Google Chrome Remote Desktop is a free and secure tool that allows you to access and control one computer from another over the internet. It’s essentially like being able to sit in front of the remote computer, even if you’re thousands of miles away.
Using Chrome remote desktop you have complete control over the target PC. You can browse and edit files, download and install software, apply settings etc.
How To Setup Chrome Remote Desktop
To setup Chrome Remote Desktop you’ll need to install both the Chrome extension and the desktop host on the target computer (the PC that you want to access or control).
Visit https://remotedesktop.google.com/
Sign in to your Google account if asked.
Once there, click the Access My Computer button. On the popup window click Install to install the Chrome extension.
The Chrome webstore will appear, click Install. Finally click the Add To Chrome button.
Install Remote Access Host Files
Close the web store window and your download should begin. Save the setup files to your PC.
The setup process will start automatically when the download has finished. Click the Accept and Install button to continue. Then click OK.
A File Explorer window will open. Double left click the Chrome remote desktop host file that you downloaded.
Name And PIN
Now all you need to do is to give the computer a name so that you can easily recognise it and then setup a PIN to log in.
Setup will use the default computer name, but you change it to anything you like. Click Next.
Type in a PIN number. It needs to be at least 6 digits long. Make sure that you can remember it because you’ll need it to access the PC remotely. Once done, click the Start button.
Remotely Accessing PC.
Now that the target computer has been set up, you can access from any other device.
On a different PC, open Chrome and make sure that you’re signed in to the Google account that you use when setting up the target PC.
Go to https://remotedesktop.google.com/access/
This is the Chrome Remote Desktop page. You should be able to see the computer that you want to remotely access.
Click the name of the PC and then enter the PIN that you set earlier.
It would be a good idea to bookmark this page.
Disconnecting
When you’ve finished doing whatever it is that required the remote access, you can disconnect by simply closing the Chrome browser window.
Summary.
There are two major drawbacks with Google Remote Desktop. The first is that the remote PC needs to be switched on and active. If it enters sleep or hibernates, then the internet connection is lost. Chrome can’t wake a computer. Stop Your Computer From Entering Sleep Mode Too Quickly.
So you’ll need to configure the power settings to keep the machine “awake”.
Secondly, you can’t directly transfer files using Chrome remote desktop. If you really need to transfer files then the easiest method is to upload them to your Google Drive and then download them from there.
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