Symantec announced Symantec pcAnywhere 12.0, a  remote control solution and the new Symantec pcAnywhere Access Server. Now available, the latest version of pcAnywhere marks its 20th anniversary in the marketplace providing help desk support and mobile professionals with powerful and adaptable remote access and problem solving tools.

 The new pcAnywhere Access Server, available in the second quarter of 2006, is a new offering for use with pcAnywhere which provides improved connectivity from anywhere to anywhere. Enhancements in pcAnywhere 12.0 include a new gateway feature which enables transparent connectivity between help desk professionals and remote users, expanded ease-of-use and additional cross-platform support - including support for Mac OS X.

Gateway and Host Invitation Features Simplify Host and Remote Connectivity Symantec pcAnywhere 12.0 combines a feature-rich, secure remote control solution with remote management and advanced file transfer capabilities to quickly resolve help desk and server support issues across multiple platforms. The new gateway and host invitation features address common connectivity challenges encountered by organizations and small businesses supporting multiple, remote devices.

 By providing real-time discovery of and secure connection to multiple devices behind firewalls and Network Address Translation (NAT) devices, the new gateway option allows help desk professionals to initiate sessions with end-users, minimizing exposure to common security risks such as port opening/forwarding to help maintain security policies. In addition, the new host invitation feature offers host users an instantaneous means to initiate remote control sessions without requiring either party to know each other's IP address, establishing a reverse connection from behind firewalls and NAT devices.

Symantec pcAnywhere CrossPlatform Component Expands Platform Support. Symantec pcAnywhere 12.0 introduces the new pcAnywhere CrossPlatform component, which expands host and remote platform support across Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X environments. The pcAnywhere CrossPlatform remote offers a multi-pane view for simultaneous display of multiple concurrent remote control and/or file transfer sessions, and enables host-to-host file transfer.