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Here you can find the answers to the most frequently asked questions concerning RemotelyAnywhere.
The Basics
The Network Console is a standalone tool designed to provide you with convenient access to all the systems you manage - from one to 10,000 - both on and off the LAN through a single intuitive user interface. Built for system administrators, the Network Console allows point-and-click remote installation, configuration, and quick access to the RemotelyAnywhere installations it detects on the network.
What's my user name and password?
On Windows Server 2003/XP/2000/NT4 machines RemotelyAnywhere does not assign its own usernames and passwords; rather, it authenticates the user based on their Windows login information. Any member of the default Administrator group will be able to log in using their Windows network username and password. The Administrator account is present on every Windows machine. To assign a password to it (and to check that all other accounts have passwords as well) go to Start > Run and type "control userpasswords2". There you can either assign or reset a password for the various users on that machine. On Windows 98 / ME machines you will be given the opportunity to specify a user name and password during installation. If you do not specify this then the default user name will be the machine name and the password field will be blank. Whatever you choose, please make a note of it.
For advice on making your first connection we strongly recommend that you refer to our Getting Started guide, available from the downloads page. In short, you need to enter your machine's IP address and the port on which RemotelyAnywhere is listening in the address bar of your browser, as follows: http://your_IP_address_here:2000 (it would look something like this: http://123.456.78.9:2000) If your home PC is behind a router, or your IP address is dynamically assigned, you might have to make some specific configurations. These are all detailed in the guide mentioned above or here in the FAQ section.
What do I need to run RemotelyAnywhere?
All versions of RemotelyAnywhere 6 can be installed on any computer running Windows 2003/XP/2000/NT4/ME/98/95. This computer can then be accessed and controlled remotely via any web browser. Please note that Server edition license is required to install Remotelyanywhere on Server operating systems such as Windows 2003 Server.
RemotelyAnywhere is a useful tool that can be used to control computers remotely over a local area network or the Internet. It needs only to be installed on the machine to be controlled, and then you will be able to access that computer securely from anywhere using an internet-enabled PC, WAP cell phone, or PDA. It comes in two different editions with a variety of administrative tools, as you will find detailed on our website under Features.
What is the difference between the two editions?
The Workstation Edition is a feature-rich version of RemotelyAnywhere, aimed squarely at support and administration staff. It enables system administrators to keep IT systems up and computer users happy by offering the industry's richest remote-support toolkit. You can often detect, diagnose, and solve problems faster using RemotelyAnywhere than with built-in operating system functions used locally. Background access means you can implement the solution without interrupting the user. The Server Edition is required for the administration of remote servers. RemotelyAnywhere Server Edition provides real-time performance, connection, hardware and registry information so you know exactly what's going on and when. This gives you access to the nuts and bolts of your system so that you can perform the diagnostic tests you need in order to keep your servers running smoothly. Please note that Server versions of the Windows operating system will only run RemotelyAnywhere Server Edition. However, please also note that RemotelyAnywhere Server edition will run on all versions of Windows.
Security
How can I set up SSL support for RemotelyAnywhere?
If you set up SSL support for RemotelyAnywhere all traffic between the host and the remote computer will be encrypted using industry-strength 128-bit ciphers, protecting your passwords and data. You can do this easily by going to RemotelyAnywhere's "Security" menu and clicking on "SSL Setup." Follow the step-by-step instructions there, and SSL certificates will be automatically generated and installed.
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, which is a mode of encrypting all data that is communicated between machines. Wherever you see HTTPS rather than the standard HTTP on web addresses (such as when communicating with your bank or sending credit card details) SSL is in use. Using SSL with your RemotelyAnywhere connections is highly recommended and easy to set up.
If I install RemotelyAnywhere who will be able to access it?
As its name suggests, RemotelyAnywhere enables you to access your computer from anywhere. You might be concerned, however, that this also means anybody can access your computer from anywhere. If this were the case, it would be called RemotelyAnyone. But fear not! Assuming that you take sensible precautions, your computer can be protected from unwanted intrusion. Users have to be authenticated on your machine in order to access RemotelyAnywhere, and you can further modify their RemotelyAnywhere access rights under Preferences > Access Control. Please note that by default, many of RemotelyAnywhere's security settings are turned on. For example, RemotelyAnywhere's Intrusion Detection features will automatically block the IP address of any machine that has made five unsuccessful attempts to log on.
RemotelyAnywhere is as safe as you choose to make it. There's plenty that can be done to maximize your security, including the use of SSL certificates, locking out or filtering IP addresses, or simply assigning a new IP address to your host. For more information about what exactly you can do to make the most of RemotelyAnywhere's security features read Security Considerations for RemotelyAnywhere. (Requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
Trying RemotelyAnywhere
How can I try RemotelyAnywhere on multiple workstations?
An enterprise network trial can help you to test RemotelyAnywhere's administrative tools across multiple workstations. If you're interested in trying this, please contact our sales team
How can I try RemotelyAnywhere for FREE?
