Guide
Free remote desktop software: start with what you already have
Two things almost no article on this mentions. Windows already ships two remote tools and one of them works on every edition, so a lot of people are installing software they don't need. And the popular free tiers will decide you're a business and cut you off mid-session, with no warning and a wait of days to get unblocked. There is also a safety point here that matters more than any of the software, and it comes first.
Short answer
Before anything else: if you are here because someone phoned, emailed or messaged you asking you to install remote software, stop. That is how tech-support fraud works, and no legitimate company ever initiates it. Otherwise: Windows already has what most people need.
The safety part, which matters more than the software
Remote access software is the instrument of almost every tech-support scam. It is worth being blunt about this before recommending anything, because a meaningful share of people searching this exact phrase are being talked through it by someone on the phone right now.
Microsoft's own security researchers documented the pattern. A group they track as Storm-1811 floods a target's inbox with subscription spam, then calls posing as Microsoft support or the person's own IT department offering to fix it, and talks them into granting a remote session — which ends in Black Basta ransomware. The tool they used was Quick Assist: Microsoft's own, legitimate, built-in software. The program was never the problem.
So the rule is simple and it has no exceptions worth learning: only ever start a remote session that you initiated, with a person you already know. Microsoft, Google, your bank and your ISP will never contact you first and ask for remote access. Nobody legitimate does. If the request came to you, the answer is no, regardless of how convincing the caller is or what is apparently wrong with your computer.
With that said — the rest of this page is about which tool to use when you are the one deciding.
The second thing nobody mentions: you probably already have this. Windows ships two remote tools. Quick Assist is on every edition and exists precisely for helping someone else. Remote Desktop is built in too, though Microsoft gates the hosting side to Pro and Enterprise — Home can connect out but cannot be connected to. Between those two and Chrome Remote Desktop, most people never need to install a third-party product at all.
What to use, by job
Ordered by how many people each one actually suits, not by how well known it is. The first two are already on your computer.
Quick Assist
Built into WindowsBest for: helping a family member or friend with their own computer
Built into Windows 10 and 11 on every edition including Home, and designed for exactly this: one person shares a short code, the other connects. Nothing to install, no account for the person being helped, no commercial-use detection to trip over.
It is also the tool documented in Microsoft's own ransomware research as the one scammers talk people into using. That is an argument for knowing how it works, not for avoiding it — but never accept a Quick Assist request you did not ask for.
Windows Remote Desktop
Built into Windows ProBest for: reaching your own desktop from your own laptop
The fastest and smoothest option for your own machines, because it is the operating system's native protocol rather than a screen-sharing layer on top. Free, no account, no third party involved.
The catch is real: the computer being connected to must run Windows Pro or Enterprise. Home can act as the client but cannot host. Reaching it from outside your own network also needs a VPN or port forwarding, which is more setup than most people want.
Chrome Remote Desktop
Free, cross-platformBest for: Windows Home, Macs, or connecting from a phone
The most broadly useful free option and the one to reach for when the built-in tools don't fit. Works on Windows including Home, macOS and Linux, runs through the browser, and needs no router configuration — which is the part that defeats people with Remote Desktop.
Costs nothing, has no commercial-use detection, and is operated by Google. It needs a Google account, and it is not open source, which for some people is the whole objection.
RustDesk
Open sourceBest for: people who want to own the whole chain and will self-host
The genuine open-source option, actively developed, and the only one here you can run end to end on your own infrastructure. If not wanting a third party in the middle is the reason you're reading this, RustDesk is the answer — but read the caveats below before installing it.
Out of the box it brokers connections through RustDesk's public relay servers, not yours. Those public servers were flooded by a botnet in January 2026, and Malwarebytes has reported fake RustDesk installers circulating. Self-hosting fixes the first problem and downloading only from rustdesk.com fixes the second.
The catches, including in the two everyone recommends
Every option above has a string attached, and so do the two most-recommended products in this category. Here they all are:
- TeamViewer free — it will decide you are a business. This is the single biggest complaint in this category and it is why most people end up searching for an alternative. Its detection weighs how often you connect, how many different machines you reach and whether your IP looks commercial — and when it triggers, sessions are cut to about five minutes. Clearing a false positive means filling in a personal-use declaration and waiting for a manual review, which takes days to weeks.
- AnyDesk free — the same idea, in the terms of service. Its ToS bans commercial use outright and it has its own detection, though it reportedly produces fewer false positives than TeamViewer. Fine for genuine personal use; not something to build a side business on.
- Windows Remote Desktop — free, but not on Home. Microsoft restricts hosting to Pro and Enterprise. If you're on Home you can connect out but nobody can connect in, and no setting changes that. Use Quick Assist or Chrome Remote Desktop instead.
