Remote Desktop

[Donluc]

Please help with the Remote desktop.

I have XP Pro at work and at home and would like to work at home in the evening and be able to remotely work on my PC at the office.

The office has a Multitech VPN router and at home I have a Microsoft Wireless router.

Do I need to set up a VPN account on the office router to access my desktop? Can XP Pro handle this since they are both running XP Pro?

Thanks
Don

 

[smah]

You could probably VPN in (I'm not familiar with the Multitech VPN router), then use RD.

If you want to use RD without the VPN, you will have to set the Multitech router to forward port 3389 to the internal ip address of the office machine. Then, from home initiate a Remote Desktop Connection to the internet accessable IP address of your Multitech router.

 

[Donluc]

If I forward port 3389 to the internal IP of the work computer, will it still be protected by the firewall?

I can set up a VPN tunnel with the Multitech using 3DES or DES encryption. Would this be a safer way to connect? Does XP Pro have software built in to do this?

 

[smah]

If you forward 3389, your work computer will be one less port protected than it currently is. I'm unaware of any known exploits to port 3389 (aside from someone guessing your password).

I don't know about the VPN, you may need some client side software - check the manual or website for that router.

 

[dankelt]

Yes, the vpn with 3DES would be more secure, but it's a lot harder to setup than just fowarding a port. Like smah said, their shouldn't be any security risks with just fowarding port 3389. If you do want to use the VPN, you can use the software included in XP to create the tunnel. You should have a quick reference guide with your router that has a step by step guide to setting it up. If not, you can download it from here:

http://www.multitech.com/DOCUMENTS/manuals/S000261B.pdf

Dan