Review: pcAnywhere

Similar to LapLink, pcAnywhere has long been a serious contender for employees and employers requiring remote access to data. It also provides a very easy to use software system, but without the cables for synchronization of PCs that LapLink provides. What you get is a CD that installs with ease and a quality user's guide. pcAnywhere also provides the administrator with a rebootless host to allow for installation without the usual reboot ­ - great for servers that are critical to your business and require a problem to be assessed and ­ resolved remotely.

Installation is via the CD provided, and to ensure maximum security authentication is dependent on the security administrator, not the solution itself. There are ten supported methods of authentication to ensure your security is kept to the optimum, ranging from the original NT authentication through to Novell Binary, Microsoft LDAP, Netscape LDAP, Novell LDAP, FTP, HTTP, HTTPS, Active Directory and Novell Directory Services. This range ensures administrators have a fair choice.

But pcAnywhere does provide a little extra over and above mere authentication. With a remote access perimeter scanner (RAPS) in place it can scan your network to ensure only secure connections are made with secure hosts. Logging is also a feature that provides additional protection.

Support is also given to a number of other remote access solutions so that when a RAPS is used, whether TCP/IP, TAPI or CAPI, the host can be identified. It also stops rogue solutions being used to infiltrate system data without authorization. Of course, products used to access ­ remotely need to be user friendly and scaleable. On both scores pcAnywhere fits the bill. It provides strong encryption, and a call-back function can be used for dial-up connections to ensure security is maintained.

This solution provides a secure method of remote access, delivered with ease for both established and more novice computer users. In all, this solution can improve your remote access experience while protecting your data.

For:

Very scalable, easy to install and use, with numerous authentication methods at the administrator's disposal.

Nothing, it does what it sets out to do.

Prime remote access solution with secure authentication, logging and scanner combined. Ease of use and predictable performance, a great product for any business model.