Do you know that one application that you use over and over again? For me that application is website based Logmein.com. Put simply Logmein.com has been my primary remote access solution for the last five years and it’s 100% free. Sure you can buy the professional version but honestly I haven’t seen a need. In all honesty I feel guilty using the service for free and have recommended to them via email that they should at least have a minimal charge of say around $4.99 per month. But to their credit the free service has not changed in scope or quality.
They even have a free iPad and iPhone application which works remarkably well.
The installation and configuration are simple. You quickly create an account and download a small application for the computer to be remotely accessed. The application runs automatically when Windows starts up and this makes the computer available for remote control by the account owner. Now the next time you login to Logmein.com you will see the computers that are on and ready to be remotely accessed.
One last note, the application makes a connection to the Logmein.com servers from inside your network so this effectively opens a tunnel in your firewall. This is a good thing because it means there is no need to mess around with opening ports or setting up a DMZ on the router.
I for one have this installed on my father and mothers computers so I can help them with the occasional issue or to load software. I also load it on my home computer so I can remote in when I’m out-of-town on business.
All in all, I give Logmein.com 5 out of 5 stars.