Re: Software for remote PC?
- From: "William R. Walsh" <wm_walsh@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:50:27 -0800 (PST)
Hi!
How can I remote to her XP laptop from my XP laptop to view
her desktop and control it as if I was there?
If the laptop is equipped with Windows XP Professional edition, you
can use the built in remote desktop functionality. If you do not have
a direct connection to the Internet (meaning that it goes through a
router or similar device) you should give the machine a fixed IP
address (outside of the addresses that the router will hand out via
DHCP). Afterwards you will need to forward the remote desktop TCP/IP
port through your router ( it's TCP port # 3389).
However: you absolutely **must** make sure that ALL user accounts
configured for use with Remote Desktop have STRONG passwords.
Otherwise you are inviting trouble!
Of course, if you only have Windows XP Home Edition on the laptop,
this is a moot point.
I looked at gotomypc.com but that requires subscription to
their service and use of their server I guess.
Their server is merely a way to find your computer and connect to it,
something that can be slightly difficult for reasons outlined later.
Microsofts XP remote PC I understand will only
work if you are on the same network.
No, it will work across the Internet. I have clients who do exactly
that and have no problems with it.
Other stuff:
Most Internet Service Providers don't give you a fixed IP address as
part of their service. (Sometimes you can pay extra to get one, which
may be advantageous in this case. It is worth asking.) As such, the
computer you have at home could "move around" over time as your public
IP address changes. There are a few solutions to this--services like
GoToMyPC and others can keep track of your computer, or you can use a
Dynamic DNS service (such as FreeDNS) if your router supports
providing a service like that with updated information whenever your
IP address changes.
You can use something like VNC with almost any operating system out
there. There are a number of VNC servers to choose from, including the
popular RealVNC (written by the original VNC team from AT&T's UK
research lab) available in free and paid versions, or UltraVNC (a free-
to-use VNC server with a lot more features).
However, when using VNC, there is something VERY important that you
MUST be aware of: by default VNC is **not** a secure protocol. Your
VNC password is exchanged in a secure fashion, but the actual control
and screen data is not secured in any way by default. RealVNC sells
versions of their software that support encryption and UltraVNC has a
series of encryption plugins available.
When configuring any sort of remote access solution, it is vitally
important that you choose a good and strong password. Good passwords
are not dictionary words in any language. Good passwords are at least
eight characters long, and will contain a mixture of letters in
varying cases, numbers and punctuation.
William
.
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- Software for remote PC?
- From: Trs80
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