Remote desktop ...

[Lucifers_Ghost]

Hello again all,

Soooo, Im going to be going away for a few days and I will need access to my two home PC's via remote desktop. As I have never used it before, I have a few questions.

I have installed the software on both home pc's as a host and will install the software on the pc where I will be as a client.

I know I will have to use the WAN IP of the router to gain access to my home network. From there though .. this is where I am lost.

Do I have to know the specific IP addresses of the two pc's to log into them AFTER I connect to the router?

I have read the "how to" article on the MS site but I didnt really find it all that helpful.

A few hints and/or tricks would be very appreciated.

Thanks a bunch.
LG

EDIT: Same questions apply if I decide to use something like UltraVNC or another 3rd party proggie.

[ssj2_goha]

personally i use logmein.com it's simple and nice. i love it.

[MOVIEGEEK]

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/mobility/getstarted/remoteintro.mspx
Vista update:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925876

[TooLFooL]

i believe Remote Desktop requires a user at each end to initiate the session...

[ViRaL1]

i believe Remote Desktop requires a user at each end to initiate the session...

Windows Remote Desktop does require the RDP client to be installed on the client PC and the service to be installed on the server (the PC you're trying to log into), but nothing needs to be initiated on the server end. What you WILL need is a way to locate the server PC, either the IP address (if you have a static IP, it's easy), OR you can sign up with a free service like DynDNS which maps an name (yourname.somedomain.net) to your computer and either updates it as your IP address changes, either through their software which you install on your PC or in some cases your router may support Dynamic DNS (such as some Linksys and Netgear models).

You'll also have to put your computer in the DMZ if you're using a router. (I'm not sure if you can do this with port forwarding, feel free to chime in).

Then all you have to do is open the Remote Desktop Client and put in either the IP address or the client name that your Dynamic DNS account uses, the username and password for the machine you're logging into.

[ssj2_goha]

I use http://www.logmein.com all you have to do is install a small program from the website on the computer you want to control remotely. Then you can log into that computer and control it from any computer that has internet access. i use it to control my video server when i'm away from home. it works very well for me, and i use the free version. with the pay version you can print on the controlled computer and transfer files between the two computers.

[TJohns]

I think part of his issue is the requirement to control TWO machines sitting behind his router/firewall. I doubt there's anything that will magically determine which machine he needs by itself, given that he can only access the single external IP from a remote site. The solution I've used before is the free UltraVNC remote desktop utility, which allows you to set custom port numbers for it to monitor ... set one machine on ports 5801/5901, the other on 5802/5902, put TWO sets of port forwarding rules in your router and you're away! use <ip>:1 or <ip>:2 for the connection target and the router knows which machine to connect to!

Trev

[ViRaL1]

If you have a router and setup remote access, you can log into the router remotely through the same address and change which computer is in the DMZ, OR you can also do remote over remote; RDP into one local machine from the other. If they're both on the same LAN, there shouldn't be any noticeable speed difference.