Accessing your PC Remotely

[Mia]

Have you ever had this happen? You get home and realize you left that important file that you needed to complete for a report or power point on your work computer?

Did you realize that you can Access Your Office PCs from Anywhere? There are several ways to do it. You can use a commerical product like PC Anywhere, or Timbuktu, or even Microsofts, Remote Admin, assuming you have the XP Pro Version on your home and work computer.

Another extremely fast and easy way to access your PC remotely is to use GoToMyPC. Unlike commercial products or Remote Admin, you can access your PC from ANYWHERE. Using some simple remote control software you can access your home PC from work, your work PC from home, or either one from your friends house, or even a hotel via a laptop.

All you need do is have access to a PC, and the internet and download GoToMyPC

One simple download and you will be able to access your PC from anywhere you choose.

So how exactly does this work?

1. Download — Register, download and install GoToMyPC on your Internet-connected host PC. The one-time install is fast and easy, and you can add additional PCs at any time. Setup takes only minutes. You can download here

2. Access — Remotely access your PC from any other computer with a Web browser at GoToMyPC. There is no additional software to install – a self-launching plug-in will allow you to see your host PC.

3. Work — Begin working on your host PC as if you were sitting in front of it. You can immediately access your e-mail, applications, documents and network resources.

Transfer files back and forth.
Print from your remote PC to a local printer.
Access your PC from another PC, Mac, Linux or Unix.
Invite others to share your PC to collaborate or do demos... and much more.

Download GoToMyPC here

[Feety]

I've heard of this and thought it was a pretty good idea. Never actually used it, but it sounds like a very usefull tool.

[ewolfe]

You might also consider using http://LogMeIn.com

No credit card is required for the trial and it's substantially lower in cost while providing the same service. You can also sign up for a free account with not as many functions as you'd get on the paid account.

[eeeboy]

one very childidh question but still asking.

IS there any way for shared ip users to use this service ?

I mean so far I know , these services are available to only dedicated ip users.

[darviria]

Good FAQ idea but the software/websites mentioned look like bloatware and probably expensive/full of adverts. The easiest thing to do is use VNC, try these:

http://www.realvnc.com/
http://www.tightvnc.com/

The other advantage of VNC is that it's platform independant, ie you can do things like access Linux from Windows. Of course if you are using linux you can also setup ssh/telnet for remote command line access, which is also platform independant as windows has a telnet client, to access the system via ssh with a windows client you'll need something like Putty though which is free and very small, I'd personally use it for telnet as well over the built in windows telnet client, ssh is preferable over telnet for security reasons.


Yes you can use it on shared IP's, you'll need to look into things like port forwarding, usually setup on your router and if possible have a look into VPN.

If you have a dynamic IP rather than static (ie it changes each time you connect to the net), you have a few options...if your pc is always on then you can just take a note of the IP and hope nothing makes it reconnect while you're out, I have a dynamic IP with an always-on pc, but very occasionally something will happen that means it needs to reconnect, this is fine when you're just out at a friend's house or something but what if you were in another country? You might want to look into something like:

http://www.dyndns.com/


I use VNC and SSH to remotely connect to my network behind my router on a dynamic IP using DynDNS.

eeeboy - try what I said and if you need any more help let me know

[dualjoe]

Hi Darviria, ( and others users)

I am new on trying PC remote access. Following your post I.ve created an account with DynDNS and uploaded tightvnc. But I do not figure out how to establish a connection. I like to access my laptop which is connected wireless via a netgear router . What I am not sure is how to identify the laptop given the IP address is the same for the other computer ( desktop) also wired to the same router. I think this is handled via a port but I do not know how to identify it.

The netgear has an option and have a DynDNS option in the menu and it has boxes to enter Host Name, user ide and password. Do I have to enter the host name ID and psw I've got from DynDNS ?

Also, there is another menu option called Port Forwarding where I need to add a range of ports , i've filled as 5900 to 5910.

Anyway, VNC viewer close the connection inmediately. Do you know a link or a book to find out how to configure this , or a book on networking where I can learn more about connections, ports etc ?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Will.Spencer]

dualjoe:

I am going to assume that your NetGear is using NAT, that each of the computers inside your network has a private IP, and that you have only one public IP. Is that correct?

For testing, you can use the private IP addresses of each computer. You can see this addresses by running the `ipconfig` command at your Windows command prompt.

When your laptop is remote, you will need to use your public IP address to connect to your home network. Your public IP address is 67.10.220.92, but it can be changed at any time by your ISP (Roadrunner).

This public IP address identifies your Netgear device.

You will need to configure your Netgear device to forward the ports you are using for remote access to your desktop computer.

The best guide for doing that is probably the manual for your Netgear device.

What is the model number of your Netgear device?

[dualjoe]

Thanks Will,

The router is a Netgear WGR614 v3. After the post, I kept searching in the net and found several articles / postings.

I think I have the router is now configured OK for the DynDNS so it should be updating the IP address with the DynDNS domain. I've also had the tightvnc working in the internal wireless (IP 192...) as I could see other computer desktop. From a Linux to a Winodws machine is direct I can log in and see the other desktop inmediately. From the windows machine to the linux I can only log like creating a new X session and there is nothing I can do there jus an empty X desktop.

