Question Is any remote desktop safe to use, which ones? (no VPN)

[Minaz]

I am considering setting up my PC to allow me to log in to do some maintenance tasks when I am away from home for up to a week. Basically, my PC runs some batch-type jobs when I am away, and to do some of them successfully, I need to log in to do a few quick maintenance tasks (think along the lines of hitting a continue button, maybe rebooting the PC). On the go, I have a laptop and my cell phone and either can be used to make the connection.
I was actually in the process of setting Microsoft Windows 10 remote desktop that came with my Windows OS when I was warned that opening up a port to remote logins could compromise my home network, and that I should consider subscribing to a VPN service. Well I don't have one and I honestly don't really want to bother with setting one up even if I did have one because it would be used only infrequently. So I disabled remote desktop and left it at that.
But then I heard that Google's Chrome Remote Desktop is considered "safe" although I do not know any specifics of why or whether it is actually safer than the one in Windows. Does it have a built in VPN or something? Or some sort of encryption - in which case that would only make the data transfer safe, but the problem would still remain that I have opened up a port to my home network correct?
Are there any good safe (and free) solutions besides theses two?

 

[MrLitschel]

I use TeamViewer (for Personal use) with my laptop to connect to my desktop at home when I am away. It doesn't require any VPN service, but needs to be installed on both systems. I don't think they have an app for phones though.

TeamViewer—The Remote Connectivity Software

Remote desktop access solutions by TeamViewer: connect to remote computers, provide remote support, and collaborate online ➤ Free for personal use!

www.teamviewer.com

 

[Alabalcho]

For RDP to reach your desktop, you should set port-forwarding in your router, and some way to know your IP address. Depending on your router' capabilities, this might be easy, or not.

But a lot of current-day routers already have VPN server baked in, and I'd still consider this first, RDP (with port forwarding) second, TeamViewer/AnyDesk third.

 

[faalin]

I use TeamViewer (for Personal use) with my laptop to connect to my desktop at home when I am away. It doesn't require any VPN service, but needs to be installed on both systems. I don't think they have an app for phones though.

TeamViewer—The Remote Connectivity Software

Remote desktop access solutions by TeamViewer: connect to remote computers, provide remote support, and collaborate online ➤ Free for personal use!

www.teamviewer.com

Teamviewer has an app for the Iphone, i use it all the time. Some days its hard to work on it with the small screen but it does get the job done in a pinch.