Several factors are important to bear in mind...

1.  Speed.  Full control involves a constant transmission of a full screen many times a second.  This requires the software to operate at a very high efficiency, but some remote software results in jerky slow movements.

2.  Security.  Not usually an issue if the remote pc is in another room of the same building, but these days remote control has become something needed over the internet.  The security factors must be used in this case.  Never use remote control over the internet without full security enabled.

3.  Ease of use.  During operation most programs operate very simply, so this is not an issue.  But it can be an issue if the software requires you to have a masters degree to install it, or to set up the security.

4.  Facilities.  You have to assess whether extra facilities are what you need.  It is very likely more facilities trade off against speed and smoothness.  Why run unnecessarily slow or jerky just because of a few gimmicks you never use?

One of the most well-known remote controllers is the VNC family.  In fact the term VNC has almost become synonymous with remote control.  VNC is an open-source endeavour which has branched off into several developments all of which compete to be the better one.  There is RealVNC, WinVNC, TightVNC, UltraVNC and others.  Is one better than the rest?  Impossible to say, as they all get improved continuously.  If you wish to try them out, it may be best to 'shop around' between them and test them all, with particular attention to the four points above.  The VNC were late-comers in the area of security and such functions became very complex and not automatic.  Another problem they faced was the 'jerkiness' effect where a mouse action had a delay before occuring on the remote display.  But these two areas have been actively worked on in some of the branches, so its worth checking what improvements have been made.

Our Recommendation...

We stopped using VNC programs when we discovered a program called Remote Control Pro.  While it lacks some of the extras in VNC, it does have all the basic ones you need, but its main selling point is its incredible speed and smoothness.  There is NO delay on an internal network, and very little delay over the internet.  It has built-in full security for the internet which is very user-friendly to set up in minutes.  (continued)