You can sign up for a free TeamViewer friends-and-family account that you can use as long as you want, with no fixed limit on the number of machines or users. Some apps also let you make video recordings of what happens on the remote screen, or use the remote screen like a whiteboard, drawing lines and arrows that are visible only while you have the whiteboard feature switched on. Most remote access software lets you perform other tricks, such as copying files back and forth between the local machine you're really sitting in front of and the remote one, or copying text or graphics to the clipboard on one machine and pasting it on the other, or even opening a chat window so you can talk with whomever is sitting in front of the remote machine. Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. ( Read our editorial mission (Opens in a new window) & see how we test everything we review (Opens in a new window).) TeamViewer doesn't provide a friendly email-invitation, however, in keeping with its more business-centric focus. With competitors like GoToMyPC and LogMeIn, you can also send out a simple one-time email invitation to take over your machine, which is handy for when you need support on your local machine and want a more technically savvy friend or family member to provide it remotely. This gives you access to your own desktop at home or at the office while you're traveling with your laptop.
You connect to the remote machine using the app, and then everything you type and every move you make with the mouse gets sent to the remote machine until you click your mouse outside the remote access window on your local desktop. Remote access software lets you run a computer located across the room or across the country just like you were sitting in front of its keyboard and screen. TeamViewer is exceptionally well designed, with security-conscious professional users in mind, and it shares our Editors' Choice with the more family-friendly GoToMyPC. Rather, it's best suited for corporate use.
Granted, this isn't the app you want to install on machines used by friends and family members who beg you for support. It also offers a simpler free account for non-commercial use, and its interface is the most stylish and up to date of all the remote access software we've tested. TeamViewer is a full-featured, enterprise-capable remote access and shared-meeting app that runs under all desktop and mobile platforms, including Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and even Chrome OS and BlackBerry OS.
How to Set Up Two-Factor Authentication.How to Record the Screen on Your Windows PC or Mac.How to Convert YouTube Videos to MP3 Files.How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill.How to Free Up Space on Your iPhone or iPad.How to Block Robotexts and Spam Messages.
Lifesize supports a wide range of devices to support BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies and user preferences with apps for PC and Mac computers, Android and iOS phones and tablets and a browser-based web app for Chromebooks and anything else that cannot download applications.ĭownload the Lifesize app to get started making calls from all of your devices.