Splashtop Remote Desktop
A few weeks back, Amazon’s free app of the day was Splashtop Remote Desktop (normally and currently $4.99). It sounded pretty intriguing, so I picked it up. I had low expectations from a free app, but was pleasantly surprised by the functionality.
Out of the box it requires some minimal configuration, namely running the hosting software on the computer(s) of your choice and setting a password, and then you are good to go. Just launching the app on your Kindle Fire will allow you to connect (provided you are on the same network).
If you want to be able to access it from outside your network (which is the real reason to use the software – not that being able to access your computer from anywhere in the house isn’t good enough), you need to do a little more setup, specifically: sign in with your google account credentials. That’s it. No router (or other) configuration necessary. Although, if you do find yourself with some difficulty, they have a good info page on finding your computer(s) via Internet discovery.
The only problem I have had so far has been with the software occasionally not finding my computer. However, if I just refresh the list a few times, that seems to fix the problem.
One thing to note: this software uses a VNC style approach. This means that anyone who can see the computer you are using via Splashtop, will see what you are doing. This isn’t a problem for most people, but it is something to keep in mind, especially for the security/privacy conscious. This is as opposed to Window’s style Remote Desktop which locks the machine while you are logged in remotely.
All in all, I’m a big fan of Splashtop Remote Desktop and I definitely recommend it for anyone looking to access their computer(s) remotely.
