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How to break into your own computer

Robert Vamosi AnchorDesk

Published: 24 Jan 2002 16:15 GMT

By now you've probably heard of Trojan horses that can infect your PC and give a malicious user access to all your data. The well-known SubSeven is one such Trojan horse. Its victims notice something is wrong when their applications open and close on their own, or their mouse moves across the desktop without their help.

While a stranger gaining access to your PC is a scary thought, what if you were the one hacking into your own PC? Aren't there times when you're away from your computer, but would like to be able to grab files from it?

Perhaps anticipating this need, the latest version of Windows features its own remote access tool. However, in order for this tool to work, the remote machine must be running Windows XP and the host machine must be running Windows XP Professional. Also, remote access with XP behind a firewall can be cumbersome to configure and execute. And it remains to be seen whether Windows XP remote access is secure over the long run. Given Microsoft's recent track record, I wouldn't be surprised to hear of a major system vulnerability rooted in the remote access feature of XP.

So are there any alternatives? Turns out there are plenty.

I've been checking out some third-party software applications that will give you hacker-like remote access to your PC. Here are four of the most secure.

GoToMyPC The easiest-to-use remote access package is called GoToMyPC 2.0, an application made by Expertcity. This program allows you to log-on to a host PC remotely via any Java-enabled browser. The latest release blanks the host's monitor and locks the keyboard and mouse, so others can't physically access the host machine while you're inside. One drawback: GoToMyPC allows access to the entire directory of the host PC instead of limiting access. Another drawback is that it won't work with dial-up modem configurations, so both remote and host PCs need high-speed Net connections via DSL or cable modem. The good news is that the Java-enabled browser access by design is pretty secure.