Remote Access

I received a question from a subscriber who asked:

A number of times I have seen you refer disparagingly of “Active-x controls”.
I have seen downloads that require Active X to run properly. I have read the definition of the program, but, I guess I am just dense. What is this thing, and why do you consider it so insidious?
Admittedly, I’m technical-challenged, but can this program be explained?
What does one do as an alternative, if the program you want to download, requires Active-X to run?

Active-X controls are downloadable programs that have full capabilities to do anything on your computer. I’m not sure why Microsoft chose such the innocuous word “control” for a program that originally had few or no security constraints imposed upon it.

Read more in ActiveX or No ActiveX

Review: GoToMyPC – Remote Access to Your PC

As I wrote in one of my weekly newsletters, I’de been trying the 30-day free trial of GoToMyPC. I’m very impressed with this service and its capabilities.

GoToMyPC is designed to allow a PC user to access his computer remotely. This user might be a salesman, a tech support person, a business man who left some files at the office (or at home), a traveler for business or pleasure. Access could be from across town or across the country.

Getting Started With GoToMyPC – 30-day free trial

On the remote PC, the PC that you’re actually using, you use a Java-capable web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc) to access your host computer (your office or home PC). Any web browsers that supports Sun Microsystems’ Java (free, www.java.com) will work, although not all features may be available on some browsers. You can even access and control your Windows PC from a Mac.