LogMeIn Pro Secures Remote User Access

Solution providers have spent countless hours building remote-access solutions that give equal weight to security, functionality and ease of use, but in many cases this balance is impossible to achieve. Dynamic IP addresses, blocked firewall ports, security concerns and overall network complexity make remote access an ideal technology for solution providers to offer as a managed service.

3am Labs specializes in providing remote access via a managed service solution to IT professionals. 3am Labs' premier product is LogMeIn Pro, which combines a locator service with client software for secure remote access to desktop systems. This service-based model offers several advantages. First, blocked ports, network address translation and typical firewalls will not prevent the product from functioning. Second, the host system can use dynamic IP addresses as long as there is a live connection to the Internet. This feature alone makes LogMeIn Pro worth the subscription price.

Another advantage of LogMeIn Pro is that the service is quite easy to use. An administrator installs the LogMeIn Pro client on the system that will be remotely accessed and controlled, sets up a user account and presto—the machine can be accessed remotely. To use the system, the remote user visits www.LogMeIn.com and enters a user name and password. Once that's done, a list of all machines the user has access to appears in a browser-based interface. The browser must support Java for all of this to work.

Remote users can control multiple desktops in multiple browser windows and can resize the display screens by changing resolutions. This feature allows users that may be traveling with low-resolution remote notebook computers to have good-quality views of higher-resolution host systems.

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Remote access and control become simple with LogMeIn Pro. Solution providers also have numerous opportunities to increase their revenue by selling managed services, since the product's offerings extend beyond simple remote access and control. Remote users can perform file transfers using a simple drag-and-drop interface. Automated file synchronization allows a directory on the remote system to be synchronized with a directory on the host system. This is an easy way to keep files up to date and eliminate unnecessary duplication. The synchronization feature also offers the ability to act as a "poor man's backup service" by keeping a duplicate set of files on another system.

LogMeIn Pro's security is handled by encryption. All traffic between the remote user and the host system is encrypted using SSL and further enforced using certificates. These security precautions make LogMeIn Pro as secure as a typical VPN connection without all of the hassles associated with managing a VPN session. Administrators have full control over a remote user's actions and can lock out particular hosts or IP addresses to further secure systems. All end-user activity can be logged, which can help solution providers conduct audits of system activity.

Other features of LogMeIn Pro include remote-to-local printing capability, which allows users to print remote documents to any local printer. LogMeIn Pro also offers multiple user access, which allows more than one user to access the same remote PC.

3am Labs offers a two-tier channel program. Partners at the entry level must submit an online application, and in lieu of a reseller margin, partners receive a commission of $1 for each user they sign up for the LogMeIn Pro service. Partners at the top level must complete a formal reseller agreement but receive a more generous $40 commission for each user signed up. 3am Labs offers Web site placement of partners' logos, graphics and text, integration assistance by telephone or via the Web, and end-user telephone technical support. The company's channel program is still in its infancy, and Test Center engineers are hopeful that more elements will be added in the future. LogMeIn Pro is sold as a subscription-based service and costs $12.95 per month.

CHANNEL PROGRAM SNAPSHOTS
>LogMeIn Pro
COMPANY: 3am Labs
Santa Clara, Calif.
(800) 993-1790
www.3amlabs.com
DISTRIBUTORS: Direct from Vendor
AUTHORIZATION REQUIREMENTS: None
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Note: Recommended status is earned with a score of eight stars out of 10