Remote Access to Your Computer
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.
This article was posted by Bob Rankin on 9 Nov 2005
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Article information: AskBobRankin -- Remote Access to Your Computer (Posted: 9 Nov 2005)
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Copyright © 2005 - Bob Rankin - All Rights Reserved
Most recent comments on "Remote Access to Your Computer"
(See all 43 comments for this article.)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.
Posted by:
Andrew
14 Apr 2009
As far as remote control software is concerned, I like to use Proxy Networks (http://www.proxynetworks.com) because of their security and extra features. This bills itself as an Enterprise-Level software - unlike, for example, GoToMyPC. My question is: do you know of any other such software bundles that are specifically geared towards businesses? How do they compare? Thanks.
Posted by:
Rosa
24 Sep 2009
I currently use LogMeIn daily to connect to the remote computer that I work on. I have used both PCAnywhere and the self contained remote feature in XP Pro. LogMeIn is the best--it lets you do what you need to do; PCAnywhere won't let HP printers work without a LOT of tweaking; the XPPro remote has no remote printing feature that our IT guy could find. I can print from LogMeIn to my own printer or one at the office (5 miles away)! LogMeIn is the way to go, even if you use the paid version.
Posted by:
Susan
03 Nov 2009
I was very excited about the Logmein software after reading this article. I work full-time at a university and my job requires some night shift and week-end hours. I also have a small candy wrapper business that I run out of my home. When I'm at the school on those nights and week-ends I would kill to be able to access my graphics programs at home to do some designing work.
Problem is, when I started looking deeper into the Logmein software, the latest version apparently is "buggy" and keeps freezing people's computers up. Many people commented during reviews that they wished they hadn't updated because the previous versions rocked and the newest version is horrible. Any way to sign up for the older free version?
EDITOR'S NOTE: Not likely, unless you can find someone who has the older version, adn figure out exactly what files to copy from that system to yours. Wouldn't recommend it...
Posted by:
anlis
13 Nov 2009
I find a answer, use super network tunnel, find it at http://www.networktunnel.net
Posted by:
soux
18 Nov 2009
How can I access my work INTRANET (microsoft oulook) from my home PC please?
Posted by:
niraj
30 Dec 2009
hi,
i have a static IP for my home Computer.
and i want to access my computer through internet
will you plz send me the way to access my computer
Posted by:
jethrow
19 Jan 2010
Logmein....wow, this is absolutely fantastic. operates very smooth compared to windows built in remote access.
thank you~ !
Posted by:
J
20 Sep 2010
I believe my ex husband may have put remote access on my computer last time he had it how do i check that and stop it? please help!
EDITOR'S NOTE: First get a good anti-virus scanner. (see http://askbobrankin.com/free_antivirus_programs.html) Next, check your list of installed programs (click Start, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs) and uninstall anything like GotoMyPC, LogMeIn, UltraVNC. Third, get a firewall that can monitor for programs that want to make outbound connections. (see http://askbobrankin.com/free_firewall_protection.html)
Posted by:
vinod
15 Jan 2011
i want to access remote computer through LAN or internet
Posted by:
David
05 May 2011
I suggest you to try RHUB ( http://www.rhubcom.com ) for remote access which will certainly help you to fix all your issues. It is very simple to use and you will soon find it is indispensable and cost-effective as well.
Posted by:
Paul
22 Jul 2011
I tried LogMeIn. Didnt work properly when local computer was a Mac trying to access a PC. The "print to local" computer feature didnt work. I talked to Tech Support and they gave me a lengthy list of things to do to make it work--that had to be done every time I wanted to print to local printer. It was too cumbersome and time consuming, so I never used it. I tried to get my money back from LogMeIn because of this and was told they would not give me a refund. So, I determined I would not renew my subscription. Little did I know that LMI automatically renewed my subscription. When I contacted LMI for a refund for that latest subscription, I was told they had a "strict no-refund policy"--that I had to have contacted them before my previous subscription expired in order to cancel LMI. I did not get a refund. I DO NOT recommend LMI.
Posted by:
Phil
13 Mar 2018
I could not find a free edition of LogMeIn. Is that no longer available?
Posted by:
Steve M
06 Jan 2022
This is a very old article. Nothing is free these days, just free trials