I was introduced to this at my current job as a means to remote into my work computer without having to lug it around whenever I commute in. It works well enough and has been quite convenient in that regard! Unless I missed it, a nice feature that I'd suggest that's not set by default is "Curtain Mode". At least with Windows, Google provides registry keys that can be added so the remote computer only displays the lock screen when remoting into it. It gives me some peace of mind not worrying about someone staring at my screen without my knowledge while working from home.
I feel like I learned of chrome's remote browser extension from this channel, and it became hands down the best remote login software I've ever used! I once remoted into my home windows PC from a Linux netbook and all of a sudden music started coming out of my Linux netbook. Took me a second to realize that I had left a RUclips music tab open on the remote PC playing. Now, this blew my mind. Not only was I accessing my windows PC, but automatically the sound was piped over the connection to my Linux netbook flawlessly! Not to mention you can use an android tablet to access a Linux gui or a MAC laptop, and whatever else you need to do to get out of a jam. Nothing self hosted even comes close to the ease of chrome remote desktop. Nothing.
From about 11:35 in the video, I compare Chrome Remote Desktop with Microsoft Remote Desktop, and state that the latter is only available for Windows. Several people in the comments here have questioned this, stating that they use it in Linux. So I want to clear up any confusion. The key thing is to distinguish remote access software from the communications protocol it may use. And in this context, Microsoft Remote Desktop is a piece of remote access software that uses a communications standard called the remote desktop protocol (or RDP). And the former software is most certainly only available for Windows. However, there are other remote access applications that use RDP, such as xrdp, which can be installed in Linux. So, as some have noted here, it is certainly possible to -- for example -- install and use the xrdp application in Linux, and to communicate with a Windows machine running the Microsoft Remote Desktop application, with communication facilitated by RDP. In this sense it is possible to use Microsoft Remote Desktop to access a Linux system -- but only by installing a complete different software application at the Linux end! End-to-end remote access from a Windows or a Linux system (or vice versa) is not possible using only the Microsoft Remote Desktop software, as no Linux version is available of this specific package. :)
The biggest gap in security of any remoting is scamming the trust of a user (older people, kids, inexperienced users), I really think your video should have ended with the words like "any remote access poses a danger, one should only engage in such activity if he or she has conscious understanding of computer security". p.s. Merry Xmas! 🌲
Yes I came here to say the same. Your comment should be pinned. This remote access tool is perfect for scammers. The internet empowers everyone including the ugly side of life.
@hk that is a very stupid thing to say. It is an IT issue to assume that "feature" of your software called "ease of use" also means ease of use for the scammer. And since Chris pronounced himself as a "public educator" it is a huge responsibility, especially towards elderly people, kids and... inexperienced users, he "explains computers" to.
It's true, particularly the remote support options. I have a friend of the family who is scammed a few times a year... It's because they forget about the last time. Yes, someone should take away the keys, but there are no next of kin. These segments of the vulnerable population really need the technology to better protect them from it. Prompts and buttons designed as ever changing, and only visible to the would be victims might help... since the scammers always say "you'll see blah, click the button ___". This pre-prompting of the user adds credibility (social engineering 101) and the victim trusts the attacker even more. Also, once a few things are hit correctly in stride the victim will be more likely to trust future more dangerous requests of the attacker. It's a vicious cycle.
I use this often, especially for older clients. I just set up the client on their machine, and make them give me their google account password. 🤣 That way, I can just take over their machine when they have issues instead of the usual, "Now open a browser ..." "What's a browser?" conversation. Merry Christmas!!
@@SMorrisRose The clients I'm talking about are not "technosavvy" enough to tell you what a browser is... It's the type that I set the computer to always be on, never sleep, the icons are 300% size, and the only shortcut on the desktop says "Granny's Facebook" You couldn't walk them through starting a remote session if your life depended on it.
Wow - it really works. I am testing it with numerous virtual machines running various os's. It's almost scary that it works so well, even behind multiple firewalls. I wonder how I managed to miss this facility until I saw your announcement. Keep up the great video production ! And merry christmas too of course 🙂
I think it will not work in reverse that is to access a mobile phone from the PC desktop or chromebook. Can you provide a tutorial on this and what are the available software that will work in this scenario?
Merry Christmas, sir! thanks for presenting yet another popularly unknown tool. One of these days, maybe a direct comparison between the various remote tools? (Teamviewer, Anydesk, etc..) Including pricing, chat features, unattended access, etc...)
I have used Chrome Remote Desktop with great success personally as well as some clients - one who was using a *Chromebook* at home and needed to access a Windows machine at the office. Everyone else had PCs or Macs at home, so they could use Microsoft Remote Desktop. It worked great!
I too switched to RustDesk for my clients and family, been running my own relay server as an extra measure of security for $5 on Digital Ocean. It has been running for four months and has never missed a lick!
Great video Chris! This seems like a rather useful tool. I did not know that you could remotely access PC's on the web with this tool before now. I wish you a very Merry Christmas, & a Happy New Year! :)
Pretty wild and this can be a big help especially when you have an elderly family member who needs help with their computer. Hoping you had a Merry Christmas and all the best in 2023.
Happy holidays Chris. I have had a love hate relationship with remote access PC software for 25+ years. I suffered many years with PCAnywhere attempting to manage remote devices. I also used various proprietary RSA based remote access systems. When I found TeamViewer I thought finally I had the product that solved remote access for me. Over the years TeamViewer has changed, in my opinion for the worse and became unmanageable for me. I have tried Chrome Remote Desktop but I found it to be "quirky", requiring restarts and occasional reboots. We (Chrome Remote Desktop & I ) never became friends in the time we spent together. Recently I tried RustDesktop and it seems to perform well (like the old TeamViewer). You may want to give it a look, it is free and operates well with the OSs I have tried (various Linux & Windows).
