During the key exchange, the sender generates a symmetric key and encrypts it
using the recipient's public key. Only the recipient can decrypt this data using a
private key, which is never exchanged. For this reason, public-key encryption is
invulnerable to a Man in the Middle attack.
See
“Configuring pcAnywhere to use public-key encryption”
on page 223.
Understanding the performance trade-offs
When deciding whether to use encryption and which method to use, you must
balance performance with the need for security. Using strong encryption can
protect the privacy and integrity of your data. However, it might also slow
performance because stronger encryption requires more resources to process and
transfer the data.
You should use strong encryption if the data that you are transferring is highly
confidential or sensitive or if you work in an industry that mandates it.
How pcAnywhere works with encryption
Symantec pcAnywhere uses a combination of symmetric and public-key encryption.
By combining both techniques, pcAnywhere takes advantage of the strengths of
each method: speed and security.
Symantec pcAnywhere provides the following options for protecting the data
stream between a host and remote computer during a remote session:
■
pcAnywhere encoding
■
Symmetric encryption
■
Public-key encryption
If the host computer and remote computer are running pcAnywhere 11.5 or later
and the encryption levels do not match, pcAnywhere automatically raises the
encryption level on the computer that is using the lower level to match the
encryption level on the computer that is using the higher level. If you are using
symmetric encryption, pcAnywhere also raises the algorithm levels if the one of
the computers is using a lower level.
For example, if the host encryption level is configured for pcAnywhere encoding
and the remote encryption level is configured for symmetric encryption,
pcAnywhere automatically raises the encryption level on the host to symmetric.
If either the host computer or the remote computer is running pcAnywhere 11.0.x
or earlier and the encryption levels or algorithms do not match, Symantec
pcAnywhere attempts to lower the encryption level on the computer that is using
Securing your computer and sessions
Using encryption to protect data
220
Summary of Contents for PCANYWHERE - V12.5
Page 1: ...Symantec pcAnywhere User s Guide 12164653 ...
Page 16: ...Contents 16 ...
Page 28: ...Introducing Symantec pcAnywhere Where to find more information 28 ...
Page 68: ...Installing Symantec pcAnywhere Post installation tasks 68 ...
Page 234: ...Securing your computer and sessions Ways to assess host security 234 ...
