Home Forums Discussions General Discussion LogMeIn free eliminated

So, today using LogMeIn free, a notice said it will be discontinued in 7 days. There is an option to pay to continue, at a reduced price for the first year. This may be the easiest option for me.I have not tackled Remote Desktop as I have been intimidated by the port forwarding, etc.

But I would like to consider options. From the tech savvy, best secure alternatives?

Well that is disappointing. Now LogMeIn wants $49/yr, which is not bad compared to $99/yr for gotomypc.

I use a chromebook while offsite and have been using logmein free, but may switch over to chrome remote desktop (free).

Microsoft Remote Desktop Client works better for me than Logmein

Given that it is for commercial use, there is TeamViewer, LMI, even some of the remote support tools. If you want to use MS RDC, you'll need to run a MS server and Terminal Services, or a third party Terminal services solution. Either way RDC requires some firewall port forwarding.

There are open-source solutions such as VNC, which again will require some firewall work.

Since we use LMI Central for supporting and maintaining our clients computers & networks, we can continue to use LMI Free as part of Central (for now). Those clients who are using their own LMI accounts will have the option to switching to our Central if they choose to do so.

It is regrettable that they didn't give more warning, but 7 days is better than no notice.

I am not a techie, but a PCP.

If you like it try in the below link: options 5 or 6 or 7. Maybe 2.

Skip 1,3,4,8.

http://www.techshout.com/alternatives/2012/17/logmein-alternatives/

This is GoToMyPC's greatest day. I don't know how they stayed free for so long.

@Donna What OS are you using? Besides, with the new routers, the GUI will walk you through port forwarding. It is not that difficult.

I imaging GTMPC will lower their prices for a year and get a lot of business.

Not even close. Of course log me in ignition makes it a bit closer.

Thanks to all.
Bert, Win 7 pro.
Perhaps trying to set up RDP is next in my tech education.
If I fail, I can always cough up the $49 to stay with LogMeIn.

I have used JumpDesktop for 2 years. Works from all platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. Mobile apps cost money but no monthly fee. Way faster than LogMeIn.

http://jumpdesktop.com/

Of the options suggested in my above link:

I tried free plan. It does even remote printing.

remotepc does all what we need, nothing what we don't need.

http://www.remotepc.com/charges.htm

One of my locations uses a satellite internet connection. This introduces a long latency due to multiple satellite hops, and not all remote programs can handle this. LogMeIn can. Does anyone have experience with a satellite ISP and any of the other services mentioned?

I have used LMI, GTMYPC, and Windows Remote Desktop. Remote desktop is by far the fastest and most stable. Printing is the biggest issue with RDC.
Once you have a static IP address, setup is a cinch.

Roger, was that true over a satellite internet connection?

David,
No, I'm in GA. I was not referring to your satellite connection. Sorry.

OK, I am learning. I managed to successfully configure RDP to one office computer. So, is RDP any more or less secure than one of the alternative solutions mentioned above?

In general it is going to be more secure, and better performing since it is a point-to-point connection.

What will make it more secure is if the external port is *NOT* 3389 since that is one of the most popular ports to attack in the world. The second factor that will make it more secure will be using a strong password. The third step would be to make the user account that you regularly use a non-Administrator account.

There's also throwing three pinches of salt over your shoulder, or knocking on wood, but my Grandmother wasn't up on tech security, she just taught me some great Italian.

Indy,

Thank you!
The remote setup gave the administrator connection privileges by default;is it possible to stop this? I will use a non-admin account to log in.

Indy,
I started using jumpdesktop which also uses RDP , I use a different port from 3389 but I find that sometimes it connects and sometimes it does not. The same used to happen with RDP and since I started using jumpdesktop I cant use RDP on its own. Can you give me some idea why this may be happening
Thanks
Bala

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2014/01/five-best-remote-desktop-tools/

Just ran across this article.

I switched to RemotePC and it seems faster than LogMeIn. So far so good.

OK, I went to use LMI Ignition and discovered it was not on one of my machines (strange.)
Then I went to the LMI website and there is no reference to Ignition (stranger.)
Any word about it being discontinued?
I did notice it still on some of my other machines.

