These days it is very likely that people will have more than one computing device in the house. Whether it is a mix of smartphones, smart TV’s, Windows PCs or tablets, there is likely to be a heterogeneous collection of devices. Microsoft has realised this and has released an app that you can use on your iPad or Android tablet to remotely connect to your Windows PC. It is called RD Client, and you can find it on the app store or Google play store. Best of all it is free, other remote access apps have charged as much as $20 for the same functionality.

Once you have downloaded the app you will need to provide your computer’s name or IP address. This can work either on your local network or across the internet if you have a  computer that has been made accessible across the internet. You can save your credentials or you can be prompted when you connect. Once you have authenticated, you can then access your PC. Usage is very similar to the built in Windows remote desktop client, but if you are accessing a Windows 8 PC you can use more gestures than on previous versions of Windows. If you haven’t used remote desktop before you may need to enable this on your Windows PC. Take a look at the FAQ in the link below to find out how.

There are some limitations to be aware of. Not all versions of Windows support remote desktop access (usually the home versions of Windows). In this can you can use 3^rd party apps to connect, such as LogMeIn and splashtop, but as I mentioned, they are commercial apps that you will need to pay for. For more information take a look at the following link or search for “rd client”.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn473015.aspx