* 3am Labs gives away its remote control software
Secure Sockets Layer remote access users who use the technology for getting to their desktop applications might want to try a new product from 3am Labs – it’s free.
Called LogMeIn, the software can be downloaded from the company Web site at https://beta.logmein.com/go.asp?page=home and installed on a Windows PC.
Rather than give remote access, the software enables remote users to gain remote control of a particular PC that has the software installed. This means the remote keyboard is actually issuing commands to the target machine rather than sending requests for data to the machine. But to the end user, this type of access can appear much the same.
Once the software is installed on an Internet-connected machine, it can be contacted by an authorized user connecting from any PC with a Web browser. The user logs on to a gateway in 3am Labs’ network, logs on to the Windows domain of the target machine and can start using it. The gateway authenticates the remote user and sets up an SSL session between the two end machines that passes through the gateway.
If the remote PC isn’t restricted, the gateway can pass off the connection so the remote and target PCs set up an SSL session directly without the gateway in the middle.
Giving software away for free and facilitating connections for free is a lousy business model, so 3am Labs has a service it sells on top of the software.
For $12.95 per month, customers can buy LogMeIn Pro, software that does what free LogMeIn does but adds file synchronization between machines, file sharing and the ability to print directly from the target PC to a printer local to the remote PC.
The software is in beta tests now but can be downloaded right away. It costs nothing to try, so it might be worth a look.