Now what I am not sure yet is the access from the internet. I've configured the Netgear with port forwarding and I added service "vnc5800", start port 5800, end port 5900 and the internal IP address of the machine I've imagine it will go.

This last is what I do not understand yet; the above configuration means that if I've access via tightvnc from the internet to the dynDNS name, the netgear will point to this target machine? . I've seen other internet posts where the start port and end port are the same . How do I pick a particular port. How do I select the intended machine from the internet ?( asumming there are two machines hooked to the netgear) and I imagine I have to put another different port forwarding, is this correct?

Once again thanks a lot, I'll keep searching in the net but yet do not find this more clear. Thanks to all the people on this thread. Before finding this thread two days ago, I had two independent computers accessing internet, now, I have the two computers comunicating via telnet and tightvnc between them, and I hope to have access via tighvnc from the internet working soon.

[Will.Spencer]

For reference, I am going to add a few links to the thread:

• WGR614v3 Cable/DSL Wireless Router 54 Mbps/2.4 GHz
• Netgear WGR614 v3 Installation Guide
• Netgear WGR614 v3 Reference Manual

Originally Posted by dualjoe

I've also had the tightvnc working in the internal wireless (IP 192...)

This is great news! This is half the battle.

Originally Posted by dualjoe

I've configured the Netgear with port forwarding and I added service "vnc5800", start port 5800, end port 5900 and the internal IP address of the machine I've imagine it will go.

Sounds good so far, but now you have to go remote to test it.

Originally Posted by dualjoe

This last is what I do not understand yet; the above configuration means that if I've access via tightvnc from the internet to the dynDNS name, the netgear will point to this target machine?

Yes.

Originally Posted by dualjoe

I've seen other internet posts where the start port and end port are the sam.

That means that only one port is forwards, i.e. it means there is a range of one.

Originally Posted by dualjoe

How do I pick a particular port.

Most protocols use standard port numbers. Read What port number is XXX on? for an explanation.

Originally Posted by dualjoe

How do I select the intended machine from the internet ? (asumming there are two machines hooked to the netgear)

You assign a set of ports on the Netgear to go to the internal IP address of your selected target machine.

For example, you can make ports 25 and 110 go to the Unix box and ports 137-139 go to the Windows box.

Originally Posted by dualjoe

and I imagine I have to put another different port forwarding, is this correct?

If you have two systems using the same internal ports (say, two POP3 servers both running on port 110), then you can access them both by port forwarding them from different ports on the Netgear.

For example, you could forward port 110 on the Netgear to port 110 on the Unix box, and then forward port 8110 on the Netgear to port 110 on the Windows box.

This only works if your client applications are smart enough to recognize services which are on non-standard ports.

[peeling]

Hi,

Sorry to butt into the thread, just wanted a quick answer to a related problem. I have a DLink router and I used an MS Terminal server, created a remote desktop user to login from the net and set up the router to send all PPTP authentication requests to the server using port forwarding. So far, so good. Works fine. But sometimes, out of the blue, the server gives an Lssas error and reboots. It's not spyware or a virus. It's not a firwall problem. I checked and rechecked everything. There's nothiong unwanted, there's no firewall holes. Only thing I can think of, and which was indicated in the help, is unwanted registry entries, which are not being used anymore. Any one know anything about that?

Sorry for the long post. Making up for lost time.

[Will.Spencer]

Unfortunately, LSASS (Local Security Authority Subsystem Service) is very difficult to troubleshoot because it has so many problems, including numerous security vulnerabilities.

Update Windows to the latest release, run a scan for viruses and worms, and then post your exact error message and we will go from there.

[Birmingham]

Originally Posted by Will.Spencer

Unfortunately, LSASS (Local Security Authority Subsystem Service) is very difficult to troubleshoot because it has so many problems, including numerous security vulnerabilities.

indeed, any remote access kits can be hacked - it's usually easier than hacking a standard computer because it's already set up for the convenience of someone to access it remotely. whatever kit u use, make sure it only accepts incoming data from a pre-set IP address which only you have access to.

there are people out there with 'war dialers' and the like, which are specifically designed to find computers allowing remote access administration through the phone lines. when they find them after scanning a range of numbers (possibly the range that your company possesses), they can then set password crackers on overnight, or try some other spoof methods of gaining access. a voip connection doesn't secure things either because they can be hacked in other ways, and as they're digital, they can be tampered with so much more

...just make sure u study network security in detail before trying any fancy networking if you're concerned about being hacked.

[ButterCake]

How safe are these programs?? Would it be easy for other ppl to access your computer?

[Will.Spencer]

That depends to some extent upon how you configure these programs, the server underneath them, and the network around them.

The last line of defense is a strong password. Before that though, you can limit remote access to known IP addresses, and that will prevent 99% of attacks.

If you use a router or firewall to limit inbound traffic to specific IP address, then the attacker can never get to your server and application to exploit flaws in them.

If you use the server to limit inbound traffic to specific IP address, then the attacker can get to your server to exploit flaws in it.

If you use the application to limit inbound traffic to specific IP address, then the attacker can get to your server and application to exploit flaws in them.