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Android Chrome now lets you hop on your PC from afar

Google Chrome's remote desktop feature comes to Chrome for Android, so that you can control your desktop computer from an Android phone or tablet.

Seth Rosenblatt Former Senior Writer / News
Senior writer Seth Rosenblatt covered Google and security for CNET News, with occasional forays into tech and pop culture. Formerly a CNET Reviews senior editor for software, he has written about nearly every category of software and app available.
Seth Rosenblatt

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An update to Chrome Remote Desktop will let you control your Windows, Mac, Linux or Chromebook from Android -- but not the other way around. Google

Google's efforts to make Chrome as much a platform as a browser took another step forward on Wednesday with the release of the Chrome Remote Desktop support for Android.

Once you've installed the Android app and the browser extension on your desktop Windows, Mac, or Linux computer, you'll be able to access the entire machine from your Android device. It will also work with Chrome OS-powered Chromebooks and Chromeboxes.

The feature extends Chrome Remote Desktop for the first time to mobile devices. It originally debuted only for desktop operating systems in 2011. Although you can share your computer with other people using Chrome Remote Desktop, the connection on Android only goes in one direction for now. You can't access your Android from your computer, only your computer from your Android.

Google does not require, but strongly recommends, that people use a six-digit PIN code to protect access to the remote session. The remote access uses Chrome's built-in SSL encryption, which supports the Advanced Encryption Standard.

Google's a bit late to the remote desktop game on Android, as there are many apps already available that perform the same functions. Support for Remote Desktop on iOS is due later this year.