Most of you who are reading this are probably fairly good with computers. However, we all have friends or family members who aren’t. The problem is that nobody has the kind of time or energy to drive to the person’s house and spend hours removing spyware, bloatware, viruses, extral toolbars, outdated applications and the other laundry list of things to do to fix the computer. There are also the times where someone doesn’t understand or needs to be walked through something and, again, you’d have to be there to do it. Now there is a way to make these things a bit easier by making it so you don’t have to go anywhere.
A friend at work cued me in on an excellent system called Log Me In. Their site is at http://www.logmein.com . Log me In is a website and an application that allows you to remotely connect to a computer. The “host software” can be installed on up to 5 computers for free, and simply runs in the background, taking up little space and memory. You can then sign in to the website at logmein.com and select the computer you wish to connect to. You enter the security code you set up when installing the host program and BOOM, you have full remote access to the computer.
This way you can add or remove programs, run system updates or even walk someone step by step through something, without ever having to leave home! The paid versions can do even more than that. You can share files between computers and even print from the computer. There is even an iPhone app that will let you remote in as well.
Now, I will let you know that this only works on MAC and Windows, and you must use either firefox or internet explorer for the website to work at its full potential. But, it is free for remote access to up to 5 computers and is a great tool.
I am currently using it to work on my mom’s computer from home and it is great.
If you need remote access to your computers at home, or need to remote to a friend or family member in need, I highly recommend using Log Me In. Check them out at http://www.logmein.com .