Join.me is a videoconference application, thanks to which we can create a communication channel with several users simultaneously, with which we can also comfortably share the screen of our Android terminal. View all Mac apps. Popular iOS Apps WhatsApp Messenger. Demo products or just show off. Me is a simple screen sharing tool for meetings on the fly. Read more + Category; Category. Download JOIN ME 1.1 for Mac from our software library for free. The following version: 1.1 is the most frequently downloaded one by the program users. The program relates to System Tools. The size of the latest downloadable installation package is 14.1 MB. Anyone on a PC or Mac can download the desktop app. It's like using the join.me website, but without a browser. You need the desktop app in order to take control of the presenter's mouse. Find LogMeIn product guides, downloads, FAQs, release notes, and other supporting documentation in the LogMeIn product knowledge base.
Who Needs Remote Access Software?
Ever been in a meeting in another company's office and realized that the PowerPoint presentation you were planning to dazzle them with is back at home on your computer? Or tried to help your parents, who live halfway across the country, figure out why their computer just won't open a file? These are exactly the scenarios that remote access utilities are made to handle.
Remote access apps let you either access your home or office computer from another location, or allow others to have access to some or all of your files, as if they were actually sitting in front of your PC instead of somewhere else entirely. Some are tailor-made for personal use, while others, with their complex security protocols and granular menus, are better suited for a more corporate environment. Many even let you access a remote PC from your phone or handheld device. Here, we break down exactly what a remote access app does, and why one may make a lot of sense for your increasingly mobile life.
What Is Remote Access Software?Join Me App For Windows
Remote access software lets one computer view or control another computer, not merely across a network, but from anywhere in the world. You might use it to log into your customers' computers and show them how to run a program, or sort out their technical troubles. Or you can even use it to invite friends or clients to view your desktop while you run a demo for them. You can use the screen as a temporary whiteboard, drawing lines and circles that help friends or clients understand what you're doing on your machine or theirs.
Remote access apps also let you transfer files between two machines without using email or file-sharing services. You can use remote access to print a file stored on someone else's machine on a printer connected to your own machine. Your tech-challenged relatives can use remote access software to give you access to their machine so you can repair their mistakes or clear out malware. It's far, far easier to grab the wheel yourself than it is to try and talk someone through the process of troubleshooting their PC. And your high-tech colleagues can use it to collaborate on complex projects in real-time, complete with chat via text or, with some apps, voice.
Not Just for Help Desks
Corporate help desks are major users of remote access software, but these apps can be useful for anyone. I personally use it for three reasons: First, I can give tech support to friends by logging in to their machine, without going out to make a house call. Second, while on the road, I can connect to my home or office machine and find and view an ancient file that I haven't stored on a file-sharing service like Dropbox or Google Drive. Third, I can invite friends or colleagues to join me in editing documents in a more straightforward way, with easier communication than other online collaboration methods, such as the real-time editing features in Office 365 or Google Docs. You may have very different reasons for wanting a remote access than I do, but there's no doubt that they are quite handy.
Join.me App Mac Os
I looked at five remote access apps that work easily between any machines running either Windows or macOS anywhere in the world. My cloud app for mac not showing backup thumbnail. In addition to these third-party apps, Microsoft provides its free Microsoft Remote Desktop software that lets you access Windows PCs from other Windows machines, mobile devices, or a Mac, but not from Windows to a Mac. Microsoft's app lets you access any Windows version going back to Windows 7, except for 'Starter' and 'Home' versions, for which you'll need a third-party app. Apple offers its $79.99 Apple Remote Desktop app for accessing other Macs onlyâbut that only connects to Macs running OS X versions 10.8 Mountain Lion or later.
I use Microsoft Remote Desktop from my Mac laptop when I want to run a program on a Windows desktop in another room in the same house, but only a full-fledged third-party remote access app lets me take full control of any machine anywhereâif the machine's owner wants to let me in.
Security Concerns
One of the first questions you may ask yourself when considering using remote access software is whether or not this is secure. If you've been using a PC for a while, you may remember pcAnywhere, which used to be the remote access software that was almost everyone's first choice. Symantec bought pcAnywhere from its original developer and eventually, after some major security breaches, stopped supporting it in 2014 and recommended that customers stop using it.
Some other remote access vendors have reported security breaches, but these seem to have been triggered by users who chose the same passwords for their remote access software that they used at hack websitesâalways a bad idea. Some remote access apps let you use relatively weak security if you choose, but they all encourage you to choose strong security, and our Editors' Choice products, GoToMyPC and TeamViewer, won't let you make an end-run around their security precautions.
