Control a PC from any internet browser

To begin on the computer that you wish to control remotely – a small software tool will need to be installed to allow the PC to be accessed from another location. We are going to use a popular remote-access program called Log Me In, the basic version of which is free and can be downloaded from the web. Type www.logmein.com into the Address or Location bar at the top of a browser window. It is necessary to register for an account, so click the ‘Create an account’ link on the right-hand side.

The Log Me In site will present a number of account-registration options. The one we are interested in is Log Me In Free, which is listed under the Personal Remote Access heading. Click the Free link alongside this and then fill in the short registration form. When choosing a password we cannot stress enough the importance of picking one that’s impossible to guess. Don’t use your partner’s or pet’s name, in other words. If your Log Me In account gets hacked someone could, in theory, gain access to your remote PC (though it too should be secured with its own, different, Windows password). The little bar below the password-entry box gives an indication of how strong or weak Log Me In considers the secret code to be.

You will now be signed in to the Log Me In home page. In future, this will be the place from where the remote computer will be selected and where remote control will be enacted. For now, though, we need to let Log Me In know that the computer we are sitting at is the one we wish to control remotely. It is on this computer that the special Log Me In ‘server’ software needs to be installed (as we’ll see, all the other computer or device needs is an up-to-date web browser). To proceed, click the Add computer link at the top-right of the page.

Now download and install the Log Me In remote access software. Pick the Log Me In Free option and click the green Download Now button. When the File Download security warning dialogue box appears, click Run. The file is around 10MB. If another security message is displayed, click Run again. When the Log Me In setup wizard appears, click Next to start the installation. Pick Typical as the installation type then give this computer a name that you will later recognise when attempting to connect to it remotely – ‘My home PC’, for example.

Log Me In will request a ‘Computer Access Code’. This is a third and important security layer so choose something that isn’t easy to guess. However, you will also need to be able to remember it when out and about because when connecting to a remote PC you will first need to log in to Log Me In, then type in this access code along with the remote PC’s password (assuming it has one set). While not essential this is recommended. Click Next and then Next again to complete the Log Me In installation. A small yellow window will appear just above the Taskbar, explaining that Log Me In is now running, and a small icon is added to the Notification Area. Click OK to clear this message.

Our PC is now ready to be accessed remotely, so it’s time to switch to the remote location. Leave this PC switched on and connected to the internet and move to a different computer. Connect to the Log Me In home page once more (at www.logmein.com). Type in the username and password created in Step 2 and click the Log Me In button. A prompt will ask you to follow some instructions in an ‘activation’ message sent to the email address entered in Step 2. Essentially, you just have to click a link in that email. If you can’t access the email right now click the ‘I will verify my email later’ button. The activation link will need to be clicked within five days.

The web browser will now display the Log Me In home screen, which lists all the computers available for remote control. That’s to say, all the computers added so far (just the one in our case) and currently connected to the internet. To start remotely controlling one of the listed computers click its entry in the list – the one called ‘My Home PC’, in our example. Directly below this list is a link to a step-by-step guide to how to use Log Me In’s remote control features: we recommended following this at some point. For now, though, click the ‘My Home PC’ link.

If prompted to update aspects of the web browser (Log Me In needs certain add-ons to work, though they are commonly installed in most modern browsers), just follow the displayed instructions. Log Me In will now ask for the remote computer’s access code created in Step 5, so type it in and click Login. If the remote computer has a Windows password set you will be prompted to type this in, too. This done, Log Me In will attempt to the computer and, if successful, it will display this screen – with the enticing ‘Remote Control’ link. Click it.

If all has gone to plan, Log Me In will display a success message. In the background, in the main part of the window, you should be able to see the Windows Desktop of the remote computer. Click Continue and you are in control. Remember, all this is happening in the web browser but you now have full control over the remote PC. If you click the Start button in the Windows Desktop displayed in this web browser, for example, it will open the Start menu on the PC back at home. If you were sitting at the remote location you would see that every action conducted in this window is replicated on the home PC.

The speed of operation will depend on many factors, not least of which is the internet connection at both ends. If things run sluggishly, go to the settings and choose fewer colours and a lower resolution – the controls run in a thin bar along the top of web browser window. There are lots of other options, such as the ability to magnify part of the remote screen, launch a chat window or even view the remote computer full screen on the computer you are using – click the Options button to explore. When you are finished with the remote control session, click the Disconnect button in the left-hand control panel to be returned to the Log Me In home screen. Log out from this by clicking the Log out link at the top right.