I read your reply and am totally new to remote desktop. I have Win 7 Pro host to Win10 64 client. I would prefer to use the hardware, not into handholding too much. However the desktop which is nearly 10 yrs old has kind of blended with the table. Yes I have upgraded everything, But I really saw the need to access the screen of a workstation in my remote CNC shop on the property. Upon experiencing some poltergeists during the longer 12 hr jobs, I had to find a method to both monitor and restart without 5 minute walk. I used to have a wifi cam driven by Adobe Flash, but it is retired which then made e-waste of many metric tons of PZT WIFI cameras that were in use at the time, and the only alternative in the price range currently are Android based. I was certain this was done to further humiliate the veteran adobe users. So, per Chris' video, I set up Google remote in seconds I was looking at this laptop screen and also the webcam. So satisfying
@@chrisleech1565 Chris glad it works for you. If you decide to try anything else consider RustDesk for a test. Never throw out something that works for something new and untested. I have run RustDesk for a few weeks now and soon I may be able to recommend using it. For now I consider it a good prospect. A word of caution ... Win 7 is aging (no longer supported) and fewer applications are good with Win 7 as time goes on.
I bought a Chromebook for myself just before Christmas, because I have been working a lot and I wanted one. I bought one for my wife last year and it's been great for her. It's a really great operating system, simple and has lots of apps. And I've been trying cloud gaming lately, which is very impressive that the technology even exists. It's not perfect but I think it will be in the future.
Talk about being in the right place at the right time! This video convinced me to finally stop using TeamViewer on all of my remote PC's. Chrome Remote Desktop seems to be WAY easier, and the sessions do not crash every 5 min, and then present a nagging error screen about purchasing a license! Way to go Google!
Wait a second, I thought this product was killed back in 2016 (under Google Chrome App)? It's interesting that it is still around. Thanks for the rediscovery.
High-end laptops are now basically obsolete unless you're gaming. Just setup a dedicated box in your basement with whatever specs you need and install this on it. Pretty incredible if you ask me
Seasons greetings, Chris! 🙂 I have never been a Google fan, nor do I trust any sensitive data - without encryption - to Google services. After TeamViewer altered their licensing policy, I have implemented RustDesk for remote support and never looked back. I promote open source whenever possible and run Windows 10 & 11 only in a virtual environment if absolutely neccessary.
It's one thing to use google for email with them having every email sent or received but quite another to give them any possible way of infiltrating your computer and every computer on your private network. I use a hardware based IPSEC site-to-site VPN for accessing my home network when not home.
I'll be hung from the Christmas tree if I try to check this out tonight, but tomorrow... Eager to see how well this works typing on a luxurious Thinkpad keyboard to access macOS, which is what my dayjob entails. Excellent video.
I learn something new every day. I have been using VNC Server/Viewer for remote access for many years, and before that, Team Center. I use it to operate my computer when away from home, and I have a Pi4 that I use via VNC almost exclusively remotely. Good to know there is an alternative.
Would that there were a build of the ChromeRemoteDesktop server software for Raspberry Pi OS - if there is one, I haven't found it. I find that VNC doesn't perform very well, and there is also the need to punch a hole through the firewall.
Very interesting. Since it's free then it may be a good replacement for other commercial solutions if you only have a small number of PCs you want to remotely access. Other alternatives may include rhe commercial AnyDesk, and the self-hosted RustDesk.
Great video and Happy Christmas. I have issues with trusting Google. It seems everyone wants to use Google to log in to various accounts and it gives Google a little too much power. I like it Old School with direct access like VNC.
Great option. Also free and available on various platforms is rustdesk and to be more secure you can even setup your own server. Maybe for a future video
Excellent! Another option for remote desktop control! And, since it's based around the Chrome Browser -- which most people already have installed -- it will make remoting into a distant relative's computer *SO* much easier.
Can it access a phone from the desktop as the phone has a Chrome browser installed. Also can I access a Chrome book from desktop? Most probably it cannot. Is there a solution for this other than using the Teamviewer?
Thank you Chris for a very interesting & educational Christmas video. Using a strong password is essential including 2 factor authentication. I'm also looking forward to the next one kind regards Alan :)
@@z28141 Well because of youtube handles it isn't easy to fall for the scam as they include the number in they're username. It might be a crypto scam but could be a "pro hacker" scam or as you say some "tech support" scam
Just in time. I genuinely needed this feature to access my information scattered among many windows and Linux machines from one place (my laptop). Thanks.
I have, in the distant past when XP was still supported, used a couple of Linux RDP clients to access Windows. I think TigerVNC and TightVNC are also available for Windows, and allow one to go either way. My preferred security is via a VPN, perhaps using OpenVPN.
I have tried various remote desktop options (Windows RDP, VNC, Teamviewer, Chrome Remote Desktop) but the best options I have used (and am using) are Nomachine and, in a way, Steam Link (but this only works if you have a Steam account). Nowadays, I mainly use Nomachine to access all my virtual machines.
Very interesting, didn't realise this existed. I used TeamViewer quite a few years ago to help my Dad with his computer problems, and it was simple and worked well. Haven't needed the facility for quite a while, but handy to keep abreast of what's available.
