Download free remote desktop software for Windows and set it up in two minutes

Chat Remote for Windows is a single .exe that runs as-is — no lengthy installer, no account required. This walks through everything from the download to a machine that is ready for someone to connect, including the places Windows will stop and ask you a question.

First: which machine actually needs this

People get this backwards, so up front:

The machine being controlled — the one someone else will connect to in order to help you, or the one you want to reach from elsewhere. This one does need the app.
The machine you sit at to control others — a browser is all it needs. No install, not even an account.

If you are trying to get someone to fix your computer, you are in the first group and yes, you need the download.

64-bit or 32-bit

Practically every Windows machine from 2015 onward is 64-bit — take that one. Only very old hardware running 32-bit Windows 10 needs the 32-bit build.

Not sure? Press Windows + I, go to System then About, and read the System type line.

Do not pick the 32-bit build for a 64-bit machine thinking it is "lighter". On 64-bit hardware the 32-bit build captures and encodes the screen more slowly and gains you nothing.

Installing

Download the file. It is a few megabytes, so it finishes almost instantly.
Double-click to run. There is no multi-step installer — running it opens it.
Windows may show a blue "Windows protected your PC" window. Click More info, then Run anyway.

That blue window is SmartScreen, and it appears for any program that has not yet been downloaded enough times for Microsoft to recognise it. It is not a sign that the file is suspect. If you want to be certain, download from the official site rather than a re-upload.

The first run

The app opens and shows two things:

A machine code — identifies this machine. It is stable and does not change between launches.
A 6-digit password — this one changes each time the app restarts.

Read both to whoever is helping you. They type them in and your screen appears on their side.

Two things worth turning on immediately

Start with Windows

If this is a machine you want to reach remotely — home PC, office PC — set the app to start with the computer. Without it, one power cut and you have lost your way in, with nobody there to reopen it.

A fixed password, if nobody will be sitting there

The 6-digit password changes on every launch, which suits the case where someone is present to read it to you. To reach an unattended machine — a company server, say — give it a fixed password of your own choosing. The owner gets a notification on every connection.

For your own machines there is something tidier still: sign in to the same account on both. They recognise each other and stay paired permanently, with nothing to approve and no password to remember.

Windows will ask you about two things

The firewall — on first run, Windows asks whether this program may reach the network. Allow it, or the two machines will never find each other.
UAC and the lock screen — Windows' elevation prompts live on a separate secure desktop that ordinary software cannot touch. By default the person helping you cannot click them. To enable it, right-click the tray icon and choose Lock screen and UAC support — Windows will ask for administrator rights, because only a SYSTEM-privilege process can attach to the secure desktop. Once enabled, the machine can be controlled even before anyone has signed in.

The machine is ready. Anything else?

A few things worth knowing before someone connects:

While the machine is being controlled, the screen always shows a red bar that cannot be dismissed, with a stop button. Pressing it ends the session instantly.
When you grant access you also choose how long — until you stop it (the default), 15 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, or all day. When it expires the access disappears.
You can see who has access and until when, and revoke it with one click.
Screen frames and every action travel directly between the two machines, end-to-end encrypted. The server cannot read the content.

Removing it

Closing the app ends the session. To remove it entirely, turn off start-with-Windows and delete the .exe — there is nothing scattered through the system to clean up.