Now that LogMeIn free was discontinued on the 28th January and now it’s gone, meaning user’s will now have to pay $48 a year for two PC’s. And as LogMeIn explains, this gets you not only basic remote access, but also premium features like remote printing, file transfer and cloud data access, plus desktop and mobile apps to improve your experience. But there’s no need to panic because we have you covered, here is a list featuring 5 of the best free alternatives to LogMeIn
TeamViewer
Marketed primarily as a business tool, TeamViewer is a tool for virtual meetings and online presentations, but it also works as a remote access service. It runs as smoothly as LogMeIn, with support for Windows, Mac and Linux and includes a built in file transfer, chat and remote printing functions. The downside is that TeamViewer doesn’t allow you to use it’s free service for commercial purposes, that means you can browse and organise your personal files from afar. But if you want to access a work document from home, then unfortunately you’ll have to purchase a commercial licence which costs $720.
You can also gain access to a PC from either the internet or through mobile apps via your iPhone, iPad or Android phone. So you have the option to access your content while at home or on the move. Saving data on your hard drive won’t be a problem either as you can copy entire folders when accessing a system remotely. You can also use the TeamViewer Manager to keep track of all your sessions and save it in a database which can easily be shared with others.
Windows Remote Desktop
Although Windows Remote Desktop doesn’t let you do true screen sharing, because the screen of the controlled computer goes black instead of staying live, the way other programs such as TeamViewer do. This built in tool is free with every Windows PC, its also very fast and it allows complete control over other PC’s. There is even Microsoft Remote Desktop for the Mac, so you’re able to access your files on your Mac if you have them saved there, or vice versa.
The idea behind Windows Remote Desktop is to let users access and control their office PC from home so they can work from the comfort of their living room after hours. That’s why all version of Windows (Basic & Home) can start a connection and control another PC. But only Windows Professional, Business and Ultimate can be controlled. Compatible with most of the latest OS’s for Mac and Windows, the software boasts of Multiple Sessions Support so you can have access to more than one system through a single Mac computer. You are free to customise this application as you please and even assign your own keyboard short cuts for maximum flexibility.
WebEx Free
Most people think that WebEx is just a tool for multi-user boardroom meetings, but you can also use it for small scale remote control and support. To get WebEx to work you need to install the software on both the PC’s in order to make it work, which is a relatively painless thing to do. Once you have all the people you want in the meeting, at first only they can only view the host’s desktop, but the host can easily make another person the presenter, pass control over the most and keyboard, share files, chat and utilise the webcams when doing a face to face meeting. If you try and start using other features rather than just the main ones, then there is a bit of a learning curve, but overall WebEx is pretty easy to use.
Ammyy Admin
Ammyy Admin is a very simple looking program, so you can forget about using sophisticated options such as screen scaling and remote audio. Its also only available at the moment for Windows, so for people who want to cross platform between a PC and a Mac then forget about it because its not going to work unfortunately. And like TeamViewer its only free for non commercial use, otherwise you’re going to have to purchase a licence, the licencing terms for the free version hint at possible access limits if the software is used for more than 15 hours a month. But if you do choose to purchase a licence then its not too expensive, especially when compared to TeamViewer, a lifetime two PC licence without any restrictions costs only $120.
imPCRemote
The final software in our list of alternative to LogMeIn that is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux is imPCRemote. It boasts instant, secure and trouble free connections between PC’s over the internet. You’re able to organise remote PC’s into groups and you can even have some access these groups at the same time. As is the case with most of these programs, you can also use the software to transfer files, so if you’re working from home one day and you need an important file from work, then quickly and easily access your work before, then initiate a transfer. You can also access multiple desktops simultaneously, meaning you can look at or transfer files from two different PC’s at the same time. It also supports remote printing, and remote audio, and there’s no restriction on using the free service for work purposes. If you want to purchase a licence though, so you can have unlimited access to all of its features then it will cost you around $60 a year, or $4.95 a month.