![]() What Remote Access Software Offers
We tested remote access software by installing each app or service on four machines: desktops running Windows 10 and Windows 7, a laptop running Windows 7, and a Mac laptop running macOS. We also installed each vendor's iOS-based mobile-access app for connecting to a Windows or Mac machine, though I wouldn't want to try running my desktop machine from a phone or small-screen tablet unless I were desperate.
All the remote access apps we tested provide the same basic features. They offer remote access to another machine that has the app's server software already installed; remote access can take the form of full control over the other system or mere passive viewing. All feature a shared clipboard (in some cases optional), so that text or images that you copy to the clipboard on one machine can be pasted into the other. All have a text-based chat feature. Each app provides file-transfer features via a standard two-pane file manager interface.
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GoToMyPC and LogMeIn add the ability to drag and drop files between the local desktop and the viewer window that displays the desktop of the remote machine, but this feature works only when connecting to and from Windows computers. TeamViewer has a FileBox window into which you can drag files that will be accessible to both machines. LogMeIn, TeamViewer, and VNC Connect include whiteboard features for drawing lines in the viewer. For more on each remote access apps individual features, see the individual reviews, which are linked to below.
Which Remote Access App Fits You Best?
We focused on remote access software designed mostly for one-to-one connections, though it's possible with all these apps for more than one user to log in to a remote machine. If you're looking for advanced conferencing features like a whiteboard, you should probably look elsewhere, though LogMeIn includes a whiteboard feature that makes it work well as a basic collaboration app.
The vendors of some of the remote access apps we tested also offer a specialized video conferencing app that uses an interface similar to the remote access versions. For example, GoToMeeting is a conferencing version of GoToMyPC; Splashtop Business Access offers Splashtop Classroom; and TeamViewer offers Blizz.
Security features differ markedly among these apps. Some make it possible to provide access in a straightforward way if you choose to do so. Others require you type in passwords more than once and provide email verification before you can do anything useful. All let you customize security to varying degrees, and you should take a close look at the options that you'll feel comfortable using.
If you're a complete hermit who never leaves the room, you don't need remote access software. But if you often find yourself as the de facto IT tech for family and colleagues, or if you need to connect to other computers for your business, or if you need to connect to your own computers while you're on the road, then you'll need remote access software. Check out our reviews to find the one that best suits your needs.
Best Remote Access Software Featured in This Roundup:
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Join.me (which begins with a limited free option) is part of the LogMeIn family of services. It offers feature-rich video conferencing and two affordable plans. Monthly fees are charged per registered user and only meeting hosts need an account helping to keep costs down. Its user interface (UI) is friendly and modern, and setting up meetings couldn't be easier. Previously, there were issues with high-resolution displays that were not displaying the desktop application properly, but this no longer seems to be an issue. Our Editors' Choice ClickMeetingstill has a better presentation, but join.me's toolset and pricing have come more in line as a competitor.
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Join.me Packages
Join.me offers an array of plans to fit your needs. The free Basic plan includes screen sharing with Voice-over-IP (VoIP) calling for up to 10 participants, along with email support and up to three simultaneous video feeds. The next step is the Lite plan, which gives you up to five participants but no webcam streams at all. It does retain screen sharing, however, and adds some ability to personalize your meeting room. The first step for business users is the Pro plan, which costs $20 per user per month for online meetings, with unlimited audio conferencing and up to 50 participants. Up to 10 webcam streams can be active at once, which is fairly good.
The Business plan is $30 per month for each user, and includes up to 250 participants, plus integrations and the ability to record meetings. If you are a serious webcaster, then you will likely need to jump up to this level. The Pro and Business plans are billed annually, and come with email and phone support and 5 GB and 5 TB of cloud storage, respectively. The paid plans include VoIP and dial-in conference calls, screen sharing, and video chats. A free 14-day trial of the Pro plan is available. If you run a non-profit organization, then you'll gain access to similar plans but for $2 less per user per month.
Getting Started With Join.me
Join.me's free trial is displayed on its website's pricing page. The trial lasts 14 days and doesn't require a credit card. When the trial ends, your plan converts to the free plan. The trial includes a custom link to share your screen; the free plan generates a new link each time. This is not really that much of an annoyance, but it does illustrate how much join.me is focused on having an individual room per user as opposed to a meeting being its own entity.
You can create personal backgrounds for your meetings by uploading your own images or choosing one of join.me's designs. This background is shown when participants are waiting for a meeting to start and when the meeting is over.
