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Parallels Access 

Free Access your computer desktop from a PC, tablet, or smartphone
3.5 
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Parallels Access is a powerful remote access application created to allow users to access their computers remotely, from their portable devices or from another computer through a secure Parallels account with a browser or a proprietary app.

Parallels Access comes with unique features meant to make this app an undeniably effective remote access solution. Among these features, the most remarkable one is the Applification™ technology that lets you use all your desktop applications as if they were native apps for your iPhone, iPad, or Android device. There's also a powerful file manager that lets you share files across multiple locations and devices, while using cloud-based services (Dropbox) is also possible.

Unfortunately, my personal experience with using Parallels Access wasn't so great. I was expecting a simple and decently straightforward manner of accessing a remote computer from another PC, but I couldn't find one from the main interface of Parallels Access' agent, though some mentioning of using a web browser to perform this task exists on its official webpage. I understand that this tool was developed with the primary purpose of allowing remote access to computers from mobile devices like smart phones, but I still think that a more intuitive way of providing computer-to-computer access is necessary, or if already available, at least better explained.

I don't think I'm an inexperienced computer user, but this tool made me feel like a complete beginner, and this is even more surprising when considering that the desktop client of Parallels Access comes with a rather minimalistic interface. Anyway, that's not all. When I connected to my computer using Parallels Access from my Android-powered smartphone, my desktop's screen resolution automatically got changed to an unusable one, and both my computer and my phone started being intolerable slow. I couldn't make proper use of the otherwise cool aforementioned Applification™ technology, and that was quite a letdown.

Anyway, my entire experience with Parallels Access was a letdown, but still, this doesn't mean that you should also disregard it completely. In your case, it may still prove to be exactly what you needed, as it comes with incontestably cool features.

Review summary

Pros

  • Powerful file manager
  • The Applification technology lets you use all your desktop applications as if they were native apps for your iPhone, iPad, or Android device
  • Dropbox support

Cons

  • Unintuitive manner of accessing a remote computer from another PC
  • Sometimes remotely connecting a mobile device to a desktop might slow down both
  • Requires a Paralles account

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