Best way to work from home (w/ access to work computer)???

[rball]

Hello all,

I run a small business and will be getting office space soon. I'll have a
laptop that will remain at home for me to use for work at night and on
weekends. While working from home, I'll need to have access to my desktop at
the office. This office will only be one computer hooked up to a DSL line
with a dynamic IP address (no network, server, or anything). I'm trying to
find out the best way to have access to my work desktop while at home (or
maybe other locations with my laptop). Both computers have XP Home as the
OS.

I've heard of the feature in XP Pro that would allow me to have access to my
work computer, but that means I would have to upgrade (not a bad thing if
it's the best option).

I've also heard about remote-access programs such as www.gotomypc.com,
www.pcanywhere.com, www.realvnc.com, and www.tightvnc.com. These programs
are supposed to give you complete access to a computers files, folders, and
programs from any other computer with internet access. Has anyone had any
experiences with any of these remote-access programs.

Should I upgrade to XP Pro, pay for one of these remote access programs, or
is there another option I haven't thought and/or heard of?


Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

 

[Josh]

Win XP and PRO come default w/ terminal services client
installed. If you want to run one of the computers as a
terminal services server you need Win XP Pro. You will
have to setup your work computer as the server and make
sure it's enabled afterward.

Control Panel, System, then a Remote Tab.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/gomobile
/remotedesktop/

If you wish to use a 3rd party program to accomplish the
same task you can. If used PC anywhere before in the past
and it's kind of the same principle. The machine at work
will host a session depending on your setup and allow you
to login.

-----Original Message-----
Hello all,

I run a small business and will be getting office space soon. I'll have a
laptop that will remain at home for me to use for work at night and on
weekends. While working from home, I'll need to have access to my desktop at
the office. This office will only be one computer hooked up to a DSL line
with a dynamic IP address (no network, server, or anything). I'm trying to
find out the best way to have access to my work desktop while at home (or
maybe other locations with my laptop). Both computers have XP Home as the
OS.

I've heard of the feature in XP Pro that would allow me to have access to my
work computer, but that means I would have to upgrade (not a bad thing if
it's the best option).

I've also heard about remote-access programs such as www.gotomypc.com,
www.pcanywhere.com, www.realvnc.com, and

www.tightvnc.com. These programs

 

[rball]

Josh,

Thanks for the response. I haven't used any of the remote-access programs
before. That's why I wanted to ask here about them vs. upgrading to XP Pro.
I've been told both could accomplish what I want to accomplish, but don't
know which is the better option (price vs. features). Am I correct in my
assumption that either upgrading to XP Pro or subscribing to one of these
remote-access programs will allow me to have full control of my desktop from
any internet connected PC (just as if I'm in actually working in front of my
desktop)?

Thanks again...

 

[UncleFrank]

Used www.gotomypc.com it was very satisfactory, but when I switched to XP
finally got Remote dektop to work, and now that is what i use. checkout
www.rethinkit.com to get RD to work

 

[rball]

Do you have XP Pro or XP Home? I've been told you need XP Pro for the remote
desktop feature. Can I accomplish this with only XP Home edition? If so,
how???

THANKS !!!!

 

[Sooner Al]

A cheap solution, if you don't want to upgrade to XP Pro, is to use UltraVNC. Its free and now
includes an encryption plug-in, which is important if you use VNC over the public internet outside
of a VPN tunnel.

http://ultravnc.sourceforge.net/
http://home.comcast.net/~msrc4plugin/

You could also run VNC natively through a VPN tunnel for security...

http://www.onecomputerguy.com/networking/xp_vpn_server.htm
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/networking/xp_vpn.htm

--
Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)

Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...

 

[Guest]

I use GoToMyPC with client sites, and it's great. Fast, simple to install and run, works with whatever kind of firewall setup you have. One nice thing is that it's launched from a web browser, so if you're using a public internet terminal or you're at a client office without your regular laptop you can use GoToMyPC from a browser without having to have anything pre-installed. Connections are encrypted and logins secure. The only downside is the monthly fee.

 

[Jeffrey Randow (MVP)]

You must have Windows XP Pro for Remote Desktop...

With Home Edition, you might want to consider something like UltraVNC
(http://ultravnc.sourceforge.net)

Jeffrey Randow (Windows Net. & Smart Display MVP)
(e-mail address removed)

Please post all responses to the newsgroups for the benefit
of all USENET users. Messages sent via email may or may not
be answered depending on time availability....

Remote Networking Technology Support Site -
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