A free UltraViewer alternative that stays free for business use

UltraViewer is the default choice for a great many people in Vietnam who need remote desktop access: a Vietnamese interface, small download, and everyone already knows how to talk each other through it. If you want something similar without the licensing question hanging over work use, here is where the two genuinely differ.

What they have in common

Both solve the same problem the same way: the machine that needs help shows a code and a password, the helper types them in and is connected. No account creation, no email invitations, no need to be on the same LAN. Both transfer files and both let you chat while you work.

Which means if you are walking a relative through it over the phone, the script is identical: "open the program and read me the number at the top".

Three differences that matter

1. The personal / commercial line

UltraViewer is free for personal use and sells licences to businesses. That is a reasonable business model, but it creates a boundary you have to watch: supporting customers, fixing machines for a company, or administering a few dozen endpoints puts you on the paid side.

Chat Remote does not draw that line. Free including for work, no per-session time limit, no machine limit, and no paid tier that unlocks extra features.

2. Where your data travels

This is a technical difference, and it is what makes the point above possible.

Chat Remote connects directly between the two machines over peer-to-peer, and the content is end-to-end encrypted with keys only the two ends hold. The server does exactly one thing: helps the two sides find each other, then steps aside. It does not relay screen frames, cannot read your messages, and does not store the files you send.

Practical effect for you: a smoother picture when the two machines are close on the network, and no middleman to trust. Practical effect for the people building it: no bandwidth cost scaling with your minutes, so no reason to count them — which is exactly why point one is possible.

3. Whether you have to install anything

UltraViewer needs installing on both ends. Chat Remote only needs installing on the machine being controlled; the machine you sit at needs a browser and nothing else — no install, not even an account.

That matters more than it sounds. You are at a café on a borrowed laptop, a relative calls needing help — you open a browser and get on with it, without installing software on someone else's machine.

Side by side

When to stay with UltraViewer

To be fair, there are cases where switching buys you nothing:

• You only use it privately, occasionally, and it works.
• Your family and colleagues already know it — the cost of re-teaching outweighs the gain.
• You already bought a business licence and are using what you paid for.

When to switch

• You use it for work and would rather not deal with licensing.
• You need to get in from a phone, or from a computer that is not yours.
• The machine you need to reach is a Mac or an Android device, not Windows.
• You want session content that does not pass through anybody's server.

Trying it

1. Your end: open the web app in a browser. No install, no sign-up.
2. Their end: download and run the app. It shows a machine code and a 6-digit password.
3. Type those in. Done.

The controlled machine always shows a red bar that cannot be dismissed, with a stop button, and its owner can cut access with one click. To reach your own machines without approving anything each time, sign in to the same account on both — they recognise each other and stay paired.