Network & Remote: what to install, and why
Reach another machine, move files between them, or find out what is actually on your network. These are tools people install once and then forget, which…
What this category is for
Reach another machine, move files between them, or find out what is actually on your network. These are tools people install once and then forget, which is exactly why the licence and the distribution history matter more than the feature list.
What we filter on
- A clear security model: what is encrypted, what is relayed, and who can initiate a connection.
- An open source client where remote access is involved, so the connection path can be inspected.
- No compulsory account for the basic function.
- Free for personal use stated explicitly where that is the case.
The 6 programs, compared
The table below is generated from the same directory data as the main list. Licence wording matters here: free for personal use is not the same as free for a work machine, and source-available is not the same as open source. Every link opens the publisher's own site.
| Program | Licence / price | Platforms | Why it is on the list |
|---|---|---|---|
| RustDesk Publisher's site ↗ | Free · Open source | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS | Remote desktop support that you can point at your own relay server instead of someone else's cloud, so the session never leaves infrastructure you control. The honest free alternative to the commercial tools in this section. |
| AnyDesk Publisher's site ↗ | Free for personal use | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS | The one to install when you are talking a relative through a problem on their machine and cannot be there. Fast, works through most home routers without configuration, and free for personal use. Commercial use needs a licence. |
| Tailscale Publisher's site ↗ | Free + paid tiers | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS | Builds a private network between your own devices in about two minutes, with no ports to forward and no firewall rules to write. The free tier covers personal use. Use it to reach your home server from anywhere as if you were sitting next to it. |
| FileZilla Client Publisher's site ↗ | Free · Open source | Windows, macOS, Linux | The long-standing FTP and SFTP client, with a two-pane queue, saved sites and resume support. Download it directly from the project page and decline any offer to install bundled extras on the way through. |
| qBittorrent Publisher's site ↗ | Free · Open source | Windows, macOS, Linux | A BitTorrent client with no advertising, no bundled software and no cryptocurrency miner, which is more than can be said for the better-known alternatives. Use it for legal distributions: Linux images, public-domain media, game patches. |
| Wireshark Publisher's site ↗ | Free · Open source | Windows, macOS, Linux | Captures and decodes network traffic so you can see what a program actually sends. The tool you reach for when something is phoning home and you want proof rather than suspicion. Deep, and worth reading the manual before you point it at a real network. |
If you only install one
RustDesk. Remote access without a mandatory vendor account, and with the option to run your own relay server. For helping a family member or reaching a machine at home, that combination removes both a subscription and a dependency on a third party staying in business.
Its Free · Open source licence and Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS support are listed in the table above. The rest of this category exists because the right answer changes with the job, not because the other entries are filler.
The trade-offs
| Instead | What changes |
|---|---|
| Tailscale | The cleanest way to make your own devices reachable from anywhere without opening ports. It solves a different problem than remote control. |
| AnyDesk | Very fast to set up for a one-off support session, but free for personal use only and the licence is enforced. |
| Wireshark | The right tool when you need to see what is actually on the wire, and a steep learning curve when you do not. |
Mistakes we see
- Leaving an unattended remote-access client running with a permanent password. Turn it off when the session ends, or require approval on every connection.
- Opening a port on a router to solve a remote-access problem before trying a mesh VPN. The latter usually needs no inbound rule at all.
- Treating a remote desktop session as a file transfer tool. WinSCP or FileZilla is faster and leaves a clearer record of what moved.
Questions people ask
Do I need a VPN and a remote desktop tool?
They do different jobs. A VPN makes devices reachable; a remote desktop tool lets you control one. Many people only need the second.
Is a self-hosted relay difficult?
It is more work than using the public one, but it is a documented option and the reason this entry is here rather than a closed alternative.
Where to go next
These guides use tools from this category:
Or continue through the other categories:
- Browsers — 4 programs
- Files & Organisation — 6 programs
- Media, Recording & Capture — 10 programs
- Graphics & Design — 7 programs
- Documents & Notes — 8 programs
- Communication — 6 programs
- Privacy & Security — 10 programs
- Developer Tools — 12 programs
- System & Hardware — 8 programs
- Backup & Sync — 5 programs
How to read this page. How to read this page. Platform, licence and publisher details come from our directory data. Where an independent review, audit or survey is mentioned, it is summarised in our own words with the source named and linked; our /sources page sets out that policy. The recommendation, the trade-offs and every 'skip it if' line are our editorial judgement. We do not run benchmarks, publish measured performance figures or host installers, and every download link goes to the publisher's own site. If a detail is out of date, our About page explains how to tell us.