Chrome Remote Desktop is now on a web browser

If you are one of if not the only "techie" in your family or circle of friends, you are most likely acutely aware of how difficult it might be to remotely troubleshoot their computers over the phone or, worse, over text or instant messaging. That's why tools like remote desktop access have been invented, to help ease the pain of tech support. If you're still on the fence about which remote desktop software to use, you need not go much further than your web browser, thanks to Google's Chrome Remote Desktop, now available on the Web.

Chrome Remote Desktop actually isn't that new. It has been around for as long as Chrome OS and Chromebooks have been around. The only difference, at least for now, is that you can use it directly in your web browser, specifically Chrome. That is, if you're the one remotely accessing someone else's computer.

The way it works is still the same. The other end, that is, the person whose computer you will access, will still have to be installed the Chrome Remote Desktop extension. He or she will then generate a PIN that you will use to complete the connection and have access to their computer from your side.

So why the new web browser version? That's because the old version, which exists as a Chrome web app, will soon be gone. Google has decided that the app path isn't exactly going as planned and will be scrapping those completely. And one of those is its own Remote Desktop app.

At the moment, the Chrome Remote Desktop is still labeled in beta, so it isn't something you should depend on just yet. Even Google's support pages have not yet been updated and still point to the old ways of doing things. Fortunately, that old way is still accessible and completely usable. At least until the web version rolls out in stable form.

SOURCE: Google