Remote Access

does anyone have a good guide for setting up remote access. heres what i wanna do

set my PC so i can access it via my laptop anytime i want. i will be connecting from 2 different IPs. 1 from work, the other ex's when im there with the kids!

thanks in advance for your help!

download a program called Realvnc from here m8:

www.realvnc.com

that will do what you want m8.............

elite786 said:

does anyone have a good guide for setting up remote access. heres what i wanna do

set my PC so i can access it via my laptop anytime i want. i will be connecting from 2 different IPs. 1 from work, the other ex's when im there with the kids!

thanks in advance for your help!

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If it's Windows XP Pro that your connecting too just use Remote Desktop Connection

realvnc is a good little package

Its basic but does the job very well, and its free!

vnc is good - but over the internet it is pretty poor.

remote desktop, as previously mentioned, is much better.

The main reason for this is that it compresses the signal between the two points. VNC doesnt do this, which is why over the internet and slow networks it is laggy.

If you run any version of win xp above pro, then you will have this option available on your pc. To set it up, go to control panel - system and click on the remote tab. In here click in the 'allow users to connect remotely' check box and your away. Now anyone in your network can connect to that pc.

You will need to open the rdp port in any firewall you have installed - by default it is 3389. If you want to connect from across the internet, then you will need to open this port up on your router and forward it to the ip address of the pc you want to control (or just open the port if there are many pc's you want to do this with). And hey presto, you will have a very usable remote desktop that you can use anywhere. Btw the client for remote desktop is in start - all programs - accessories - communications - remote desktop connection. Alternatively, you can go to start - run and type in mstsc to start the connection (or type it any where on the command line). using mstsc /console will actually give you admin access to that machine.

If you really have to use vnc (it isnt as good as remote desktop by far), use ultravnc. This version is also free, but actually installs a set of video drivers for you to compress the connection and make it at least a little more usable. Tbh, i dont think anyone uses vnc when remote desktop is available anymore - it even comes packaged in most linux distros now!

karym6 said:

vnc is good - but over the internet it is pretty poor.
!

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I have never had any issues, with Realvnc. I have used it to connect to servers all over the world with no issues with lag.

The lag I have seen is comparable to PCAnywhere and Remote Desktop

I use www.logmein.com works a treat

thank you for the ideas guys! will check them out and see which ones works for me!

an example of remote desktop vs vnc can be found here: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000338.html

it discusses things such as lag quite well (it also mentions ultravnc, which is the most popular vnc at the moment I believe)

Also, timekeepers mention of logmein is also very good - it is similar to pcanywhere. Both these products do the same as remote desktop and vnc, but of course are not free (although I think logmein has a free option now?)

One thing to bear in mind if you want to use any of these across the internet - they are not secure. The worst is vnc, followed by remote desktop. Third party products like logmein and pcanywhere are more secure, but not by much.

I dont think it will be a major issue for you - but if you are planning to do this for work etc, then it should be a consideration.

One very easy way to get around it is to set up a vpn and connect over that (logmein and gotomypc may well offer this service). Alternatively, if you want to set one up yourself take a look at http://www.vpnlabs.com/vpn-categories/XP/40/index.html.

That is good advice above. Remote Desktop is not secure. Ensure you have a VPN connection setup before you use RD if you are concerned about security

i use reccommend a program called Netop. Ive used it over a lan and the internet and no problems what soever, very easy to use and can be got forfree.

I used to use netop years ago. It was popular when during the dar days of win 98se etc A lot of schools adopted it in order to monitor what the kids were up to on their pc's. If I remember correctly, it is a lot more secure than any of the other products mentioned here.

Had no idea it was free now.