Cloud Makes Remote Access More Secure

Feb 4
07:14

2012

Phillip Presley

Phillip Presley

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A recent report by Security Tech Center gives details about security and how it affects remote control tools, such as those that allow a PC to be remotely controlled from another location on the ...

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A recent report by Security Tech Center gives details about security and how it affects remote control tools,Cloud Makes Remote Access More Secure Articles such as those that allow a PC to be remotely controlled from another location on the internet.It is true that these tools can offer their users a lot of convenience, such as the ability to work outside of the office or to give support groups better functionality when it comes to installing and updating software on several workstations at the same time.However, when using Remote Control Software of any kind, security is an issue, especially for large organizations where workstations are also connected to the corporate network.Traditional remote access tools work by allowing a direct connection to the internet of the server PC.There are specific ports on which this server PC will be listening to, which will vary depending on the manufacturer of the software.While this simplifies the operation of the software, it does leave the door open to some security vulnerabilities.PC remote access tools that are centrally managed are now starting to appear in the marketplace and are increasingly being used by a wide variety of clients, such as small business users, individuals and corporations.These tools work by polling a cloud server as a way to pass data back and forth between the server and client computers.No inbound connections are established on the server computer, but rather all the data is taken from the cloud.This means there are no open ports which reduces the possibility of certain types of attacks and security exploits.Its also much easier to secure a central cloud server rather than each individual workstation that is being used, as individual PCs could be open to infections by spyware, trojans and other undesirable software that can cause security problems.Even though cloud based solutions that are centrally managed are seen as more secure, they have their limitations as far as security goes.There is still one weakness, but it is at the end user level.When using remote control tools, whether they are cloud based or not, users will need to establish strong password and not share them with anyone else.Implementing common sense security guidelines, such as not writing down passwords, using strong password that are changed on a regular basis, not leaving a PC unattended in an unsecure location, logging out after the end of a sessionFree Articles, etc.can go a long way.