A Solid Update to LogMeIn–The Best Free Remote Control App
September 11th, 2007 (4:00pm) Samuel Dean 14 CommentsTweet This
A few weeks ago, I did a post on how to control a remote computer for free. I was pleased to see that among the comments that came back from readers, quite a few agreed with me that LogMeIn Free provides the best no-cost service.
“I’m a big LogMeIn fan, too,” said one reader. “I’ve tried a bunch of similar products, but the LogMeIn suite seem to be the most reliable across multiple platforms.”
Exactly, it works across platforms as an online application, and it’s extremely easy to specify remote computers that you may want to control, if you, say, find out in your hotel room that you left a presentation back at the office. The good news is that LogMeIn has just announced the latest updates to its service, including updates to LogMeIn Free, LogMeIn Pro, and LogMeIn IT Reach. This is worth looking into.
LogMeIn Free only requires you to have a Web connection to access a remote computer. Like LogMeIn Pro, and LogMeIn IT Reach, the new version of the free product adds a brand new user interface. I’ve been tinkering with it, and the interface seems to have made a number of common tasks easier. The menus are less confusing, and you have much more freedom to set your own personal preferences.
However, it’s still true that the LogMeIn Pro and LogMeIn IT Reach products, which are not free, have some desirable new additions that the free product doesn’t include. These versions now support remote sound capabilities, including streaming music from a remote computer to your local one, and some performance enhancements (including letting users go directly into remote control sessions). They also now allow you to drag-and-drop any file or folder from a remote computer to your local one–a killer feature which I would really like to see as a permanent addition in the free product.
There is a bit of good news on that front, though. If you sign up for LogMeIn Free, you get a 30-day trial of LogMeIn Pro, so you can at least try the remote sound, the drag-and-drop features, and all the other new additions. You can also take advantage of the following features in LogMeIn Pro, of which inviting friends to share computers is interesting:
Overall, I’m going to stick with the free product for now, and I do like the new user interface better. Web workers should also keep in mind that workgroups can make good use of these remote control products for co-diagnosing and repairing system problems. If you’re a small group, and don’t have a dedicated IT department, this can make life easier. As far as the new version of LogMeIn Free goes, though, I do wish LogMeIn would allow me to have the drag-and-drop file transfer feature in the free product.
Do you have any good tips on remotely controlling computers?
Web Work 101: How To Escape The Cubicle
Since the only computer I would want to access remotely is my Mac at home sitting behind a firewall, accessing it through a VNC session on a forwarded port for SSH, secured by a public/private keypair is the most secure approach to me.
OK, so it’s not exactly point and click. But I can do anything from anywhere in the world, no limitations… if I have my Thumb drive with me and the necessary files :-)
Why do simple, when you can do geeky ;)
I don’t like the updates. The new user interface is prettier, but I don’t like having the preferences controlled locally. Also, LogMeIn now displays a screen at startup, requiring you to change the settings on every single computer you have the client installed on to not show the welcome screen. Tedious. Also, it has the new function to “Display the E-mail of the user account for LogMeIn”. What if I don’t want this displayed? This also makes it less secure, as third party programs can easily see this value and instantly have your username on the LogMeIn network. As far as people who are complaining about not having the drag and dropping feature for their files, USE HAMACHI. Run by LogMeIn. Hamachi = VPN, LogMeIn = Remote Access. Both together bring you very useful networking tools. But again I don’t approve of the new changes after the updates, though they may be visually impressive. Also, if a user defines their own preferences, and you have assigned per computer preferences via the web interface, which take priority? Obviously with remote control software you would want the settings and preferences to be remotely controlled as well, if you have too many conflicting policies, or a local user who can change the settings of the program to whatever they like, then it defeats the purpose.
It works wonders for me. I have been testing the free and pro services for a year now supporting multiple networks remotely and it performs magically.
The ease of installation and maintenance alone make it a better choice compared to PC Anywhere and traditional vpn methods.
It gives powerful network admin capabilities to the average user, and I have been encouraging everyone to try it out. And, I am not affiliated with the company in any way.
Well I tried it out and found it much slower than just using Remote Desktop…Since I have XP Pro and can use Remote Desktop I won’t be switching any time soon.
It work like wonder for me… I have been using it for last 2 weeks and it is as cool as working over RDC in a local netowrk.. I am sure you will find it excellent. regarding your question I think you get the drag and drop feature available with the Pro Versions… when I swtiched from the Pro Trial to Free the File sharing and other options were not available…
Any ways all the Best using Log me In
Regards
Sameer Shaikh
http://pm-better-than-sex.blogspot.com
I’m a big fan of LogMeIn, too. I use the free version as a no-hassle and (I hope) secure way of accessing my PC remotely. It even works on Windows Mobile!
I don’t think you’ll be seeing the drag and drop feature any time soon (although I would like it too) as it’s one of those useful features that are intended to persuade you to upgrade to the Pro version.
Linux??? love to use this on puppy linux, or red hat, or suse.
logmein is awesome, just wish we could use it wit hour linux boxes.
I wanted to clarify that the “cross platform” that’s mentioned a couple of times here only applies to the side that’s doing the controlling. The computer that will be controlled must be running Windows. So, it’s only a partially cross-platform solution.
From the LogMeIn FAQ:
“LogMeIn is currently not a compatible download for a Target PC that uses the Linux or Mac operating system. However, you can use a local Mac or PC that runs Linux to access a Target PC that runs Windows.”
No matter. I’ve been using the VNC variants for years to have cross-platform remote control. Some of them also support file transfer.
Peter, that’s not entirely true. While they haven’t upgraded the FAQ, thereis a Mac client (in “Preview” mode). I’ve had it installed for a while now on my MacBook Pro and while not as developed as the PC version, it seems to work well. Read about it here.
count me as a fan too. my friend freaked out while using my computer at work, the screen went blank when i logmein at home. great for pranks too. is is so easy to use and work beautifully.
I have a question could someone please email me and anwser it. I just got to work and turned on my computer a pop up window came up that says a new version of LogMeIn is ready to update I dont know what this is or should i update? I am a secretary