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SNEAK PREVIEWS
What can you add to a remote-control product that has everything? Symantec Corp. makes slight but numerous improvements to pcAnywhere in version 10.0-with the biggest enhancements to security. This version of pcAnywhere supports eight methods of authentication; includes a new application called RAPS (Remote Access perimeter Scanner), whic44ooks for a variety of remote-control and remote-access applications; provides an installation packager; and conducts integrity checks of the application binaries.
Unless you need these capabilities, there's no compelling reason to upgrade. But as a new installation, pcAnywhere 10.0 is a terrific choice-a significantly improved version of an already strong product.
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR USERS
In pcAnywhere 9.0, authentication methods are restricted to Microsoft Windows domains and an internal user database. The new version extends authentication to numerous methods, such as LDAP queries, Microsoft Active Directory, FTP, HTTP and HTTPS (HTTP Secure) login.
After I installed pcAnywhere and configured the host in our Real-World Labs at Syracuse University, I examined our eight user-authentication options and tested several of them successfully, starting with FTP authentication. I already had an FTP server, so I simply entered the server address and the user name. When I tried to connect to the pcAnywhere host, my authentication request was proxied to the FTP server for verification. Be aware that FTP and HTTP logins are passed in the clear from the pcAnywhere host. to the destination server for authentication.
Next I added callers using HTTP authentication by giving the host name of the Web server and the user name I would use to connect to the server. When I authenticated to the pcAnywhere host, the authentication...