Remote computer access.......

[luckydog]

Can anyone suggest a good remote computer access program ?? I've noticed there were several available..........
(goin' on a trip soon and I thought it'd be nice to have one).

Thanks,

LD

[hey_moe]

What OS are ya using....XP and Windows7 come with one.

[luckydog]

I'm Vista.....

[gigabyte]

depends on what you want to do, if you have a system with always on access you can setup Remote Desktop, it is part of Win XP, Vista and 7, just get your IP before you leave and use it as the connection address, then when you connect it is like you are sitting infront of you screen at home. Just remember to Lock or Log out when you are finished.

If you need more functionality Log Me In is good, you have to install a host on your system and leave it running but it's light weight and easy to use, with some very nice functionality. - https://secure.logmein.com/US/home.aspx

I have also used VNC, which is very functional and also requires a host application running on the system you wish to access. - http://www.realvnc.com/

There are free versions of both, so check them out, like I say it depends on your needs, I kind of stick with Remote Desktop, just because it is part of the OS and does not require an additional service to be installed and running, it uses Terminal Services host so unless you disabled that in your system it should be running by default.

I do most of my support work for users remotely so I have quite a bit of experience with it, if you have problems or more questions let me know.

[Moparmike]

I have been using RealVNC for several years (mainly started using it to flip back and forth between rigs of Windows and non-Windows OSes).

The Windows Remote Desktop system works pretty slick though too. Definitely worth checking out since it's built-in and seems to be able to get most everything done if I'm working from Winders to Winders.

[safn1949]

I have used Log Me In but you need a good internet connection or it is slow as a glacier.Other then that it works great.:d

[Dangerousdave26]

If your OS does not support the built in Windows remote desk top (ie home version) then Ultra VNC is a good freeware choice. It works well but it does not support encryption directly. There is a plug in of some type you can use to get the functionality of encryption. Encryption is important or you are sending your user name and password over the internet in plain text.

http://www.uvnc.com/

RealVNC is payware but does support built in encryption. I have never used it but I know it works well.

Be ready for everyone and their brother to try and hack into your PC if you open the port for Windows Remote Desktop.

Make sure you use Strong passwords Really Really strong passwords.

Of course you also need to find your home PC over the internet. For that use the services of www.dyndns.com. You will create a free account. choose a domain name and add it to your services. Then down load and install the updater client. The client updates your IP against the chosen domain name.

So you could get (if it is available) http://luckydog.gotdns or http://luckydog.dyndns.com

You would point your Remote desktop or UltraVNC to that domain name.