RedDog Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Anyone have a suggestion on a low cost or free remote access solution that is also relatively easy to use for non-techie people? I was using Teamviewer, but over the last few days 'connection issues' have brought me to the conclusion that they may be limiting the number of connections for their free version. I provide tech support for familiy members as well as my father's business (all have multiple PCs on their lan). My father also uses Teamviewer to access files and programs between several of his business PCs (yeah, a license should probably be purchased for this). I am looking for an option for unattended servers as well as a relatively easy interface for them. The ability to share control for 'training' and troubleshooting is necessary. File transfer and text chat is a bonus, but not a must. In total, I would guess there is 5 client PCs. I would be doing the technical setup for them as well as maintaining the setup over time. Free is really nice, but paying software charge is ok. I would rather not be tied to a license. Anyway, if anyone has experience with a low-cost solution that they have found usable, I would appreciate any advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tthurman Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 VNC, perhaps Real VNC/Tight VNC, but none of them come without security concerns anymore....not even Teamviewer is 100%. This is much harder to achieve these days, with any sense of being sure it's secure anyhow. If you are running pro versions of windows, the remote desktop client can be forwarded to non-standard ports within your router as an alternative, but be sure to use really strong passwords, as many longstanding worms are out there hammering away at these connections constantly. Without getting into a VPN solution, I think you're going to have to determine what your level of risk is from the standpoint of how much of it you're willing to accept. I'll be watching this thread with interest, as I'd love to see an alternative to what I've had experience with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Speirs Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 UltraVNC worked well for me in the past as my preferred non paid VNC solution: http://www.uvnc.com If you don't want to bother with port mapping and want a similar solution as TeamViewer try: SplashTop. The business version is not free but its very cheap compared to TeamViewer. You can try it out for free. The features are the same in the free version, or were, its just you need to pay if you want to make easier and have multiple machines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedDog Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 Fortunately, Teamviewer was having an issue and they resolved it yesterday, so we are back in business (so to speak)...but it still makes me want to spend some time looking for alternatives in case they do add some restrictions to free accounts. Port mapping is something I would rather avoid if I can. It can be challenging to explain to non-techies what it is, what changes to make, as well as navigating router GUIs. I've heard of SplashTop. I will take a gander at it. I used RealVNC and UltraVNC a fair number of years ago for personal use. Maybe it is time to revisit them anyway to see what has changed. Thanks for the suggestions guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tthurman Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 I had completely forgotten about SplashTop, but I first heard of it over on the anandtech boards. I need to try it too, it's gets positive marks from the posts I've read, and hey, with Tom's vote of approval...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.