The Download Blog

Applications that let you access the files on your desktop from anywhere else are wonderful things, but the traditional remote-desktop app has one annoying flaw--you must browser for an e-mail, photo, or document in often tall, brambly file trees. Copernic Mobile (see slide show), in a sturdy prerelease build for Windows XP and Vista, offers the thorough indexing of a remote-access tool, but with a search component that makes finding those individuals files as simple as using a desktop search tool like Google Desktop--or Copernic Desktop Search.

Copernic Mobile--for XP and Vista--simplifies remote access from your phone's mobile browser.

(Credit: CNET)

It works by downloading Copernic Mobile's remote access application to your desktop and registering for a free account. If you're using Copernic Desktop Search in the free or pro version, or Windows Desktop Search, the app will connect up with the desktop search tool's index of your computer's contents to let you search for files, e-mails, music, photos, videos, contacts, favorites, Web history, and anything else the search app keeps tabs on. It doesn't yet play nice with Yahoo or Google's desktop search apps, which is a missed opportunity to engage some stalwart users before either company begins marketing a similar solution.

After logging into mobile.copernic.com from any Internet-equipped cell phone and entering your credentials, you'll be able to launch a search (clink the proffered link to enter a secure server.) The search return interface works on the spectrum of mobile phones and browsers (I tested it on three), with a more stylized look for iPhone. Depending on your phone's capability, you'll be able to view, download, and e-mail a result. The search function worked flawlessly during our tests, and navigating the app was fast and easy on Wi-Fi, 3G, and Verizon's regular, old data network on a BlackBerry Curve, iPhone, and Samsung Omnia. While other remote access apps like the mobile-specific Sugar Sync, the Internet-portal LogMeIn Free, and others do remote access equally well, the seamless search function makes Copernic Mobile my current favorite.

Copernic Mobile: View Windows files from your phone--photos

A funny thing happened on the way to Boston: the CNET office disappeared. Our Cambridge office is moving to a new location, so when I arrived on the East Coast for a short stay, I found myself without a cube to call home. More importantly, I couldn't work from a computer already inside the CNET firewall, which left me with two choices: use a VPN client, or use a remote access program.

LogMeIn Free can be set to full screen, or magnified with a built-in zoom tool.

(Credit: LogMeIn, Inc.)

I haven't encountered a single VPN client review without some degree of legitimate complaint, and my own experience with them has left much to be desired. I dislike how, by their nature, they affect every program that connects to the Internet. Last year, I tested out LogMeIn Free for Windows and Mac, and figured an extended, multiweek test now couldn't be any worse than suffering through a VPN.

LogMeIn Free functions so well it makes an excellent case for ditching the VPN entirely. I installed the program on my work computer before I left San Francisco, created an account at the LogMeIn Web site and then logged out, leaving the machine on but in standby mode. The next step was installing the LogMeIn client on my laptop. Once I arrived in Massachusetts, I hit a coffee shop with a reliable Internet connection, and fired up Firefox. The LogMeIn client runs at start-up, an essential feature for the computer you want to use remotely. It also uses 256-bit SSL encryption, dual authentication for the application and the remote computer, and RSA SecureID, which assuaged my security concerns.

LogMeIn Free's reboot screen ensures a safe reboot and re-establishes your remote connection.

(Credit: LogMeIn, Inc.)

From there, I went back to LogMeIn.com and signed in. My account details popped up, along with the name of my work computers that had the client installed and their status--in use, in standby, or offline. Clicking on one put me through the LogMeIn log-in for that computer, followed by the computer's own log-in. All of this takes place in a Web browser, so I was expecting halting responsiveness. Instead, it ran smoothly. There was a slight lag, but I'd peg it at about one second or less.

Essentially, I was using my work computer through a secure, encrypted connection, but without any of the obnoxious failures and hassles that come with running a VPN that affects my entire system. One big plus was having access to my local email archives, as well as those still living on CNET's Microsoft Exchange server.

System crashes, especially when constantly installing and uninstalling programs, are to be expected. I was worried about one until it occurred. When my laptop's browser crashed, I was able to re-establish the remote connection as effortlessly as I was able to create it in the first place: I merely logged back in to LogMeIn.com. When the San Francisco computer was having memory leak problems, I was able to reboot it from within the remote access window. Once it reached the Windows log in screen, I could control it as I had before.

The in-program options include chat, a white board, and a "laser pointer" for highlighting.

(Credit: LogMeIn, Inc.)

The clipboard can be configured to cross between the two machines, so a program name that I copy on my work machine can be pasted into a document here on my laptop. The ALT-Tab hot key combination works with the remote machine. There's a chat program, too, for when you need to remotely control a computer with another person. You can also lock the keyboard of the remote machine so somebody walking by can't create any input.

The problems I've encountered have been minor. There's the lag, and the fact that file transfers are only available for users who upgrade. The only other drawback to LogMeIn is if the host computer suffers a fatal crash and won't restart. Unless a friend will go push the power button, you won't be able to get in and you'll have to resort to a VPN connection, which won't give you access to files on a local drive.

Throw in that big bagel of a price, and LogMeIn Free has become my first option for work-specific remote access.

There are a lot of notable remote access programs out there, but Remobo is one of the few that's free. It's also an early beta, so I expected to encounter a lot of bugs. And so: there were. But overall, Remobo was surprisingly stable and reasonably effective at allowing remote access both to a secondary computer that I controlled and a friend's machine.