I've found Teamviewer very frustrating in that they keep insisting I'm running in a commercial environment and need a paid subscription. Only ever use it to assist a friend with his laptop
@@ExplainingComputers I have my main pc in the office of my shed. And was waiting for a big download to complete before I turned off the pc. I'm glad you did a video on it because there have been many occasions where I wanted to turn the pc off after a a download and had to wait for it to complete. Now I can just check the progress this way. Many thanks again! 👍
I bought a eufy smart plug so that I can turn my 3d printer on from my phone. The printer is connected to my PC. Now I can start my 3d printer and print something using Chrome remote desktop whilst I'm at work. 😁👍
I use TEAM VIEWER quite well to help friends. It is also free but I only use WinPC OS. Care to comment? Your discussion of security is most appropriate and very well done and well cautioned.
My only comment is that, personally, I prefer to have as few online accounts as possible, and to have them as secure as possible. And TeamViewer does not, as far as I can tell, offer hardware encrypted key based 2FV, nor any equivalent of the Google Advanced Protection Program.
I have used remote access for years and love it...I like using it from my ipad which you did mention, even with limitations...I didn't know you could use the features with firefox. One thing that is frustrated me is my inablity to use it with my raspberry pi's. So Firefox might get me where I want to go there. Currently I just ssh or use vnc which puts me in a different interface...I like the way remote access lists the state of all avialable machines. You can look at that and know the state of your network, at a glance. I will even do this with my iphone which works.
I have been using an even simpler setup for remote access to my home computers for a couple years now. My home router has a built in vpn server, so I can basically get on my home network when away from home by using openvpn. Once the vpn connection is running, I can ssh into any host on the home network as if I am there. VNC is an open remote desktop protocol that has been out there for many years , I start a vnc display server on the host that I want to access, then run a vnc display viewer on my remote pc, and voila! I'm up and running. Linux, Chrome, Mac and windows vncservers and vncviewers all exist. I _REALLY_ like being independent of any vendor (Microsoft or Google in your examples)
Nice, but my use of Chrome Remote Desktop is almost entirely to provide remote assistance to others, which your setup cannot do. :) The focus in this video is very much on remote support, not remote access.
@@ExplainingComputers Yes, true. I guess there are several similar technologies wrapped up just a little bit differently. Thanks for hilighting some options!
This is a great video for new--starters! We have been using Microsoft for client support for years, we need something users will install without much kickback. :P There's so much misplaced mistrust around..concerning different entities. Thanks Chris, and Happy Holidays!
Thanks for the tip. I've just tried it on my Mac OS host and Raspberry Pi client. Everything works fine. Merry Christmas and have a wonderful year ahead.
Thank you for the video. I like CRD over MS RD. At times, I run CRD only when necessary and disable it when not needed. However, I like CRD for my personal use. Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas Chris! May I share a fun idea? Demonstrate using remote Xserver logins, basically you can have smart terminals or very low resource computers login in remotely to another computer/server, everything on the terminal client is running from the main computer. It's a fun experiment and shows some of the more unique qualities available with Linux. Also, no OS is required to be running on the remote client if you have PXE boot set up. Mostly, it's just really cool when you get it working properly!
also... this type of set up could be used in a school to make a small computer lab inexpensively, or even a small company that needs several people working at a computer terminal but can't or doesn't want to spend a lot of money.
I know it's Sunday but it is also Christmas. You would be forgiven for delaying posting until after Boxing Day. In any case, thank you for this video and a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in exactly one week!
Another excellent video, I never thought of doing it this way, something else to try. I use remmina myself it's a excellent piece of software. I must admit I become more productive since using Linux Mint than I ever did with Windows.
Merry Christmas Chris from Anacortes WA! Thanks so very much for another super educational video. I have tried remote desktop software before, but this sounds like a much easier and better one for me. All the best, Robert
Thanks Chris. Have been thinking about this issue for some time as accessing Linux machines via my MacOS laptop has always been a bit of a challenge. I plan to try this in the coming week. Season's greeting to you and yours and to the EC community.
Have been successful in communicating between Macs. Linux proving a bit more challenging. Zorin doesn't seem to like the extension. Going to try Mint. What I cannot figure out is international texting - still don't have right codes I guess. Lol. Repeat what others have said - this is scary from security standpoint. Do you know if Google is using SSH end-to-end when you go through the WEB page?
Back when I was still raiding in World of Warcraft, I would use Chrome Remote Desktop to access my home computer from work and log into WoW in the early days of each expansion. That way, by the time I got home, I would already be in the game without having to sit and wait through a login queue.
The "cons" of Microsoft Remote Desktop need a re-looking at :) Windows since the days of WinXP has come with "Microsoft Remote Support Assistance", which works almost exactly the same as Chrome Remote Access, a person having issues fires up the remote support assistant, and allows someone with the Microsoft Remote Desktop client to remotely connect to them. You can also set things up so that Microsoft Remote Desktop client can connect to a linux/osx box, I've done it before :) You can also use things like XRDP to connect from a linux box to a windows box via the RDP. Still, it was an interesting video seeing this CRD. A better and much more secure way of accessing your own personal desktops while out and about though would definitely be a VPN using something like Wireguard Easy.
Another very useful video and I wasn't aware of that option. Since I don't trust Google too much, I recommend Wireguard to bring devices permanently together. That way I connected my two locations over 2 SBCs 24/7. Maybe something for another video?
Thanks for this. I am bewildered by the lack of trust here in one of the largest and most secure companies in the world. This video mainly focused on CRD "Remote Support" as a means of supporting others remotely, and for that I think remains a good solution.
Chrome Remote Desktop allows me to troubleshoot a Teamviewer connection that is failing and vice versa! For real power I say have 3 different remote methods available to access your machines just in case!
Thanks v helpful. I regularly have to support family members and over years I’ve used a range of programmes, most recently Apple Messenger. This is another option and I will try it. Thanks very much and best wishes to you and your family
2 comments: I would have considered CRD back when Google believed in their "Do No Evil", today, not so much. I use RDP (M$) on many systems, both Linux and Windows, in both directions. I still prefer one of the VNCs (Tight, Tiger, Real, etc...) for the vast majority of my systems, and have family install one if I need remote access to their system. TeamViewer works well, too. To each their own, I guess...
