Access your PC from anywhere

We review two services that let you access your office desktop remotely -- the established market leader and a newcomer with a tempting free version.

If you're like me and occasionally telecommute, being able to see the office desktop remotely is very important. It offers much more than just having a VPN connection to my Outlook email; for example, it allows me to access a Word document I left open on my desktop the night before and to use shared files located in remote regions of the corporate network. I can even access my host desktop from any Windows browser anywhere in the world, and, if necessary, transfer files or print remotely as well.

For years, Citrix's GoToMyPC enjoyed a relative monopoly of this amazing service -- but no more. On January 24 2005, WebEx released MyWebEx PC. Having tried them both, I have to say they both have pros and cons. For example, MyWebEx PC allows you to enjoy full-colour screens, while GoToMyPC remains stuck in 256-colour mode. On the other hand, GoToMyPC also works on Macs and Linux-based browsers and allows a guest to log on remotely -- things that MyWebEx PC does not yet offer.

For an occasional user like myself, MyWebEx PC maintains an overwhelming advantage: it's free. And if you need more bells and whistles, the paid version of MyWebEx PC is still a better deal than a yearly subscription to GoToMyPC. But if you need a service to roll out across your entire corporate network, GoToMyPC remains the better option, offering administrative tools that MyWebEx PC does not.

Story URL: http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/0,1000000193,39190633,00.htm