What is the best software for Remote Desktop operation?

[ardi]

Some of the computers I want to connect to are not running XP Pro, so the built-in Remote Desktop won't work. I would really appreciate your experience with the programs out there before I have to find all the problems the hard way.

[prx984]

well, right now, i use remote desktop because i find it to be the best for what i need. but when i need to connect to a computer thats not running XP, i use pcAnywhere. that program is pretty good. iv got versions 8, 10 and 11. they all work good, but 11 by far is the best. i use 10 on an old laptop with win 98, and 11 on a few XP machines. i beleive the latest version is 11.5, but im not going to bother upgrading to it just yet, 10 and 11 work perfectly fine for me.

theres a few other remote control programs such as these, but i find pcAnywhere and the built in one to XP the best.

[jaclaz]

You can use either Tightvnc:

http://www.tightvnc.com/

or Ultravnc/Ultravnc sc:

http://ultravnc.sourceforge.net/index.html

http://ultravnc.sourceforge.net/addons/singleclick.html

http://sc.uvnc.com/index.php?section=12

Unlike PC Anywhere they are Free.

jaclaz

[prx984]

...

that looks like pretty decent software, im going to give it a try.

[Jeremy]

I'm using UltraVNC is it is awesome. To connect to my PC from work, I only need the vncviewer.exe. It may not be as fast as Remote Desktop, but it works. I don't like that Remote Desktop requires a user account and it locks up the PC it is connecting to.

[Zxian]

UltraVNC is also my non-XP-Pro remote administration tool of choice. It's simple to set up, and it works. Just be sure to install the Video Hook driver to get decent speed.

[awilliamson]

I'm a big fan of PcAnywhere. Used version 9 through 12, and in my opinion, 12 is the best out there. Remote connections are shown in tabbed browse window, and it's easy to transfer files, as well as modify registry/running processes on the PC.

[ardi]

UltraVNC looked good, and it works with XP Home edition, but it seems to me that it has some of the defects of XP's Remote Desktop: you have to know the IP, plus you have to set up and maintain the router ports. One of the problems I was having was that ISP's (especially AT&T's DSL service) change IPs a lot--sometimes daily. Big pain, when you don't have a permanent IP. Basically, every time someone has a problem you fail to connect then have to troubleshoot. I'm getting too old for that.

Another one (free) that I'm looking at is LogMeIn. The UI sucks, documentation is poor, and I've screwed up my accounts already, BUT, when you get used to it. it does all the necessary stuff. All the remote computer has to have is a browser. No router settings to deal with, no IP's to know. I don't yet know about speed and other surprises down the road, so I'd like to hear from others about it.

Big thanks to all who have responded so far

ardi

[colinbate]

We use dame ware here as you can install it over the network onto remote PC.

Regards

Colin Bate

[ardi]

I looked at Dameware this morning. Didn't get past the price ($100's). I'm just the family's system admin, not doing this for commercial reasons.

[Zxian]

To solve ALL your problems with IPs, port forwarding, and other crap like that - install Hamachi. It's small, simple, and your IP never changes. You can even access the other computers by their computer name.

[mackay]

To solve ALL your problems with IPs, port forwarding, and other crap like that - install Hamachi. It's small, simple, and your IP never changes. You can even access the other computers by their computer name.

Seconding this. Hamachi is great. For the actual remote desktop access though I reccomend what has now become Hamachi's sister program, Logmein Free. It's free, it works ridiculously well even behind a firewall, and its web based so you can access it from whereever. I definitely think it's worth a look.

[drei22]

UltraVNC looked good, and it works with XP Home edition, but it seems to me that it has some of the defects of XP's Remote Desktop: you have to know the IP, plus you have to set up and maintain the router ports. One of the problems I was having was that ISP's (especially AT&T's DSL service) change IPs a lot--sometimes daily. Big pain, when you don't have a permanent IP. Basically, every time someone has a problem you fail to connect then have to troubleshoot. I'm getting too old for that.

Another one (free) that I'm looking at is LogMeIn. The UI sucks, documentation is poor, and I've screwed up my accounts already, BUT, when you get used to it. it does all the necessary stuff. All the remote computer has to have is a browser. No router settings to deal with, no IP's to know. I don't yet know about speed and other surprises down the road, so I'd like to hear from others about it.

Big thanks to all who have responded so far

ardi

The only problem I have with Logmein is that I do file transfers between machines quite often. Remote Desktop and UltraVNC do this for free. Logmein will do this for $12.95 a month!.Being a Techy setting up port forwarding and what not is a non-issue for me. DYNDNS.com takes care of the IP issue by assigning a FQDN to your IP (for free) and you can use a desktop client to check for IP changes. If it changes the FQDN just updates to the new IP on the fly. Also in once UltraVNC is installed you can enable the Java web interface to access the desktop via web browser much like Logmein does except that I can transfer files and even record the live VNC session for training purposes all for free.

But I must agree for the non-technical Logmein will do the job. But I still love my UltraVNC it even makes dial-up remote access feel more responsive than what it really is.