I've not had any cold callers from "Computer Support" ask me to allow them to control my computer this way. I wonder why not. They've usually tried to get me to run TeamViewer but as an easily confused elderly gentleman it can take up 20 minutes of their time while I try to do this. They are then quite upset when they realise I'm using a chromebook and have been known to use some *very* naught words. :D I'll have to work out a better way to string them along if they call back.
Just a tip to the Linux users trying it: Be sure to make a system snapshot before trying it. When I tried, the installation of the remote access app somehow screwed my OS installation (LM21). I was not able to mount external drive afterwards, so I had to revert to before installation. The remote access from Linux to Windows worked, though. Might be something I did in connection to the install, but anyhow, be careful. I also had problems using OpenVNC, so maybe it is something in my particular network installation.
I had also the same problem in Linux Mint, "error mounting filesystem not authorized". After long searches on Linux Mint Forum, found that the Chrome Remote Desktop was the problem. After removing it, everything went back to normal.
I forgotten about remote access thank you for the reminder and they made it more difficult for the bad guys not to mention the one using it Anyway Merry Christmas happy New Year stay warm love the content
This week a video popped up on my RUclips feed. CERN and Fermi Lab have announced that they are adopting and standardizing on Alma Linux. This distro, along with Rocky, was created in the angry community response to IBM/Red Hat announcing that the popular CentOS was going to become a development platform for RHEL. Alma can run on the Raspberry Pi. Maybe one to try out.
Merry Christmas to Chris and to all viewers. Does anybody here have experience of using Raspberry Pi as a VDI client? I’m currently running Thinlinx OS on a Pi400 to remote into my work machine.
Thats a great video! Brilliant alternative to Team viewer or Quick assist/RDP ! Was able to setup access between my Windows PC and a Mac but my Elementary OS works only one way, I am able to access Mac and Windows PC from the browser but unable to access the linux PC from the other two.
Would be great if you could prepare video where you compare different remote access apps/software. And maybe one with ms RDP connected with some kind of code generated ie on your mobile. This video was very interesting.
Glad you covered the security aspect. This is such a complex matter I share your view, Remote Support seems a safer option. The Android option seemed interesting, you covered that one way only, wonder if computer can access phone to assist people with phone issues 🤔
I used to use this ages ago to access my PC when I was out and about on my phone. Not new been out ages. However, with the price of electricity now it is frightening in the UK!!
I was introduced to this at my current job as a means to remote into my work computer without having to lug it around whenever I commute in. It works well enough and has been quite convenient in that regard! Unless I missed it, a nice feature that I'd suggest that's not set by default is "Curtain Mode".
At least with Windows, Google provides registry keys that can be added so the remote computer only displays the lock screen when remoting into it. It gives me some peace of mind not worrying about someone staring at my screen without my knowledge while working from home.
Very interesting contribution
I feel like I learned of chrome's remote browser extension from this channel, and it became hands down the best remote login software I've ever used! I once remoted into my home windows PC from a Linux netbook and all of a sudden music started coming out of my Linux netbook. Took me a second to realize that I had left a RUclips music tab open on the remote PC playing. Now, this blew my mind. Not only was I accessing my windows PC, but automatically the sound was piped over the connection to my Linux netbook flawlessly!
Not to mention you can use an android tablet to access a Linux gui or a MAC laptop, and whatever else you need to do to get out of a jam. Nothing self hosted even comes close to the ease of chrome remote desktop. Nothing.
From about 11:35 in the video, I compare Chrome Remote Desktop with Microsoft Remote Desktop, and state that the latter is only available for Windows. Several people in the comments here have questioned this, stating that they use it in Linux. So I want to clear up any confusion.
The key thing is to distinguish remote access software from the communications protocol it may use. And in this context, Microsoft Remote Desktop is a piece of remote access software that uses a communications standard called the remote desktop protocol (or RDP). And the former software is most certainly only available for Windows.
However, there are other remote access applications that use RDP, such as xrdp, which can be installed in Linux. So, as some have noted here, it is certainly possible to -- for example -- install and use the xrdp application in Linux, and to communicate with a Windows machine running the Microsoft Remote Desktop application, with communication facilitated by RDP. In this sense it is possible to use Microsoft Remote Desktop to access a Linux system -- but only by installing a complete different software application at the Linux end! End-to-end remote access from a Windows or a Linux system (or vice versa) is not possible using only the Microsoft Remote Desktop software, as no Linux version is available of this specific package.
:)
The biggest gap in security of any remoting is scamming the trust of a user (older people, kids, inexperienced users), I really think your video should have ended with the words like "any remote access poses a danger, one should only engage in such activity if he or she has conscious understanding of computer security". p.s. Merry Xmas! 🌲
Yes I came here to say the same. Your comment should be pinned. This remote access tool is perfect for scammers. The internet empowers everyone including the ugly side of life.
@hk that is a very stupid thing to say. It is an IT issue to assume that "feature" of your software called "ease of use" also means ease of use for the scammer. And since Chris pronounced himself as a "public educator" it is a huge responsibility, especially towards elderly people, kids and... inexperienced users, he "explains computers" to.
It's true, particularly the remote support options. I have a friend of the family who is scammed a few times a year... It's because they forget about the last time. Yes, someone should take away the keys, but there are no next of kin.
