I have read about software that allows other people to remotely control my PC for support purposes. How does this work and is it safe?
There are several software packages which make it possible for somebody to log into your PC remotely. These packages are generally utilised by support helpdesks to help you solve problems that may have occurred with your machine.
Products such as PC Duo and PC Anywhere provide various access levels, from simple remote viewing to full control and work over Local Area Networks (LANs), Wide Area Networks (WANs) and dial-up links.
Before allowing connection to your machine, it is important to consider security. There are steps the person wishing to connect to your machine can take to avoid unwanted hosts from connecting to your PC. They can configure the remote software and change the default ports, set up passwords for each session, limit connections to a specific TCP/IP address range and so on. You can control the functions you are allowing remote access to.
Some remote access products offer extra security features, network scanning tools, telephone lines to identify and plug security holes, and 'serialisation' ' where a security code is embedded and must be matched at both ends for a successful connection. It is worth checking to see whether security measures have been taken before allowing a third party to connect to your PC. Also consider whether you trust them as a company.