- RustDesk — free, but the default relay isn't yours. Unless you self-host, your connections are brokered through RustDesk's public servers. It also has no SOC 2 and no independent third-party security audit, which rules it out for regulated work. A large number of CVEs were filed against it during 2026, though their validity is genuinely contested — the person who catalogued them notes that many may be auto-generated. Treat that as “unresolved”, not as proof of either safety or danger.
- Antivirus warnings on any of these are normal. Defender and others flag remote access tools as potentially unwanted precisely because scammers abuse them. That is a statement about the category, not about a specific program.
None of this makes these tools bad. It makes the free tiers narrower than they look, and the built-in Windows options better than their reputation.
Side by side
The first three rows decide it for nearly everyone. Note that the two built-in options cost nothing and involve no third-party company at all.
| Quick Assist | Windows RDP | Chrome Remote Desktop | RustDesk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Works on Windows Home | YesEvery edition | NoPro or Enterprise to host | Yes | Yes |
| Nothing to install | YesAlready there | YesAlready there | NoHost service | No |
| Works outside your network | Yes | NoNeeds VPN or port forwarding | Yes | Yes |
| Mac and Linux | NoWindows only | PartlyClients exist | Yes | Yes |
| No account needed | PartlyHelper needs a Microsoft account | Yes | NoGoogle account | Yes |
| Open source | No | No | No | YesAGPL-3.0 |
| Can be fully self-hosted | No | YesIt's your own machine | No | Yes |
| Commercial use allowed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cost | YesFree | YesFree with Pro | YesFree | YesFree |
Questions people actually ask
Someone called me and asked me to install this. Is that normal?
No. Hang up. That is how tech-support fraud works, and it is the most common harm associated with this entire category of software.
Microsoft, Google, Apple, your bank and your internet provider will never contact you first and ask for remote access to your computer. Microsoft's own security team has documented attackers flooding a victim's inbox with spam, then calling as “support” offering to help, and using a remote session to deploy ransomware.
The rule with no exceptions: only ever start a session you initiated, with someone you already know. If the request came to you, refuse it, however plausible the caller sounds and whatever they claim is wrong with your machine.
Is RustDesk safe?
The honest answer is “probably, with caveats”, and anyone giving you a flat yes or no is overstating what is known.
In its favour: it is open source under AGPL-3.0, actively developed, and the only option here you can run entirely on infrastructure you control.
Against: its public relay servers were flooded by a botnet in early 2026; Malwarebytes has reported fake installers circulating; there is no SOC 2 and no independent third-party audit; and a large batch of CVEs was filed against it during 2026 whose validity is disputed — the person who catalogued them observed that many may be auto-generated, and no maintainer response is visible on that thread.
Practically: download only from rustdesk.com, self-host the relay if the point is avoiding third parties, and don't use it for regulated work that needs audit documentation.
Why does TeamViewer keep saying “commercial use detected”?
Because its detection is guessing, and it guesses wrong often enough that it is the main reason people look for alternatives.
The system weighs how frequently you connect, how many distinct machines you reach, and whether your IP address looks like a business. Helping several relatives from a home office can be enough. Once triggered, sessions are cut to roughly five minutes.
You can submit a personal-use declaration and ask for a reset, but it is reviewed manually and commonly takes days to weeks. If you just want to help family occasionally, Quick Assist or Chrome Remote Desktop avoid the problem entirely and cost nothing.
What's the easiest way to help a relative with their PC?
Quick Assist, and it is already installed on both machines.
They open Quick Assist from the Start menu, you open it too and generate a code, they type it in and approve the connection. No downloads, no accounts for them, no configuration, and nothing to uninstall afterwards.
If either of you is not on Windows, Chrome Remote Desktop does the same job across Windows, macOS and Linux for nothing.
Why can't I turn on Remote Desktop in Windows Home?
Because Microsoft deliberately restricts it. Windows Home can act as a Remote Desktop client — you can connect out to another machine — but it cannot be a host, so nobody can connect in to it. No setting or registry change is a supported fix.
Chrome Remote Desktop works on Home and needs no router changes, which makes it the straightforward answer. Quick Assist also works on every edition if what you need is someone helping you rather than unattended access.
Is any of this free for business use?
Quick Assist, Windows Remote Desktop, Chrome Remote Desktop and RustDesk all permit commercial use at no cost. TeamViewer and AnyDesk do not — their free tiers are personal-use only, and both actively try to detect otherwise.
That is a legitimate business model rather than a trick, but it is the specific thing that catches people out, because the detection also fires on heavy personal use.