Three Easy Ways to Remotely Control PC over Internet

Remotely control PC over Internet

Compared with remote control over LAN, the advantages of remote control of computer over Internet are more obvious. It perfectly solves various problems whenever you are out.

• Remotely retrieve emails sent to the wrong address.
• Remotely access important files.
• Remotely log in to games.
• Remotely update Windows system or software.
• Remotely provide technical support to families or friends.

Although remotely controlling PC over Internet has many advantages, not everyone can successfully use it! For the majority of novice users, finding a simple and effective method of remotely accessing a computer via internet is the most important thing.

This tutorial lists the 3 most commonly used methods to remotely access to computer over Internet, and guides users to choose the most appropriate one.

Three easy ways to remotely control PC over Internet

If you want to remotely control PC over Internet, you actually have many choices. Not only Windows 10 RDP, but you can also choose third-party software Chrome Remote Desktop and AnyViewer. Next, we’ll introduce these three methods in detail.

Method 1. The built-in Windows 10 RDP

If the two computers are in a LAN environment, then the built-in Windows 10 RDP can be used freely. You only need to enter the IP address and user name of the host computer (the computer is going to be controlled) into the client computer (the computer controls) to achieve remote control. However, if the two computers are not in the same network environment, using RDP will be much more complicated. Then port forwarding is required to realize remote control of computer over Internet. 

• What is port forwarding?
• How to get a static IP address
• How to find the public IP address
• How to implement port forwarding
• How to remotely control PC over Internet over RDP

What is port forwarding?

Port forwarding is a technique that is used to allow external devices access to computer services on private networks. It does this by mapping an external port to an internal IP address and port. Therefore, to implement port forwarding, we must first configure the static IP address.

How to get a static IP address

Step 1. Click Start and then click Settings. Find Network & Internet and then click it.

Step 2. On the Network & Internet interface, find Advanced network settings, and click Change adapter options below.

Step 3. Right-click your network and then click Properties.

Step 4. Tick Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), and click Properties.

Step 5. Turn on Use the following IP address in the General tab, change the IP address to a valid local IP address outside the scope of the local DHCP, set the Subnet mask, and set the Default gateway. Then turn on Use the following DNS server addresses, set the corresponding address in the Preferred DNS server, and click OK.

How to find the public IP address

After completing the above steps, it means that you’ve finished setting the static IP. But the static IP can only be used in LAN environment; we also need to get the external IP address (that is, the public IP address) to remotely control PC over Internet.

First, open the Chrome browser, enter “what is my IP” in the search box, and then you can see the public IP address (remember not to share your public IP address with anyone to avoid security issues).

How to implement port forwarding

Step 1. Press Win + R to invoke the Run dialog box. Type in “cmd” and press OK. Then type “ipconfig” and press Enter to check the IPv4 Address and Default Gateway.

Step 2. Enter the device gateway address in the browser address bar, enter the correct user name and password to log in to the router, confirm that port forwarding is enabled, and find and click Add profile.

Step 3. Fill in the corresponding information to create a new port; you can refer to the following:

• Service name: fill in whatever you want
• Protocol: TCP
• External port: 3389
• Internal port: 3389
• Internal IP address: computer IP address, such as 10.1.4.1

  

How to remotely control PC over Internet over RDP

Step 1. Search for Remote Desktop Connection in the Search box. And then open it.

Step 2. Enter the public IP address we found above and user name in the Remote Desktop Connection interface to achieve connection.

Method 2. Free third-party software Chrome Remote Desktop

Chrome Remote Desktop, a browser extension of Google, enables you to remotely control another computer or be controlled by another computer from different operating systems. It is fully trans-platform, supporting iOS, OS X, Chrome OS, Android, Windows, and Linux. Here are the detailed operating steps of Chrome Remote Desktop:

Preparation work:

• Connect both the client computer (the controller computer) and the host computer (the controlled computer) to the network.
• Download and install the Chrome browser on both computers in advance, and register and log in to the same Google account.

Part 1. Enable remote control on the host computer

Step 1. On the host computer, open Chrome Remote Desktop download page. Click Remote Support first and then click the blue download button.

Step 2. After automatically jumping to the chrome web store, click Add to Chrome to download Chrome Remote Desktop.

Step 3. Click Add extension to confirm the installation.

Step 4. Then turn back to the previous page, and then click Generate Code.

Step 5. Remember the automatically-generated code. Note: the code is only valid for 5 minutes.

Part 2. Start remote control on the client computer

Step 1. On the client computer, find Connect to another computer on the Remote Support page. Input the automatically-generated code of the host computer. Then click Connect.

Step 2. On the host computer, there will be a pop-up window asking whether the host computer allows the control of the client computer. Click Share to establish the connection.

Chrome Remote Desktop is relatively simple in operation and can adapt to different network environments. However, both devices need to be installed with the Chrome browser, making it inconvenient for users of other browsers. In addition, users complain that they always encounter Chrome Remote Desktop goes offline problem.

Method 3. Free third-party software AnyViewer

AnyViewer is safe and fast remote desktop software for Windows. It supports multiple Windows versions, including Windows Home Editions. When connecting remotely, there is no need to find the IP addresses or PC names of the computers. As long as the two computers are connected to the Internet, they can achieve remote control over AnyViewer directly.

Preparation work:

• Connect the client computer (the controller computer) and the host computer (the controlled computer) to the Internet (it doesn’t matter whether the two computers are connected to the same network).
• Download and install AnyViewer on the client computer and the host computer respectively.

Step 1. Download, install and launch AnyViewer on both computers.

Step 2. Go to Log in, and then click Sign up. (If you already have signed up on its official website, you can log in directly.)

Step 3. Fill in the signup information.

Step 4. Then you can see you successfully logged in to AnyViewer. Your device will automatically be assigned to the account you've logged in to.

Step 5. Log in to the same AnyViewer account on the two devices, then you can achieve unattended remote access by clicking One-click control.

Notes:✎...

You can also upgrade your account to a Professional or Enterprise plan to enjoy more rights:

Faster file transfer speed. Transfer speed for a free account is 500 KB/s, and for a paid account is up to 10 MB/s.

Increasing number of files transferred in a single time.

 Larger size of a single file that can be transferred.

 More devices can be assigned to the same account for unattended remote access.

 More Currently connected devices are displayed for checking connection history.

Connect in privacy mode to protect privacy.

Initial more concurrent connections to one computer.

Conclusion

Among the three methods of remotely controlling PC over Internet, Anyviewer is the easiest way to remotely control a PC. RDP requires a tedious configuration process. Chrome Remote Desktop requires users to register an account. By contrast, AnyViewer is not only easy to operate but also has lots of additional practical features. It is definitely the best choice for novice users!