Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, Internet Tools, Deals
FarFinder remote access tool: on sale and iPhone savvy
I'm a sucker for anything that allows me to get secure remote access to my home machine, so when I saw that FarFinder, the remote access tool from FlyingMac, was on sale for US$20, I jumped on the chance to buy it. It'll be on sale until October 22nd, so if you want to get the application for US$15 less than the normal price, you'll want to head over to the FlyingMac site right now. The family license is US$20 off during the sale, and is available for US$45.The last time someone at TUAW wrote about FarFinder was back in 2008, when blogger Mat Lu referred to it as "your Finder on the web." That's a perfect way to describe FarFinder, since it makes your Mac's files and folders (plus any network-attached or external drives that are mounted) available to you from most web browsers and your iPhone (see screenshot at right).
FlyingMac offers a 20-day free trial of the application. One thing I really like about FarFinder is that once you've purchased it, there are no extra subscription fees. That means that US$20 price will give you service forever...or at least until there's a major upgrade you need to purchase.
FarFinder not only gives you web access to your Mac, but also provides a lot of other services as well. One of these services is the ability to send files from your Mac to any email address -- remotely. Say, for example, that you're on the road and get a call from a co-worker who needs a copy of a document that's on your home machine. From your iPhone or a web browser, you can simply log into your Mac using a secure http connection, find the file on your Mac, and then email it to that person from FarFinder.
I often find that I need to look at documents that I've created on my Mac when I'm visiting clients. With another computer -- whether it's another Mac, a Windows machine, or even a Linux netbook -- you simply open up the web browser and connect to your home Mac. Once you've connected, it's a simple matter to double-click the file on the remote machine and open it for viewing. Some documents may need to be downloaded to your remote computer, which is accomplished by clicking a download icon.
Other services allow you to upload a file to your home Mac, do Spotlight searches of your Mac to find files, and even take pictures using your Mac's built-in iSight! The latter could be a lot of fun if you want to keep track of your pets or kids when you're on the road.
One thing I particularly like about FarFinder as opposed to other applications is that it does not allow you to control the screen on the remote Mac. Why is that a good thing? Well, FarFinder is very fast since it's not sending screen information over the Internet. Instead, it's just providing file information and displaying that on a web browser or iPhone screen.
The free iPhone app [iTunes Link] is essentially a mini version of the web application, performing most of the same functions with the unfortunate exception of not being able to do uploading. I'd love to be able to grab something from my Mac using the iPhone app, upload it to my iDisk, then use Quickoffice to download the file for editing on the iPhone. As it is right now, if the file isn't already on my iDisk, I can't do anything with it.
At US$20 for the next two weeks, FarFinder is a steal. It's a fast, secure, and easy-to-use remote access application, and well worth the minimal investment if you have more than one Mac or a Mac and an iPhone.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
sculldog83 said 8:25AM on 10-09-2009
Meh!
LookSee is much better! :-)
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FearlessFreep said 8:31AM on 10-09-2009
Dropbox is a much better option if all you're looking to do is have access to files. Plus it's FREE.
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mentalsticks said 8:33AM on 10-09-2009
dropbox is something else entirely.
rajiv.shah said 8:42AM on 10-09-2009
Ezfiles also allows you to access remote drives using AFP - its only $2
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mentalsticks said 8:58AM on 10-09-2009
$2? Far too cheap for Mr Sande.
Heebie said 9:51AM on 10-09-2009
Bored with iPhone apps, I would like to mention that a free, Microsoft run alternative exists. It's called Windows Live Sync, and although its name suggests it, it does not sync anything. Instead it turns your Mac / PC into a file server much in the same way as any of these overpriced apps do. Only it's free. You can then access your files through any web browser (although funnily enough I've never got IE8 to work it properly!) without paying.
It's at http://sync.live.com
But since it's made by Microsoft, Steve and TUAW won't want anything to do with it (Office aside).
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johnk said 11:53AM on 10-09-2009
I was going to say the same thing. I was just experimenting with this the other day. I was able to access all my files on my home machine (even attached drives) via Safari on the iPhone. I had a bit of trouble logging to to live sync directly, but going to sync after I logged into another live service worked.
And like he said, free.
Heebie said 12:00PM on 10-09-2009
That's probably a MobileSafari quirk. Of which there are many...
Windows Live would do well to release a mobile version of Windows Live Sync. I hasten to add that they should release a web-based (i.e. stripped down) mobile version and not another blooming iPhone Cocoa- or webapp. That said, if they're to do that then they ought, I suppose, to release a Linux version for the host computer.
George said 10:06AM on 10-09-2009
This application allows one to use *any* web browser on *any* computer to access your home files. The companion iPhone app is a bonus.
For an iPhone-only solution, Briefcase is pretty slick: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=292598548&mt=8
I've only used the free version of Briefcase though.
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DJFriar said 12:08PM on 10-11-2009
Briefcase isn't Snow Leopard compatible yet though. They released a hack to enable it, but its not really final.
Dale said 10:45AM on 10-09-2009
How desensitized am I that I thought this was called FartFinder and accepted it as a genuine app?
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jay said 11:29AM on 10-09-2009
I read the title and for a second I thought it was called FartFinder.. Anyways I agree there are far better options out there.
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suldes said 12:42PM on 10-09-2009
Flat out awesome.
I tried the free trial this morning and bought it two hours later. $20 cheap bucks. And the iPhone app is Free!
Once you put it on your home computer, you have to diddle (easy, clear step by steps) a bit with your airport router. That done, you're set.
In my case I need it on my office MAC. Once done, I then went on my laptop, logged in, and had access to not only everything on the main Mac, but every one of the 3 separate hard drives I have attached. You log in through FIrefox or Safari and everything looks exactly like it does in the finder.
From there you can select, open, download, email anything you want. Remotely. It's freakin' nuts.
THEN.... I downloaded the free APP onto my iTouch. It worked flawlessly and enabled me to do the same thing. I can view, open, etc. anything on my main Mac. It's a cheap $20 solution and it works great!
The only thing you have to do is that your computer has to be "on" and "awake". No sleeping. In my case I went into prefs and changed it so it won't sleep unless I tell it to during the day, and I scheduled it to sleep at 9pm every night until 7am. That gives me plenty of "window" to access files if I need/wanted to. Good luck.
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Timm said 8:32PM on 10-09-2009
Telekinesis is free and does more...
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jennyp said 12:37AM on 10-10-2009
This looks great, but I'm a bit confused - is this like ShareTool?
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DJFriar said 12:32PM on 10-11-2009
I just downloaded it and tried it out. It seems to work beautifully thus far. I'm fine spending the $20 but before I do are there other apps that do the same thing?
I have to have the iPhone functionality, including the ability to store locally on the iPhone. The ability to email an actual file and not a link to it is also important. So far this is the only app I've found that can handle that, but I'd love to see what else I should be trying.
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