Free Computer Consultant ………. Daily Insights

For a long time I have had clients wanting to access their work computer remotely. When GotoMyPC first came available I was inundated with questions and requests to setup this program.

In my business, I have to think of security first. All of my clients have Fortinet Fortigate firewalls with IPSec VPN capability. This is a very secure way to access your corporate network and PC remotely. The downside is that you have to install the FortiClient software on the PC your are using to access your work computer. In many cases this is no big deal because the user has a laptop or home PC they are using.

Increasingly, though, these people wanted to be able to use a friend or relatives PC and not have to carry a laptop when they traveled. This poses a serious concern security-wise since I have no knowledge or control of the PC they would be accessing the corporate network with.

I performed what I considered due diligence on GoToMyPC at the time and could find NOTHING on their website or via Google to determine who they where, what security they employed and enforced on the user and in general why I should trust them or their technology. It even cost me a good client because I wouldn’t endorse it.

Today is a much different story, though. GotoMyPC has been acquired by Citrix, a name that I not only trust but has been in the business of thin client computing as the backbone of their business.

But currently another big name is on the scene as well. Webex is a trusted name on their own, but they are now owned by Cisco - the router people who provide the infrastructure for a huge part of the internet.

No one questions the reputation or security of either company, including me.

Since I have been involved in so many Webex webinars recently and been so impressed, I decided to take advantage of the PCNow 30 Day Free Trial (it does require a credit card, but you won’t be charged if you cancel in 30 days) and try it out for remote PC access.

I have to say I am both thrilled and impressed. I have one accounting client in particular that hopes to save time (and $4 gas) driving back and forth to client locations when they can us a product like this instead.

In the past, remote control has been fairly easy. PCAnywhere did a pretty good job back in the days of dial up modems (good security there, just poor speed). The problem has always been printing; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Even Microsoft’s Remote Desktop, which I use extensively but only over secure IPSec VPN, only recently got the printing part ironed out.

With PCNow, printing is a breeze and so is file transfer. I not only highly recommend it but I will be doing one or more screencast videos to show how easy it is to use.

Why don’t you take advantage of the PCNow 30 Day Free Trial (it does require a credit card, but you won’t be charged if you cancel in 30 days)? I think you will be impressed too.