Access Your PC From Anywhere (FREE!)

Ever wished you could get something off your computer while you were out of the office or away from home? Well stop dreaming because here are four free ways to make it happen!

First of all, if you need to have your information replicated in two places and you want that info to stay up to date all the time, FolderShare is for you! It’s free, it’s from Microsoft, and in addition to doing a great job of file replication (think backup) it will also allow you to access any file on the machine remotely from a web browser. It works through proxies and firewalls, and I’ve been using it for at least a year with no problems.

Next, if you’d like to have complete control over a remote computer, say to provide technical assistance to friends and family from 1,000 miles away, your best free option is LogMeIn.com. Once you sign up and install the software on all applicable PCs, you can control them remotely just as if you were sitting at that machine. (I can even use my Windows Mobile cell phone to control a desktop machine.) Now, there are a few things that don’t quite work this way. For example, I was unable to remotely install and configure a firewall. But that is to be expected. This is a fantastic offering and I highly recommend it.

Finally, a couple of services are available for cell phone users which are optimized for that purpose. Avvenu.com and SoonR.com both offer free plans which allow you to access your desktop computer’s resources to access e-mail, MP3s, photos and more. I haven’t tried them because I’m perfectly happy with Foldershare and LogMeIn, so please let me know if you have an experience worth sharing.