Best Software to Remote Control other Macs and PCs

[groove-agent]

Hey all,

Typically I have family and friends who ask me to help them with their computers and it would save a lot of time if I could remote control their machines rather than trying to help them over the phone.

Ideally I'm looking for a Mac based remote control app that has no-brainer client installation on Mac or PCs. One that's reliable, and can navigate through firewalls. It shouldn't take longer to troubleshoot the installation compared to fixing the actual problem. I don't mind buying the app if it's reasonably priced (<$200) but I don't want to pay for per client licensing.

I've been searching online for some software but haven't had any luck so far. I'm hoping one of my friends at macumours.com might have some suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

 

[GGJstudios]

I use TeamViewer, which works with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Ubuntu, iPhone, iPad, etc. It's very secure and quite simple to set up and use.... and it's free.

 

[shyam09]

I use TeamViewer, which works with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Ubuntu, iPhone, iPad, etc. It's very secure and quite simple to set up and use.... and it's free.

yeah teamviewer is quite excellent. you obviously need it set up and running on each computer, but yeah.. its simple, free, and best of all awesome!

 

[balamw]

FWIW Teamviewer is only free for non-commercial use.

B

 

[GGJstudios]

FWIW Teamviewer is only free for non-commercial use.

That's why I recommended it:

Typically I have family and friends who ask me to help them with their computers

 

[groove-agent]

Works well but hefty price.

I had my friend try the non-installing executable which didn't work unfortunately. That would be great to simply mail someone a 2.6 MB exe to run. I sent her a link to the main program download which worked flawlessly. The program seems great. I wouldn't mind buying it down the road but $675 CDN is a little hefty unless i start making serious coin supporting other machines.

 

[GGJstudios]

I had my friend try the non-installing executable which didn't work unfortunately. That would be great to simply mail someone a 2.6 MB exe to run. I sent her a link to the main program download which worked flawlessly. The program seems great. I wouldn't mind buying it down the road but $675 CDN is a little hefty unless i start making serious coin supporting their machines.

As long as you're helping family and friends and only connecting to one computer at a time, the free version is fine for you. I use TV daily to support both Mac and Windows systems.

 

[maflynn]

I've played with teamviewer and its ok.

Logmein is also free and I prefer that interface. While not free, I use gotomypc. Its speed, features and compatibility across platforms fits my needs. I use it for my work, connecting to my workstation when I work from home and I connect to my mac when I'm in the office.