Portable Unified Remote

Designed as the portable counterpart of Unified Remote, this software tool gives you the power to remotely control your computer using your smartphone or tablet. It supports devices running Android and Windows Phone, can be easily set up, and features some pretty interesting options, such as password protection and data encryption.

In order for Unified Remote to work, you have to install the server component on the computer, along with its client on the smartphone or tablet powered by Android or Windows Phone. However, you should keep in mind that the server requires .NET Framework installed on the PC in order to launch.

The difference between the portable and installer version of Unified Remote is that the program files from the portable mode can be saved to any part of the hard disk and you can just click the executable to run Unified Remote. This means that you can also save the tool to a pen drive or other removable storage unit to run it on any PC and transform it into a server, provided that it has .NET Framework installed.

More importantly, the installer edition automatically integrates the app program into the Windows autostart sequence (thus, contributing to a slower boot without asking for your permission), while the portable version of Unified Remote has this option unchecked by default.

The server side runs in the system tray app, so you won't even notice it when you're working on something else on the PC. Its configuration panel has a neatly organized structure that lets you modify settings on the spot, including starting and stopping the Unified Remote service.

Apart from the fact that you can ask Unified Remote to run at every Windows startup until further notice, you can hide the welcome messages, disable automatic checkups for software updates, deactivate data synchronization between the PC and remote device, deny TCP, UDP and Bluetooth connections, set a default MAC address, disable password protection, enable data encryption, as well as consult an area with logged program activity.

CPU and RAM consumption was minimal in our tests, and Unified Remote did not hang, crash or pop up error messages. Its response time to user commands is very good.

Taking everything into account, Unified Remote proves to be a reliable software tool for desktop remote control using a smartphone or tablet that runs Android or Windows Phone, which puts emphasis on speed and security.