After signing up and setting a password, get started right away is easy, though you must verify your plan within seven days. Verifying your account and completing your profile with your full name, company, title, phone number, and company size adds seven extra days to your trial. The join.me interface is friendly, with an attractive green-and-orange design. Your dashboard displays how many days are left in your trial and you can easily view your meetings, settings, manage presenters, and add hosts to your plan. Everything is worded in an easy-to-understand way.
To schedule a meeting, click 'Start Meeting' from your dashboard and select either your personalized URL or a one-time code. For your first meeting, you'll have to download the join.me desktop app. To invite people to a meeting, either send an email invitation directly from join.me or copy the URL and share it with participants. When setting up the meeting, you can choose whether to include audio conferencing dial-in numbers. Join.me offers a number of US and international numbers. Toll-free conferencing is not available.
The Meeting Experience
To join a meeting, simply click the link you received and follow the dial-in instructions, if any. Presenters can share their screen, record the meeting (both audio and screen activity), and select which attendees can use webcams. Join.me allows for up to 10 video feeds at a time for the Pro plan, which is generous, but doesn't approach the 25 video feeds of Cisco WebEx Meetings or the unlimited number of feeds possible in Adobe Connect. Presenters can also set whether participants can talk or are muted. Online chat is available in all video conferences. I particularly liked that I didn't have to broadcast in the chat. Simply by highlighting the bubble of the person to whom I wanted to talk, I could have a private chat with them. This is most useful during meetings in which you don't necessarily want to interrupt everyone else.
A variety of meeting and audio settings are available, including whether to start a call when the organizer joins or when the second person joins, whether to play hold music until the call starts, or to play a sound when someone joins or leaves a call. You can also use your own conference line rather than that of join.me. Once you've set up a meeting, you can go in and set up the meeting space right away; you just have to download a plug-in the first time. One annoyance: The second time I set up a meeting, I was again prompted to download the desktop app. Once I relaunched the app, that prompt was dismissed.
Video Conferencing Capabilities
During a video call, a participant can request the presenter role and mouse control. Presenters can share whiteboard presentations but only on iOS devices. As an alternative for desktop users, there is an annotation feature that lets you draw directly on a shared screen. This is a clever feature, but it seems like a waste to go this far and not offer a simple white screen on demand. Many competitors, including ZIFFARTICLE}}Adobe Connect, Cisco WebEx Meetings, and ClickMeeting, offer traditional desktop whiteboard tools, so it's unusual to not see that here. Join.me's free plan includes up to four whiteboards at a time, while the Pro and Business plans offer unlimited whiteboards.
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Meetings in join.me can't be password-protected, but you can lock meetings, requiring attendees to 'knock' to request access. This is the default behavior so that there are no worries about party crashers.
The scheduling of meetings can occur right from your calendar using plug-ins for Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar (the latter requires Google Chrome). Join.me has apps for Android devices as well as for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. Your iPhone or Apple Watch can be used as a remote control. The desktop app is compatible with Windows 7 and higher and Mac OS X and higher; Linux is not supported. The website works with Internet Explorer 8 and above or the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, or Safari on a Mac. Join.me is also available in six languages in addition to English.
Getting Help
Join.me offers a lot of easy-to-access support should you need it. The Help section is extensive and uses predictive text for entries. There's also a knowledge base, a user forum, and a feedback form for feature requests. You can also email support using a web form. When I emailed to ask about the issues I was having with the desktop app, I received a response within four hours. Phone support is available for the Lite, Pro, and Business plans only.
Join.me now lets hosts individually mute participants to better control the flow of meeting conversations. Additionally, users will now be able to see who is speaking. If someone on your call is making a sound or has background noise, then a highlight will surround his or her avatar. Join.me also launched video calling on Android and iOS devices this year, so you'll be able to fully participate regardless of the device with which you're working.
Conference calls are often a drag but join.me offers a number of features to keep participants engaged, including screen sharing and up to 10 video feeds at a time. But it's disappointing that the whiteboard, too, is available only on iPads. Also, if you have a high-resolution display, then you may have issues with the desktop app. However, for a small company that doesn't need a lot of meeting hosts, join.me is a great deal. ClickMeeting, our Editors' Choice, offers a desktop whiteboard tool, and gives you more functionality for the same price.
Join.me
Bottom Line: Join.me is an easy-to-use video conferencing software solution with a modern user interface and numerous features that will improve your online meetings.
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