remote desktop posts

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Commercial, Mobile

WinAdmin: Remote Desktop on the iPhone

by Todd Ritter Oct 17th 2008

As an iPhone user who works on Windows servers daily, I decided to purchase the WinAdmin application ($11.99) which promised to provide remote desktop connectivity from my iPhone to supported Windows operating systems (XP, Vista, 2003, 2008). So far the app has worked as advertised. I have a list of servers with all the necessary login information saved (name, IP address, username, password, screen resolution) so that I simply have to launch WinAdmin and touch a server name to be connected to a remote desktop session on the server.

Navigating the remote desktop screen simply requires a finger drag. To click, tap your finger once or twice (for single or double of course). To right-click, tap your finger, then tap again and hold. WinAdmin supports connecting to the console session, and it supports sending Ctrl+Alt+Delete.

I have tested all of the connection methods: internal WiFi, external WiFi with VPN, 3G with VPN, and Edge with VPN. All of the connections worked fine, but as expected connecting to our Cisco VPN over Edge caused a bit of latency in the RDP session in WinAdmin. However, the latency was not enough to make the program unusable by any means. Now I'm able to sit in traffic and reset Active Directory passwords, or drink coffee at Panera Bread while I add a printer to our print server.

Tags: iPhone, RDC, RDP, remote access, remote desktop, RemoteAccess, RemoteDesktop

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Apple, Freeware

Todd's Favorite Mac Apps: CoRD

by Todd Ritter Oct 8th 2008

Since I often have to connect to Windows servers (or sometimes workstations) from my Mac laptop, CoRD is my RDP client of choice. CoRD is a free and open-source application for Mac that allows me to save multiple servers' connection information in the handy sidebar so that I can quickly start remote desktop connections.

CoRD lets me connect to multiple servers simultaneously while only taking up one window of screen real estate, or I can use windowed mode so that each connection has a dedicated window.

Tags: cord, favorite-apps, RDP, Remote Access, remote desktop, RemoteAccess, RemoteDesktop

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Beta

Crossloop: Remote Desktop for everyone.

by Robert Headley Jan 9th 2008

Crossloop is a remote desktop application with an easy to understand interface. You can literally get up and running in minutes without knowing a thing about ports or protocols.

There are other applications that will let you connect to another PC over ther internet like LogmeIn or VNC. But neither is as easy to use as Crossloop. Normally, remote desktop applications require that the host PC to run a server which can be complicated to set up, not so with Crossloop. The person needing assistance just installs crossloop and runs the main application, then goes to share, and gives the access code to whoever is helping them. That person then enters access code and all the difficult stuff is handled by the Crossloop server.

Crossloop recently created a social network, connecting people who have problems with people who want to fix them. You can even build up expertise, a type of karma system that reflects on how effective you are.

Tags: Beta, Crossloop, remote desktop, VNC

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Productivity

LogMeIn - now available for the Mac

by Christina Warren Dec 10th 2007

Being able to access one computer from another, via some sort of remote desktop utility is hardly a new development, Windows and Mac OS have included VNC clients with their operating systems for years. Being able to access a Windows computer from your Mac isn't even new -- the Windows Remote Desktop client is available for the Mac, and programs like TightVNC will allow Windows users to connect to a Mac running Tiger or Leopard, assuming the sharing preferences are configured correctly.

However, the downside to using a client-based VNC is that if you are on a trying to connect to a computer from a system that with access restrictions (say, a computer in an Internet cafe or in a school computer lab), you may not be able to access the necessary software to start the remote connection. That's where services like LogMeIn come in.

As long as your target computer has the LogMeIn client installed and is connected to the Internet, you can access that system from a different computer simply using your web browser. And although Mac users have been able to connect to Windows machine via LogMeIn for quite some time, the reverse was not true. Until now. Last week LogMeIn released the first full release of the LogMeIn client for the Mac. Right now, the free version of LogMeIn, which is sufficient for most home users, is available, and as the name implies, free. A free beta is also available for the LogMeIn Rescue (which is aimed at IT professionals or computer technicians, as it makes it easy to take control of a client's machine without having to pre-install software).

