After ten years of service, LogMeIn has abruptly terminated their free tier of remote access. And my pal Janice speaks for many of us when she says, “That sound is parental tech support reps everywhere imploding at their desks.” Of course we don’t fault the company for wanting to make money and I’ve always been somewhat skeptical of the “freemium” model (and suspect its limitations are why Evernote now sells socks) – it’s the communication we take issue with.
Those who’ve purchased the $30 LogMeIn Ignition app for iOS and Android are being comped 6 months of Pro service, after which point we can move on or receive 50% off an annual two-computer plan for $49. Everyone else has 7 days after their next login to upgrade to a paid plan. As infrequent users, many of us will abstain… and are left wondering what else is out there.
As for me, I’ve seen a number of Team Viewer mentions come across my desk. Although, like LogMeIn, who knows if they may one day change-up their business model. Which is why I’ve gone straight to the Chrome screen sharing route. Google already knows pretty much everything I do and, as a Chromebook owner and regular user of their browser, this fits pretty seamlessly into my workflow – with mobile apps are on the way. Plus there’s native OS X screensharing via Messages for the times I need to tune up my Mom’s Mac. What about you?
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I've been using Chrome Remote Desktop as well when I'm in front of a computer. When I'm on my Android phone I use Microsoft Remote Desktop
I setup Teamviewer on my parents' laptop yesterday when I heard this. I like that it also works on my Linux boxes as well.
My setup for supporting my parents has always been one that I rolled out myself. Install cygwin ssh server, open a port on the router (non-default SSH port), setup public ssh key and then use ssh port forwarding for VNC/RDP. I even have iSSH on my iOS devices which supports tunneling VNC/RDP over ssh so I can provide support with only my iPhone if necessary.
Of course, I've long been a unix-ish person so cygwin setup is not at all daunting after working to support actual customers at previous employers via modem on a tty port.
I have used teamviewer at times to support other family on rare occasions as well as some limited use of teamviewer at my current employer.
I'd be interested in hearing other responses as well... my solution obviously requires far more setup but also ensures that nobody will decide that my solution is no longer free as cygwin, ssh and VNC are open source (more or less).