[falcor84]

On a related note, a bit over a decade ago I had installed logmein on my parents' computer to be able to easily help them with any IT issues. But they since pivoted away from personal accounts and I never found anything else as straightforward. I feel that in a lot of ways tech has regressed.

EDIT: I just found that logmein actually offer a personal product again, named GoToMyPC, but what used to be entirely free at the time, is now priced at $35/month.

[0] https://get.gotomypc.com/plansandpricing#feature-list

[Lammy]

> I just found that logmein actually offer a personal product again, named GoToMyPC

I 'member this being advertized on TechTV back in The Day. It's interesting to see the focus on PDAs now that the product category is entirely dead: https://web.archive.org/web/20031209031959/http://www.techtv...

…but didn't realize it's quite as old as it is (1998) and had never heard of “ExpertCity”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoToMyPC

[jacobgkau]

> It's interesting to see the focus on PDAs now that the product category is entirely dead:

In the context of screen sharing, I guess smartphones are the evolution of what they meant by "Pocket PC". Sure, the mobile remote desktop use-case is a little niche, but the product class isn't dead, it was just reinvented.

[Lammy]

I see them as fundamentally different because PDAs mostly didn't have network connectivity at all, while modern phones are connectivity-first and gained functionality from there. It was novel to have a PDA with a modem that did anything, much less provide connectivity back to one's home computer.

[jacobgkau]

That's a fundamental difference in their history, but not in what they turned into. Especially, again, in the context of screen sharing-- a PDA would've needed to have networking in order to run GoToMyPC. It's "device in your pocket that lets you control a bigger computer with remote desktop" either way.

[homebrewer]

Try RustDesk instead of a bunch of proprietary alternatives suggested by other posters. It uses H.264/H.265/VP9 depending on your hardware and network, and is very fast. It also lets you set up your own server, leaking no information to third parties, but that's optional.

[frereubu]

I know this is about Windows, but just in case any Mac users don't know, there's a default app called Screen Sharing (in Applications > Utilities) that lets you dial into any other Mac user's computer if you have their iCloud username, allowing you to both see and control their screen. It doesn't work 100% of the time - sometimes it requires a tweak on a wifi router on the other end - but it's saved me countless hours on unproductive phone calls while helping my mother with tech issues on her iMac.

[imperfect_blue]

Windows actually has a built-in remote assistance tool now called Quick Assist. It provides a simple way to remotely control another Windows machine with user consent, without requiring third-party software. It's preinstalled on Windows 10 and 11—just launch 'Quick Assist' from the Start menu, generate a session code, and connect. While it's not as feature-rich as a full remote desktop solution, it's more than enough for parental IT support.

[Flameancer]

It hasn’t regressed really, it’s just no longer free. Microsoft quick assist exist and allows you to connect to any pc with the users client code.

[mastax]

If you have a decent connection I find just using Windows Remote Desktop (RDP) over VPN (Tailscale) works really well.

The value prop for the proprietary services like TeamViewer for me is they work much better over poor connections and cross platform. (Are there any decent RDP servers for Mac/Linux? In any case it’s another thing to have to install.)

[ccozan]

Windows has a built in app for remote servicing called QuickAssist. Works perfect, no need to install anything.

[tracker1]

I think Chrome Remote Desktop works pretty well. It's easy enough to configure for use and put a link to the host page in the browser toolbar. I might setup RustDesk if I get the time, it was in a state of flux last time I looked at it, but it seems to be more solid now.

[PeterStuer]

Starting with Windows 10 this functionality was bundled with the OS

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/solve-pc-problem...

[einsteinx2]

Have you tried AnyDesk? It’s free for personal use and I think does what you’re looking for.

[efreak]

I installed wireguard and just use remote desktop

[ThrowawayTestr]

I use TeamViewer for remote support