Freeware of the Moment- MyWebEx PC

Remote control software that lets you access your computer from anywhere in the world and run programs and access files is nothing new and in that genre GoToMyPC is certainly one of the best.  I even had a CS rep access my computer remotely and fix my corrupted PST Outlook file and save me untold headache.  The problem that I have with GoToMyPC is the cost- $180 for a year.  This is too expensive for me considering how much I would actually use the service.  Recently I came across a software/ service combo that is just as good and totally free for accessing up to five computers.

The Freeware of the Moment today is MyWebEx PC which provides fully featured remote control of any computer by another.  MyWebEx PC lets you access your home or office computer while on the road from any computer that has the software installed and is connected to the web.  You can conduct complete computing sessions including accessing your email on the remote computer.  I have been using MyWebEx PC for a few weeks and it is rock solid and very fast.  There is only a slight lag when I am running the remote computer and its desktop is displayed on my local computer in all its glory.  I routinely use my Sony U and its 5" screen to access my office computer which is running at 1650x1024.  Displaying and scrolling is very fast and I can work with programs and data on the base computer from anywhere.  If you don't like scrolling the screen MyWebEx PC lets you remotely change the resolution of the system you are accessing to the screen resolution of the device you are running the session with.  It switches back automatically when you disconnect the session.

Remote control software can be used for many different things and when it is well implemented can provide a lot of benefits for the user.  Throw in the fact that it is free and MyWebEx PC makes the Freeware of the Moment here on jkOnTheRun.  Note that there is a Pro version of MyWebEx PC that adds some additional capabilities such as Application Level Access Control and remote phone authentication.

Comments

[BobR]

That's pretty neat, and I bet it will be the future of remote computing... PDA type apps quick and local, but the rest accessible via the web, either to a home PC or to a remote server somewhere.

Does it support encryption... aren't you worried about security? Or if you use it via wi-fi, aren't those fake wifi hosts kind of scary? I don't think I would use that except encrypted and from a secure internet access location. (Of course I also wonder if encryption just sends out a flag that says "Something very valuable contained here, so please break the encryption!")

Jk (or anyone else using this sort of thing)have a feel for the security angle?

BTW, You're doing an awesome job with this blog. Keep up the great work. It's one of my regular visits each day.

[jk]

Thanks, BobR! I am very impressed with the security during my use. To hack into my computer you would need my username and password and after that each computer requires a unique passcode. If someone is very paranoid then they can get the pro service which offers a phone authentication. When someone tries to log in to your remote computer a phone call is made to your phone. You then enter the passcode on the phone to gain a connection. Pretty slick.

From their website:

MyWebEx PC is extremely secure:

No need to open any ports in your firewall
End to end SSL encrypted.
Two levels of authentication.
Unique phone authentication for very high security.
You can protect your privacy
Blank the screen of the remote computer so no one can see what you are doing
Lock the keyboard and mouse of the remote computer so no one else can interrupt it
Logout or screen-lock the remote computer after your session is complete- MyWebEx PC will let you log back in

[Vidge]

This looks quite promising; however, it appears that after April 4, file transfer & remote printing (2 things I'd be interested in) will only be available with the paid "Pro" version. Did I misread the plans page?

[jk]

Vidge, you're right that those are part of the Pro package. I'm just glad that they are providing most of the functions for free. Personally I don't need the remote printing and the file transfer can be easily done via ftp. I would think that you could still print "locally" on the remote machine unless they disable that somehow.

[Steve]

Couldn't I email myself a file as an attachment, and open it on the remote machine? That's how I often transfer files now.

[eric]

There's another service that's like MyWebEx PC, but I like a little more; its called LogMeIn. It's at www.logmein.com. Feature wise, it seems very similar to mywebex pc, but one difference. They have a pocketpc client! To me, thats a very cool feature; I can use my pocketpc phone to vpn into my office workstation even through the firewall. It even seems faster than remote desktop at times. Anyhow, I like both services, just thought I'd let you know of this one too.

Regards,
-e