Remotely accessing your PC

[toscal]

I have been using Log me in for quite a while and now they are to stop the free service. Are there any alternatives or do I have to bite the bullet and subscribe to their service.
Did try once to use one of those managed DNS services, but I couldn't get it to work properly, so gave up and used Log Me In instead.

[Vangelis]

I have used RealVNC before..(http://www.realvnc.com). Depending on what you want to do the License is free.

Vangelis

[ee61re]

Try www.teamviewer.com

Rob

[BatterBits]

A lot depends on what you do with it!

Splashtop is a great modern alternative -with clients for smartphones and tablets, VNC (widely used in business) is a good system but can take a little effort to set up properly. There are several versions, including TightVNC UltraVNC and RealVNC being probably the most well known.

How many machines, running what operating systems are you connecting to, and from how many locations (and from what systems)do you need to connect?

How often?

What do you do when you are connected?

[toscal]

I use the remote connection as if I was in front of the remote machine. Often to answer emails that require an attachment that is on the remote PC, access spreadsheets, just normal day to day business stuff really.

[BatterBits]

I use the remote connection as if I was in front of the remote machine. Often to answer emails that require an attachment that is on the remote PC, access spreadsheets, just normal day to day business stuff really.

I'm guessing, that you probably use windows machines at both ends.

VNC is not difficult to set up, and will be your no-cost option. It will require you to get your hands dirty with your router in the UK - but again, not difficult, and I'm more than happy to help you get there. Whilst you still have LogMeIn access, have a look at the various flavours of VNC (Links below) and see which floats your boat, and meets your needs*. Install both the server and viewer on the UK machine, and have the server running as a service (it should prompt you during installation)

On your local machine, do the same - if you have both server and viewer, then you will also be able to reverse the process when you are in the UK and want to see the remote machine

Of course, this may not be the best approach for you. You might be better to consider keeping these files in "the cloud" so that you can access them as if they were local files, on both (all) computers. These days you can get 5GB or more free* on services such as Dropbox, Google drive, Skydrive and many, many others. That way, you can respond to emails locally, and attach files from the sync'd remote drive, as if they existed locally. You can open, or create excel compatible spreadsheets on Google docs for example, and edit them from the local machine - without worrying about making sure that the right copy of the file is in the right location. Having used both methods, I can confirm that it is a much more pleasant experience, than remotely accessing the PC in another country!

There are other options available if you have a huge amount of data you need to access, but we'll explore those if you feel that none of the above solutions suit your needs

*Note that all of these services offer "free" versions - most are for personal use - you need to check & decide whether you ought to stump up for commercial licensing. TightVNC and Google Docs/Drive will give you a cost free option

• Ultra VNC
• Tight VNC is also free for commercial use
• Real VNC
• Google Drive requires a free Gmail account, but I believe it is free also for business use. 15Gb initially, any documents stored in Google Docs format, don't count towards this total!
• DropBox
• Skydrive is Microsoft's offering
• OpenDrive

[BatterBits]

I use the remote connection as if I was in front of the remote machine. Often to answer emails that require an attachment that is on the remote PC, access spreadsheets, just normal day to day business stuff really.

I'm guessing, that you probably use windows machines at both ends.

VNC is not difficult to set up, and will be your no-cost option. It will require you to get your hands dirty with your router in the UK - but again, not difficult, and I'm more than happy to help you get there. Whilst you still have LogMeIn access, have a look at the various flavours of VNC (Links below) and see which floats your boat, and meets your needs*. Install both the server and viewer on the UK machine, and have the server running as a service (it should prompt you during installation)

On your local machine, do the same - if you have both server and viewer, then you will also be able to reverse the process when you are in the UK and want to see the remote machine

Of course, this may not be the best approach for you. You might be better to consider keeping these files in "the cloud" so that you can access them as if they were local files, on both (all) computers. These days you can get 5GB or more free* on services such as Dropbox, Google drive, Skydrive and many, many others. That way, you can respond to emails locally, and attach files from the sync'd remote drive, as if they existed locally. You can open, or create excel compatible spreadsheets on Google docs for example, and edit them from the local machine - without worrying about making sure that the right copy of the file is in the right location. Having used both methods, I can confirm that it is a much more pleasant experience, than remotely accessing the PC in another country!

There are other options available if you have a huge amount of data you need to access, but we'll explore those if you feel that none of the above solutions suit your needs

*Note that all of these services offer "free" versions - most are for personal use - you need to check & decide whether you ought to stump up for commercial licensing. TightVNC and Google Docs/Drive will give you a cost free option

• Ultra VNC
• Tight VNC is also free for commercial use
• Real VNC
• Google Drive requires a free Gmail account, but I believe it is free also for business use. 15Gb initially, any documents stored in Google Docs format, don't count towards this total!
• DropBox
• Skydrive is Microsoft's offering
• OpenDrive

HTH

Regards,

Ian