pcAnywhere is the remote access product from security powerhouse Symantec. As would be expected, pcAnywhere provides a major focus on security, and given the concerns of opening your desktop to remove access, this focus will no doubt win over many users.

The product is simple to use and allows you to remotely access your computer via an internet connection. Despite the pc name, you can remotely control a PC, Mac or Linux computer.

So how does pcAnywhere stack up against our Remote Access buyers criteria?

Ease of setup and use

pcAnywhere installation is a little more challenging than some other titles (such as GoToMyPC ) because you need to install the software on both the computer you wish to access and the computer that you will be accessing it from. This could mean asking for permission for the software to be installed on your office computer. However once installed the system is easy to use and is very fast. Simply open the software and it will automatically connect to your remote machine.

Security

Because the system uses paired software clients (i.e. two programs installed on each computer) scurity is very strong.The data exchange to and from the remote machine is protected with by 128-bit keys and passwords can be used to access the software.

Remote access features

When connected you can pretty much do anything that you would normally want to do. Files can be dragged between computers and files opened, viewed, amended and saved remotely

Price

pcAnywhere is stand-alone software, so you pay $199 and nothing more. This does mean that future versions will have to be paid for, so if you upgrade the operating system on either computer the software may stop functioning. It is likely that Symantec will provide updates to future proof the software to a degree, but this cannot be guaranteed.

Help and support

As you would expect from Symantec, support is very good. 24/7 telephone and email support is provided, and the company website contains FAQs and tutorials to help you get the most from your software.
In summary, this is very good remote access software. The major drawback is the fact that you need to install the software on the computer used to access the remote machine, hence permission might be required and access cannot be made via any internet enabled computer (unlike GoToMyPC). However the simple on-off payment might suite some people better.

In general we can see pcAnywhere as a good solution for business, but home users would benefit from the simplicity and flexibility of GoToMyPC.