April 17th, 2012Top StoryUse Your Home Computer from Anywhere: A Comprehensive Guide to Remote Controlling Your PCBy Whitson Gordon
We've talked about remote access countless times before, but if you're just starting out with the subject, it can be pretty overwhelming. You have a ton of different programs to choose from, some of which only work on certain platforms, and each of which has their own strengths depending on what you're trying to accomplish. Here, we'll share our favorite remote access methods for different situations, as well as alternatives you can try if our favorite doesn't work for you. We've listed the cross platform options below for everyone, but there are also Windows-only and Mac-only programs for people that use the same OS on all their machines. Click your preference below to add its instructions to the guide. Click for instructions for your platform of choice:Windows to Windows: Use the Built-In Remote Desktop ConnectionWindows users have a ton of options, but we really like Windows' built-in Remote Desktop Connection for its Windows integration, high level of control, and the fact that it doesn't require any additional software to set up. Note that you'll need Windows Professional or higher for this feature to be available—Windows Home and Home Premium users will have to try one of the alternatives listed below—but that's usually pretty easy to get at a low price. Here's how to use it to access your Windows computer from another Windows machine. Note that if you only want to access it from the inside of the network, you can just perform the steps in Option One, ignoring the first step of downloading and setting up Hamachi. Just fire up Remote Desktop, type in the name of the computer you want to access, and connect. Option One: Connect to Your Home Network with HamachiHamachi is a simple program that sets up a Virtual Private Network, or VPN, in just a few clicks. When you take your laptop out and about and you connect to your VPN with Hamachi, your computer acts as if its on your home network, which means you can access your other computers hassle-free—no need to forward ports or remember complicated IP addresses. It requires installing a separate program, but it's a program we recommend you have anyway—in fact, you shouldn't be using public wi-fi without it, since it keeps all of your data safe from prying eyes. Here's how to use it in conjunction with Windows Remote Desktop.
That's it! From now on, you should be able to connect to your home computer any time by starting up Hamachi, connecting to your VPN, and repeating steps 2 through 4. Remember that you need Hamachi running on your home computer and the computer you're connecting with, so your best bet is to let it start up with Windows and run in the system tray. Option Two: Forward the Ports On Your RouterYour second option is to forward the ports on your router so that you directly connect to your home computer from the internet. It takes a bit more initial setup, but you don't need to install any extra software. That said, if you're going to be browsing on public wi-fi, we recommend using Hamachi to secure your browsing anyway, so Option One is your best bet—but if you're going to use Remote Desktop from a friend's house or other secure location, you can use this method if you want.
From now on, you can connect to your home computer just by repeating steps 4 and 5. There are no advantages to this method beyond not having to install Hamachi—they both run at about the same speed and the experience is otherwise identical once you connect. As you can see, Remote Desktop requires a bit more initial setup than something like TeamViewer (see section 3 of this guide), but it's really worth it for the speed and great Windows integration it brings you. Not only does it match the resolution of your remote computer, so it really feels like you're using that machine—but you can copy and paste text or files just by pressing Ctrl+C as normal in the Remote Access window, then pressing Ctrl+V to paste them onto your current computer. I also recommend you check out the options available in the Remote Desktop Connection program—you can choose how much of your display to show, whether to show high quality graphics, which hard drives to share, share your printer, and lots more. Its main downsides are that it isn't exactly the prettiest option, and that it doesn't support multiple monitors at all. The resolution thing might also be a downside for some. I like it because it makes it feel more like the computer's in front of me, but it will resize all your windows to fit the new resolution and you'll have to fix them once you get home. I recommend you give both Remote Desktop and TeamViewer a try, because they're almost equally good in my opinion (though they each have their own strengths and weaknesses). Other Windows to Windows ProgramsAs I said above, you should definitely try TeamViewer as described in the cross platform section below—it's just as good as Remote Desktop, and if you have multiple monitors, it's going to probably be even better. It'll require a bit more setup (like creating a TeamViewer account and installing some software), but it's worth it. Remote Desktop seems to be a bit more responsive when typing and clicking, though TeamViewer seems much smoother when it comes to moving around windows. Give them both a try and see which one you like better. Other popular options for Windows include screen sharing clients like UltraVNC, which was one of your favorite remote desktop clients in our Hive Five. TightVNC is also popular (and available on Linux), though UltraVNC is a bit more feature-filled. Both clients let you access your computer from any web browser as well, which is nice, but they're also a bit more complicated than Remote Desktop or TeamViewer. You can check out our how-to for TightVNC here. Mac to Mac: Use the Built-In Screen SharingOS X has a pretty great Screen Sharing feature built right into the OS, and you can use it to access any Mac from another Mac in no time at all. Here's how to use it. Note that if you only want to access it from the inside of the network, you can just perform the steps in Option One, ignoring the first step of downloading and setting up Hamachi. Just fire up Finder, navigate to the computer you want to access, and click Share Screen. Option One: Connect to Your Home Network with HamachiHamachi is a simple program that sets up a Virtual Private Network, or VPN, in just a few clicks. When you take your laptop out and about and you connect to your VPN with Hamachi, your computer acts as if its on your home network, which means you can access your other computers hassle-free—no need to forward ports or remember complicated IP addresses. It requires installing a separate program, but it's a program we recommend you have anyway—in fact, you shouldn't be using public wi-fi without it, since it keeps all of your data safe from prying eyes. Here's how to use it in conjunction with OS X's Screen Sharing.
