Program for working via remote access. How to establish remote access to a computer: three simple ways. Remote access to a computer in AnyDesk

Remote Access: Comparison Tables

Remote administration programs have always been popular. After all, it is very convenient to see what is being done on the computer while being in a completely different place. You can remotely help your friends solve some technical problems, check what your child is doing when he is alone at home, see how the download is progressing in a torrent client or encoding a large video.

Since smartphones and tablets appeared in home local networks, along with computers and laptops, it has become obvious that the latter are incredibly convenient to use for remote control. If the data transfer speed is high enough, then why not play a game installed on your computer while lying on the couch with your tablet? Or, say, not watching an interesting film? In addition, current mobile devices can cope well with the usual tasks that are assigned to remote access programs.

On Google Play you can find more than a dozen applications that can be used to organize remote control of computers running Windows, Mac and Linux. Among them there are developments from well-known manufacturers of administration software, and programs created specifically for mobile devices. There are not many free solutions among them. In this review, we tested four applications that allow you to work remotely on your computer from an Android smartphone or tablet.

⇡Microsoft Remote Desktop

• Developer - Microsoft Corporation
• Size - 4.4 MB
• Price - free

Microsoft's proprietary utility for remotely controlling a computer with Android was released quite recently - at the end of October. Using the application, you can control a computer that runs on Windows 7 or Windows 8. Since we are dealing with a “native” solution from the developer of a desktop operating system, there is no need to install any client on it.

But in order to be able to connect, you still need to make some changes to the system settings: go to "Control Panels" to the “System” section and select “Remote access settings”. After this, you need to allow remote connections to the computer (by the way, if the built-in firewall is disabled, Windows will not allow you to enable remote access, so first you will have to start the corresponding service).

For authorization, the Microsoft Remote Desktop Android application uses the system username and password. If you are going to log in as an administrator, you do not need to perform any additional actions on your computer. To allow access to other users, you need to click on the “Select users” button and add them to the list of remote desktop users. It is also worth keeping in mind that if you do not use a password to log in, you must add it in the “User Accounts” section, since the remote connection will not work without a password. ( Please note that remote connection using Microsoft Remote Desktop is only possible to computers that support Remote Desktop Protocol - RDP. A list of systems that are compatible with this protocol is available at the link. — approx. edit . )

After completing this simple setup, you can download the Microsoft Remote Desktop application from Google Play and add a new connection.

Its settings indicate the IP address of the computer on the local network or its name. You can also, if desired, specify a username and password to log in (for security reasons, you can not specify them right away, but enter them right before connecting).

If the connection is successful, local work with the computer will be blocked and a login window will appear on it. If you log in locally, the remote connection will be lost. Thus, when connecting remotely, you can see the desktop only on the screen of your mobile device.

Once connected, the remote desktop is displayed on the device screen. There are two controls available at the top of the screen: buttons for displaying the Android virtual keyboard and for navigating the screen.

If you need to use keys that are not on the Android keyboard, you can open the additional settings panel by touching the panel with the connection name. From it you can go to the virtual keyboard with the keys F1-F12, Esc, Home, Tab, End, Win, Ins, Enter and others - standard for a regular desktop pointing device. When connecting remotely to a Windows 8 device, pressing the virtual Win key switches between the desktop and the Start screen.

From the advanced settings panel, you can also disable multi-touch gestures and switch to navigation mode using a regular cursor.

To end the remote connection session, simply double-tap the Back button on your Android device.

⇡ “Teamviewer - remote access”

• Developer - Teamviewer
• Size - 11 MB
• Price: Free for non-commercial use

Thanks to its free status (for non-commercial use) and simplicity, Teamviewer has long been one of the most popular remote administration solutions. With the advent of the era of mobile devices, applications were created to control computers running Android, iOS and Windows Phone.

To control your computer from a mobile device, you will need to install a PC client and an Android application. TeamViewer can connect to Windows, Mac and Linux computers.

If you do not plan to connect to other devices from your computer, it is most convenient to use TeamViewer QuickSupport. This module does not require installation or administrator rights. After launching it, a unique computer identifier (9 digits) is generated, as well as a four-digit password. The password can be updated if necessary.

Once this module is running, you can open the mobile application. Mobile Teamviewer can operate in two modes: remote control and file transfer. In both cases, you will need to enter an ID and password on the screen of your smartphone or tablet to connect to the computer.

If a remote connection was requested, then after a successful connection, the computer desktop will appear on the device screen. It will also be visible on the computer monitor screen, but the resolution will be changed in accordance with the screen settings of the mobile device.

To ensure convenient work with the remote desktop, the creators of TeamViewer have developed a whole system of controls. Tips for using your fingers to navigate are shown before you connect, and can also be shown at any time during a remote work session. Thus, using your fingers you can scroll, imitate clicks of the right and left mouse buttons, move the cursor and individual objects.

The TeamViewer control panel is located at the bottom of the screen. With its help, you can quickly end a session, send a remote computer to reboot, or block it. In addition, for the duration of a remote connection session, you can prohibit local work with the computer. If you have problems displaying the remote desktop, you can try reducing the resolution, data transfer quality, and also hiding the display of wallpaper in the mobile client settings. These options can be selected for an individual connection or globally.

The Control Panel also gives you the ability to quickly display a virtual keyboard. In addition to the Android keyboard, you can also work with additional keys: turn on Ctrl, Alt, Shift, use the F1-F12 keys and others.

