Here's how you can access your computer from anywhere

Even if you conscientiously save your data to the cloud, there always comes a time when you're away from your home or office and need to edit a file that's stuck on that computer. While you're sitting in a hotel room, you might need to run a program on your home PC, and while out and about, you may want to run a desktop app on your phone.



That's where remote desktop tools come in. Once configured, these programs allow you to securely connect to a computer from another device. You can fully control your computer from any remote location, almost like actually sitting down to the real machine from afar. Just a decade ago, you'd need a degree in computing to wrap your head around the ins and outs of remote desktop programs. Now, as we'll demonstrate, you can manage these tools with just a few clicks or taps.

Apple and Microsoft tools

Apple and Microsoft both have their own remote desktop tools. Depending on what you want to do, however, these options shouldn't necessarily be your first choice. For example, Apple sells a fully fledged Remote Desktop program for a hefty $79.99, but it's really aimed at IT professionals and network managers. If you're a home user connecting to one Mac from another, opt for the simpler Screen Sharing option instead—it won't cost you anything.

To set it up, go to System Preferences, then click Sharing and tick the Screen Sharing button. Next, go back to System Preferences, head into the iCloud section, and tick the box marked Back to My Mac. Once you've set this up, you can access your original Mac from any other macOS machine that's signed into your same iCloud account. Just open Finder and go to the Shared section of the sidebar. Find your home computer in this section, click it, and choose Share Screen.

While Screen Sharing works great for Mac devices, it complicates the process of accessing your Apple computer from any other operating system. While you can hook up to macOS from Windows and other devices using this method, it will require some advanced network tweaking—and isn't really worth the hassle. Instead, consider using a third-party remote desktop tool instead. Read on to learn more.


Read more at: https://www.popsci.com/remote-access-computer-and-files#page-2

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