There are a number of ways to securely gain access to your computer from a remote location. You can purchase licenses for remote control software like GoToMyPC or PCAnywhere. You can use some flavor of VNC such as RealVNC, TightVNC, UltraVNC, etc. (the free VNC servers aren’t secure by default, but there are ways to use SSH to make them secure). Or you can use LogMeIn.
The free version of LogMeIn, cleverly named “LogMeIn Free”, allows you to connect to your Windows PC’s securely without having to open any additional ports in any firewalls, including the firewall in front of the PC you’re trying to control.
How? You first have to install the LogMeIn software onto the PC’s you’d like to be able to reach remotely. Once installed the LogMeIn services on those remote PC’s communicate with the LogMeIn server using a typical SSL connection(port 443) . Most firewalls allow SSL traffic through so no additional holes need to be punched to handle this LogMeIn traffic.
No software needs to be installed on the computer being used to reach the remote target. Everything is done through a web browser. For performance reasons you’ll probably want to install the IE (ActiveX) or Firefox plugins, but they aren’t necessary.
Once you’ve logged into your LogMeIn account you’ll see a list of all of your computers which have an active SSL connection to the LogMeIn server. Just pick one of those computers, tell the website that you want to initiate a Remote Control session, and away you go.
You’ll still need to supply credentials to log into a local account on the remote computer. If you don’t have any accounts with passwords where you install the LogMeIn service the installer will ask you for a password that you’ll use to connect remotely. That’s how LogMeIn guarantees security — the LogMeIn servers know how to reach your remote computers but they don’t know the passwords for the local account.
Using the LogMeIn servers as an intermediary the remote control session is established. The remote computer is talking to the LogMeIn servers using normal SSL traffic, and you are talking to the LogMeIn servers using normal SSL traffic. No additional holes need to be opened to allow the traffic through on either the local or remote computers. And although the remote computer needs to be running Windows, the controlling computer doesn’t. It just needs to be capable of running a modern browser.
The non-free tools offered by LogMeIn give you additional capabilities but for normal remote-control capabilities the free version works just fine. Give it a shot.
Edit: Be sure to read my post comparing CrossLoop and LogMeIn Free here
7 responses so far ↓
1 CrossLoop — a Simple Remote-Control Solution // Jan 28, 2007 at 1:19 pm
[...] Have you ever been in a situation where you needed to remote-control someone else’s PC? Maybe you’re the family “go-to” guy when it comes to computer problems. Maybe you’re a tech-support guy in your company. Maybe you’ve been in situations where it would just be easier to show someone how to do something rather than to try to explain how to do it. There are many ways to remote-control a user’s PC but few are as simple to set up as CrossLoop and LogMeIn Free. I’ve already written an article on using LogMeIn Free so this time we’ll check out CrossLoop. [...]
2 CrossLoop vs. LogMeIn Free — a comparison of free remote desktop software // Feb 6, 2007 at 7:26 pm
[...] I’ve previously written articles on both of these solutions (you can read my article about the free version of LogMeIn here and my article about CrossLoop here). Since CrossLoop and LogMeIn overlap quite a bit in the functionality department I thought I’d take some time and note the differences between the two products. [...]
3 Murray // Dec 22, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Can Logmein (Free) be used on a server? If so does that affect other users of the network?
4 Ed // Dec 24, 2008 at 8:31 am
Hi, Murray.
You can use LogMeIn Free with both the Windows 2000 and 2003 flavors of Server. It won’t affect other services (or users) but you probably wouldn’t be able to have 2 different people accessing the server through LogMeIn at the same time. I’ve never tested that out, though.
Ed
5 Ted Weber // Dec 17, 2009 at 6:30 pm
I know there are many Remote Access choices out there, including Proxy Networks, TechInLine and CrossLoop, all of which have versions which are free with multiple security layers, user-friendly interfaces, and are lightweight on hard drives. Many are super simple to set up, and some, like Proxy, don’t require installation. Others include a mobile component, which isn’t good for day-to-day work (lots of scrolling), but can be a lifesaver in a pinch. The good thing about them is that there are a lot of choices (also check out Hamanchi and LogMeIn) that you gave use for free and try them out.
6 BrianTiller // Apr 20, 2010 at 9:53 am
I guess with VNC you need to open inbound TCP ports in the firewall for
remote access and this can compromise security. I always use specialized appliance like RHUB because I am bit concerned with security. It is on-premise hardware, so you have the protection of your firewall. In addition access is restricted by IP address; so, you don’t even need a VPN. Both SSL and advanced proprietary encryption are used for password and meeting ID protection. It supports both pc and mac users.
7 Eugene // Mar 29, 2013 at 9:09 am
This is also good.
The software works well, Ammyy Admin doesn’t require installation or specific config, works behind gateways NAT as well as within one LAN.
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