Remote PC access Software?

[Welly]

Hello.

I used to use 'Logmein' to remotely access my work PC from home (small company) but now they seem to want me to pay for the pleasure, are there any other free (SAFE) remote access programmes anyone can recommend?

[jonsowman]

It depends a bit on the network setup. One of the things with logmein is that both the target and the client contact a central server (owned by logmein) which means you don't have to deal with the NAT and firewall at the workplace. That's really the reason they can (or think they can) get away with asking for cash.

If you can port-forward a port from the external world through the firewall and NAT to the target machine, then something like VNC or even Windows Remote Desktop (RDP) will do nicely* This is often not an option if you don't have control over the infrastructure though.

Do you have a VPN setup for connecting into the office network? If you do, that effectively puts you on the office LAN and so RDP will work. If you don't have a VPN, setting one up is relatively easy and very secure.

* There are security implications with doing this. Doesn't mean it's not a good idea, but care required.

[Welly]

Sorry I'm less than competent with these things and don't understand some of your terminology, I sort of understand that if I try to access remotely then the security stuff will block it and that now makes sense what you said about Logmein allowing it all for you.

I'd probably make a royal mess of setting up a 'LAN' and the most likely outcome would be a complete loss knowing my luck. BTW when I say my "work PC" I literally mean one PC only.

I do like Logmein, been using it for 5 years so may just stump up the 20-odd quid for basic access, the company can pay

Any further help will be great though, thanks.

[jonsowman]

Apologies, I should have probably explained things a bit further Because logmein runs on both the target and client (work and home) and they both initiate the outgoing connections to the logmein server, there are no issues with the firewall (the usual firewall assumption is that outgoing connections are safe, but incoming connections are not). Now because you're using logmein's resources (their server is the intermediary) they feel they can charge.

Solutions like VNC and Remote Desktop make a direct connection between your home and work machines. But you're initiating that connection from outside your work (i.e. your home) so the firewall will block it. If you have access/control over that firewall, you can tell it that connections on a certain port are permitted, and should be forwarded to the target (your work machine). Of course, this has security implications because now anyone can attempt to connect. Of course, they wouldn't be able to log into your work computer (since they don't know your credentials) but they have bypassed the first line of defence (the firewall).

A VPN (virtual private connection) uses your home internet connection to "tunnel" into your workplace. That means that, once connected to your work VPN, your home computer is effectively "inside" the office network. Then you can Remote Desktop without issue. The security used on VPNs is typically excellent, many companies use this type of service to allow their employees to access resources on the company network whilst working at home or away on business. This would, however, involve you (or someone) installing a VPN server at your office. The software is free and well supported (see OpenVPN).

I've just remembered Teamviewer, which does a similar thing to logmein. I've not used it so can't comment on how good (or otherwise it is)!

[Welly]

Ok that's making good sense to me so may check out a VPN doo-dad and see what my options are, thanks again. And yes that's essentially what I want* to do; be at home and then have a virtual pop to work.....there's really no escape

Been having a customer email me at stupid times with stupid questions from America (he's on Holiday, he ought to f*cking stay there too) so being able to log on out of hours may have been useful.

[GingerMagic]

The wife uses ' webex ' where she works. She is a software support advisor for an accounts package and needs to guide users through the accounts problems.
Not sure if it is suitable though.
Sounds like Jon knows what he's talking about...!

[rwb]

Couple of points to chuck in:

Is there an IT guy at the company who can get it set up?

We used to ssh into a machine via which we could port-forward, but that got canned because we had to harden our systems so that we can store credit card details. Now we use a VPN which works just as well other than the crazy password system the security guys make us use. However, neither of these are things I'd want to set up or maintain myself.

If you only need access to e-mail then you should be able to pick that up e.g., via web mail on on your phone. (I have my work Exchange email and calendar on my phone.)

[Welly]

No IT guy, just me bumbling through somehow. When it goes tits up I normally call someone in.

I don't even have any back-ups for anything relating to the business (how's that for living on the edge)

One time my PC shat itself and we had to get all the data off the old hard drive, nervous day that was

I've got a plug-in hard drive back-up save'y thingy but forgotten how to use it.

Regards,

Welly
Businessman of the year 2013

[highlander]

I don't even have any back-ups for anything relating to the business

This is bad. I'd suggest downloading a product called Crashplan, and sign up to their cloud backup option (CrashPlan Central).

I use the free version of CrashPlan to back up data from all the PCs in my house to a little Raspberry Pi computer with a USB hard drive attached; it's completely automated, and just works. My Mum's PC backs up to the Pi over the Internet using CrashPlan too, and that was also really easy to set up.

The cloud backup option basically means you're copying your business's data over the internet (it uses an encrypted connection, so nobody else can read this data) into a storage space you would be renting from CrashPlan. If things go wrong, you can retrieve your data by installing CrashPlan on another computer and signing in using your CrashPlan account.

Other solutions are available, if CrashPlan isn't up to it.

http://www.crashplan.com

[teamster1975]

I'd recommend Teamviewer Welly. It's free (always a bonus), you get the remote user to read you off the access number and you're away.