GADGET GIZMO SPECIAL .......................CONTROLLED REMOTE COMPUTING

CONTROLLED REMOTE COMPUTING      Gone are the days when you’d spend a few hours huddled in front of a computer screen to chat with friends, reply to emails or simply share the latest cat videos. With smartphones and tablets being as ubiquitous as they are, you can do all of that on the go. So what of your computer? It still has its uses of course. Such as writing longwinded stories (like this one), editing photos prior to uploading on Facebook or simply watching a movie or twenty.     And while televisions, DVD players and set top boxes come with remotes, there isn’t anything that comes with your PC to control it. Don’t worry though because if you have a smartphone, you can do all that and more. Here’s how. Assuming you already have a PC or a laptop, an Internet connection hooked up to a WiFi router and a smartphone of course. Unified Remote This handy app lives up to its name what with working across iOS, Android and Windows smartphones as well as a variety of computer OS options such as Windows, Linux and Apple’s OS X. Setting it up is a straightforward process. Simply download the app on your phone and a small server program on your PC via their Web site (unifiedremote. com). Then connect both to the same WiFi network. The app can now scan your network for any active PCs. Select the one you want to control and you’re good to go. You can browse folders, surf the web (using your phone’s touchscreen as a mouse and keyboard) and watch movies and videos on your PC with a tap on your phone. Although the paid version is filled to the brim with options like voice support, NFC functionality and the ability to create custom remotes, critical security features such as server password protection and 256-bit AES encryption available on the free version as well. Splashtop 2 Desktop Remote With this you can take your PC with you, literally. Besides the obvious of letting you control your computer on your home WiFi network, you can also use Splashtop 2 to stream photos, movies and whatever you have to your phone when you’re not at home. This is possible with their Anywhere Access Pack which is paid service. Keep in mind, you’ll need a really strong 3G signal to get this working smoothly.     Much like Unified Remote you have to download a small server program to your computer and the app on your phone. There’s an added step though, you’ll need to create a Splashtop account to get this to work.     While security features like server password protection are free, encryption is only available on the paid service.     We tried streaming a few games to our smartphones and found the experience to be choppy at best though videos and audio worked just fine. Chrome Desktop Remote Currently for Android smartphones only, this free app is quite possibly the easiest of the lot to set up. All you need is a PC with the Chrome browser, a Google account (Gmail, Youtube or Google+) and the Chrome Desktop Remote extension for your browser. On granting access to the extension to discover your PC, simply open the app on your phone and you’re good to go. It’s quick and snappy to use both on home networks and via mobile connectivity as well. The interface is familiar since it runs your desktop from Chrome. But the speed and ease comes at a price, don’t expect to be able to transfer files across devices or chat across computers. Microsoft Remote Desktop Control Not one to be left behind, Microsoft have their Remote Desktop app on Android and iOS. While Windows Phone could control their PCs remotely for some time now, it’s nice to see that others can as well. Unlike the other apps, there’s no need to create an account or download files. But there’s still some tinkering to do.     You’ll need to enable a feature called remote connections. To do this just go to Control Panel > System and Security > System, then click on “Remote settings” from the left pane.     On allowing remote connections you can configure who has access and the authentication needed. When you’re done you can add your PC by typing its name or IP address. From your phone or tablet you’ll have complete access to your PC but it isn’t the most intuitive of the bunch but the configurability and amount of functionality make this worth looking into. HOW SECURE IS IT? While Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Control, Unified Remote and Splashtop 2 make use of a host of security options ranging from Network Level Authentication to 256-bit AES encryption, you’re assured of your safety taken care of. Digging through Google’s security notes it appears that Chrome Desktop Remote uses SSL and AES. We’d recommend that you use these apps only on trusted networks such as your home WiFi rather than public hotspots or the like which almost always suffer from poor security protocols.

Rishi Alwani MM140501