If you'd like to try RemotelyAnywhere for free before buying it, you can use it on a 30-day trial basis. All you need do is download and install the software and you can request a free trial when you are first prompted for your license. The trial version offers full functionality with no limitations of any kind, other than the 30-day limit. When you have filled in the form providing us with your basic data, the trial will be activated automatically on your machine.
Buying RemotelyAnywhere
What does upgrade insurance entitle me to?
If you buy one year of upgrade insurance you're entitled to free upgrades for an entire year from the date of purchase. This means you're covered for any major new releases, such as from version 5 to 6, or from 6 to 7. If you purchase a license then you are entitled to any new versions of the current release, such as maintenance updates with or without upgrade insurance. Every new license comes with 30 days of free upgrade insurance.
Licensing Issues
Is my current license valid for the latest release of RemotelyAnywhere?
If you purchased a license for version 6 of the software, then your license is valid for all v6.x versions of RemotelyAnywhere. If you own a license for an earlier version, you may still be able to use the latest release if you purchased upgrade insurance and the upgrade insurance was valid until at least September 20, 2004. If you are unsure of what license you own, just contact support quoting your license ID if available, or any licensee data that might help us locate your license.
Where can I download earlier releases of RemotelyAnywhere?
If you have a valid version 4 or 3 license and have chosen not to upgrade yet we can make earlier releases of the software available to you. Please send us a copy of your license ID and we'll send you a link to download it.
Why doesn't the license I have work?
Always make sure you copy the entire license from -----BEGIN LICENSE----- to -----END PKCS7----- If you paste your entire license into the field provided and for some reason it is not accepted by the software pay close attention to the error message. It will probably explain what the problem is. It could be a RemotelyAnywhere Version 4 license without valid upgrade insurance, or you are trying to install the software on a machine running a server operating system but do not have a Server Edition license. Alternatively, your license may have been reformatted by your e-mail client. If possible, copy it from the text file that was attached to the e-mail you received with your license key. If you see the message 'Outlook removed extra line-breaks from this e-mail', reformat the e-mail and try again. If you've checked all of the above and your license is still rejected, please contact support quoting your license details so we can help you get started.
How can I find out about licenses I already own?
If you already own a license for RemotelyAnywhere, or you think you might but you're not sure, we can check for you. Contact support quoting your license ID if available, or any licensee data that might help us locate your license. We will then be able to tell you what you are entitled to with your existing licenses and advise accordingly.
Technical Issues
Where can I get more technical support?
If you can't find the answer you're looking for here or in the RemotelyAnywhere manual (available from the Downloads section of this site, or under Home) and About RemotelyAnywhere within the software itself) then you can contact us.
During Remote Control it fails to connect, or the keyboard doesn't work. What's causing this?
Version 6 of RemotelyAnywhere has largely done away with this problem by introducing ActiveX versions of its Remote Control and Fle Transfer applets. By default, RemotelyAnywhere 6 uses ActiveX for these features; all previous versions, meanwhile, rely on Java. If you are using a version of RemotelyAnywhere earlier than 6, or have configured RemotelyAnywhere to use Java, the following may assist you with any Java applet-related problems you experience. If your Java VM on the client side is not up to date or not installed at all, and the solution is simply to update it. Both the Microsoft Java Runtime (available for free download on our downloads page) and Sun Java VM (available for free download at http://java.sun.com) work with RemotelyAnywhere. Please note that Java does not to be installed on the host machine (i.e. the computer on which you have installed RemotelyAnywhere); rather, you only need to have it on the machine you're remote controlling from.
How can I get the best performance out of RemotelyAnywhere?
First, you should set the server's screen resolution down to the lowest, still convenient value. Second, do not use 16-bit (hi-color, 65536 colors) for the server display. Use either 256 colors or true color. Converting 16-bit color bitmaps down to the internal format is rather slow, and has an impact on performance.
In order to connect to your remote machine you may need to know what IP address your machine is listening on. To check this https://secure.remotelyanywhere.com/cgi-bin/ip.asp . If you're behind a router or have a dynamically assigned IP and need more advice on the necessary steps, please see the relevant part of this FAQ.
How can I access a machine with a dynamically assigned IP address?
To access a computer using RemotelyAnywhere, you may need to know the IP address of the computer. The fact that your ISP dynamically assigns an IP address is not the problem, rather it is making sure that you know the new IP address whenever it is assigned to the computer you want to access. You can configure RemotelyAnywhere to send you an e-mail whenever your IP address changes, so you always know where to connect. This is under Preferences > Network. Please bear in mind that in order to use this feature you also need to configure your SMTP settings in the same dialog. Alternatively, dynamic DNS Solutions such as www.no-ip.com are often free. This service allows you to create a logical name for your computer (which is a fully qualified domain name) and then maps the dynamic IP address back to the logical name. A small application runs on your computer and automatically updates no-ip.com any time your IP address changes. Our resident security expert has been using it for a long time with no problems. You would then access your computer using RemotelyAnywhere by entering the logical name and port into your web browser. Example: » Define a computer Logical Name with a Dynamic DNS solution: www.home445533.com » RA defined port: 2000 » Access RemotelyAnywhere by entering http://www.home445533.com:2000 and this would work even if the IP address were to change.
