pcAnywhere is a discontinued suite of computer programs by
Symantec which allows a user of the pcAnywhere remote program on a computer to connect to a
personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
running the pcAnywhere host if both are connected to interconnected networks and the password is known. pcAnywhere runs on several
platforms, including
Microsoft Windows,
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...
,
Mac OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...
, and
Pocket PC.
History
The first version of pcAnywhere 1.0 for DOS was originally developed by
Dynamic Microprocessor Associates (DMA) in 1986. A few years later, in 1991, Dynamic Microprocessor Associates was acquired by Symantec and the program was renamed to Norton pcAnywhere. In March 1993, Symantec released Norton pcAnywhere 1.0 for Windows.
Issues
In January 2012, Symantec, the maker of pcAnywhere, revealed a security breach and told users to stop using the software, pending a resolution of the problem and the creation of new secure code, while on February 7, 2012 the software's source code was leaked and distributed through
The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay (sometimes abbreviated as TPB) is an online index of digital content of entertainment media and software. Founded in 2003 by Swedish think tank Piratbyrån, The Pirate Bay allows visitors to search, download, and contribute ma ...
. Symantec responded with a series of cumulative hot fixes to pcAnywhere versions 12.0.x, 12.1.x and 12.5.x. The hot fixes addressed immediate issues identified by Symantec's assessment of the code exposure. Symantec also released hot fixes for the pcAnywhere versions, 12.5.x and 12.6.x, bundled with Symantec Management Suites. A full cumulative service pack patch was released on April 11, 2012. Symantec gave out free upgrades to all customers that had a previous version of Symantec pcAnywhere dating back to the late 1990s.
In May 2014, Symantec announced the end of life for Symantec pcAnywhere, and according to its FAQ "At this time, Symantec has no plans to introduce a replacement remote control product." Symantec recommends users disable PC Anywhere, and for its standalone version
Bomgar
BeyondTrust (formerly Symark) is an American company that develops, markets, and supports a family of privileged identity management / access management (PIM/PAM), privileged remote access, and vulnerability management products for UNIX, Linux, W ...
as a replacement.
[.]
See also
*
Novell NetWare Access Server
DESQview (DV) is a text mode multitasking operating environment developed by Quarterdeck Office Systems which enjoyed modest popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Running on top of DOS, it allows users to run multiple programs concurrentl ...
Notes
See also
*
Comparison of remote desktop software
This page is a comparison of notable remote desktop software available for various platforms.
Remote desktop software
Operating system support
Features
Terminology
In the table above, the following terminology is intended to be ...
*
GoToMyPC
GoToMyPC is remote desktop software that allows users to access computers remotely using a web browser. It was developed by ExpertCity and launched in 1998. Citrix Systems acquired ExpertCity in 2004 and maintained the GoToMyPC brand and services. ...
*
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
*
PuTTY
*
Remote Desktop Connection
Remote Desktop Services (RDS), known as Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 and earlier, is one of the components of Microsoft Windows that allow a user to initiate and control an interactive session on a remote computer or virtual machine ...
*
TightVNC
TightVNC is a free and open-source remote desktop software server and client application for Linux and Windows. A server for macOS is available under a commercial source code license only, without SDK or binary version provided. Constantin Kapl ...
*
VNC
*
TeamViewer
External links
* .
Internet Protocol based network software
Remote desktop
Gen Digital software
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Internet leaks