TeamViewer 8

TeamViewer 8 Beta provides fast and secure remote desktop connections.

TeamViewer 8 Beta is a desktop sharing tool, which means two users can connect their Windows PCs and share access to their desktops. This program is user-friendly enough for the family tech expert to provide support, but it’s also robust enough for professional environments. In fact, one of the features that distinguishes 8 from previous iterations is a Team Management Console.

Remote desktop connections are made possible with virtual private networks or VPNs. A VPN is essentially a LAN, but the connections are not made locally but rather over the Internet. The Internet can be a rather unsecure place, but TeamViewer mitigates this risk through access authorization and by encrypting that communication between connected parties.

When you begin a remote session, TeamViewer provides you with a unique session name and password. You then give that information to the user being connected to. By using that session name and password, the TeamViewer service recognizes the link and creates it for you. With that link established, you now have full access to the remote computer. You can execute programs, uninstall software, change system settings and so forth.

You also have access to tools built into the TeamViewer software. An embedded chat app, for instance, lets the connected users text chat without having to use a third-party app. TeamViewer also supports VoIP and video, and those video capabilities can be used to record sessions, which can be important in business environments. The Team Management Console lets you coordinate a support team. A particularly useful feature is the ability to transfer a session to another user. This way, you can have specialized support, and techs can pass tasks on to the appropriate specialist.

If there’s a downside to TeamViewer 8 it’s that performance is highly dependent on the speed and stability of the connection. If either side of the connection has a high ping or is dealing with interruptions, then it can be difficult to maintain the connect or to complete tasks in a timely manner. On broadband connections and the like, however, this limitation is unlikely to be experienced.

Pros

• Embedded voice and text chat
• Embedded file transfer
• Session recording
• Team management console

Cons

• Connection quality can affect performance