That's it! From now on, you should be able to connect to your home computer any time by starting up Hamachi, connecting to your VPN, and repeating 3. Remember that you need Hamachi up and running on your home computer for this to work, so don't forget to start it up before you leave the house! Option Two: Forward the Ports On Your RouterYour second option is to forward the ports on your router so that you directly connect to your home computer from the internet. It takes a bit more initial setup, but you don't need to install any extra software. That said, if you're going to be browsing on public wi-fi, we recommend using Hamachi to secure your browsing anyway, so Option One is your best bet—but if you're going to use Remote Desktop from a friend's house or other secure location, you can use this method if you want.
From now on, you can connect to your home computer just by repeating step 4. There are no advantages to this method beyond not having to install Hamachi—they both run at about the same speed and the experience is otherwise identical once you connect. Screen Sharing is really, really simple to set up, but it isn't without a few downsides. Namely, you can't share files directly between your remote computer and the one you're currently using. Of course, you could just use something like Dropbox to work around this problem, but it's kind of annoying. You can, however, copy text in one machine and paste it into the other, so that's at least nice. And, if you use screen sharing often, be sure to check out previously mentioned ScreenSharingMenulet for instant access to your machine from your menu bar. Other Mac to Mac ProgramsApple has a few other remote access options for you on OS X. iCloud's Back to My Mac is pretty similar to Screen Sharing, and is very easy to set up through iCloud—though we've found it to be a bit less reliable than the built-in Screen Sharing method. You can also check out Apple Remote Desktop, which lets you share files, run Automator scripts, and do a lot more advanced things—but for the somewhat high price of $79. Lastly, you also have the cross-platform TeamViewer, described below. It requires some extra software and creating an account with the TeamViewer service, but you'll get better file sharing features and quite a bit of control over your remote machine. If Screen Sharing isn't cutting it, TeamViewer is definitely worth a shot. If You're Accessing Your Computer Across Platforms: Use TeamViewerIf your home computer and remote computer run different platforms—say, if one's Windows and one's a Mac, or one's a Mac and one's Linux—you can use the awesome, cross-platform TeamViewer. It's pretty simple to set up, and has some very nice features. Here's how it works.
It really is that simple. Sure, it requires creating an account and downloading extra software, but it's pretty worth it. You can share files between machines (though not quite as easily as you can with Windows Remote Desktop), you can view multiple monitors, and configure advanced View settings to make it run as smoothly as possible. Even if you're trying to connect two Windows computers or two Macs, I'd still check out TeamViewer in addition to our platform-specific choices above—it's very good, and might offer you a few advantages over the other options. Note that TeamViewer also has an iPhone and Android app, if you want to connect from your phone, as well as a web client, if you're on a friend's computer and don't want to install any extra software on their machine. Other Cross Platform ProgramsTeamViewer isn't the only cross-platform option, but it is our favorite for its simplicity. LogMeIn is TeamViewer's closest competition, though its biggest strength is its $13 a month Pro version that adds things like drag-and-drop file transfer, file sync, and more. It's only accessible from a web browser and has a slightly more confusing set up, which is why we gave TeamViewer the edge. If you're connecting from a Windows computer to a Mac, you can use a screen sharing client like TightVNC or UltraVNC to connect to your Mac running the built-in Screen Sharing. Just download one of the clients and use the Hamachi method or the IP address you found in Method Two to connect. For more options, check out our guide on troubleshooting your family's computer from afar, as well as our Hive Five on the best remote desktop tools. That seems like a lot of information, but all of the above options are pretty darn simple to set up—you just have a lot of choices as to how you want to do it. What's your favorite way to connect to your computer remotely? Let us know what you prefer and why in the comments below.  |
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