PC remote control packages are hardly big news these days, with the likes of PCAnywhere and LapLink having long established themselves as the key players in a crowded market. However VNC (which stands for Virtual Network Computing), is certainly worth considering, and that's not simply because it's free (more of that later).

The aim of a PC remote control package is simply to enable a person sitting at one machine (termed the 'local' machine) to take control of another machine (usually referred to as the 'remote' machine), which may be connected via a direct link, a LAN or simply via a modem. Typically the person taking control of the remote machine will see, on his or her screen, the desktop of the machine being controlled. Once connected, the mouse and keyboard on the remote machine respond to actions by the user of the local machine. This kind of package is a perfect solution for technical support. Problems can be solved by the support person without having to go on-site, and of course, as a bonus, the user at remote the machine can watch and learn.

One of the things which distinguishes VNC from many other programs of its type is that it is a truly multi-platform product and that it is available for free. The latter is because it is available under the GNU General Public Licence, which means that the program and the source code are made generally available to all. The multi-platform approach is because VNC was developed at AT&T so that people could use their desktop PCs to log into different kinds of servers, including different flavours of Unix, Linux and Windows. A spin-off of this is that the software has been developed in such a way that installation is incredibly hassle-free.

Obviously there are two components to such packages. The first - WinVNC - resides on the remote machine, and the second - the VNCviewer program - resides on the local machine. The complete package arrives, in its Windows version at least, as a single zip file of less than a megabyte. Installation is straightforward and there are several different ways of running the programs. For WinVNC, the simplest way is to launch it as a normal application, though it can also be installed to run as a service. Once WinVNC is run, a password needs to be set for that machine, and then it becomes ready to receive connections.

At the local end things are even simpler, and in fact so long as a TCP/IP connection is available there is no need to even install any software. It is possible to use a standard browser, such as Internet Explorer, to connect to, and take control of, the remote machine. It's an impressive feat to load up your browser and take control of another machine on a network. However, using the VNCviewer program is almost as simple. There is no need to install the software; all that you need to do is run the VNCviewer.exe file, either from your hard disk or a diskette.

Performance is good; even over a modem link via the Internet the software is usable and compares well to more commercial packages. At times the mouse cursor can lag, but that is par for the course. Connections to the remote machine can be made and broken at will, which is great for kicking off jobs on the remote machine, logging off and then back on again later to check if it has completed.

There is one area where VNC does not compete with PCAnywhere and the like, and that is file transfer. While some packages allow files to be transferred between local and remote machines, this is a function that the authors have deliberately decided not to include. However, if you can log into a machine there are alternative methods of dropping off or collecting files.

VNC is a capable piece of well-written software. Like many such utilities, once installed the uses of it will multiply. Even for a small LAN it's a useful way of supporting users, kicking off tasks and generally keeping an eye on what's going on.