How can I access RemotelyAnywhere on a machine behind a firewall?
In order to access a computer that is behind a router you need to map one of the router's ports to the IP address and port of the machine on which you are running RemotelyAnywhere. From outside your LAN, you would gain access to the computer running RemotelyAnywhere by entering the router's IP address and the port to which the desired machine is mapped. Example: ROUTER: External IP address: 111.111.111.111 RemotelyAnywhere machine: IP address: 192.168.0.10, Port: 2000 (port 2000 is the default but this can also be changed) STEP 1) Map a port from the router to the computer. In this case, you could pick a port on the router (say, 5200) and map it to 192.168.0.10:2000. Mapping ports from routers to computers is router-specific. Usually your router will have a web-based interface that allows you to configure and maintain it. Sometimes router companies refer to this action as 'Port Forwarding', Port Mapping', 'Opening a Pinhole', and 'Port Range Forwarding.' STEP 2) Having done the above, you will now be able to fully access the RemotelyAnywhere computer with the URL http://111.111.111.111:5200 or https://111.111.111.111:5200 - that is, the router's external IP and the port you mapped to the RemotelyAnywhere machine.
Troubleshooting
oneAlarm users have reported that when they access the remote machine the ZoneAlarm window opens and steals the attention from the remote user, effectively cutting off remote control. There is now a solution to this problem. There is a setting in ZoneAlarm on the following page: FireWall > Advanced > General Settings > Disable Keyboard and Mouse Protection. Tick the box, and you should no longer encounter this problem.
If you have IIS installed with default settings, it locks port 80 and 443 on all IP addresses. If IIS doesn't need to run all the time, set it to manual startup, and leave RemotelyAnywhere at automatic. Then once the machine boots, start IIS only as required. RA will lock its own IP's ports, so IIS won't be able to use them. If IIS needs to run all the time, then you'll have to choose a different port. It is possible to change the port settings in IIS but then it must be specified in the URL when connecting. If you are using SSL Certificates in IIS 4, 5.x or 6 then you can specify the SSL port to be used. Again, if you don't use the standard SSL port of 443 then it must be included in the URL.
Wireless issues
Why can't I connect with my WAP device?
If RemotelyAnywhere does not recognize your WAP device as such, it might cause your WAP browser to display a message regarding unknown content, a compile error, or something similar. In this case, you can edit the contents of the WapClients.cfg file found in your RemotelyAnywhere directory to make the user agent known as a WAP device. Further information on the format of the file is found inside. It is a plain text file and can be edited using any text editor.
How can I use RemotelyAnywhere's free WAP gateway?
RemotelyAnywhere provides a free, secure WAP gateway to its customers. The IP address of this gateway is 206.252.132.168. If you can make a secure (WTLS & HTTPS) connection to your computer running RemotelyAnywhere from your WAP device, then you do not need to use our gateway. However, if you run into problems, then we recommend using a normal ISP dial-up account and the RemotelyAnywhere WAP gateway instead of the dial-up service and gateway offered by your cellphone provider. Using a third-party ISP for dial-up access is not necessary, but most cellphone companies will not let you use a WAP gateway outside of their network. If this is the case, then you need a dial-up account with an ISP, in addition to the RemotelyAnywhere WAP gateway. If your RemotelyAnywhere installation is set to filter IP addresses, then you should allow access from 206.252.132.168, since this is the IP address where the HTTP/HTTPS connections will be made from. When accessing RemotelyAnywhere from your phone, always use the HTTPS protocol by specifying HTTPS:// in the beginning of the URL. This will encrypt the data sent and received between the gateway and the RemotelyAnywhere installation. For more information regarding the use of Wap and RemotelyAnywhere, please refer to the RemotelyAnywhere manual.
How can I use RemotelyAnywhere with my PDA?
RemotelyAnywhere offers extensive functionality when accessed via handheld devices running Windows CE and PocketPC. The host machine is accessed via PDA in the same way as a regular browser. Point your PDA browser to the IP address and port number of the host computer, and you will be presented with a familiar login screen. After authenticating, you will be presented with a streamlined RemotelyAnywhere interface with most featured intact. With RemotelyAnywhere 6, desktop remote control via PDA becomes a reality. In addition to all the diagnostic tools that come with RemotelyAnywhere, you can take control of your keyboard and mouse in real-time. Using the onscreen menu visible during Remote Control, it is recommended that you rotate the host desktop 90% to better fit the host machine's screen. Reduced host screen resolution reduction is recommended, available from the pulldown you see during Remote Control. A 640x480 VGA screen on the host computer can be reproduced pixel-for-pixel on the latest generation of PDAs available at the time of this writing. 320x240 PDA screens, meanwhile, can produce a legible representation of a host desktop if the magnification is set to 50%. For more information regarding the use of PDAs and RemotelyAnywhere, please refer to the RemotelyAnywhere manual.