We wanted to check out how easy it would be to access a Mac from a web browser in Windows, we had Brad Linder login to Christina Warren's Mac (which is running Leopard 10.5.1). The results?

Tags: logmein, mac on windows, MacOnWindows, remote desktop, RemoteDesktop, vnc

Filed under: Business, Design, Developer, Internet, Productivity, Web services, P2P, Social Software

Yuuguu: Your computer anywhere

by Emily Price Oct 3rd 2007

Many of us work with people who aren't in the same area code, or even the same country. YuuGuu is a program designed to keep you connected and make sure you and your coworkers on the same page.

On the surface the program looks like your basic messaging client. Users all have to be registered with YuuGuu (there are plans to allow people who haven't downloaded the program), and you can send messages back in forth just as you would on AIM. YuuGuu takes being together a step further however by allowing you to instantly share what's on your desktop with users on your buddy list. You can also set up online meetings with your coworkers where you can all look at and interact with the same documents or applications at the same time. So you can show a client how a new program you're working on is going, or get a friend to check out some photo editing you're doing in PhotoShop.

If you need help with something you're working on you can give others control of your mouse and keyboard so they can work on your PC from wherever they are as if you were sitting beside each other. You can also use YuuGuu to remotely access your own computer, or any computer you've been given permission to access. Priceless for those late night "How do I send email" phone calls from mom.

YuuGuu is free, and is currently in beta.

Tags: messaging client, MessagingClient, online chat, OnlineChat, remote desktop, RemoteDesktop, web conference, WebConference

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Microsoft, Freeware

Microsoft releases Remote Desktop Connection 6.0

by Jordan Running Dec 1st 2006

Microsoft has released an update to its Remote Desktop software, a.k.a. Terminal Services Client. The new version 6.0 contains a number of interesting new features:

Network Level Authentication
Server authentication
Resource redirection
Terminal Services Gateway (TS Gateway) servers
TS Remote Programs
Multiple monitor spanning
32-bit color
Font smoothing

Network Level Authentication allows the user to be authenticated before the server starts up a full-blown Remote Desktop session, thereby saving resources, and "uses remote computer authentication that helps protect users from connecting to remote computers that are set up for malicious purposes," though I'm not entirely sure what that means. Server authentication "verifies that you are connecting to the correct remote computer or server. Resource redirection lets you use Plug and Play devices that support redirection over a Remote Desktop session. TS Gateway support "enables authorized users to connect to remote computers on a corporate network," which means that if you can connect to a remote PC from across the internet over port 443 (SSL), which isn't blocked by most firewalls. TS Remote Programs sounds pretty cool, essentially allowing you to run programs on your local machine that are installed on the remote machine. "The experience," says Microsoft, "is the same as running a program that is installed on the computer." The last three I think are pretty self-explanatory.

Remote Desktop Connection 6.0 is a free download from Microsoft, and doesn't require a WGA check.

Tags: free, freeware, microsoft, networking, remote desktop, RemoteDesktop, terminal services, TerminalServices

Filed under: Business, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Office, Productivity, Freeware

Emulate a KVM switch using software

by Jason Clarke Apr 7th 2006

Avi Dardik has a quick guide on how to set up a secondary PC using VNC (for multi-platform support) to act like a KVM switch and allow you to switch between active full-screen sessions on your host machine and a client machine at the tap of a hot-key. Although many may argue that using VNC software for this purpose is a pretty ugly hack, the reality is that this scenario is extremely common, and very fast on a local network.

The only thing I would add is that if I was going to set this up with strictly Windows PCs, I'd substitute Remote Desktop for VNC. Remote Desktop is simply so much faster and more efficient between Windows PCs that there's no reason not to. That is, of course, if you have XP Pro or a flavor of Windows Server for your "client" machine. XP Home won't allow you to make a Remote Desktop connection to it unprompted.

[image courtesy of Wikipedia]

Tags: kvm switch, KvmSwitch, remote desktop, RemoteDesktop, software kvm, SoftwareKvm, vnc, xp

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