Best Remote Access Software

Introduction

As a techy, I’m a big user of remote access software. I wish I could tell you that using these products has been a pleasure and delight but the truth has been far different.

In the last eight years I’ve tried half a dozen different products and they all, in varying degrees, have been slow and flakey. Worse still I’ve always been worried about the security of these products.

Reliability though, has been the real killer.  With all the remote access software I’ve tried, I keep losing sessions and have to reconnect. Far too often the remote computer hangs and can’t be restarted without manual intervention. And who’s around at 2.00 a.m. to reboot the remote PC?

Well things have looked up.  I’ve actually found a remote access utility that works.  No, It’s not perfect but it’s the best remote access solution I’ve yet encountered.

The product is GoToMyPc

How it works

Remote access software utilities such as AnyPlace Control and LapLink 12 require you to install a copy of the program on both the remote PC and also on the PC.

In contrast, GoToMyPc  is a combined software package and web service.

The software package is loaded onto the PC you want to access remotely. The web service is then used to access the remote PC from any other PC.

Initially, you connect to the web service. Once connected, the web server downloads a small program –  a “slim client.”  You then use the slim client to access the remote PC.

The advantages of the GoToMyPC web-based approach

Firstly you only need one copy of the software not two. This means you don’t have to actually buy two separate copies of the software as is required by most other products. It also means that you don’t have to set up the software on two or more machines – a major saving for tech support staff.

Secondly you can access the remote PC from pretty well any Windows PC. That’s because GoToMyPc downloads the “thin client” to the PC you are using. This can be any accessible PC whether it be at one  of your company’s offices, from a borrowed laptop,  a friends house or even an Internet Cafe.

Thirdly the system is intrinsically secure.  The connection is intrinsically 128 bit AES encrypted rather than user-settable. Furthermore the security does not have to watered down.  The  combined in-bound and our-bound nature of normal remote access firewall often presents such major problems that the firewall has to be bypassed. GoToMyPc  iin contrast, is outbound only and will present few problems to most firewalls.