Run your PC from afar — securely and easily

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	TOP STORY[/size][/font] Run your PC from afar — securely and easily[/size]
	By Susan Bradley Your office PC is miles away, when suddenly you realize you forgot that all-important file — what to do? Luckily, there are free tools (including one possibly residing in Windows) that give you remote access — or even full-scale remote control — of your PC, as if you were sitting right in front of it.[/size]

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The full text of this column is posted at WindowsSecrets.com/2010/04/15/02 (opens in a new window/tab).

Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.[/td]

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Good article. I use Log me in free and I find it very good. Some computers will not connect so I also use TeamViewer5.

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I used to use a VNC client on my Palm V and Vx, to remote login to an XP PC. I also ran VNC on HP-UX Unix workstations to connect to them from PC’s.

I still find VNC to be a useful free solution for remote PC access.

And I use SkyFex Free to view my mum’s PC, to help her out. She logs into SkyFex as a client through her IE browser, I login as an expert, and I can monitor her actions to help her out.

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I use and LOVE LogMeIn Free its installed on our four computers at home, my Mums and a couple of other family members I help with PC problems occasionally. If a friend has a problem the first thing I do is get them to install LogMeIn on their PC and then I just login and sort it. Never had a problem, great tool. One thing it has over windows remote access I believe is the ability to reboot the remote PC and LogMeIn restart as a service so no need for their to be someone at the remote computer to login.

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I use TEAMVIEWER for accessing my own PCs from afar and it was an absolute doddle to set up compared to everything else I’ve tried.

I also do a lot of remote assistance support, and over the years have tried quite a few apps for this. By far the easiest to set up and use, for both myself and my clients, is TEAMVIEWER. Also the most versatile in functionality I’ve yet tried.

As a great many of my support requests come from people with very limited computer knowledge, they find it very easy to get connected to me with a minimum of explanation or fuss. All they need to do is click the download link on my site, then click RUN both times when prompted. They read off the access number and PIN to me and I’m in. It’s that simple.
If they have a headset, or mic and speakers, TEAMVIEWER even lets me talk with them through VOIP and with video too. That’s a nice touch as folk seem to be more relaxed when they can see who is talking to them.

The free version does not have any limited functionality and they rely on your honesty not to use it commercially. I cannot recommend TEAMVIEWER highly enough and it’s not that expensive if you are going to use it enough commercially.

If you’ve never used TEAMVIEWER, give it a whirl. I’ll be surprised if you want to revert.

PooterMan
http://www.pooterman.co.uk

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The logmein client software also runs on Linux. I use it regularly from my linux pcs to help out users on Windows hosts. Just a warning about the initial Windows host installation: recent versions of the free version install the logmein pro trial, and you have to change it back to the free version by modifying the ‘subscription’ section of the logmein options.

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I have used UltraVNC for years. In addition to normal VNC client-server functions, it also has a very small self-contained server that you can send to clients. When they run it, it connects back to your client only (assuming you have a static IP) and, as a result, it can traverse routers with NAT enabled. Free, too. http://www.uvnc.com/

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I have used UltraVNC for years. In addition to normal VNC client-server functions, it also has a very small self-contained server that you can send to clients. When they run it, it connects back to your client only (assuming you have a static IP) and, as a result, it can traverse routers with NAT enabled. Free, too. http://www.uvnc.com/

i too use this a lot within our company, and the in-built file transfer capability has saved me time/effort on several occasions. Just need to figure out why 2008 Server R2 doesn’t like the CTRL+ALT+DEL command request, so far have to resort to RDP for 2008 R2 servers.

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I have used most methods of remote access over the years.
Teamviewer is my number one by far.
I have yet to find a situation where I won’t work out of the box.
I passes through all firewalls seamlessly.
with more facilities than you can shake a stick at

Les

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I can see many others beat me to the punch in pointing out that your article failed to mention TeamViewer 5. I support a lot of computers, both businesses and individuals, in doing so i use a mix of Remote desktop, Remote Desktop Gateway and TeamViewer5 depending on the situation. I use RDP for own servers and PCs, mostly due to my phone having an RDP clients and the lack of a mobile version of TeamViewer5, for my small business customers who have servers i support, i used RDP for the servers and TeamViewer5 for the clients PC’s, If they’re running a server with SBS 2008 i use the RDP gateway for both servers and clients, and i use Teamviewer5 for all my residential customers.

