Access office e-mail, run company applications from home or on the road, and transfer files to an Internet server with pcAnywhere 10.0 Host & Remote. While version 10.0 retains the application's core functionality, most of the handholding wizards of the previous version have been removed. Inexperienced home users should note that pcAnywhere is essentially a business product, as its complexity will leave novices flummoxed. That said, there are some noteworthy new features in version 10.0, including a simpler user interface, better handling of encryption, support for the excellent LiveUpdate facility, and tighter overall security. If you run Windows NT or 2000, you can now take advantage of "installation packages" that add customized versions of pcAnywhere to other remote systems.
It might lack wizards, but once set up, pcAnywhere 10.0 is pretty easy to use. Merely connect to a remote host PC and the application's desktop appears in a window on your remote PC. Once connected, you can do most of the things you could if you were actually sitting in front of the other PC. Security wasn't great in the previous version, but that's been rectified in this release--pcAnywhere now has more security features than any other remote control application, especially if you're running Windows 2000. The application is nearly hackproof, too. It can now recognize even the slightest change to its DLLs, registry entries, and executables, and it won't work if it discovers modifications.
While less experienced home users will probably be better off with products like LapLink, pcAnywhere remains a full-featured and sophisticated option for the businessperson who needs to operate a PC from afar. --Roger Gann
