Best remote access programs free and paid.

Best Remote Access Software free and paid.

Are you in search of the best remote access software to provide online PC support to your friends and family over the Internet? If yes, then you have come to the right place.

There are many remote access programs free and paid, available in the market. The free or paid version, which is best for you, will depend on your requirements. For your personal use, a free version may be sufficient. The free version is for those who are looking to connect their own devices, or just help a friend or a family member with a simple technical issue on their computers. However, for professional purposes, you may need advanced features and support that you otherwise wouldn’t find with free versions

Here in this article, I am going to review the 6 best remote access software out there in the market to help the users decide which one will better serve their purpose to provide online PC support to their friends and family over the Internet.

How remote access programs help

The remote assistance software has great value for making remote PC connections for client support purposes. This software lets your clients at the other end sit back and watch you fix their computer issues from a remote location. If you plan to start your own IT support company then, in addition to all the necessary arrangements regarding the development of teams of technicians, you will require one such remote software free or paid, which would help you to provide effective support services to your remote clients over the internet. Third-party software that can connect to another remote computer over the internet is, therefore, a perfect solution for any company interested in providing high-quality and cost-effective online PC support to their clients at any remote location.

You can also provide online remote assistance to your relatives living in distant places for PC repair solutions by simply taking over control of their computers by using one of these remote assistance software. You can fix the computer problems of your friends and relatives with the help of these applications, by working on their PCs as if you are sitting in front of the machine. For this, you need not have to make any phone call to the other end to dictate ‘do-it-yourself steps’ for fixing their issues.

The brief descriptions of 6 of the best remote access programs out in the market given below would help you to select a suitable program to access your friends, family, or clients’ remote PC over the internet to extend your help.

6 Best remote access software for providing online support

Team Viewer

Team Viewer is one of the best remote access software offering remote control solutions introducing and improving new features all the time. The software comes with paid subscriptions and is also available to everyone completely free of charge for personal non-commercial use.

This remote access software is very easy to use without worrying about firewalls and IP addresses. The moment the software is launched for remote assistance purposes it generates a user ID and password for a particular session. If you are to provide online PC support to your friend’s remote computer over the internet, all you have to do is to ask him/her to install and launch this software on his/her computer and generate a session-specific ID and password for you. You get this ID and password combination over the phone or e-mail from your friend and enter the same in the Team Viewer launched on your PC. In seconds you can see the screen of the computer of your friend and take full control of it to give any online assistance, fix problems, or show him/her how to resolve an issue, which is much easier than explaining the same over the phone. Its features are great, the interface is fine and it supports Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS platforms.

You can sign up for a free TeamViewer account for non-commercial use as long as you want, with no fixed limit on the number of machines or users.

Subscription-based plans start with a Business plan for a single user, who can install the software on three devices and connect to an unlimited number of customers or clients.

Chrome Remote Desktop

Chrome Remote Desktop is one of the most user-friendly remote desktop software. This free remote assistance software allows a user to remotely control another computer through a proprietary protocol developed by Google. If you want to offer remote technical support to your friends and family or access your work computer from home (or vice versa), this tool is worth a look. It is quick to set up, easy to use, and provides a stable connection between remote computers.

Chrome Remote Desktop is an add-on extension to Google Chrome Browser which can be quickly installed. You can install the add-on extension from this site following the instructions, which are fairly simple and intuitive. You need a Google account to use the system.

It is a free remote access software for both personal and commercial use and is available on all major platforms, including Windows, Mac, Chromebooks, Android, iOS, and Linux. It allows any computer that uses Chrome as a browser to become a host.

 Go To My PC

With GoToMyPC software, you can connect a remote PC over the internet, which has a net connection and any web browser. The program is very easy to set up and can be started in minutes, even by novice users. Once GoToMyPC is installed on your computer, you can access a remote PC connection from any device via the online portal. Just press Connect, and your files, applications, and network will appear as if you were sitting right in front of your computer.

GoToMyPC just works – whether you’re working from another office, a hotel, or even a public computer.  GoToMyPC integrates with any existing network and security infrastructure. With features like screen-sharing viewer, drag-and-drop file transfer, remote printing, guest invite, and active connectivity monitoring, you can stay truly flexible with GoToMyPC.

GoToMyPC can be set up and running in just a few clicks. It’s also been highly praised for its intuitive interface and ease of use. If you ever need more help, free customer support is available 24/7.

You can also use the app on your iPhone by downloading it from the App Store. Once signed in to the app, use your iPhone to connect to the host computer that’s already set up and available online.

With this remote assistance software, you have the freedom to handle work from home or operate your home PC from the workplace. This program, which is one of the best remote software, operates on all operating system platforms and has many additional useful features also for professional users.