From the LMI website, it has been rolled in to the paid subscriptions:

What happened to LogMeIn Ignition for Windows?

LogMeIn Ignition for Windows is now bundled with the LogMeIn host software and has been renamed the LogMeIn Client.

For more info, search for LogMeIn Client in the Pro section at help.LogMeIn.com.

Pro subscribers: Download links and sample screenshots of the LogMeIn Client

Central subscribers: Download links and sample screenshots of the LogMeIn Client

I have tried Windows Remote Desktop and RemotePC. I do think I prefer Remote Desktop. I've got it all set up for 2 office machines but I am have trouble connecting to one.

I need the tech men! (Why don't we have any tech women? Hmm....)

Here is what I did for each machine:
Enabled remote connections
Set users
Changed the default RDP port
Changed the listening port for RDP to correspond
Created an inbound Firewall rule for the new port on each
Port forwarded each new port to its respective machine

One computer connects perfectly, but when I try to connect to the other one I get an error message saying the machine is not on (it is), it is not set up for remote connections (it is) or it is not available on the network.

When I check the network maps, all the machines are there, and the computers are sharing normally.

What am I missing? What should I check?

I need the tech men! (Why don't we have any tech women? Hmm....)

The entire computer universe is built up of bits of software cobbled together from other bits that you must stumble about in, clicking here and there to see what happens like a Mario brothers game. There are no directions and for the pioneers there are no guides to ask directions off. Now who do you suppose is going to think it is fun to stumble about, lost, not asking for directions, poking at things just to see what happens next,? Men or Women?

All the women I have known are much too smart to fall for this as a time saver!

Donna,
When you go look for the machine in RDC make sure you put the new port number you opened for that machines RDC connection into the computer search box; after it's IP address type (:port number) example: if the new RDC port is 1234 and machine address is 191.1.1.254 then to connect to that machine you would put
191.1.1.254:1234 into the computer box in RDC connection box

Martin,
I have been stumbling about lost, poking around for a week with Remote Desktop! I did think it was fun initially, but, my adventure is now over after hitting some rough terrain.

Koby,
Thank you for the above advice, I did do that. I could not even connect to another machine on the same network, much less an outside site.

Here is what I learned, Remote Desktop is excellent when it is working, fast connection, no lag, just like you were at the remote computer. But, it is certainly not as easy to set up as LogMeIn or one of the others for us less experienced users. I did learn to allow remote connections, make firewall rules, and port forward. It worked perfectly on one machine. But, I could not get it to work at all on the second machine when I used a custom port. I changed that machine back to the default port briefly and it did work, but then when I changed to a custom port again, no dice. I used the same procedures identically to set up the two machines, and the second one just didn't work. Then, I realized that I do not have a static IP for my router, and would have to set up a DNS service to handle that. At that point, I was just tired of it, and paid the $49 to go back to LogMeIn for the next year.

I also had a strange happening where I got locked out of my administrator account on my main computer, and network settings were changed. I wondered whether it had anything with opening the port for RDC and an infiltration. I had to appeal for help to two of our wonderful IT gurus for advice about how to get things fixed.

So ends my latest adventure in computing.

I use both RDP & JumpDesktop - the later from MacOS & iPad. I am able to use both without any problems. Look at your RDP setup, some setting there needs change.

I usually advise against changing the port in the registry. If you are using the desktop for remote access outside of the office, it's much better to change the external port in the NAT settings.

If you're in the office, you just have to type the computer name into remote desktop. Eg. office-pc or examroom1

Sandeep,
Can you educate me? Why do you recommend against the registry change? I was following instructions from the MS web site. I did not do it manually, I used the MS FixIt to do it.

Can you elaborate on this?

Today, on booting up the main computer, error messages appeared detailing corrupt files involving a user account. Chkdsk fixed it, but I am still spooked about this port opening adventure. I have scanned with AVG and MWB, they did not detect any problems.

At some point, I will tackle Remote Desktop again, so I would like to learn if there is a better way to go about it.

Here I posted it on the blog: http://luthratech.com/blog/2014/02/04/remote-desktop-without-using-port-3389/

It covers how and why you should use the External Ports method over the registry change.

Sandeep,
Thank your for the tutorial!

You're welcome