Remote control with pcAnywhere
by Alan Zisman (c) 1996. First published in Computer
Player, May 1996
Symantec pcAnywhere-32 for Windows 95 or NT
$149 (US)
Symantec Corp.
Santa Monica, Calif.
(310) 453-4600
http://www.symantec.com
Do you need the advantages of your business network
when you?re not
actually connected? Maybe you?re at home, but need a data file on the
machine
at work. Or need to run a program off your office computer. Maybe
you?re
on the road with your laptop, but want to print using your office
printer.
Or maybe you just want to connect your laptop and
desktop computer,
and transfer files between them, using the serial or parallel ports. Or
run an application?s Setup program from the desktop?s CD-ROM,
installing
the program onto your laptop?s hard drive.
If you have MS DOS 6, you can use the almost secret
Interlink feature
for serial or parallel connections between your two machines, or with
Windows
95, you can use the much more capable Direct Cable Connection
program?making
a sort of mini-network, limited by the speed of your parallel
ports
and cables. That won?t help when your two computers aren?t in the same
room, however.
Win 95 users could always purchase the Microsoft Plus!
Package, and
try that utility?s Dial-up-Server.
For all this and more, however, a better choice could
be Symantec?s
pcAnywhere-32. It offers all the features of Windows 95?s Direct Cable
Connection and Dial-up-Server, and more, and allows connections between
computers running Windows 3.x, Win 95, Win NT, and even plain old DOS.
pcAnywhere-32 even includes a parallel cable, for
connecting a pair
of computers ? parallel connections are typically several times faster
than serial port connections, but you can?t just use a spare printer
cable
for this. (For even faster results, Symantec recommends a special
parallel
cable from Parallel Technologies, and includes a coupon for its
purchase
(Still a pricy $69 US)... with this cable, and fast, enhanced parallel
ports on both machines, direct connections can approach network speed).
Some of the features of this program include remote
connection and remote
node?your off-site machine can connect and log onto the office network
just as if it was a (slow) on-site workstation, accessing network
programs,
data, and printers. Even without a network, you can setup your
standalone
home or office machine to allow remote connections. You can
drag-and-drop
files between the two machines, keep directory contents and individual
data files in synch, and even use the included Norton AntiVirus module
to check for viruses, automatically, during file transfers.
It can also be used for standard modem connections to
online services,
including a range of standard file-transfer protocols. A built-in
scripting
language makes it possible to automate frequently-repeated sessions,
while
you can also record a session?useful for training or problem-solving.
If you need to update a data file or folder, you can
choose to only
download changes?potentially saving a considerable amount of time. As a
fully 32-bit program, it can run happily in the background, allowing
users
to carry out other tasks while carrying out sometimes tedious file
transfers.
A wide range of network protocols is
supported?including IPX,
TCP/IP. NetBios, and WinSock remote Internet connections. Because it
supports
Windows 95 TAPI telephony standards, your modem is automatically
configured.
As a 32-bit program, it can be installed onto computers running either
Windows 95 or NT, and can be used to connect to computers running those
operating systems, as well as DOS alone or with earlier versions of
Windows.
A single package can be used to connect two computers.
When viewing a remote computer?s screen, pcAnywhere
tries to optimize
transmission time by reducing the number of colours sent. It is
similarly
fast and efficient at sending files back and forth, and can be set to
only
transmit the differences between files residing on both machines.
Password security can be set, to minimize unwanted
intrusions onto a
machine set up for remote access, as well as limiting the drives that
can
be accessed. You cannot set access controls on individual directories,
however. A log of accesses can be kept, showing who has connected to
your
computer, along with what files were accessed.
The printed documentation is full of step-by-step
examples, along with
separate documentation for the scripting language. There?s online help
for the main program and the scripting language, along with reasonably
useful wizards, and ?How Do I...? tips, making the printed
documentation
unnecessary for many users. A full installation requires 16
megs?perhaps
a bit much for some users with limited drive space on a laptop. As with
all well-designed Windows 95 products, an Uninstall option is added to
Control Panel.
Users with limited needs (and limited hard drive
space) will find this
product overkill?especially if they only need to connect to other Win95
machines, they may be able to make do with that operating system?s
built-in
Direct Cable Connection, or with the Dial-Up-Server added in the
optional
(about $60) Plus Pack.
Frequent users of either parallel/serial connections or remote access,
however, will find this a powerful alternative.