(Archived) Preferred Remote Access Programs - 2005 Member Choice Software Forum Member Choice

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(Archived) Preferred Remote Access Programs - 2005 Member Choice

In the Remote Access Poll of 2005, the following results are listed:

182 votes were submitted, and the clear winner was...Microsoft's Remote Desktop

said by Microsoft :
Remote Desktop is based on Terminal Services technology. Using Remote Desktop, you can run applications on a remote computer running Windows XP Professional from any other client running a Microsoft� Windows� operating system.

Remote Desktop is included with Windows XP, and provides a free, easy to use solution for accessing your computer over a network.

In 2nd place was UltraVNC.

UltraVNC is based off of RealVNC which was developed by AT&T Labs (which also was a contender in the poll) UltraVNC adds lots of new features that make it stand out from all the other VNC variants.

Here are just a sampling of its features:

Video driver hook: (bypasses the CPU, and gets information straight from the video card helps speed polling times)
MS-Logon: Uses your Windows login information to authenticate access rights
Encryption: Using an optional data encrytion plugin, you can encrypt the data stream through VNC (highly recommended for use over the internet)
File transfer: an embedded File Transfer with intuitive Graphical User Interface is included allowing for easy file copy between local and remote computers
Chat: Features built in chat functionality so you can communicate with the user on the other end

In 3rd place by a narrow margin was TightVNC

Another VNC variant, it's known best for its Tight encoding method. The Tight encoding method is very efficient and also speeds up polling times (UltraVNC also has Tight encoding capabilities)

Special Mention:
Logmein stands out because it is accessible from any web browser, and can go through firewalls. It is the easiest to setup, and is very simple to use. Another thing to mention is that it is FREE, but does not support file transfers (except in the higher tiers) It is also encrypted, which makes it much safer to use over the internet than, some of the other unencrypted VNC varients.

Some other contenders:

PlanetRemote Remote Control

TotalRC