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GoToMyPC ReviewTelecommuters, travelers, and anyone who faces the unhappy reality of leaving a work PC behind regularly should check out GoToMyPC. This Web service lets you access and control a Windows PC from any Java-enabled Web browser anywhere, anytime. It's the best way to access files, get e-mail, and run programs on a remote computer when you're not in front of that keyboard. Fast and easy Remote control just doesn't get any easier than this. To set up your account, head to the GoToMyPC Web site, register using your e-mail address, create an account password (GoToMyPC requires passwords with at least eight characters and numbers mixed in), then download and install a file on the host PC, (the computer you'll want to access from afar). Next, make up an access code that allows you to control your host PC when you're at another computer with a Net connection and a Java-ready browser. The whole setup process took us just 10 minutes from start to finish. Try that with pcAnywhere. Because GoToMyPC controls your host PC over the Internet, the service runs only as fast as your Net connection. Performance over a dial-up modem (we tested at a sluglike 28.8Kbps) is pathetic but bearable in a pinch, especially if you're just transferring files from your host to a remote computer. Boost your bandwidth to T1, DSL, cable, or even ISDN, however, and GoToMyPC produces response times and screen redraws fast enough for most tasks. One problem with connecting, though, may put GoToMyPC out of your reach. Unless the host has an always-on connection to the Internet, such as a LAN, DSL, or cable, GoToMyPC simply won't work. Unlike desktop apps such as LapLink, Timbuktu, and pcAnywhere, GoToMyPC doesn't offer a modem-to-modem option that lets you "call" a host not currently connected to the Net. If your host isn't always online, LapLink is your best alternative. Regardless of your connection speed, getting onto your host PC is as easy as logging in to an online e-mail account. First, leave your host PC on and connected to the Internet. Next, from a browser running on any computer with a Web connection--including Mac and Linux systems--just log on to the service, click the Connect button, and enter your access code. In 15 to 30 seconds, depending on your connection speed, a Java applet loads into your browser and the host PC's desktop appears on the remote computer's screen. Voilą! Just like being there From this point on, you'll feel just as though you're sitting in front of the host PC. You can open documents, retrieve e-mail, run any program that resides on your host machine, and, new to the 2.0 upgrade, print to a printer attached to the remote PC. GoToMyPC also includes its own basic file-transfer feature so that you can move files between the two machines, as well as a text chat function (great if you're using GoToMyPC to provide or receive tech support). A single click to close the session window disconnects the computers. Security anxiety GoToMyPC's original security no-no has been fixed. You can now blank the screen and lock the keyboard and mouse of the host as soon as a remote connects to it, ensuring that anyone around the host PC can't see what you're doing or when you're controlling it from afar. Unfortunately, GoToMyPC's remote access is all or nothing. Unlike LapLink, it can't restrict access to just some folders or files. A tough defense Are these glitches enough to spoil GoToMyPC's brilliant convenience? We asked security guru Steve Gibson of ShieldsUp fame to help us gauge our vulnerability. Gibson says we don't have too much to worry about. With GoToMyPC installed, your host PC doesn't constantly monitor incoming connections on an open port--a potentially huge security hole, according to Gibson--but instead pings the GoToMyPC servers every 5 seconds via HTTP (specifically, through port 80, 443, or 8200) to see if an access request has come in. This process is completely different from all other remote control applications we reviewed, which "listen" using specific ports. We like GoToMyPC's approach because it doesn't hold ports open, so it foils hackers' main weapon: scanning software that hunts for open ports on Internet-connected computers. We installed GoToMyPC on a PC without a firewall, then ran several port scanners, including Port Detective and Port Checker to see if GoToMyPC opened any new security holes. It didn't. And because the computer you use to connect to your host erases the GoToMyPC Java applet when the session is over, you're not leaving any sensitive digital debris behind--great when you're borrowing a computer to get to your host or using a public machine (such as one in a library or a hotel business center). Of course, we like to play it safe anyway, so we installed a firewall on our GoToMyPC host computer, and we recommend you do the same. Firewalls such as Norton Internet Security mask all of your PC's ports, making the machine invisible to hackers. After we added the firewall, we ran the port scanners again. The host PC remained concealed when GoToMyPC was active, and, unlike LapLink, GoToMyPC ran just fine, even through the firewall. More defense GoToMyPC boasts a bushel of additional security features. It uses AES 128-bit encryption to encipher all data as it is transmitted between PCs, deactivates an account for 5 minutes if three straight login attempts fail (so a hacker can't just keep guessing until he or she nails your password), and doesn't store machine access codes on its own servers, where they might make a tempting target. Control from a Mac Unlike AT&T's free WinVNC (Virtual Network Computing) remote access software, GoToMyPC currently works only with Windows on the host end of the connection. But now that you can remotely control a PC using a Mac (or any other OS able to run a Java-equipped browser), GoToMyPC comes a tad closer to VNC's cross-platform qualities. No support Support, though, can be less than stellar. Although there's a well-stocked online help site and phone support is a toll-free call, when we rang up the help desk, we always had to leave a message and wait for a callback. We typically received one within four hours. The support reps had excellent problem-solving skills, but the wait was aggravating. You can also contact help via e-mail, but expect a similar delay. There's no question: GoToMyPC is the slickest way we've seen to run one computer from another when you need the anywhere access that control from a browser provides. This Web service is the best way for home users, sole proprietors, and small-business users to be in two places at once. | |