Access PC remotely from anywhere in the world through internet

Review of GoToMyPC.com

URL :- http://www.gotomypc.com/

Reviewer's Comments - This site offers the unique service of enabling one to access his/her PC remotely from anywhere in the world through the net. So the next time you are in a far away place and suddenly discover that you need some important documents which are in your home or office PC, you can access your machine through the net and retrieve your files. This service is being offered by ExpertCity.

How it works :- A person who wants to make his PC accessible from anywhere should first install a software (1.4 Mb) which can be downloaded from the site. This software runs as a service on the host machine. The next time when he want to access it remotely from a different place, he has to go the GoToMyPC.com site, login and access it. The calls made to the host machine are routed through the site's server. The server has a servlet engine which creates the dynamic web pages which give the image of the host machine. One can see the desktop, open applications, type text etc and all these would be performed on the host machine while the person gets the impression of actually working on the host machine.

This is similar to the Remote Control Option which system administrators use except that no software needs to be installed on the client. All that a person would need on the client side is a standard browser and an internet connection.

The technology works well with existing firewalls and Internet Infrastructure. One does not have to change or open ports or configure IP addresses. The security features include an SSL encrypted web site, end-to-end 128 bit encryption of the data stream, key board and mouse input and multiple passwords among other things.

During a session, only the screen image of the host computer is transferred and it is updated only when it changes. The data is also highly compressed. Because of this the user will not experience the lag time associated with other remote access solutions.

Notes :-
1. The host machine has to be connected to the internet for a person to be able to access it remotely.
2. For efficient file transfer, there should be a high speed connection on both ends.
3. There is an option to make the host computer's screen go black when you are accessing it so that the folks at home do not get nervous when the mouse pointer starts moving and text starts appearing automatically on it's own when the machine is being accessed remotely.
4. This is not a free service. There are different flavors available for single host, multiple host and corporate business needs. Note however that you will be billed on a pay-as-you-use basis.
5. For detailed documentation on the security issues, comparison to similar products etc, one can go through the white papers published at the site.
6. There is also a trial version available for free download, so that prospective clients can review the product before buying it.
7. Right now, the service requires Windows on both ends, though the company is going to release versions for Mac, Solaris etc so that the service will become truly "Cross Platform".