Web-based Remote Access

I don’t know if you listen to ESPN radio. I do and I often hear advertisements for various remote access products. This may have prompted some questions in your mind. What exactly is a remote access product and do I need one? What do I need to be able to use it? Is it safe to use? Will it really make my life easier? Will it mow the grass? Oh, wait, I got a little off-track there. No, it won’t mow the grass, but I believe that it will make your work life easier. I am going to briefly explain about remote access, how it works, and what you need to use it.

So, what is a remote access product? It is exactly what you might think it is. It is software that allows you access to your computer from another location. Does that mean you can have access to your computer while you are driving down US 31 to the Colts game? Maybe, it depends on how you are trying to access it. More on that later. For now, let’s focus on the product itself. For simplicity’s sake, I am going to focus on web-based remote access products. These include, but are not limited to, LogMeIn, GoToMyPc, and WebEx. Each of these providers requires you to create an account and to download an application to your host computer. Depending on which product you choose, there may be an annual or monthly subscription to pay for use. You can then access that computer from another remote computer by going to the company website, putting in your user information that you created when you set up the account, and clicking remote control.

Seems reasonably easy to use, right? But let’s get down to the particulars. What do I need besides this product to use remote access? First, you need a host computer. This is the computer that has all the programs and files you want to access from anywhere. This computer must always be on and always connected to the internet or you cannot access it remotely. Second, you need a remote computer. This is the computer that is away from the office. It can be a laptop on the road with you or your desktop computer in your home office. This computer must also have an internet connection. The internet connection for both computers should not be dial-up. Dial-up is just too slow to adequately do this so you will want some type of high-speed internet connection. If you have a power outage on the host computer, you will not be able to access it remotely (just something to remember in bad weather). Lastly, you will need a remote access product as mentioned above.

Are these remote access products safe to use? Yes, the ones I have mentioned are safe. They provide an encrypted connection from your computer to your host computer. I would not use these products from a public computer (such as a computer in the library or the computer lab at a school). LogMeIn requires two passwords for access to the host computer; one for LogMeIn and one for your computer. If you don’t have a password on your remote or host computer, you should really put a password on both computers. One of the advantages of using a web-based remote access product is you don’t have to worry about any special configuration on your firewall.

So now that you know what remote access is and that it is safe to use, do you think it would make your work life easier? It has in our office. We have even taken remote access a step further and use it to help our clients. This approach is a little different. There is no software that constantly runs on your computer allowing me remote access to your system. We use WebEx in our office to remotely assist clients. We can set up a meeting and invite you to join it. Once you join the meeting, we can request remote control of your computer. You have to give us permission for that session to remote control your computer. You can see everything that we are doing on your computer. This is great for showing you how to do something in Quickbooks, helping with an Excel problem, or fixing a software problem on your computer. We can also use it to get a backup of your Quickbooks file. Once we are finished, we disconnect the session, leave the meeting and no longer have access to your computer. We also have access to our corporate network remotely. We can work from home or from a client office if we have an internet connection.

Remote access allows you more flexibility in your work. You can work anywhere you have an internet connection. Oh, and can I work while on US31 on my way to the Colts game? Why, yes you can. You will need a cellular broadband data connection (Verizon and Sprint both offer these), laptop, remote access application and your host computer back at the office. You can get an hour’s worth of work done while someone else drives to the game. How cool is that?

If you have any further questions about web-based remote access or would like some help setting this up, you can call 765-236-2309 and I can help you with that. We want to help you with all of your business technology needs.

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