Icon Symantec pcAnywhere v.9.2 Icon

by Dale Farris, President, Golden Triangle PC Club
February 2001

Symantec pcAnywhere 9.2 is a super neat application designed for mobile computer users, and for Information Systems (IS) administrators to more easily troubleshoot workstation problems. This program has been around for a long time, and is now well established as the leader in this special, remote applications genre of software.

Although of primary appeal to business users, pcAnywhere 9.2 does have relevant use in a home environment, but the main focus will be in a business environment where IS support tends to be more readily available. 

With pcAnywhere 9.2, you can remotely control another computer. You hook up one computer via modem or over the Internet, and then connect the other computer to the remote session. In these situations, users could run their office machine from their laptop, or quickly transfer files from one location to another. To get you going more quickly, wizards prompt the user for required information during setup.

This program is an example of software specially designed for the rapidly growing number of users needing remote access to their office machines connected to their corporate WAN. The generic term "telecommuter" generally describes this large group of computer users who need to simultaneously work on more than one machine at a time, usually their home machine or an assigned laptop while at home.

With a home user, pcAnywhere 9.2 can be of help when needing technical assistance from a technician that has already firmed up a working relationship with the customer. In times of trouble, with each running pcAnywhere 9.2 on their machines, the technician can many times take control over the user's machine and begin to work on the problem. With a second phone line, they could then also discuss the steps being taken in the troubleshooting process.

With an estimated 50 million mobile professionals, folks who work for their company outside their office at least 15% of their time, and with the never ending advances in the power and portability of laptops, this number will likely continue to grow. This will open up an even larger market for remote control over office machines from the outside.

In the very early days of dial-up modem access to bulletin boards and to the Internet, this was one of the primary reasons for using pcAnywhere. Now, there are various ways to telecommute, including via an Internet connection.

The three main functions built into pcAnywhere 9.2 include remote control of other machines, file transfer from one machine to another, and general communications needs. If you need to call your office machine from home, to access the files and program data on that machine, pcAnywhere 9.2 is the program for you.

A connection can be made through another PC, a telephone line, LAN, dial-up networking, or using a local ISP. A connection can also be made through a direct connection between two PC's using either a serial or parallel cable.

Key Features

Create secure pcAnywhere session to office machine over the Internet
Access information quickly and easily
Enhanced Internet functionality
Wide range of connection methods on the Internet and other networks
Helpdesk personnel can more quickly resolve user problems
Enhances productivity by allowing for remote control of office machine
Centralized management and control
Greater security
LDAP directory services supported

Typical Uses

Reduce end-user support costs
Change a user machine without an onsite visit
Solve user problems more quickly
Support networked and remote users with one application
Deliver files and pre-configured software updates to users
Remotely administer networks and enterprise-wide IS
Maintain a secure network through restricted drive access
Connect to multiple hosts simultaneously

What's New in 9.2?

Improved File Transfer Interface
Yahoo! Messenger Integration
Enhanced Security
Directory Services Support
Centralized Management
Centralized Logging
Expanded OLE Automation

Symantec Corporation

The Symantec corporation is one of the larger computer companies in the world, specializing in Internet security technology, and provides a broad range of content and network security solutions to individuals and enterprises. Well known for their virus protection programs, Symantec also sells risk management, Internet content and email filtering software, remote management and mobile code detection technologies to customers. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, the company now has worldwide operations in 33 countries.

Uses of pcAnywhere 9.2

Typically, pcAnywhere 9.2 serves a need for office workers to be able to telecommute from home, meaning they can work on their home machine on files or other projects on their office machine. For these folks, especially the ones living great distances from their office, in some cases, the work required may be important, but not take all that long to complete. In such a situation, it might not make much sense to drive all the way to work such a short time on the office machine. pcAnywhere 9.2 allows them to accomplish the task, while not having to actually physically sit at and work on their office machine.

Targeted Customers

With the vast number of remote workers now in business, pcAnywhere 9.2 will definitely be of great help as they strive to carry on their required business out of the office, while at the same time allow them to accomplish work on their office machine while on the road. In the case of PC support, the program also provides many features that will be greatly appreciated by the always busy technical support staff that can troubleshoot user workstation difficulties from a remote location. All this means the company can get a better handle on controlling their total costs of supporting their information systems, by controlling the direct costs of staff having to move from one workstation to another to resolve problems.

Install and Setup

If the Windows Installer is not found on the machine, the pcAnywhere install program will load this and then restart the PC. The program will create "Download" and "Migrate" subfolders in the main program folder.

Configuration information for host and remote connection items, and pcAnywhere scripts are stored in data files. 

When taking control of another machine, pcAnywhere must be installed on both the remote and the host PC. There are several types of installation procedures, and some may require assistance from an experienced network administrator to perform special configurations.

To install the program as an administrator, full access privileges are needed to access the network. The pcAnywhere program files and options set during the administrator installation affect every network user who runs pcAnywhere. After the administrator has installed pcAnywhere on the network and has configured the shared data files. users on the network can install pcAnywhere on their local workstation.

pcAnywhere 5-Node Add-On disks are available to extend the license agreement, and each Add-On licenses five additional users.

After you install the software, you have to configure the Host and the Remote machines, in order for these to work with each other. When doing this from a home to an office machine, users are advised to be sure their respective IS administrators are notified and involved in making this work through their LAN.

Concerns Regarding Operations

Novice PC users are strongly advised to consider asking for technical assistance when attempting to use this program to connect their laptop or home machine with other machines in their network. In larger enterprise environments, staff with extensive technical background and experience in network administration will be able to quickly grasp the requirements of this program, and learn how to maximize its great potential. However, there will be a learning curve upon first running the program, but those more experienced staff will be able to speedily learn this important enterprise program.

 Price

$179.95 retail, stand alone single license
$899.95 5-pack license

Note: Multiple licensing pricing is also available.

Minimum System Configuration Requirements

 486SX 25-MHz or higher processor (Pentium class recommended)
Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000 Professional, 2000 Server
16MB RAM (20MB recommended)
32MB free hard disk space 
VGA minimum video
CD ROM drive

Note: These are the minimum requirements for the program, and as most readers already know, you just don't want to have to depend on these bare minimums to run this or any other program. The more memory and the faster the processor, the faster this and any program will run.

Contact

 Kelly Davis
Public Relations Contractor
Symantec Ghost
Symantec Corporation
2500 Broadway, Suite 200
Santa Monica, California 90404
310-449-5446
310-453-4600
FAX 310-453-0636

Customer Service:
800-441-7234
541-334-6054

kmdavis@symantec.com
 www.symantec.com

 Acknowledgments

Thanks are in order to the excellent supplemental material supplied with the program that was of great assistance in the preparation of this review. Viewers are encouraged to also seek out other comments and suggestions from the reviews of this application found in the online versions of Network Computing, eWEEK, Winmag.com, and Windows 2000 Magazine.