While they aren’t difficult to use, the biggest shortcoming of the built-in tools is that they need to be configured by the person on the other end. As such, people are comfortable using them–they’re right at hand, free, and supplied by the company they trust enough to run their entire computer. Operating System-Based Remote Desktop: Old School and Baked Inīoth Windows and Mac OS have had remote desktop solutions built in for ages. Keeps your needs (and the abilities of the people you’re helping with the remote desktop) in mind as you read through the features. Do you need on-the-go access from your mobile device? If so, a good mobile client is a must. Do you need unattended access? A solution that requires someone at the remote PC is no good if nobody is home. Is the solution just for your own use or for helping friends and relatives? Just because you’re tech savvy and can easily configure things doesn’t mean they will. Let’s take a look at each category now and highlight the benefits, shortcomings, and differences.Īs we run through the features of the different remote desktop solutions, keep a few important questions in mind. Each of these solution categories offers something of value depending on your needs. Rather that simply throw a laundry list of remote desktop solutions at you, we’ve opted to group them into two major categories: operating-system-based remote desktop solutions, provided by the same company behind your operating system, and third-party remote desktop clients. RELATED: How to Lock Down TeamViewer for More Secure Remote Access

Fortunately, there’s practically as many ways to set up a remote desktop session as there are motivations for doing so. After the recent flurry of news stories regarding TeamViewer and compromised computers (you can read their press release here and our article about properly securing TeamViewer here), there’s been quite a bit of interest in alternative remote desktop programs.

Chrome remote desktop performance