I started using TeamViewer on version 4, but had abandoned after a few months due to too many problems with the mouse controls locking to a certain window and not being able to click on anything else, that was happening so frequently it made it unusable for me, and their tech support was anemic on my first 2 support requests, after a few months, i decided to attempt another support ticket, this time they were quick to respond, they gave a couple configuration options to change when the problem starts, and ever since its been much more usable. Version 5 brought a lot of useful features to the table, as well as improving performance and connection stability. Now i use it daily and recommend it to everyone…

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I have to add my vote for Teamviewr also. I have tried many of the others and Teamviewer is the only one that has worked first time every time with no problems whatsoever.

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I’m also surprised Susan missed Teamviewer. I’ve used them all over the years and TV feels the best so far.
Cheers

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TeamViewer.com has a simple, free version of remote control for non-commercial use, and it allows unlimited file transfers. LogMeIn requires the paid version to do that.
Doug

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I’ll add my vote for TeamViewer 5. It’s solid as a rock, autonegotiates your router and/or firewall and is absolutley seamless. You can also run it as a quasi-portable app, leaving a zero footprint in the registry. No tweaking is needed. Just run it on each end and it’s like your sitting at the client.

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There’s also SharedView, by Microsoft, which is free. http://connect.microsoft.com/site94

Here’s how they describe it “Microsoft SharedView is a fast, easy way to share documents and screen views with small groups of friends or coworkers; anytime, anywhere. Use SharedView to put your heads together and collaborate – create, convey, and communicate…across physical boundaries, through firewalls, and down to the smallest details.”

It works pretty well, it’s easy to install and use (never had to change anything in my firewalls). You can share your session with up to 15 people (I never tried with more than 1), and you can chose what you want to share: just one application (eg a presentation) or the whole desktop. People wanting to take control of the mouse may have to require it first.

The only thing is that I wonder whether it’s still being developed, or if Microsoft will just let it die…

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I have used CrossLoop and Copilot.
Once I had tried Teamviewer I switched to it, no, I ran with flying colors!
I have to support almost exclusively in their own words “computer illiterate” home users; with this clientele Teamviewer is my clear favorite; it is just so much more dependable and MUCH faster than the other two services.
Only my experience though.

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I use a Dynamic DNS service to map changing IP addresses to a constant name. WIth this you don’t have to know the IP address of the computer that you are trying to connect to. It’s very handy!

I personally use no-ip.com, but there are many others.

Enjoy,
Randy

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I have used both the Windows XP remote assistance and, thanks to a Windows Secrets recommendation a couple of years ago, LogMeIn (free edition). My 88 year old mother-in-law needs assistance on occasion, and she’s a four hour drive away. We took the drive at least twice simply to get her email accessible again, and now I can accomplish the same troubleshooting remotely, with no need for intervention from her.

Windows remote assistance required her to give me a “key” each time I wanted to remotely access her computer. This involved lengthy long distance telephone calls walking her through the process. With LogMeIn, all I need is to ensure she has a functional internet connection and her computer is on. It works perfectly, and response time is quick.

We visit her frequently, so I was able to install LogMeIn on her computer rather than trying to do this remotely. After I installed the software, it’s worked flawlessly. But watch out and make sure you have the free version installed. It’s a bit tricky to avoid having a trial version of the “pay” version of LogMeIn, and that trial version will expire on you before you have a chance to get it replaced by the free version.

I heartily endorse LogMeIn.

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+1 for TeamViewer! What an absolute pleasure to install and use. It works immediately. It is not required, but you can create an online account. This allows you to register “partner” computers, if you tend to connect to the same set of computers all the time. This makes log on to remote desktops completely seamless. Also, if are worried about security, you can set the hosting password to be changed dynamically after every session–if you have the online account, it will keep the password updated, so that it still works seamlessly. The inclusion of fast VPN networking is a huge bonus for me, since I always struggle with setting up authentication properly using Windows networking. TeamViewer handles all of that. This is an amazingly well-designed piece of software!

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What bugs me most about this article is it is all roses, no thorns. There are at least two major issues I have with most remote PC applications that still have not been addressed, or at least not very well. The first is common to home setups, though many business setups have the restriction as well. That restriction is NAT translations. The only relyable way I have found to bypass that is by something like LogMeIn which has a remote server that both parties log into. What happens, however, when I forget to log in, or when I have a power outage while I am away? I can’t access it no matter what. At least with most businesses, the firewall stops you first…

My second issue is the security side of things. Why must I have that port open all the time? Why can’t I just connect and use the wake-on-lan connection to turn on the PC and then log into the connection at that time (instead of leaving it open for anyone to hack while I am away)? I realize that I am leaving the wake-on-lan connection available for anyone to hack away at, but if I use good security passwords, first they need to hack the wake-on-lan password, then they need to hack the OS password, then they need to hack the remote connection password before they can connect (It is unlikely they would even bother with the last one if they accomplish the other 2, however). Instead, we leave an open listener that is designed to be open to any incoming connection for an indefinite amount of time precisely when we are least likely to notice it – i.e. we are away from the desk! This is just poor policy that no one addresses in any options I have seen. Please prove me wrong, I am looking for the answer.

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I had a similar problem, exactly as Susan described. How do I work on a clients computer, without leaving any of my info behind when I’m done. Then transfer that information to my office computer. In fact, my original thought was to set up an OS on a thumb drive to carry around with me to clients, plug into the computers I was assigned to while out of the office, and update when I got back to the office. I posted this idea at winforums.com, which has helped me through a variety of windows issues before. The link is to the entire post is:
My link to The Win Forums post
My original idea was quickly scrapped. Ultimately, I ended up with Teamviewer. I’ve only needed to use is on occasion, but it has served my needs completely – and it was free. Can’t beat that!!

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We have recently started using GoToAssist as a tool for supporting all of our clients. It is not free.

One of its powerful options is “unattended operation.” Once you set that up, you can log into the target machine anytime without any user intervention.

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I’ve been using the Remote Desktop for some time now and am pleased with it. As someone else mentioned, Dynamic DNS services eliminate the need for a static IP address. I’m surprised that security was not mentioned. You basically have a port open and listening all the time and provides a mechanism for an exploit. It is very important to use secure login. You can use the Group Policy snap-in console to set policies like not showing the user name, forcing passwords to be used, account lockout policies, etc. This will make it a little harder to guess a login, especially in the case of bots looking for an opening.

John

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I’ve used CoPilot a few times, for both remote support of non-techie PC users and for home control of my office PC. The remote support application is fine, and has the advantage that (as long as the person being helped can reach the Internet) there are no issues caused by firewalls at either end. The user interface to log in is also very well designed and usable.

The remote control of my office PC was cumbersome, though. I was trying to edit a powerpoint file from home while its presenter-to-be collaborated with me over the phone from my desk. The latency was too long to be practical — every text edit was followed by a LONG wait while all the graphics refreshed over the network.

I will have to give Teamviewer a try, after all the accolades on this thread!

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Team Viewer is awesome. They recently added a free iPhone app and I saw yesterday that they are beta testing a Linux version. I haven’t used the VPN feature, but the text and VOIP chat are very useful. Too bad their commercial license is so expensive. I’d happily pay $50 for something like a home site license that would allow you to support 10-15 systems. Until then I’ll just keep using the free version.

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I use RDC all the time, especially when connecting to servers at my client companies. I like it the most because it’s fast. It can be a problem for that after-hours friends & family support plan, as configuration is sometimes difficult.

CoPilot is great. I have both clients and friends & family buy a day pass ($5, free on weekends!) and then I connect. It is slower than RDC by a considerable margin, but I have found it very reliable. Tech support is top-notch.

The unsung hero might be Skype. Version 4 of the software provides a screen sharing feature, which when activated replaces the video feed. This is obviously not as good as full remote control, but what I have found in the friends & family case is that it can be very beneficial to have the “helpee” actually doing the work while I watch. It is far more educational than me doing the work and it is more likely that the helpee will be able to handle the issue the next time. I find I am increasingly using Skype for this purpose. On the plus side, it is free, requires only a Skype account, and requires zero setup other than installing and configuring Skype (which is pretty brainless). On the down side, the screen sharing feature needs some work – when I share a screen, my mouse and then my keyboard will lock up about 75% of the time.

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Here’s another vote for Teamviewer. I’ve used VNC variants, RDP, and others over the years but TV is better by far. Amazingly easy setup, fast, quality screen, and zero problems with firewalls or NAT. As another poster said, I’d gladly pay money for it but they offer it free for non-commercial use.

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Not having a Windows pro version I have been using the free Tight VNC program for years. It is extremely simple to set up. The only catch, as I assume it is with all other apps, is that clients with dynamic IP addresses have to either email or phone me with their current IP address before I can log on to their computer.

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TOP STORY

Run your PC from afar — securely and easily
By Susan Bradley

Your office PC is miles away, when suddenly you realize you forgot that all-important file — what to do?
Luckily, there are free tools (including one possibly residing in Windows) that give you remote access — or even full-scale remote control — of your PC, as if you were sitting right in front of it.

The full text of this column is posted at http://WindowsSecrets.com/2010/04/15/02

Can you expand a bit on this? Many people like myself have firewall routers and/or firewall software guarding their systems. In my case I have both. Since the router is using NAT to assign addresses to my internal network, it seems impossible to access my PCs from a remote site, unless there is some way to configure the router to allow the connection via some forwarding method.

You would also have to open up ports in the firewall (software and/or router) to allow the communication to take place. Do these packages provide the info on how to configure that?

You also left out another method, which is using ssh. For Windows I have installed Cygwin and used ssh -X to remotely access my Solaris and Linux systems. This would also allow access to Mac systems running OSX, which is a version of Linux. I have not tried it, but it probably would also allow access to another Windows system that is also running Cygwin.

Mike Riley

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As a pro-Windows bigot, I always felt that RDC was good enough. But, on a campus with both Windows and Mac OS X, we needed a cross-platform solution. In our testing, we found that many cross-platform solutions (e.g., VNC variants) just aren’t good enough. Does the tool suffer from screen glitches? Does it know what to do with not-enough or too-many mouse buttons? How does it handle a keyboard with “the wrong” keys? Does it support multiple monitors and unusually high and low video resolutions?

So I was very pleasantly surprised to be introduced to TeamViewer. It passed all our tests with flying colors.

Its only limitation is that it does not act as a centralized management system, to let an organization manage all its remote control activity and permissions from one server. At the time we made our selection, this was actually a plus — less overhead for everyday use, both on campus and at home. Yet it has enough enterprise-level features (like the ability to make a direct LAN connection by IP address, bypassing TeamViewer’s servers) to serve all our needs on campus.

So this is not just an endorsement of TeamViewer; it’s an explanation of how it was a good fit for us. Sande

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Our non-profit institution uses Bomgar for remote access.

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I’ve used RealVNC and RDC via the mediated VPN Hamachi for some years (since before LogMeIn bought them out) with generally good results. It also works well for mapping a remote drive. I’ve not upgraded to the new version, however.

Gbridge is another mediated VPN that works well for those with Gmail accounts, since it uses an extension of Google’s gtalk service to establish connections. If you setup your machines with the same Gmail account, you can use remote control (VNC or RDC) and file sharing at will. For family, friends, clients, etc. that use Gbridge with their own Gmail accounts, you can easily talk them through temporarily allowing you control their computer or send them an invitation to see what you are doing. For this Gbridge uses a modified version of UltraVNC and the remote desktop can be view-only if desired. They also offer an autosync function for file shares. Free for personal and commercial use.

