Review: Radmin
Have you ever wished you could access files on another PC, or run a computer by remote? Ian Waugh and Radmin take control...
| Product | Radmin |
|---|---|
| Company | Famtech |
| Web | www.radmin.com |
| Price | £28 |
| We like | It works superbly! |
| We don't like | Network newbies may struggle with the setup, expensive to control several computers |
| Rating | 8/10 |
| Requirements | Server: Windows 2000/ XP/ 2003/ Vista
Viewer: Windows 95/ 98/ Me/ NT4/2000/ XP/ 2003/ Vista |
Radmin (short for Remote Administrator) is remote control software. It enables you to control another computer on the same network or even over the internet from your own computer using your own keyboard and mouse.
If you understand why this might be useful, you've probably already clicked on the Web link. If not, here are a couple of common scenarios...
Many people now have two or more computers in their home. It's not uncommon to have one at the office, too. An increasing number of people also have a laptop either to carry their work around with them, or simply to have computer access whilst on the move.
If you fall into one of the above categories, chances are you've been away from your main computer and wanted to access some files on it. Trouble is, under normal circumstances you can't.
But with Radmin you can.
Here's another scenario. If you know a bit about computers, you're probably asked to solve computer problems. This may be from parents or close friends and although you don't mind helping, 'remote' diagnosis is often very difficult; you need to sit in front of the offending machine and see what's going on. Which involves a trip.
But with Radmin you can access and control another computer remotely from your own PC.
So how does it work?
How Radmin works
Radmin uses two pieces of software. One is a Server that you install on the machine you want to control. The other is a Viewer that you install on the computer you want to do the controlling.
The link is made via TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) via the target computer's IP address. This is the internet address used to differentiate one computer from another and every computer connected to the internet has a different IP address. You can find out your computer's IP address here: www.whatismyipaddress.com
So all you do is enter the target computer's unique IP address into the Viewer and off you go!
Network administrators will find the system easy to set up but home users may have other considerations, too.
IP addresses and networks
Most ISPs give home users a dynamic IP address so each time you connect to the net your ISP provider will likely allocate you a different IP address, and if you don't know what it is, you won't be able to access the remote computer.
The situation is further complicated by internal networks. If you have a computer or three on a network and try the above link, each one will show the same IP address. This will actually be the IP address of your router which then allocates 'internal' IP addresses to connected computers.
Most internal IP addresses on home networks are similar, typically something like 192.168.1.xxx. You will likely find similar settings in your network. There are probably hundreds of thousands of computers on networks with the same internal IP address but these addresses aren't seen by the world wide web beyond the router. The router directs incoming data from the web to the relevant computer on the network.
In order for Radmin to work over the internet, the computer you want to control must have a unique external IP address – which it will not have on a network.
To get around this you can do a couple of things. Some ISPs may be able to provide a fixed IP address (for an extra charge). If you don't want to pay for one, you need to use a service like www.dyndns.com or www.no-ip.com (we used the latter for this review) which are free and which track a computer's IP address and map it to a domain name. So, for example, you could select a domain name such as johnsmainpc.no-ip.biz for your computer.
Next, you need to set port forwarding in the router so an incoming request to port 4899, say, would be forwarded to the internal IP address of the computer you want to control, say 192.168.1.68. You can do this with most routers although you may need to dig into the instructions a bit.
Once you understand what needs to be done, it's not too difficult although a network beginner may well struggle.
However, the Radmin manual doesn't explain how to do this at all! It acknowledges the fact that third party programs may be required to learn the IP address or map it to a static DNS (Domain Name System) name but that's as far as it goes.
The instructions do say that if you hover your mouse over the Radmin icon in the Task Bar, the IP address will pop up and you can use this. But, this is the internal address, not the external one. This address will work within the network but not over the internet. It's very misleading.
So, a little technical knowledge is required to get Radmin up and running over the net, but once it is, it works brilliantly. You open the Viewer on the remote machine and connect to the remote machine using its external IP address or domain name which you set up earlier.
Secure connection
Radmin has a lot of security. It uses 256-bit keys for each connection and encrypts data streams. Each Server can allow access by any number of users, each with different permissions. You can, for example, restrict control to just viewing the screen. Full access gives you control over virtually everything, as if you were sitting in front of the computer using its keyboard and mouse.
Options include the ability to transfer files between the two computers, shut down and reboot, send messages, and voice and text chat. You can copy the clipboard from one computer to the other and there's support for multiple monitors.
It works brilliantly!
Now, before you rush off to install Radmin on all your friends' computers, note that the license is, alas, for one computer only. That could work out pretty expensive pretty quickly unless there's only one or maybe two computers you need to access remotely. There are discounts for bulk buys so a business will find it more cost-effective.
It's worth noting, however, that the Viewer part of the application is free so you could control one machine from several locations.
Conclusion
If you need to access a computer by remote, once you get it set up, Radmin. It has many access options, is very secure and works perfectly. Get a free 30-day trial here.
