Cloudeight InfoAve Computer tips and tricks-LogMeIn

LogMeIn
Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7

This tip stems from a TV commercial. The commercial was "Go To My PC". If you live anywhere in the USA you've probably seen it. It looks too good to be true: Sitting at a computer in New Delhi and remotely controlling your computer back in icy Sheboygan. So we tested Go To My PC - amazing. It actually works. Unfortunately, it's also not acutally free - after 30 days you have to pay for it.

If you're like us you might not want to pay for or subscribe to a service you may only use occasionally. This sent us on yet another mission to find a free alternate to GoToMyPC -- and we're nothing if not tenacious.

We found a service that is almost identical to GoToMyPC - and they offer a free version too. It doesn't have all the bells & whistles of the full version but it lets you remotely access your home computer from wherever you are. And that's the whole reason you'd want it anyway right?

You have to smile when you first discover how easy LogMeIn is to use. You go their Web site and you signup for an account. All you have to provide is a working email address and password. Then download the software and install it. Then go to another computer, like your laptop for instance, or a neighbor's computer and go back to LogMeIn and type in your email address and password. You'll see your computer at home and button to press that allows you to connect to it. If you're account on your computer is password protected (and it should be) you'll need to type in your Windows User Account Name and your Windows password. In a few seconds, you're desktop appears on the other computer and you can use it just like if you were sitting in front of it.

You can access all your programs, files, folders - heck, you can even send email from your home computer in Sheboygan to your boss in Sheboygan telling him you're still under the weather, lying in bed at home suffering from the flu, while you're in Tahiti basking in the sun watching young ladies prancing around in coconuts and swaying grass skirts. No! We're just kidding. You shouldn't do that. You might lose your job!

If you travel much or if you are away from your computer often and you have access to another computer at another location or have a laptop, you'll really need to try LogMeIn. The free version will work just fine for you if all you want to do is access your main (or desktop) computer from anywhere else. The paid version offers more features - for instance you can even reboot your home computer from anywhere using any computer. Amazing stuff!

One thing you're probably wondering how secure is LogMeIn - it's a secure as it can be. Everything is encrypted and all communication is done via secure servers. The only weak point would be you - actually your password. Make sure you use a strong password - you should be using strong passwords anyway - always. Don't use things like dotty814 or marcy221 or 12345678 - you're only asking for trouble. Never, ever, never, ever use the same password for more than one account. Some people use the same password for everything - if you're one of those you really need to stop reading this right now - and start changing passwords - all of them.

We recommend RoboForm --- to save passwords, to fill in forms and to generate passwords. We don't care if you use the free version (limited to 10 accounts) or the paid version for which we receive a small commission. The password generator will create and save passwords for you in an encrypted password protected file. With more and more applications and services moving to the cloud - the time to start using strong passwords is here. If you don't, you're going to have big problems - the question isn't "IF" it's "When". Heed our advice or pay the price.

OK back to LogMeIn - go to http://logmein.com/ and signup for a free account. They'll let you use the paid version for 30 days - after that you'll have to pay to keep using the paid version - or it will turn into the free version with some of the features disabled.

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