The only fully hosted, software-as-a-service company, LogMeIn leverages browser power and blazing response time to cover any delays caused by routing connections between controller and the controlled machine through the LogMeIn host.
Using a hosted model lets administrators bypass remote routers and easily connect to mobile users in odd locations.
The client resident module stays in touch with LogMeIn, and clients can directly ask for support at any time. PC maintenance across the Internet doesn’t need the user’s help or authorization.
Installation went smoothly on client stations, though each machine must connect to the service, have software downloaded and register for support. PCs can be preregistered by an administrator and sent a signup link via e-mail. You can’t remotely control Linux or Macintosh systems, but those systems can use a Java-enabled browser to control remote PCs running Windows.
The wealth of PC information provided by LogMeIn leads one to consider it a management tool that does remote control rather than a remote-control tool that provides some information. Lists of registry keys, disk partitions, loaded dynamic link libraries and many other parameters appear on the LogMeIn dashboard. You can do everything from adjust clock time to start and stop services through the LogMeIn window.
Fast screen updates give the feel of being at the remote computer, with almost no latency to disturb the illusion. LogMeIn lets you draw shaky lines with your mouse that appear on both systems (cool, but useless unless you have a pen and tablet to make decent drawings).
Remote Solitaire plays as fast as local Solitaire, as do all other support tools and remote applications. The real-time update of the remote PC’s CPU load and memory use in the upper right corner of the LogMeIn screen is a nice touch.
File transfers between systems are helped by large local and remote file system displays. One command button lets you synchronize the folders, and another lets you replicate and push a directory out to the remote PC.
LogMeIn recommends Microsoft’s Internet Explorer for administrative console use, but we downloaded a Firefox plug-in, and it worked just as well.
A variety of alerts can be configured on the remote systems to trigger e-mails or notifications to administrators within LogMeIn, and scheduled scripts can monitor details such as local hard drives and running processes, but they have to be customized by those willing to dive into the scripting language for a bit of programming.
Few PC management tools offer as much support detail as LogMeIn. It appears management and remote-control software works quite well as a hosted service. As expected for a hosted service, the manuals are online, but a Quick Start PDF can be downloaded.
Return to remote-test introduction
