For yourself, RDC provides a way to access files and apps from anywhere. Need something from your PC back home, when you\u2019re on the road? No problem: Use RDC to connect and send yourself the files you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For helping others, once you have their permission, RDC gives you a way to manage, maintain, and repair their distant PCs from the comfort of your normal location, saving you travel time and frustration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s all good, but the built-in RDC for Windows 8.1, 10, and 11 is actually ancient,\u00a0XP-era<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0tech with fussy, hit-or-miss functionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For many users \u2014 including me! \u2014 there\u2019s a better, vastly simpler, and (still free) alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full story in the\u00a0AskWoody Plus Newsletter 19.05.0<\/a>\u00a0(2022-01-31). Also in this issue:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Click here for the\u00a0Askwoody Free<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0signup; 100% free!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Click here for the AskWoody Plus<\/strong><\/a> signup; no set price \u2014 pay what you think it\u2019s worth!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Permalink: <\/em><\/strong>https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=5766<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n COMMENT \/ QUESTION<\/strong> on THIS ITEM?<\/strong> See the<\/em> Comment box<\/strong> at bottom of this page!<\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Alas, it\u2019s not the one built into Windows. A remote desktop connection (RDC) lets you access and use a distant PC just as if you were sitting at its keyboard, whether that second device is in the next room or halfway around the world. For yourself, RDC provides a way to access files and apps…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[29,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-askwoody-plus","category-langa-com-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paaiox-1yb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5973,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/07\/readers-speak-remote-desktop-options\/","url_meta":{"origin":5963,"position":0},"title":"Readers speak: Remote Desktop options","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2022-02-07","format":false,"excerpt":"A\u00a0remote desktop connection\u00a0lets you access and use a distant PC just as if you were sitting at its keyboard. It's a great way to access your files and apps from anywhere, or to provide long-distance assistance to others. Last week's column focused on the limitations of Windows' built-in\u00a0Remote Desktop Connection\u00a0and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AskWoody Plus"","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fred Langa","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5982,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/14\/new-to-remote-desktops-start-here\/","url_meta":{"origin":5963,"position":1},"title":"New to \u201cremote desktops?\u201d Start here!","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2022-02-14","format":false,"excerpt":"Previous columns discussed several\u00a0remote desktops\u00a0\u2014 software that lets you access and use a distant PC just as if you were sitting at its keyboard. Google\u2019s\u00a0Chrome Remote Desktop\u00a0was the main focus because it\u2019s much easier to configure and use than Windows\u2019 built-in\u00a0Remote Desktop Connection. However, if you\u2019ve never used\u00a0any\u00a0remote-access tool before,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AskWoody Plus"","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fred Langa","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2205,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/03\/13\/readers-reply-to-cheapest-way-to-network-post\/","url_meta":{"origin":5963,"position":2},"title":"Readers reply to “cheapest way to network” post","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-03-13","format":false,"excerpt":"In \"What\u2019s the cheapest way to network an external hard drive?\" I suggested a fully-functional, zero-cost option: Connect the drive to any PC that's already on the network, and use the OS's built-in network sharing function (e.g. Win10's Give access to\/Advanced Sharing\/ option) to let others access the drive. Several\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "From the InBox"","block_context":{"text":"From the InBox","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/from-the-inbox\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6021,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/14\/salvaging-a-fatally-hacked-pc\/","url_meta":{"origin":5963,"position":3},"title":"Salvaging a fatally hacked PC","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2022-03-14","format":false,"excerpt":"A subscriber\u2019s PC was commandeered by malware; even the administrator\u2019s account is now inaccessible! How can this PC be safely returned to service, especially now that Windows 11 is closing some of the old back-door admin-access workarounds? Plus: Is Google\u2019s Remote Desktop just another way for Google to snoop on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AskWoody Plus"","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fred Langa","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3121,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/07\/25\/i-saved-an-important-word-document-on-my-desktop-renamed-it-and-then-made-it-hidden-when-i-came-back-some-days-later-i-selected-view-hidden-files-but-my-document-is-not-there-what-should-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":5963,"position":4},"title":"“I saved an important Word document on my desktop, renamed it, and then made it hidden. Some days later, I selected ‘view hidden files,’ but my file’s not there! What should I do?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-07-25","format":false,"excerpt":"What a strange and dangerous way to hide a file! Because it was hidden, there\u2019s no good way to track what happened. But you might --- might --- be able to recover the file. I assume you searched the entire disk for the file, including the Recycle Bin. You might\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3219,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/08\/is-a-32gb-ssd-memory-on-a-netbook-enough-to-run-windows-and-microsoft-office\/","url_meta":{"origin":5963,"position":5},"title":"“Is a 32GB SSD on a netbook enough to run Windows and Microsoft Office?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-08-08","format":false,"excerpt":"In a word: No. On this page, Microsoft states (emphasis added): \"Starting with the May 2019 Update, the system requirements for hard drive size for clean installs\u00a0of Windows 10 as well as new PCs changed to a minimum of 32GB.\" That's Windows itself. MS Office also needs room, although the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5963"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5967,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5963\/revisions\/5967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/NL-2022-01-31-Langa_Fig1.jpg?resize=411%2C521\")
This story also appears in the\u00a0AskWoody Free Newsletter 19.05.F<\/a>\u00a0(2022-01-31).<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Fred](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?resize=110%2C110\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"[seperator]\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SEPERATOR-short-grey.png?resize=104%2C6\")
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