Free Remote Access Tools For Windows and Mac Compared

snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Keith Schultz provides an in-depth comparison of seven free remote access tools for Windows, four of which offer compatibility with the Mac. 'As you read about each tool, you'll notice that I put a lot of emphasis on remote printing. I rely on remote access tools on a daily basis, and in most cases I need to be able to print to my remote PC. For someone that just wants to check their home/office email account or view documents from outside the office, all of the utilities here will work fine. But for those trying to get some serious work done, remote printing may be the deal breaker.' Many of the free tools under review offer paid or licensed versions for access to additional features."

Comments

They're all free!

[ProdigyPuNk]

...Unless you want something besides a demo version.

Many of the free tools listed here also have paid versions that offer additional features (such as support for remote printing) or licensing (extra host computers or clients). For some users, the paid version will be the only true option.

...and I was getting all excited, too. TBH, I switched to Linux a few months ago and remote administration/printing/etc is one of the pluses. It's great to be at school, think "Uh-oh, forgot that term paper," and be able to grab it off the desktop at home.

Re:They're all free!

[je ne sais quoi]

The whole reason I use macs at work is that it's underpinnings are unix so I can use all those great tools that I use on linux at home and on my computing clusters on the mac. So, my remote computing solution is fuse, sshfs, fink and X11.app on the mac side, and ssh. Works like a charm. I even have konqueror installed on my desktop mac so I can have a remote gui file browser.

lpr

[Hatta]

You shouldn't need any extra software to print remotely in OS X. Just cat a postscript file over SSH and into lpr on the remote machine.

Teamviewer is the bane of the computer guy

[alen]

i used to tell my mom who lives 2000 miles away "i don't know" or "I need to be there"

now i can have desktop access to her laptop over the internet. and for free

UltraVNC - Single Click

[ka9dgx]

I highly recommend using UltraVNC-SC. You configure it for your needs as a support person. The person you support has to run a small single EXE file, and you then have control over their machine. Quick and efficient access to someone's desktop to see what they see has made a vast improvement in my ability to support people for the past 5 years or so.

Missing: Obvious Windows Remote Access Tools

[Nova Express]

This article seems to be missing some of the most common, well-known remote access tools for Windows:

• Storm
• Conficker
• GUMBLAR
• Renos
• etc.

These are just a few of the very common tools used to remotely access Windows systems every day!