Chrome Remote Desktop for Android

Google Chrome Remote Desktop lets you control your Windows PC from your Android phone or tablet, no matter where you are. What a great idea! Probably. To use this secure service, you'll need two things: a free Chrome extension for each PC you want to access remotely and a free Android app on your phone or tablet. You can access many PCs remotely (but not simultaneously) with Chrome Remote Desktop. The app even helps you set up Remote Access, if necessary. Unfortunately, it's a work in development that doesn't always work in Windows. Yet.

Pros

Remote control: Chrome Remote Desktop is one of the most easy-to-use implementations of remote access to your Windows desktop, files, and system we've attempted to use.

PIN cushion: With your Google account and self-created PIN, you can access your PC from any device setup for Chrome Remote Desktop -- handy if your phone goes missing.

Help & feedback: Google's Android app and desktop program both offer plenty of assistance and documentation, including useful information about bugs and known issues at the app's Web page.

Cons

Work in progress: We spent a lot of time trying to get Chrome Remote Access to work in both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, to no avail. Seeking an answer led us to the app's Web site, which informed us of a known issue with Windows systems.

Bottom Line

Chrome Remote Desktop should work with Windows, and Google's engineers seem up to the task of swatting the bugs. We're not ditching the app, either: Google's browser-based remote access tool is just too cool to give up on just yet.