Those that like the idea of a simple VPN but like control should check out Neorouter. This program allows you to host your own VPN mediation server on an underused PC or even some routers (if you are comfortable with flashing the firmware). Also free for personal and commercial use with a fairly reasonably priced “professional” version.

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This is a great article I use RDP and logmein all the time for work doing system admin. I didn’t know there was a version which run on mac’s but we are looking to support these systems in the future so that is handy to know.

I notice you say you don’t use rdp to remote access your system at home. You can do this even with a dynamic ip by signing up for a http://www.dyndns.com/ account and then create an alias e.g. yourhome.dyndns.org. If you install the updater on your server or workstation then it works a dream.

Plus an an extra security measure I change the default port number on my windows 2003 box from 3389 to 3392 by a registry change. That way you can connect using yourhome.dyndns.org:3392 as the pc.

Oh don’t forget to open the port up on your NAT router and forward it to the machine on the lan (e.g. 3392 > 192.168.0.100)

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I have use a few remote control packages. The first one was PCAnywhere. This package works well but is expensive. It has remote file transfer which is handy when you want to get a file from your PC to the remote PC. The problem I had with this package is over time the resources would fail and I would come up with a blank screen. This is a problem when you can not reboot because of an application that you need to keep running for customer access.

I have also used UltraVNC which has worked well when I have a VPN connection, but have had problems with slow screen update. The newer versions also have file transfer capabilities.

I have also used RDP. This was on servers, but the issue I have with this package is you can not see all of the services running on the machine. Task manager does not show everything, even in console mode. You have to go into the services window to see what items are running. This package seems to run a virtual machine on the host. You can not transfer files either.

I will have to check out some of the third party translation service packages to see what the security setup is like with them. Most of the time I am connecting to networks with DNS services.

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I like Microsoft Windows Home Server for remote access to all my computers from afar. Even if the computer is turned off and can turn it on remotely, restart, and shut down; very green. I like that I can print on my remote computer’s printer what my home computer is ready to print. I am looking forward to a new release of windows home server based on a platform more recent than 2003; but, it just works fine.

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I’ve used LogMeIn free for some time now (about 2 years), and I love it. I drive my desktop from my lap top, and it works great. I don’t really need the additional features of the paid version, but I did try them during the initial trial. Copying files from one PC to the other was cool. Thanks for the article.

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I am a big fan of LogMeIn and have been using it for quite a few years. I also bought the iPhone App which works extremely well.

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LogMeIn is dynamite. I use it whenever I need to be on my computer in the office. I sat in my sister’s house in Germany and worked on my office computer in Iowa without a hitch!

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Running Win7 x64 and using TeamViewer, ( http://www.teamviewer.com/download/index.aspx ). It’s free for non-commercial use, and does everything one needs, including audio and video chats. I use it primarily to control another computer on my home network but also have used it with a friend in another city to exchange files. It’s user friendly and plays nicely with other programs.

6rtury

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Susan Bradley wrote:

“Microsoft also may end up competing against itself with a new cloud-based sync/share service called Live Mesh (site).”

Susan, Live Mesh actually has a different purpose than RDC. Live Mesh was meant to be more of a business collaboration platform. Sort of similar to a wiki site where work sessions or projects can be accessed by several users in a work group. Not quite the image which comes to mind when I think of Remote Desktop or Remote Assistance.

One advantage of LogMeIn or GoToMyPC is that because they use an intermediary computer (also known as a proxy), they can provide full end-to-end encryption of secure communications. Even when connecting from public networks. This could be of some use to travelers or those of us who sometimes do our business from a library or a café.

And the ability to use LogMeIn from an iPhone just blows me away!

@Will Fastie – Perhaps you have not read about the ongoing security and privacy issues associated with Skype? I do not consider Skype to be secure enough for Remote Access. What do you think, Susan?

-- rc primak

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@Will Fauste – Perhaps you have not read about the ongoing security and privacy issues associated with Skype? I do not consider Skype to be secure enough for Remote Access. What do you think, Susan?

Bob:

I am aware of those concerns. However, screen sharing is not remote access (unless there is really something I don’t know about). If a friend shares their screen, I can’t access their computer, I can just see what they are doing.

