Remote Shut Down

Remote Shut Down is a tiny and portable piece of software that gives you the possibility to shut down, restart, or send to standby state any remote computer from the local network, provided that you have administrative privileges to do so. It can also be asked to display a message on the remote screen, in case the machine is being operated by another users.
The software program comes bundled with just a few practical options, which are intuitive enough to be handled by all types of users, even those inexperienced with networking utilities.

Portability advantages

Since there is no installation involved, you can save Remote Shut Down's executable file anywhere on the hard drive and just click it to launch the tool. There's also the option to save it to a removable storage unit, in order to directly run it on any computer with minimum effort. More importantly, it doesn't change the Windows registry settings, unlike many installers.

Remotely turn off or restart LAN computers

The GUI is user-friendly, represented by a small window that shows all options available. You can get started by entering the name of the remote PC you want to control, or browse a list with all possible PCs, thanks to the fact that the application automatically scans the local network and lists the workstations.

Log in with admin credentials

After selecting the power option to perform (shut down, standby or restart), you can click a button to send the signal. In the following step, the app prompts a small window which asks you to enter the administrative credentials for remote login.

Show a text message and allow canceling

As previously mentioned, you can display a text message on the remote screen, in case the computer is being operated by someone. Moreover, it's possible to specify a custom on-screen time for the message, and to allow the other user to cancel the power option.

Evaluation and conclusion

The utility had minimal impact on the overall performance of the computer in our tests, since it needed low CPU and RAM to work properly. It didn't hang, crash or prompt error messages.
Although it hasn't been updated for a very long time, Remote Shut Down still works on later Windows editions. It provides you with a fast and effective method for remotely turning off network PCs.