How To Control Your PC Remotely

Remote access to your computer can prove useful in a number of situations and is relatively easy to set up.  There are many solutions that provide this capability, and we're going to discuss a few of them here.  First, lets go over some situations where you would want this set up on your PC:

1. Lets say you have a home theatre PC set up and you want to be able to control media, programs, and browse the web easily.  Well, there are a number of applications for your phone that you can set up to control media or even the cursor, you can use a wireless keyboard and mouse, or you can use remote desktop on your phone or tablet as a 'remote' of sorts.
2. You leave a file on your PC that you desperately need once you've left the house.  In this scenario you can set up an FTP server as an alternative, but remote desktop can be used by logging into the PC and simply emailing yourself the file.
3. A relative needs some basic technical support.  Here you can walk them through the install process and remote in to diagnose and fix the problem.

From here on out we're going to refer to remotely controlling a desktop as virtual network computing, or VNC.  The applications that you can use for this vary slightly, but setup and use is generally the same.  You have some kind of 'server' program that you install on the PC you want to control, and a client on the device/PC you want to use to control the former.

VNC Applications

1. LogMeIn - This is a web-based solution where you access the home PC via a web browser.  So, the only software to install is on the home PC.  One caveat, if you wish to use a mobile device like a phone or tablet, you will need to purchase LogMeIn Ignition to gain access.
2. Teamviewer - This VNC option is basically the same as LogMeIn, except that their mobile software is free.
3. TightVNC - This is another free solution, but may require some additional setup.  With this application you will have to direct the traffic to the PC on the router by specifying the IP address and open port 5900.  You will also have to open port 5900 on the PC's firewall.  The final thing to remember is that when you're trying to remote in you'll need to know the IP address of your modem (or you can set up forwarding with DynDNS).
4. Splashtop - This VNC option appears to only be for mobile devices.  It doesn't look like there is a web interface for the PC or any sort of client like TightVNC.

For beginners the best solution is going to be LogMeIn or Teamviewer.