Click to view More than a few commenters had questions about the Gbridge tool for Windows we featured last week,
which works on top of your Google account to provide file sharing and
remote desktop capabilities. Why does it bother using Google accounts?
Is it any better or different than LogMeIn or Techinline? Is it secure?
We spent some time checking out Gbridge, and came away impressed with
its ease of use and nifty features, along with a few answers to your
questions and screenshots.First off, Gbridge uses your Google account
username and password in large part to save you and any friends you
connect to the trouble of having to create new accounts (and remember
new passwords) at Gbridge. It also uses the Google Talk service’s
authentication, and claims to encrypt all network traffic it passes
through GTalk’s servers. Furthermore, the app makers state in their FAQ
that everything gets encrypted and authenticated between Gbridge
clients. That may not be enough assurance for IT managers or anyone
backing up super-private files, but if you’re still interested, let’s
check out what Gbridge can do.
Setting up Gbridge and file sharing
After heading to Gbridge’s web site and downloading the Windows client,
installing is relatively straightforward. All users will see a
black-and-white command prompt pop up, which is normal. Vista users,
however, may see this dire warning, but Gbridge informs you to let it
slide and hit “Allow”:
Once
you move past the technicals, you’ll be asked for your Gmail/Google
account information, and to give a host name (of less than 8
characters).
When
everything’s set up, you’re ready to get rolling, but you might want to
set up Gbridge on any other computers you own to create a virtual
network amongst your boxes. That’s right—you can install and auto-start
Gbridge on multiple computers, using the same Gmail logon, and it will
keep all those computers connected and ready to trade or stream files.
In the example below, I used my Gmail account to hook my Vista laptop up
to my wife’s laptop. Each has a different host name, but they’re
otherwise linked together.
The
easiest way to use Gbridge is to create “SecureShares.” Hit the big
button for SecureShares at the top on the Gbridge client that’s doing
the sharing, choose a folder, and choose the people who can access it
and set a password. You can allow only your other boxes to grab files,
or invite friends also using Gbridge to check out you wares. Those files
are shared through a browser link that only works for Gbridge-connected
systems. On the sharing page, documents and files are offered up for
right-click grabbing, but pictures and music files are available for
instant viewing or playing. Streaming my wife’s MP3 collection yielded
super-snappy playback, and the album cover organization is a slick
touch:
Using Gbridge for backup
The
browser-based sharing is nice, but if you’ve got a folder full of Word
documents and spreadsheets you want to keep synchronized between
systems, Gbridge has got you covered. Click “Add EasyBackup” on the
computer that’s got the stuff to be saved, and you’ll be prompted to
store it either on your local machine or on a remote system. This can
be, of course, either your same-account box or a generous friend’s
system. If it’s a one-time thing, it’s an easy move to enter a password
and send the files, but you can also set up “AutoSyncs” with custom
frequency:
There
are more options to setting up backups, of course, but it can also be
just that easy. If you need files sooner than your automated backups,
just right-click a folder in Gbridge’s main “Friends” tree listing, and
select “AutoSync Download It.”
Desktop sharing
GBridge comes bundled with its own lightweight VNC client for
troubleshooting your friends and relatives’ PCs, but will defer to your
default VNC client or, if you’re rocking XP Professional or Vista
Ultimate, Microsoft’s own Remote Desktop Protocol for the actual desktop
viewing. Making a connection requires a Gbridge friend or client to
click “DesktopShare,” choose to allow DesktopShare requests, and set a
password for the connection. The computer being connected to gets a
small window that allows it to kill the connection at any time, and
Gbridge’s connection seemed generally as responsive as a standard VNC
hook-up between my household’s two laptops.
One
more thing about Gbridge: Your standard Google Talk applications and
Gmail-based IM will continue to work while you’re using the utility, but
new chat windows will also pop up in Gbridge’s own desktop window. A
friend noticed that my reply chat was prefaced with a “Kevin Purdy is
using Gbridge” message, but I could’ve probably avoided that by replying
in a standard chat client. Of course, Gbridge also includes buttons to
invite your chat partners to download and connect through Gbridge.
That’s our tour of Gbridge’s features and functions, but Gbridge’s own
site has an extensive FAQ and how-to section
if you need particulars on setting up and connecting systems. If you’ve
downloaded and tried out Gbridge, tell us all how it compares to other
sharing and syncing clients, and what features you’d like to see
included for better functionality.
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