1. As companies look to reduce their environmental footprint and cost, they have implemented remote access for employees. Remote access allows employees to remotely access the company network through a secure connection. Allowing employees to remotely work can reduce the amount of work space needed to house employees, cut down on resources as a result of employees working remotely, increase employee productivity, a better work-life better, time saving from the lack of commute, customizable office, a happier work life, and better health.

According to Simovic (2019) forty percent of people who work remotely feel the greatest benefit is a flexible schedule, sixteen percent of company exclusively hire remote workers, the number of people who work from home as increased by 140%, and 4.3 million people in the United States work from home at least part time. These statistics show that there is an upward trend of employers allowing their employees to work from home. However, remote access also brings additional security concerns that need to be addressed.

There are numerous tools available for remote access with one of the most common ones being Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Protocol; however, there are some emerging new alternatives that can be utilized for remote access, such as Dameware Remote Everywhere. Dameware is a cloud-based solution that supports multiple operating systems such as Windows, macOS X, and Linux computers. Dameware offers 2FA and advanced encryption protocol with multilevel permissions. Furthermore, Dameware can be offered on employees’ personal cellphone that is used to access the company network and allows users to connect to out-of-band computers with Intel vPro with AMT, Wake-on-Lan (Dameware, 2020). If Dameware is deployed in the centralized mode, a user can securely connect to computers outside the corporate network via proxy and safely support users outside the firewall.

2. RDP has been increasingly known for malicious cyber-attacks due to weak passwords, flawed encryption mechanisms, older operating systems, and lack of access controls. This can be an easy attack for malware and ransomware. While it provides a lot of functionality for IT teams, it has inherent security flaws and is not as economical as other emerging technology. Alternatively, Netop Remote Control uses outbound encrypted traffic from both endpoints to create a connection. It also uses 256- bit AES encryption.

Netop also allows for an unlimited amount of invalid password attempts to prevent brute attacks. Remote PC is also an alternative that has a secure connection using AES-256 encryption and a personal key that acts as a password. It’s also scalable and addition permissions are available to manage users and groups. This alternative also has options for full control for remote users and access to 24/7 helpdesk for customers and clients. TeamViewer is perhaps the most popular remote desktop software. Most importantly, TeamViewer offers a free version for home users to test out before committing to the software. It also supports 4k desktops and includes VPN alternative and easy file sharing (Hanson & Turner, 2014).

Zoho Assist is another easy to implement and use cloud based remote support and remote access software. This service allows for on demand connection without having to pre-install software. File transfer, voice and video chat, as well as booting remote devices without losing connection are all various features that are available. In addition, the server also includes an auto-detect feature that detects whether multiple monitors are used as well as being able to record sessions for quality and monitoring service. Zoho allows for the client to offer IT trouble-shooting, as well as video conferencing and other meetings.