How to Remote Access

[GregSenne]

I have my network at home and I want to access my home computer from work. I can access my router's configuration at home from work by typing in my internet ip address followed by port 1025. This brings me to my router's config page. I want to use like remote desktop or something to view my pc at home. is there a way to do this?
Thanks,
Greg

 

[jsteph]

You should look into getting a VPN (Vittual Private Network) connection to your work's network. Then, if you use Windows, you can use the remote desktop that comes with windows xp. You could also look into VNC (I forgot what vnc stands for), which is similar to remote desktop (sometimes called RDP, to add a new acroynym to this mix), but VNC leaves the other computer useable, whereas with RDP the computer you're hooking into looks as if it's logged off, and nobody can see what you're doing (which may be a good thing).

Anyway, you can do VNC over the internet without a VPN, but you'd need to do some port-mapping because VNC is a semi-known port that hackers would sniff for.
--Jim

 

[GregSenne]

Ok. So I have my network at home, which is a workgroup that has several computers attached to it, and a router, which my internet connection comes in to. I tried to set up a VPN on my home computer by using the create new connection wizard and allowing incoming connections. I forwarded ports 1723, 50, 51, and 500 to my machine thru my router. Now, when I go to work, I should be able to use the create new connection wizard, connect to my vpn at home by typing in my external ip address, right? Well it doesn't work. But I know my IP is right because I can go to a browser, type in my IP then :1025 to get to my home router's config page. So what am I setting up wrong? Do I have to forward ports or anything at work (I don't think they will let me do that ). I'm not trying to connect from home to work, but from my work computer TO my home computer.

Thanks for the help!!!

Greg

 

[jsteph]

Greg,
It depends on which remote access program you use. Just to test, download vnc (google realVNC, it's free). Do the standard setup. Forward or map a port from your router to the port that VNC uses, which I think is 5900. So if you can map a port, map, say 25999 (a random high-numbered port) from the outside to port 5900 on your home machine. Be sure to set up a vnc password, *and* make sure your firewall allows this port's traffic. You will have to make a special port exception in Windows firewall if you use windows firewall.

Then at work, install vnc, and then use the VNC viewer icon, and type in your *router* ip address--ie, the WAN ip address--followed by a :25999, ie, 64.25.141.109:2599
Now your work vnc viewer goes to the router ip via port 25999, which maps to 5900 on your home machine which is your vnc port (you can also change your vnc port if you like), and you're in.

This is still somewhat risky. While using a higher port reduces sniffing risks--as a lot of sniffers hit all ip addresses but only look for the first 1024 ports or so and don't bother wasting time sniffing all 65000 or so ports--this port is still sniffable. And if a hacker sees it listening, and then suspects it's wanting a vnc password, they could hit it with a brute force dictionary and get in. However, this would be time consuming and what would they hope to gain--you're not Citibank or the US Defense Dept.

So you're generally safe in knowing that anyone who's such a loser that would spend the time trying to hack all 65000 ports of any ip address out there must be living a life so densely filled with horrid misery that the minor hassle you have after being hacked is nothing compared with the brain-scraping hell of just one minute in the existence of this type of person.
--Jim

 

[DTSMAN]

logmein.com
Doesn't require any port forwarding or router manipulation.
If you don't need file transfer capapbilities then the free version works just fine.

Bo

Remember,
If the women don't find you handsome,
they should at least find you handy.
(Red Green)

http://www.redgreen.com