These segments of the vulnerable population really need the technology to better protect them from it. Prompts and buttons designed as ever changing, and only visible to the would be victims might help... since the scammers always say "you'll see blah, click the button ___". This pre-prompting of the user adds credibility (social engineering 101) and the victim trusts the attacker even more. Also, once a few things are hit correctly in stride the victim will be more likely to trust future more dangerous requests of the attacker. It's a vicious cycle.
I use this often, especially for older clients. I just set up the client on their machine, and make them give me their google account password. 🤣 That way, I can just take over their machine when they have issues instead of the usual, "Now open a browser ..." "What's a browser?" conversation. Merry Christmas!!
This is confusing to me - isn't the point of the remote assistance mode to avoid having the requirement for the client to share credentials?
@@SMorrisRose The clients I'm talking about are not "technosavvy" enough to tell you what a browser is... It's the type that I set the computer to always be on, never sleep, the icons are 300% size, and the only shortcut on the desktop says "Granny's Facebook" You couldn't walk them through starting a remote session if your life depended on it.
Wow - it really works. I am testing it with numerous virtual machines running various os's. It's almost scary that it works so well, even behind multiple firewalls. I wonder how I managed to miss this facility until I saw your announcement. Keep up the great video production ! And merry christmas too of course 🙂
Sounds like you have been having run with experiments! :)
You could even run VMs on the host machine, or remotely manage your network. Pretty incredible
I think it will not work in reverse that is to access a mobile phone from the PC desktop or chromebook. Can you provide a tutorial on this and what are the available software that will work in this scenario?
Merry Christmas, sir! thanks for presenting yet another popularly unknown tool. One of these days, maybe a direct comparison between the various remote tools? (Teamviewer, Anydesk, etc..) Including pricing, chat features, unattended access, etc...)
Merry Christmas Leslie, and a good future video idea. Noted! :)
@@ExplainingComputers hey Chris, RustDesk is also worth mentioning Ina future video and it is open source! Merry Xmas!
I have used Chrome Remote Desktop with great success personally as well as some clients - one who was using a *Chromebook* at home and needed to access a Windows machine at the office. Everyone else had PCs or Macs at home, so they could use Microsoft Remote Desktop. It worked great!
Greetings Chris -- and good to hear this. :)
I've been using remote desktop for years. Works great 👍. So handy if you're away from home but want to download a game so it's ready when you get home
I too switched to RustDesk for my clients and family, been running my own relay server as an extra measure of security for $5 on Digital Ocean. It has been running for four months and has never missed a lick!
Great video Chris! This seems like a rather useful tool. I did not know that you could remotely access PC's on the web with this tool before now. I wish you a very Merry Christmas, & a Happy New Year! :)
Pretty wild and this can be a big help especially when you have an elderly family member who needs help with their computer.
Hoping you had a Merry Christmas and all the best in 2023.
Happy holidays Chris. I have had a love hate relationship with remote access PC software for 25+ years. I suffered many years with PCAnywhere attempting to manage remote devices. I also used various proprietary RSA based remote access systems. When I found TeamViewer I thought finally I had the product that solved remote access for me. Over the years TeamViewer has changed, in my opinion for the worse and became unmanageable for me. I have tried Chrome Remote Desktop but I found it to be "quirky", requiring restarts and occasional reboots. We (Chrome Remote Desktop & I ) never became friends in the time we spent together. Recently I tried RustDesktop and it seems to perform well (like the old TeamViewer). You may want to give it a look, it is free and operates well with the OSs I have tried (various Linux & Windows).
I read your reply and am totally new to remote desktop. I have Win 7 Pro host to Win10 64 client. I would prefer to use the hardware, not into handholding too much. However the desktop which is nearly 10 yrs old has kind of blended with the table. Yes I have upgraded everything, But I really saw the need to access the screen of a workstation in my remote CNC shop on the property. Upon experiencing some poltergeists during the longer 12 hr jobs, I had to find a method to both monitor and restart without 5 minute walk. I used to have a wifi cam driven by Adobe Flash, but it is retired which then made e-waste of many metric tons of PZT WIFI cameras that were in use at the time, and the only alternative in the price range currently are Android based. I was certain this was done to further humiliate the veteran adobe users. So, per Chris' video, I set up Google remote in seconds I was looking at this laptop screen and also the webcam. So satisfying
@@chrisleech1565 Chris glad it works for you. If you decide to try anything else consider RustDesk for a test. Never throw out something that works for something new and untested. I have run RustDesk for a few weeks now and soon I may be able to recommend using it. For now I consider it a good prospect. A word of caution ... Win 7 is aging (no longer supported) and fewer applications are good with Win 7 as time goes on.
@@user-sd7no5sj4l Do you have a link to a basic RustDesk tutorial?
@@chrisleech1565 "I was certain this was done to further humiliate the veteran adobe users" 🤣🤣🤣
I bought a Chromebook for myself just before Christmas, because I have been working a lot and I wanted one. I bought one for my wife last year and it's been great for her. It's a really great operating system, simple and has lots of apps. And I've been trying cloud gaming lately, which is very impressive that the technology even exists. It's not perfect but I think it will be in the future.
Talk about being in the right place at the right time! This video convinced me to finally stop using TeamViewer on all of my remote PC's. Chrome Remote Desktop seems to be WAY easier, and the sessions do not crash every 5 min, and then present a nagging error screen about purchasing a license! Way to go Google!
Classic EC video: I thought I knew all about this going in... Turns out I learned several useful things. Never knew they had it on Android!
Wait a second, I thought this product was killed back in 2016 (under Google Chrome App)? It's interesting that it is still around. Thanks for the rediscovery.
