[Stephen47]

A friend wants to set up a network involving her two home computers and her husband's computer at his work. The work computer is a single computer accessing the internet with Verizon and the home computers have Comcast as the ISP. I told them I didn't think this was possible because of the two different ISPs.
Would Windows Live folder Share be a substitute of sorts?

[shamolishah]

Well your friend could try out the VPN software available on the net.
One of the more popular options would be Hamachi.
it is freeware and easy to setup and use.

[JohnWill]

There are a number of ways to network them, subject to the limitations of the bandwidth of the broadband connection between them.

Maybe a better idea of what they hope to accomplish with this connection would be useful here so we can better recommend a solution. Why not have the friend post directly, unless you really want to be the middleman.

[Stephen47]

I'll check with her and get back to you.

[Stephen47]

Here is the situation. She is a bookkeeper. She does the books for her husband's business. She wants to buy QuickBooks and use PC Anywhere to access it from her other computer at home and also have her husband, who is my boss by the way, be able to access it at his business.
I told here that I thought she would have to buy three copies of QuickBooks but she said her accountant told her that with PC Anywhere she would only need one copy.
Let me know if this is viable, or if there is a better solution. Thanks

[SmallNetBuilder]

PC Anywhere is fine for the remote access solution. Just be aware that it may be slow.

As long as they are ok with having both of them sharing access to one computer, all they need is one copy of QuickBooks. They'll just need to work out who is working on it when.

[Stephen47]

Is there a better remote access solution?

[SmallNetBuilder]

Depends on what you mean by "better".

There are many ways to go. GoToMyPC might work better since it shouldn't require you to open router ports. Downside is that it's subscription based so has an ongoing cost.

RealVNC is a free alternative to PC Anywhere. Relatively simple to set up.

[Stephen47]

Why would pcAnywhere be slow? How does it actually work? How is the connection made?

[stan_879nz]

I use remote desktop in my own home internal network to access my movie server and must admit that its a bit slugish i run 5 network devices 3xpcs 1xprinter 1xgaming console. Now to answer your question Why would pcAnywhere be slow? well your boss and his wife are going to be shearing the line with the rest of the world think about the amount of info in the line "jamed packed" when they pull info off one computer to the other 1 to 1 connection if you have ever used dear i say p2p networks you would know what im talking a bout

[SmallNetBuilder]

Any remote access application can be slow, for the reasons that stan mentioned, which boil down to bandwidth limitations, primarily for upload bandwidth. The PC being remotely accessed must transmit its screen information using upload bandwidth, which is usually a fraction of download bandwidth.

I should also mention that RealVNC Free edition does not provide an encrypted connection. But the Personal Edition is only $30 and has encryption.

[Stephen47]

What is the fastest alternative?

[SmallNetBuilder]

I haven't benchmarked any remote access applications. But, chances are, the limit will be the uplink speed at both ends of the connection and not the application itself.

GoToMyPC and RealVNC both have trial versions. Give them a try and find out for yourself.