Remobo's remote access allows full control of a secondary computer--when you have the password.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Here's a quick rundown of what Remobo can do. It allows users to create multiple accounts under one user name, so that they can access a secondary or tertiary machine from afar. It also allows you to share files with other Remobo users, and if they've given you their password, you can control their computer, too.

There are two kinds of file-sharing you can use. The first requires having full computer access, which allows you to use the native Windows file-sharing system. The second, which requires less access, is to use Remobo's native file-sharing tool. You add the folders or files you want to share, and then using your BitTorrent client, it automatically creates a torrent that gets downloaded by the computer that's trying to receive the files. If you don't have a torrent client installed, Remobo will try to install BitTorrent 5.2, which unfortunately isn't one of the better clients out there. (Personally, I use μTorrent.)

Remobo's main window.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The remote access feature itself is still a bit wonky. The refresh rate was a step above horrendous, but by no means was it smooth. Once I stayed in a single, graphics-free program like a text editor, it handled typing smoothly. Web browsing, though, and jumping around between open apps was sluggish and in clear need of some work. Unfortunately, this was the case when remotely accessing my own secondary machines as well as my colleague's.

Remobo did give me full access to remote machines, though. I was able to download and install programs remotely, and Remobo's built-in chat worked well. Given that Remobo's remote demands put quite the strain on your processor, not having to run a secondary chat app is a good way to keep the RAM drain down.

Another thing Remobo does well is the fact that all data transferred is encrypted, although the company's Web site doesn't tell you what kind of encryption that is, and that it also allows the establishment of a private VPN.

Built-in chatting cuts down on excessive RAM usage when the hefty Remobo is running.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

However, the free registration was buggy, to say the least. I had problems creating my account on one computer, but was able to log in fine. On another computer, creating the account wasn't the problem--logging in was. There's also no clear, clean way to kill a connection, and forcing the disconnect by shutting down Remobo gave the desired result, as well as an error message.

Remobo touts itself as being a replacement for a costly VPN service and full remote access rolled into one, and the potential is there for that. It's not ready for the starting line quite yet, but it's fun playing with this stock car as it's getting built.

For most of us, checking into work on your vacation isn't any fun, but if it's a matter of no vacation or a tampered one, we'll help you find the most efficient ways to do your duty, so you can get back to doing...well, anything else. For the rest of you who are prone to nervous behavoiral ticks if you're away from your work for too long, these tools will equip you with a mini mobile office for your own brand of paradise.

For serious syncers who routinely work from multiple computers or mobile phones, SugarSync is, in more ways than one, a premium solution to file-transferring problems. More flexible than some competing PC-to-PC syncing software or mobile and PC remote access services, Sugar Sync weaves in elements of both. Lite sync some folders for online back-up and fully sync folders or files to load them on each of your computers. A change to one file exacts a change to all.

SugarSync doesn't do everything, and the mobile functionality could use some usability finessing. There are also a few tricks worth knowing to ease your way. Here's a good one--if you're not interested in transferring every icon or EXE to all hooked-in computers, before syncing your Desktop folder, either move the elements you do want to a different folder and bypass the Desktop sync, or throw everything into a new folder on your desktop and exclude it from the syncing.

SugarSync managers are available for Windows, Mac, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and iPhone. A free trial of the service is available for 45 days. SugarSync premium storage prices can be found here.

The name might be LogMeIn, but the motto should be SignMeUp.

The fact that it's free to use for multiple remote PCs, with reasonable monthly plans if you need more--five computers for $20 per month or $200 per year--makes this remote-access program instantly appealing. The program differs from its competitors in that the application runs in your Web browser. If you're running Firefox, it asks to install a plug-in, then opens an emulator of the remote PC in a new window.

The control window gives you some standard options such as Ctrl-Alt-Del (which kills the connection) and changing the view settings, as well as tabbed access to adjust the connection setting. The 256-bit SSL encryption and dual passwords--one for the program and one for the remote PC's log-in--are welcome protections. File transfer and synchronization features are limited to paid users, but for the functionality and the price, LogMeIn is an excellent program.

CrossLoop provides a quick, easy, and completely free way to give a colleague, a friend, or a relative access to your computer. Start the program, and your PC gets assigned a new 12-digit access code each time. Give that number to another user to virtually share your desktop. Once connected, that user will have full access to your machine.

The odd nature of sharing a desktop cursor and the inability to add multiple users makes CrossLoop not quite right for proper business presentations. However, the complete system access and 128-bit encrypted connection combine to create a great solution for low-budget, long-distance tech support. Guests can use any app and save files on your computer, as if they were sitting in front of the machine. No router configuration is required--a big plus. File transfers are now supported, but the purpose here remains collaboration: CrossLoop doesn't work without explicit permission from the host.

Cell phone users might never be aware that LogMeIn Rescue+Mobile even exists, though most should be pleased it does. The remote-access app from the makers of the popular LogMeIn family (including LogMeIn Free) are back with a feature-rich tool that's custom-built for peering into broken cell phones.

I got a preview of the app at work on Symbian phones at the CTIA 2008 Wireless show in Las Vegas this week (it's already available for Windows Mobile phones). I was impressed with how well LogMeIn Rescue+Mobile organized the phone's file system for quick fixing, while also giving customers enough information about the download process and session activity to dispel qualms of letting a stranger root around the guts of their phones. Letting the users completely terminate a session is a show of good faith.

If this remote-access app sounds like a Geek Squad for mobile phones, there's good reason--LogMeIn is the power behind the Geeks' meanderings into corrupted PCs. Soon, it could be the key to a faster fix for you, and your little phone, too.