LogMeIn For Linux Computer

It’s hard to best LogMeIn when it comes to remote desktop software. This program, once installed, allows you to remotely log into another computer – regardless of the router configuration of the computer you’re connecting to.
If you have access to a web browser you can access any and all computers you’ve set up using the service. The entire process is possible with or without a browser plugin, but it’s much faster if you have one. Aibek reviewed the program back in 2006 and since then it’s only got better.
I love this software, and use it for work quite a bit. I’ve had a problem, however: my netbook runs Jolicloud, meaning I can’t install the official LogMeIn plugin for my browser. As such, my remote connections are incredibly slow.

Or at least they were, until I found LogMeIn for Linux.
Yes, there’s an experimental browser plugin for LogMeIn. LogMeIn itself advises that you should not make use of this plugin in a production environment, but it’s still worth checking out. Additionally, if you ever absolutely need a Linux LogMeIn client, this will work in a pinch.

Installation

You won’t find the LogMeIn Linux plugin in your distribution’s repository; it’s too new to be there. You can, however, find a download over at LogMeIn’s “labs” page. The downloads include a DEB package (which offers LogMeIn for Ubuntu, Jolicloud and all other Ubuntu-based distros), an RPM package (which will work with SUSE and Red-Hat based systems including Fedora), and a TAR.GZ package for those who prefer to manually install such things.
On most user-friendly distributions, including Ubuntu, Fedora and Jolicloud, installing is as simple as downloading the package, double-clicking it and following the on-screen instructions. Restart your browser and you’re ready to start using LogMeIn.
If you’re using a distribution in which installation is more complicated than this, undoubtedly you’re smart enough to figure this out on your own. All you need to do is extract the file in the TAR.GZ to the folder your browser plugins are stored in: “~/.mozilla/plugins/“.
The plugin only works with browsers compatible with Mozilla plugins, such as Firefox.

Using The Plugin

This is LogMeIn as it’s meant to be. Head over to LogMeIn.com on your Linux machine and log in the way you normally do. As usual, you’ll be able to connect to all of the computers you’ve set up LogMeIn on. When you connect to them, however, you’ll immediately notice the speed difference.
You’ll also notice the full LogMeIn toolset, a lot of which is too slow to use in the flash version of LogMeIn you get without a browser plugin.

Pre-Release

Note that, as stated earlier, this plugin is pre-release right now. LogMeIn makes no guarantee that it will work, and I’d advice you to not use it in situations where success is absolutely crucial.
You should also note that, at this time, there’s no way for you to connect with Linux machines; you can only connect to Windows and Mac machines from your Linux computer. Those hoping to connect to their Linux machine still need to resort to some combination of DynDNS, VNC and/or SSH. I recently wrote about using DynDNS to access your computer from anywhere, and I explained how to connect to your computer using VNC.

Conclusion

This plugin is exciting for me, because it greatly increases the speed with which I can connect to LogMeIn from my Linux-based netbook. I hope LogMeIn continues to develop this plugin, because it really would help out a lot of tech-savvy Linux people who want to help their Windows-and-Mac-based friends.
Why don’t you try out the plugin and then let us know what you think?LINUX On The Road - The First Book on MOBILE Linux: Linux with Laptops, Notebooks, Netbooks, PDAs, Mobile Phones and other Portable Devices