FileWay

I was looking for an alternative solution to our VPN set up which allowed users to access files and folder over the Internet.

This is when I came across FileWay. FileWay enables enterprise users to securely access the files they need to get their work done-no matter where they’re working. Users can read, write, change, download and upload files on their office workstation, as well as others on the corporate LAN, from any Web browser.

A full 30-day trial of FileWay is available from the vendor http://www.everywherenetworks.net/ that I downloaded and successfully installed and tested. We liked the product and were making enquires on licensing types and costs.

However, what I was not aware of was that there is a free version for FileWay (not available from the vendors website) that can be found quite easily from searching the Internet.

Admittedly this only provides a maximum of 3 user accounts, but as we are quite a small company it was adequate. FileWay Free also lacks any integration with OWA and does not have the very useful SecureView feature.

Installation was not exactly easy and perhaps more on the moderate hard side of things. Having said that FileWat support is excellent making the whole process as painless as possible. Just like the Full version of FileWay, the user account can be configured, and directories and permission assigned and the database updated. You do get a warning and/ or are unable to save changes if you attempt to enter or have more than 3 users. I have created 3 generic accounts as oppose to using current Windows Active Directory accounts. Once you enter your credentials (i.e. username and password created for FileWay) an advert is displayed from FileWay (which you an OK to acknowledge). This then takes the user logging on to the main interface of FileWay.

I did notice and have used the feature that allows the FileWay user to e-mail a file to a recipient, simply by right clicking on a file and selecting 'e-mail as attachment'. The e-mail client is very simple and doesn't tie in with Active Directory or Windows User accounts; and therefore one has to know and be sure of the e-mail address. There is also an upper limit of 2MB (and you do get a warning message to tell you this) for the attachment size. The upper limit may not be enough, but the facility is there on this version.

For a small organisation as we are, this is a useful addition in accessing data off the Server. VPN connection falls over every now and then, and this in the form of a browser based easy to use interface provides an alternative solution.