Remote Access to Your Computer

Category: Software

"I carry a laptop when I travel, but I always seem to forget some important files at home on my desktop PC. Is there some way I can access the files on my home computer through the Internet?"


Access Your Home Computer via the Internet

Yes, and you can do more than just access your files. There are several tools that allow you full access and remote control of your computer over the Internet. If you have access to a computer with Internet access, you can log in to your home or office computer using a web browser.

You can view the desktop and use the mouse or keyboard to launch programs, open files or play a game. It's just as if you were sitting in front of the remote computer. If you're in the same room as the "remote" PC, you can watch the mouse cursor moving around on the screen, see new windows open and close, etc. Tres cool!

I like and use the LogMeIn service because it's free and secure. There are extra features you can try that require a paid account, but the basic remote desktop service is really free. Once you get it set up, poke around in the options to learn how to automatically blank the host screen (so nobody can watch your activity) and lock the host console when you disconnect.

There's another very similar service, called GotoMyPC, but it costs US$20 per month to use. I was happily shelling out money each month for GotoMyPC, until I discovered LogMeIn! Symantec's pcAnywhere product offers remote desktop access, but costs about US$200 -- ouch! And if you have Windows XP Professional Edition, there's a feature called Remote Desktop which offers similar functionality. But the upgrade from XP Home to XP Pro costs about $100, so it may require some up-front investment, and I've heard that making it work can be a challenge even for experienced users.


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Posted by Bob Rankin on November 9, 2005 08:05 PM


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Related Keywords: Software   remote access   remote desktop   LogMeIn   GotoMyPC   pcAnywhere  

Most recent comments on "Remote Access to Your Computer"

(See all 30 comments for this article.)

Posted by:
Steve
20 Jun 2006

Hi there Milliondlz,
firstly im not even sure that remote desktop does work through a web browser, so that might be the problem there. Ive not used custom ports for RD but do recall reading something about having to modify the registry in order to make it work properly, not too sure from your post if you've done this or not. Secondly RD works great internally on a network but can be come quite difficult to configure for external use, port farwarding, firewall rules etc.

I must agree with the editor on this one, i used RD for a few months before discovering Logmein.com, since then i've not looked back, i've not had any problems with ports, firewalls etc from home-work and vice versa, minimal configuration and it just works!


Posted by:
JDaS
21 Aug 2006

LogMeIn.Com seems like a very powerful and promising answer to most of my questions. Thanks for the heads up Bob! I read in a different article that it is possible to provide remote assistance to someone using LogMeIn. Will that person be able to view all the steps I am doing with LogMeIn, and will I be able to view their desktop the same way they are viewing it?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Yes! They can see everything you do on the screen, it's a nice teaching tool.


Posted by:
ian
05 Sep 2006

Hi, I have a query pertaining to UltraVnc. I have set up a VNC server and SSH server on my Windows XP PC. I have been accessing the PC remotely via SSH, through Putty and UltraVNC.

I have recently bought a Macbook(OSX ver10.4.6), I would like also to access my PC using the MAc book. However, I have not been able to find an UltraVNC viewer for mac. I would like to seek you advice how can I set up my Mac book to access my PC remotely.

EDITOR'S NOTE:According to the UltraVNC website, it runs native under Windows but its embedded JavaViewer allows you to connect from a browser on Linux or Mac OS to an UltraVNC server.


Posted by:
Mohammad Amir
27 May 2007

hello, i am using tight VNC in my network and it working fine but i have four different networks in UAE. I want to ask you that if i want to view clint1 of network1 from clint2 of network2 is it possible if yes then tell me how please.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I don't use TightVNC, but maybe someone else can chime in on that...


Posted by:
Craig
16 Jun 2007

Hello, I have been desperately trying to get logmein to work on our Windows Small Business 2003 server without any luck. Logmein hasn't been able to help much, any suggestions?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Does the Logmein site say that it will work with W2003? Are you having a problem using it as a client or server?


Posted by:
SarahL
27 Sep 2007

Quick addition: TeamViewer is free for non-commercial use, and I have had excellent results using it to teach friends & relatives remotely, or to do quick and dirty troubleshooting from afar. While I haven't had time to mess around with all of it's capabilities, it has worked quite well for my purposes.
http://teamviewer.com/index.aspx


Posted by:
Jacob K
14 Nov 2007

Hello,
let you know about a remote access product my company, 01 Communique, offers called I'm InTouch that is similar to LogMeIn but with several unique features. One of the neat things you can with I'm InTouch is remotely access Outlook on your computer from a wireless device. So you can read/compose/send emails from your outlook wherever you are. I'm InTouch comes with a 30-day trial so you can give it a test for free.


Posted by:
dragos240
07 May 2008

I just tryed logmein. It works great!!!!! I can control my vista computer, internet and all my files. I can even control port forwarding and such. Who would want to use go2mypc or anything else??? I can even use an xp computer to control my vista. This free system is absolutely amazing, i cant tell you how happy i am about this. Everybody just HAS to know about this!!!! I'm actually gonna put a link to log me in and to this very page. Thanks! You helped a lot. :)


Posted by:
Shams
20 Jun 2008

Hello, let you know about a remote access product my company, 01 Communique, offers called I'm InTouch that is similar to LogMeIn but with several unique features. One of the neat things you can with I'm InTouch is remotely access Outlook on your computer from a wireless device. So you can read/compose/send emails from your outlook wherever you are. I'm InTouch comes with a 30-day trial so you can give it a test for free.


Posted by:
John
23 Jun 2008

Instead of paying monthly fees to logmein and gotomypc, there is a way to own it. Check RHUB (http://www.rhubcom.com) remote access appliance, which allows you to remote access up to 1,000 PCs. It is more than money. Since you own it, you get the security that hosted service cannot provide.

EDITOR'S NOTE: If all you want is remote access, the problem is easily solved with software alone. LogMein is free and secure, but you can host your own solution with the right software if you prefer.


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