Labs

Funk Software's Proxy may have been around longer than many other products, but it has traditionally taken a simplistic approach, and is designed to provide nothing more than basic remote-control and file-transfer tools.

The software comprises two components: a master that allows a user to control another system and a host utility that must be loaded on each client. Installation could be improved - for example, we found it annoying that a licence code needed to be entered on every host installation when this could easily have been managed by the master component. The host can be deployed over the network, although this is achieved using a simple Windows utility and scripts that are run from the command line.

The master interface is a simple affair with five main options. It displays all discovered host systems, and on larger

ADVERTISEMENT

networks this can be narrowed down using IP or IPX polling ranges. Select a host from the list and you can opt to fire up remote-control or file-transfer sessions. Proxy also offers a remote printing facility, which allows a printer on a master system to be used by a host. The next option displays only those hosts with an active connection, and Proxy maintains a full history log of all connection attempts. Systems that you regularly access can be placed in the Favourites folder, while Proxy's Cycling Monitor is able to display the screen on multiple systems in sequence, allowing you to monitor several systems at once.

Proxy provides basic security in the shape of host passwords, but it also cleverly leverages existing Windows security. Try connecting to Windows 2000 system, for example, and you'll be prompted for local login information, which will determine what access you have to the host's files. The connection interface is easy to navigate, with tabs at its base allowing you to swiftly cycle through remote control, file transfer or remote printing.

However, remote-control tools are limited, there are no chat facilities and we found file-transfer performance particularly poor. Host options are equally limited, although you can control access from a master system by granting or denying an incoming connection, rebooting or locking the system when a session ends, as well as limiting access based on time zones.