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Bob:

I am aware of those concerns. However, screen sharing is not remote access (unless there is really something I don’t know about). If a friend shares their screen, I can’t access their computer, I can just see what they are doing.

Sorry about misspelling your name earlier, Will. Everything Skype does goes through their servers. And that’s where the security and privacy issues have been reported. Even a report in 2007 of calls being monitored by someone in Mainland China. (I think they may have fixed that one by now.) Nope. Not secure, unless there’s been a major overhaul. This is why I’m asking if any of the Windows Secrets contributors knows the current reputation for security at Skype?

If we want to pursue this side-issue of Skype security, I can move us into a new thread.

-- rc primak

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I’ve used lots of remote control software, but TeamViewer is by far the best. It’s very easy to set up, fast, and very reliable. I have set up my PC to turn itself on every morning at 7:30 A.M. and off at 10:00 P.M. TeamViewer starts up with Windows 7 and I have access to my PC from wherever I am. It allows you to adjust screen resolution, do remote reboots, and has a file transfer function. They even have an iPhone app so you can access your PC on the move!. TeamViewer is free for personal use. Go to teamviewer.com and check it out.

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For several years now, CrossLoop has worked quite satisfactorily for me and the mostly senior citizens whom I’m trying to help keep their systems current. It has a few peccadillos, but since “the troops” are comfortable with it, I can’t see any compelling reason to change to another utility.
It does require a live body at the client end to start it up and relay the dynamic access code number, and occasionally mouse clicks, particularly in the taskbar area, don’t work from my end. The only big detriment is whenever an update requires a reboot of the client system, there must be someone present to restart CrossLoop and pass along the access code and accept connection.
A minor irritation is on startup: CrossLoop presents a dialog box for signing-up for a new account, which when closed reveals the connection box hidden behind it. Can’t really fault the company for that, as they do need to encourage paid customers!

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Thomas Bazzone said it, but I’ll whole heartedly agree with him. Teamviewer 5 is great, but a free iPhone app that allows you to control your desktop from anywhere is unbelievable. The app actually works well! I used to use UltraVNC, but getting it to work from outside the house was a pain. Teamviewer allows me to EASILY connect to friends and family’s computers in a way even the most computer illiterate can understand. All they do is double click the icon and read off the ID and password. If you set it up for them, you can even add their ID to your list with the password and then all they’ll have to do is start the program. Also version 5 seems (at least to me) to be much faster than version 4.

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Looks like I may be swimming alone in these waters but I really like GoToMyPc. I have used it for years and have never had a reason to look elsewhere. “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”.

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I use and love “Log Me In”. But, please check out “Radmin”, which I’ve used in the past. Easy and Fast!

http://www.radmin.com/products/radmin/index.php

Mark

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I have been doing tech support using remote control software (RCS) of many varieties for many, many years. If you remember Carbon Copy, you’ve been around the block, too!
Remote desktop (RD) is one of the higher performing alternatives out there, followed closely by GoToMyPC, LogMeIn, and RealVNC in a pack. PCAnywhere runs a bit more sluggishly. Packet tracing also shows that it is a bit more “chatty” than some other alternatives.
One of the main differences I find in RCS has to do with the mechanics of transferring files. Often, while doing system monitoring and maintenance I need to send or receive files. I find that RD has a natural feel, PCAnywhere is pretty good, and RealVNCs Cut/Paste more cumbersome.
Security concerns mostly dictate against GoToMyPC & LogMeIn though they have their place.
Currently, for my clients I am mainly using PCAnywhere for most Windows clients, and RealVNC for Windows 2008 servers. If a client has chosen GoToMyPC or LogMeIn, I’ll use it to reduce the access avenues.

Cheers,
Jeff

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Hi Susan
I have been using Team Viewer to help my sister who lives 5 hours away. I love it and of course she does too. It is so easy to use and connects quickly. We just get on the phone and enter the password. I would recommend it.

Don

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from the article: XP: XP Home contains only client software; XP Professional contains both client and host software.

I have XP Home and have always been able to be the host. I don’t understand why.

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