It is not freeware and you can pay on a monthly basis or buy an Annual Plan and save 20 percent.

Zoho Assist 

Zoho Assist is one of the most affordable, yet comprehensive remote access pograms. It provides a simple user interface to connect to remote computers. Zoho Assist is a cloud-based remote support software that allows you to provide support to your friends or clients from a distance and manage remote computers located anywhere in the world. With this software, you can start a remote support session, be it attended or unattended, pretty quickly. Zoho Assist is a multi-platform software that works for Windows, Mac, and mobile devices.

To initiate an instant remote support session, you are to send an invitation from the app to your clients to join the session or share the invitation URL with your remote clients.  You will be instantly connected to your friends’ or clients’ computers as soon as they accept the invitation or click the URL. Apart from secure and easy access to a remote computer, Zoho Assist offers you loads of features like File Transfer, Text, Voice, and Video Chat, accessing a client’s unattended remote computer, and more.

The software offers a 15-day trial with all its enterprise features. After 15 days, Zoho Assist remains free for personal use. With a free plan, you can start an on-demand remote support session and also configure and connect to unattended devices.

RemotePC

RemotePC allows you to access and manage your distant computers anytime, from any device given that your computer has an active internet connection and the RemotePC application is already installed on it. This program is very easy to configure for remote access for connecting to remote computers from anywhere. With this program, you can log in to your office or home computer from anywhere, manage your files, and work on your computer as if you are sitting in front of it. You can also invite a workmate to access your computer for any online assistance.

RemotePC is a multi-platform software that can access remote computers from Windows, Mac, Linux, and even from iPhone/iPad or Android devices. Apart from secure and easy access to a remote computer, the program offers several features like file transfer, sending and receiving chat messages, remote printing, and many more.

RemotePC is the best remote desktop solution for the money. Its prices are very reasonable for individuals right up to large businesses – and especially once you hit the Business Tier. Where many remote access software providers still limit business accounts to a certain number of users, RemotePC has unlimited users at a very affordable price.
All pricing tiers get a strong support system through phone, chat, and email. The top tier gets 24/7 remote support, but everyone gets video conferencing, remote rebooting, and full web accessibility – so there’s no need to install anything if you don’t want to. If you are seeking an affordable remote access solution you will find RemotePC a great choice.

LogMeIn

LogMeIn is one of the most reliable and easy-to-use remote assistance software to provide online PC support. LogMeIn provides solutions for all types of remote access needs like file transfer, file sharing, remote printing, and many more apart from technical support. Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone, and iPad devices are all supported by this program.

LogMeIn Pro & Central versions are best used for IT Professionals and Small Businesses while its ‘Rescue’ product is used for remote diagnosis and fixing computer problems.

Setting up LogMeIn can take a while, although a free online guide is provided by the company to help new users through the process. It will also show you how to add the host software to the computer you’ll need to access remotely, and how to commence remote control once it’s all set up.

LogMeIn’s plans start at $349.99/year and all the plans include the core features – remote computer access and remote printing, for unlimited users.

Best remote assistance software for small business

As per reviewers from small businesses three best remote access software are,

i. RemotePC, which has an easy-to-use web browser interface and uses top-notch cloud technology to deliver class-leading remote access;

ii. Zoho Assist, which  provides specialized remote support and access plans designed to streamline workflow;

iii. TeamViewer, which is a leading global provider of remote connectivity solutions. The company offers secure remote access, support, and control, for online endpoints of any kind and enables businesses of all sizes to tap into their full digital potential. It allows you to access a PC using multiple devices remotely.

Frequently asked questions

Now that I have given the details about the best remote access programs out there in the market let me also answer some of the related questions you may often hear:

Is Remote Desktop better than TeamViewer?

Comparatively, TeamViewer is much easier to set up than Remote Desktop. Its features are great and the interface is fine. TeamViewer is also great for giving any online assistance, fixing problems, or showing how to resolve an issue to your friends and family members in need of computer help.

Can you transfer files with Chrome Remote Desktop?

Yes, you can transfer files with Chrome Remote Desktop using Google Drive. To do this just open Google Drive, and drop the files you want to transfer, into it. Next, open the Drive on your remote computer, and pull the files out of it.

Conclusion

Now that you know all about the best remote access software available in the market, next time your near and dear ones from anywhere in the world call you up asking for online PC support or when you look for a comprehensive remote solution for your businesses, it is hoped that the description of the features of some of the best remote assistance software given in this post should come in handy for you to choose the right program. Your best option depends on how you plan to use the software.

Free remote access programs are excellent for one-off situations or personal use while premium software is better for businesses offering remote customer support, for a work-from-home environment, or when there is the need to access files from other devices.