reached for comment.