How many computers are on your home network? If it’s more than one, Screens lets you easily control the other machines over your local network or, with the free Screens Connect server app installed, over the internet—even from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with the $19.99 Screens VNC app for iOS.

Setting up is reasonably straightforward. With the application open, local computers and those with active internet connections and Screens Connect setup are listed. By adding one to your library and entering a few details, it becomes available to access remotely through screen sharing.

Screens 2.0 offers several improvements over its predecessor. Your Screens Library now syncs over iCloud, and if you quit with a connection open, it relaunches when you next use the app. Screens now supports SSH tunneling for secure connections, and the UI has been revamped for ease of use.

Screens for Mac’s most impressive quality is how seamless it all is. After you add a computer to your library, it’s there for you on all your Macs running Screens. Machines added over a network connection can then also be remotely accessed over the internet, and vice versa. It has several advantages over iCloud’s free Back to My Mac service, too.

Screens can reach Windows and Linux computers, not just Macs, and the iOS app supports multi-touch gestures. Its main disadvantages are that it’s not free, and while Back to My Mac can wake a sleeping Mac over the internet if an AirPort device is connected, Screens cannot.

The bottom line. Versatile Screens VNC makes it easy to control computers remotely.