High-end laptops are now basically obsolete unless you're gaming. Just setup a dedicated box in your basement with whatever specs you need and install this on it. Pretty incredible if you ask me
Seasons greetings, Chris! 🙂
I have never been a Google fan, nor do I trust any sensitive data - without encryption - to Google services. After TeamViewer altered their licensing policy, I have implemented RustDesk for remote support and never looked back. I promote open source whenever possible and run Windows 10 & 11 only in a virtual environment if absolutely neccessary.
It's one thing to use google for email with them having every email sent or received but quite another to give them any possible way of infiltrating your computer and every computer on your private network. I use a hardware based IPSEC site-to-site VPN for accessing my home network when not home.
I'll be hung from the Christmas tree if I try to check this out tonight, but tomorrow... Eager to see how well this works typing on a luxurious Thinkpad keyboard to access macOS, which is what my dayjob entails. Excellent video.
A video dropped on Christmas Day, now that's dedication :). Merry Christmas.
I'm here every Sunday -- next week on New Year's Day! :)
I learn something new every day. I have been using VNC Server/Viewer for remote access for many years, and before that, Team Center. I use it to operate my computer when away from home, and I have a Pi4 that I use via VNC almost exclusively remotely. Good to know there is an alternative.
Would that there were a build of the ChromeRemoteDesktop server software for Raspberry Pi OS - if there is one, I haven't found it. I find that VNC doesn't perform very well, and there is also the need to punch a hole through the firewall.
Ohh no, a new tool for scammers about which people needs to be aware of.
Merry Christmas Chris.
Thanks for the wonderful video.
Very interesting. Since it's free then it may be a good replacement for other commercial solutions if you only have a small number of PCs you want to remotely access. Other alternatives may include rhe commercial AnyDesk, and the self-hosted RustDesk.
We're currently deploying VNC for remote workstations at my company and this appears to be a great alternative. Happy Christmas!
Great video and Happy Christmas. I have issues with trusting Google. It seems everyone wants to use Google to log in to various accounts and it gives Google a little too much power.
I like it Old School with direct access like VNC.
Great option. Also free and available on various platforms is rustdesk and to be more secure you can even setup your own server. Maybe for a future video
Agreed. Sorry, I do not trust Google as a browser and certainly not for remote access. There are better mouse traps.
Excellent! Another option for remote desktop control! And, since it's based around the Chrome Browser -- which most people already have installed -- it will make remoting into a distant relative's computer *SO* much easier.
Exactly.
It's true that "Chrome" is part of the name, but it's also true that it works just as well with Firefox on either end or both ends.
Can it access a phone from the desktop as the phone has a Chrome browser installed. Also can I access a Chrome book from desktop? Most probably it cannot. Is there a solution for this other than using the Teamviewer?
Another Explaining Computers video. What a Christmas treat! This is another thing I’m going to have to try. Looking forward to your next video!
Festive greetings Perry! :)
@@ExplainingComputers Festive greetings back at you! :)
Thank you Chris for a very interesting & educational Christmas video. Using a strong password is essential including 2 factor authentication. I'm also looking forward to the next one kind regards Alan :)
Thanks Alan. The next one is one of my favourites I've produced in 2022. :)
@@ExplainingComputers Ehm there is a scammer under your comment. Try ThioJoe's tool that is called Spammer Purge. It will help you combat scammers
@@z28141 Well because of youtube handles it isn't easy to fall for the scam as they include the number in they're username. It might be a crypto scam but could be a "pro hacker" scam or as you say some "tech support" scam
Just in time. I genuinely needed this feature to access my information scattered among many windows and Linux machines from one place (my laptop). Thanks.
Glad it helped!
Thanks Chris! It looks like your Remote Access and Remote Support Timestamp labels are backwards.
Thanks, and corrected. :)
I have, in the distant past when XP was still supported, used a couple of Linux RDP clients to access Windows. I think TigerVNC and TightVNC are also available for Windows, and allow one to go either way.
My preferred security is via a VPN, perhaps using OpenVPN.
Merry Christmas! All the best for 2023 too.
Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!
Thanks. Microsoft 'Quick Assist' is also worth a look :) Built in and free for W10/11, I've used it a lot since the pandemic.
I have tried various remote desktop options (Windows RDP, VNC, Teamviewer, Chrome Remote Desktop) but the best options I have used (and am using) are Nomachine and, in a way, Steam Link (but this only works if you have a Steam account). Nowadays, I mainly use Nomachine to access all my virtual machines.
What could be better on a Christmas morning! a Happy and a Merry to you, Chris, and see you next year.
Very interesting, didn't realise this existed. I used TeamViewer quite a few years ago to help my Dad with his computer problems, and it was simple and worked well. Haven't needed the facility for quite a while, but handy to keep abreast of what's available.
I've found Teamviewer very frustrating in that they keep insisting I'm running in a commercial environment and need a paid subscription. Only ever use it to assist a friend with his laptop
@@allanmarsh1 I think I must have used it in its very early days. I'm talking 10 years+ with XP.
Big thanks Chris. I'm using it to access my main PC with my laptop and commenting using Chrome remote desktop! ☺👍
Result! :)
@@ExplainingComputers I have my main pc in the office of my shed. And was waiting for a big download to complete before I turned off the pc. I'm glad you did a video on it because there have been many occasions where I wanted to turn the pc off after a a download and had to wait for it to complete. Now I can just check the progress this way. Many thanks again! 👍
I bought a eufy smart plug so that I can turn my 3d printer on from my phone. The printer is connected to my PC. Now I can start my 3d printer and print something using Chrome remote desktop whilst I'm at work. 😁👍
@@qg786 Cool. :)
I use TEAM VIEWER quite well to help friends. It is also free but I only use WinPC OS. Care to comment? Your discussion of security is most appropriate and very well done and well cautioned.
My only comment is that, personally, I prefer to have as few online accounts as possible, and to have them as secure as possible. And TeamViewer does not, as far as I can tell, offer hardware encrypted key based 2FV, nor any equivalent of the Google Advanced Protection Program.
I have used remote access for years and love it...I like using it from my ipad which you did mention, even with limitations...I didn't know you could use the features with firefox. One thing that is frustrated me is my inablity to use it with my raspberry pi's. So Firefox might get me where I want to go there. Currently I just ssh or use vnc which puts me in a different interface...I like the way remote access lists the state of all avialable machines. You can look at that and know the state of your network, at a glance. I will even do this with my iphone which works.
TeamViewer's my go-to option for this kind of stuff. Available on Linux too btw.
I have been using an even simpler setup for remote access to my home computers for a couple years now.
My home router has a built in vpn server, so I can basically get on my home network when away from home by using openvpn.
Once the vpn connection is running, I can ssh into any host on the home network as if I am there.
VNC is an open remote desktop protocol that has been out there for many years , I start a vnc display server on the host that I want to access, then run a vnc display viewer on my remote pc, and voila! I'm up and running.
Linux, Chrome, Mac and windows vncservers and vncviewers all exist.
I _REALLY_ like being independent of any vendor (Microsoft or Google in your examples)
Nice, but my use of Chrome Remote Desktop is almost entirely to provide remote assistance to others, which your setup cannot do. :) The focus in this video is very much on remote support, not remote access.
@@ExplainingComputers Yes, true. I guess there are several similar technologies wrapped up just a little bit differently. Thanks for hilighting some options!
This is a great video for new--starters! We have been using Microsoft for client support for years, we need something users will install without much kickback. :P There's so much misplaced mistrust around..concerning different entities. Thanks Chris, and Happy Holidays!
Greetings!
Now I can easily share files across my MacOS and Zorin systems. Happy Christmas. Thanks
Thanks for the tip. I've just tried it on my Mac OS host and Raspberry Pi client. Everything works fine. Merry Christmas and have a wonderful year ahead.
Thank you for the video. I like CRD over MS RD. At times, I run CRD only when necessary and disable it when not needed. However, I like CRD for my personal use. Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas Chris! May I share a fun idea? Demonstrate using remote Xserver logins, basically you can have smart terminals or very low resource computers login in remotely to another computer/server, everything on the terminal client is running from the main computer. It's a fun experiment and shows some of the more unique qualities available with Linux. Also, no OS is required to be running on the remote client if you have PXE boot set up. Mostly, it's just really cool when you get it working properly!
also... this type of set up could be used in a school to make a small computer lab inexpensively, or even a small company that needs several people working at a computer terminal but can't or doesn't want to spend a lot of money.
Definitely an excellent alternative to remote desktop software, especially paid versions for high end users and server hardware
Happy Easter everyone!!
I've just seen the bunny in a festive hat.
I would have tough you would have skip this weekend. it was still very infusive and useful.
Wonderful Christmas gift, Chris 💪🙏
Great video. I'm been using this for a few years now at the company I work at. It's free and secure.
I know it's Sunday but it is also Christmas. You would be forgiven for delaying posting until after Boxing Day. In any case, thank you for this video and a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in exactly one week!
Merry Christmas to you Christopher, and have a good rest of your weekend. As Always, Be Smart and Stay Safe.
Another excellent video, I never thought of doing it this way, something else to try. I use remmina myself it's a excellent piece of software. I must admit I become more productive since using Linux Mint than I ever did with Windows.
Merry Christmas, Chris. 😄
Festive greetings my friend, and thanks for your support. I hope that you are having a good Christmas Day.
@@ExplainingComputers Thank you!!! I'm having a pretty decent Christmas day. I've sent you a short email. :D
Very handy for cross-platform link-ups
Greetings Susan!
@@ExplainingComputers thank you, hope you have a great new year x
Seasons greetings Chris...
I was not aware of this Google offering.
Brilliant into into it's use and implementation.
Thank you for this one!
Merry Christmas Chris! Thank you for all your effort to make incredible videos.
Merry Christmas Chris from Anacortes WA! Thanks so very much for another super educational video. I have tried remote desktop software before, but this sounds like a much easier and better one for me. All the best, Robert
Merry Christmas Robert. :)
Merry Christmas. Chrome remote desktop is good. Agree on the security part. I mostly use for remote support.
Merry Christmas nice a new video on Christmas day! Have a nice one
Merry Xmas! :)
Greetings, here I am again. Happy new year Chris!!!
Greetings, and a Happy New Year!
Thanks Chris. Have been thinking about this issue for some time as accessing Linux machines via my MacOS laptop has always been a bit of a challenge. I plan to try this in the coming week. Season's greeting to you and yours and to the EC community.
Have been successful in communicating between Macs. Linux proving a bit more challenging. Zorin doesn't seem to like the extension. Going to try Mint. What I cannot figure out is international texting - still don't have right codes I guess. Lol. Repeat what others have said - this is scary from security standpoint. Do you know if Google is using SSH end-to-end when you go through the WEB page?
Great chapter!!
Going to try my Android cell to the Win11 Pc, this will open a huge opportunities when working in the field!!
Back when I was still raiding in World of Warcraft, I would use Chrome Remote Desktop to access my home computer from work and log into WoW in the early days of each expansion. That way, by the time I got home, I would already be in the game without having to sit and wait through a login queue.
Rustdesk is shaping up to be a great alternative, especially if you can self host.
The "cons" of Microsoft Remote Desktop need a re-looking at :)
Windows since the days of WinXP has come with "Microsoft Remote Support Assistance", which works almost exactly the same as Chrome Remote Access, a person having issues fires up the remote support assistant, and allows someone with the Microsoft Remote Desktop client to remotely connect to them.
You can also set things up so that Microsoft Remote Desktop client can connect to a linux/osx box, I've done it before :)
You can also use things like XRDP to connect from a linux box to a windows box via the RDP.
Still, it was an interesting video seeing this CRD. A better and much more secure way of accessing your own personal desktops while out and about though would definitely be a VPN using something like Wireguard Easy.
Another very useful video and I wasn't aware of that option. Since I don't trust Google too much, I recommend Wireguard to bring devices permanently together. That way I connected my two locations over 2 SBCs 24/7. Maybe something for another video?
Thanks for this. I am bewildered by the lack of trust here in one of the largest and most secure companies in the world. This video mainly focused on CRD "Remote Support" as a means of supporting others remotely, and for that I think remains a good solution.
@@ExplainingComputers ☺️ Agree!
I usually use Microsoft Quick Assit or Microsoft Team, thanks for another tools in my tools-box 😁Merry Christmas 🎄🎄
Merry Christmas, Chris 👍
Thanks, you too!
@@ExplainingComputers I hope you and yours had a fine holidays. Happy new year! Your work is such a GIFT to us all 👍
Kindest regards, neighbours.
Merry Christmas, Chris
And to you Stefan. :)
Merry christmas and a happy chrome remote desktop
Nice. Merry Christmas!
Chrome Remote Desktop allows me to troubleshoot a Teamviewer connection that is failing and vice versa! For real power I say have 3 different remote methods available to access your machines just in case!
Thanks v helpful. I regularly have to support family members and over years I’ve used a range of programmes, most recently Apple Messenger. This is another option and I will try it. Thanks very much and best wishes to you and your family
Merry Christmas, Chris. Thank you for all your informative and entertaining videos. Best wishes for 2023!
Thanks for the video! As always, I've learned something new. I had no idea I could use Chrome Remote Desktop using Firefox browser.
Interesting remote access too you've shown ! Amazing informative content.
PS : Seasons Greetings and Merry Christmas, Chris B. Happy holidays! ⛄🔔🎄
That's amazing! I have that same one-time code on my luggage!
Wow!
2 comments:
I would have considered CRD back when Google believed in their "Do No Evil", today, not so much.
I use RDP (M$) on many systems, both Linux and Windows, in both directions.
I still prefer one of the VNCs (Tight, Tiger, Real, etc...) for the vast majority of my systems, and have family install one if I need remote access to their system. TeamViewer works well, too. To each their own, I guess...
Merry christmas Mr Christopher Barnatt
Very surprised there was no mention of VNC, the bane of my existence for a decade.
This is fairly new to me. Very enlightening. Marry "Chris"tmas!
:)
I've not had any cold callers from "Computer Support" ask me to allow them to control my computer this way. I wonder why not. They've usually tried to get me to run TeamViewer but as an easily confused elderly gentleman it can take up 20 minutes of their time while I try to do this. They are then quite upset when they realise I'm using a chromebook and have been known to use some *very* naught words. :D I'll have to work out a better way to string them along if they call back.
I like your style Graham. They aren't happy when you say you're running Linux either . . . :) Or Free BSD.
Thank you again, Chris. Excellent video and information.
Just a tip to the Linux users trying it: Be sure to make a system snapshot before trying it. When I tried, the installation of the remote access app somehow screwed my OS installation (LM21). I was not able to mount external drive afterwards, so I had to revert to before installation. The remote access from Linux to Windows worked, though. Might be something I did in connection to the install, but anyhow, be careful. I also had problems using OpenVNC, so maybe it is something in my particular network installation.
Thanks for this. Always sound advice to take a snapshot.
I had also the same problem in Linux Mint, "error mounting filesystem not authorized". After long searches on Linux Mint Forum, found that the Chrome Remote Desktop was the problem. After removing it, everything went back to normal.
It looks like it might be useful. I may load it on my parent's computer next week. Thanks.
I forgotten about remote access thank you for the reminder and they made it more difficult for the bad guys not to mention the one using it
Anyway
Merry Christmas happy New Year stay warm love the content
Merry Xmas from Canada. Thank you for the video! 🎄
This week a video popped up on my RUclips feed. CERN and Fermi Lab have announced that they are adopting and standardizing on Alma Linux. This distro, along with Rocky, was created in the angry community response to IBM/Red Hat announcing that the popular CentOS was going to become a development platform for RHEL. Alma can run on the Raspberry Pi. Maybe one to try out.
Very interesting information . . . I will dig into this.
Merry Christmas to Chris and to all viewers.
Does anybody here have experience of using Raspberry Pi as a VDI client? I’m currently running Thinlinx OS on a Pi400 to remote into my work machine.
Merry Christmas!
Thats a great video! Brilliant alternative to Team viewer or Quick assist/RDP ! Was able to setup access between my Windows PC and a Mac but my Elementary OS works only one way, I am able to access Mac and Windows PC from the browser but unable to access the linux PC from the other two.
Merry X-mas m8! A video on Qemu and virt-mon would be cool.
Would be great if you could prepare video where you compare different remote access apps/software. And maybe one with ms RDP connected with some kind of code generated ie on your mobile.
This video was very interesting.
Nice one Chris.
Thanks 👍
Glad you covered the security aspect. This is such a complex matter I share your view, Remote Support seems a safer option. The Android option seemed interesting, you covered that one way only, wonder if computer can access phone to assist people with phone issues 🤔
Hi Geoff. Sadly you cannot access an Android or iOS device. :(
I used to use this ages ago to access my PC when I was out and about on my phone. Not new been out ages. However, with the price of electricity now it is frightening in the UK!!
Merry Christmas and Merry Chris Video.
Happy holidays Chris!