Have you ever sat in front of your
computer and wished you could show someone else what appeared on your screen?
Maybe you were experiencing a
problem, or couldn't figure out how to make something work, but you knew if
someone else could see what was happening on your screen, they could help you
fix the problem immediately.
Ever had a phone conversation with
someone about a particular business topic, but you just couldn't
"connect" with your ideas because it was too hard to explain over the
phone?
Now, visualize jumping on the phone
with that same person and literally sharing your computer's desktop to
collaborate, discuss, and create virtually anything together, even if you are
separated by thousands of miles.
Though this may sound like an
episode of Star Trek, remote computer sharing is actually a daily business
reality.
Imagine you need to take a trip and
you either don't want to or can't take your computer.
The thought of emails piling up for
days makes you crazy and you also need to monitor some things on your pc.
Instead of trying to lug your
laptop (or fit your desktop into your suitcase), you can use "remote
desktop" software that allows you to access your computer through the
Internet from any other computer in the world.
One of the most common remote
desktop services is GoToMyPC.com, which provides a safe and secure way for you
to go down to the local internet café, log on, and access your office or home
computer just like sitting at your own desk.
Now, before you panic and think
anyone can access your computer, let me explain security.
First, you log in to the
GoToMyPC.com website with a username and password.
Once logged in, you then click a
link to log onto your PC, which will then ask you for another password.
GoToMyPC.com has even thought of a
solution for those of you worried about people looking over your shoulder as
you enter your passwords on a public computer or if the computer you use might
carry a keystroke logger.
Before leaving home, you can
program in a series of up to 99 passwords that only work one time.
This means even if someone watches
you log into your computer or records your keystrokes, the password you used
won't work again.
If a would-be thief tries to access
your computer too many times, GoToMyPC.com will shut down all access attempts
to your PC.
The benefits of remotely accessing
your PC from the road are numerous, but the bottom line is that it enables you
to use your computer from the road like you never left home.
For example: while traveling to a
conference this weekend, my wife (and business partner) accessed our office
computer from my laptop and, instead of the usual pile of 4,000 emails that
would normally await after 5 days away, we just picked up this morning like
we'd never been gone.
The same company that offers
GoToMyPC.com also offers a service called GoToMeeting.com which allows you to
remotely host a meeting where multiple users can share and collaborate on a
single computer desktop.
This service makes it super simple
to provide online training, do software demos, and even make complete sales
presentations.
No comments:
Post a Comment