In file transfer mode, you can see the file system of the remote computer and copy files from your PC to your mobile device or vice versa.

The TeamViewer mobile client remembers the IDs of the computers to which the connection was made, but if there are many remote PCs, it is more convenient to use the “Computers and Contacts” section to manage them. To do this, you will need to create a Teamviewer account (you can do this from either a mobile device or a computer). Then you can create groups in it and add identifiers (and, if desired, passwords) of computers to which you need to connect.

• Developer: Splashtop
• Size - 18 MB
• Price - free (expanded functionality - $1.99 per month)

Splashtop Remote is another free app that lets you from an Android device You can control a computer running Windows, Mac and Linux. It uses a slightly different distribution model than Teamviewer. The program is free for non-commercial use, but to use some additional features it is suggested to purchase an extension. Paid options include: access to a remote computer via the Internet (for free, you can control it only over a local network) and tools for conveniently creating annotations on the screen. The free version also has a limit on the number of computers you can connect to - up to five.

A Splashtop account is required to use the app. You can create it either in the mobile application or in the Splashtop Streamer client for the desktop system. To connect, as you might guess, you need to log in on both devices using your account. After this, the mobile client will detect computers that are available for connection, and you can open a remote control session.

In the mobile client settings, you can even enable automatic connection at startup. In this case, the list of available computers will not be displayed and the application will connect to the device for which the last remote connection session was performed.

By default, you do not need to enter any additional passwords, but if you are concerned about unauthorized access, you can enable the desktop client settings to require a password for the current Windows account. In addition, it is proposed to use a security code, that is, simply put, a password that will need to be entered each time to connect.

Some security settings, which in other solutions are available in mobile applications, are offered in Splashtop to be configured in the desktop client. For example, you can disable the display of your desktop on the local computer screen during a remote communication session. You can also block the use of the keyboard and mouse, and initiate logging out of your account upon completion of remote work.

One of the features of Splashtop is the transfer of HD video with sound to a mobile device. Thanks to this, you can, for example, watch a movie on your tablet that is running on your computer, or play a computer game remotely. At the user's request, during a remote communication session, Splashtop can transmit sound only to a mobile device (it will not be heard locally), not transmit sound (it will be heard locally), or broadcast it both there and there.

When connecting remotely, the screen resolution on the computer does not change, and - unless otherwise specified in the client settings - you can continue to work on the local PC. To control the desktop of an Android computer, there are a number of gestures (tips on how to use them are offered for beginners), as well as a touchpad.

You can control cursor settings by changing sensitivity and movement speed. On a mobile device, you can view your computer desktop in its original resolution or scale it to fit a small screen.

• Developer: Wyse Technology Inc.
• Size - 11 MB
• Price: Free (with some restrictions)

Another free solution that allows you to remotely access your computer desktop is PocketCloud. However, it is not suitable for Linux users - the desktop version only supports computers with Mac or Windows. The mobile client is free for use with only one computer. To remove this limitation, as well as to get some additional features, you need to purchase PocketCloud Remote Desktop Pro.

One of the strengths of the application is the ability to choose the type of connection. By default, the simplest method is used, which does not require any technical knowledge from the user - through Google App Engine. In this case, you'll need to enter your Google account information in both the desktop client and the mobile app. After this, the computer will appear in the list of available devices on the mobile screen - and you can start a connection session to it.

For advanced users, PocketCloud offers two more remote connection options - through the RDP protocol, which is used in Windows, and also through the popular VNC system. In both cases, you will need to enter the IP address of the computer you want to connect to.

After connecting, a special navigation element appears on the mobile device screen near the cursor - a wheel with various functions. It is convenient to use when you need to right-click, zoom in on a specific area of ​​the screen, scroll, or display a virtual keyboard.

The mobile client settings provide a number of settings to improve the quality of image transmission. So, you can disable menu animation, themes, wallpapers, and high-quality fonts.

⇡ Conclusion

Almost all developers of applications for remote computer control provide their programs free of charge for non-commercial use. And we must admit that for ordinary tasks the proposed functions are quite sufficient. Each of the applications is attractive in some way: to work with Microsoft Remote Desktop you do not need to install additional software on your computer, Splashtop Remote provides audio transmission to a mobile device, PocketCloud is interesting because it offers several connection options. Finally, Teamviewer looks the most attractive, since it has a separate mode for transferring files, can work both on a local network and via the Internet, and does not impose restrictions on the number of computers to which you can connect.

Ammyy Admin allows you to instantly gain access to any computer connected to the Internet (with the owner’s permission, of course). The program is extremely easy to use, it does not require installation and is not divided into client and server parts. That is, to connect to a remote computer, you only need its owner to launch the program, tell you its identifier on the Ammyy Admin server and the security code. Everything is extremely simple and convenient.

Once you have access to your computer, you can control the mouse and keyboard, launch and work with installed programs, and so on. In addition, Ammyy Admin allows you to carry out voice chat and exchange files; it does not require setting up a firewall or having a real IP. The application works correctly even with a slow connection and provides a decent level of security when working. With all the functionality offered, it is difficult to believe that the program is free.

Key Features and Functions

• the program is portable and small in size;
• uses advanced algorithms to encrypt the connection;
• has a built-in voice client;
• allows you to share large files;
• supports Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol.