Remote Desktop

[tucker61]

I have a pc(Upstairs) using vista premium and a laptop(Downstairs) using xp pro.
I want to contect to my pc from my laptop and monitor what is on screen, emails, downloads etc whilst i am downstairs.
I can ping my pc, and see my shared files but cannot get remote desktop to work, i have a wrt54gl router, i have opened dmz, i have turned firewall off on router and on software firewall, but still cannot get remote desktop to work, I have allowed remote desktop on both machines, What am i doing wrong, is it easier to buy some remote software ? If so any recommendations ?

[DocDutch]

mate my advice as it would be easier is logmein (www.logmein.com) you install this program on both computers and then you can control them. dont need to open up any port in the firewall and its pretty good.

also works with a MAC if you have 1

[dilli-theclaw]

I'd try ultravnc to do what you want (especially if you have vista on one of your machines).....

[punky]

I recomment ultravnc to view desktop.

However, the problem you're having isn't router/port related as both machines are inside the network. I'd say it has to be a firewall (Windows firewall?) problem.

[bmxbandit]

To use remote desktop, make sure port 3389 is open for TCP (edit: it tries UDP first, so allow that if you can) on the remote computer - no need to use DMZ.

You can use a separate program for remote access, but I've found it makes so little difference I wouldn't bother... Connecting over a LAN, even if it's wireless, should be pretty speedy.

[7@m3 G33k]

Originally Posted by tucker61

i have turned firewall off on router and on software firewall, but still cannot get remote desktop to work, I have allowed remote desktop on both machines, What am i doing wrong...?

Erm......you turned all your firewalls off! Please, please, please turn them back on now! I would *SERIOUSLY* suggest that if you want to troubleshoot this problem safely either unplug your router from your cable modem or (more fiddly with IP addresses) connect your laptop and PC with an RJ45 crossover cable.

Either way you can then safely disable firewalls or open ports and test bits of software without the risk of intrusion and it is a serious risk. Sorry in advance if you have done this - just you didn't mention it in your post

[xpod]

Erm......you turned all your firewalls off! Please, please, please turn them back on now! I would *SERIOUSLY* suggest that if you want to troubleshoot this problem safely either unplug your router from your cable modem or (more fiddly with IP addresses) connect your laptop and PC with an RJ45 crossover cable.

Seriously seconded.
Having no firewall protection with all manner of ports open and advertising for buisiness is`nt the best idea in the world i dont think.Especially with remote desktop etc.I`d be checking my system logs pretty sharpish i think

Either way you can then safely disable firewalls or open ports and test bits of software without the risk of intrusion and it is a serious risk

I hear em knocking but they cant come in

Starting Nmap 4.20 ( http://insecure.org ) at 2007-08-04 16:00 BST
All 1697 scanned ports on ****-*****-*-*-*******.bmly.cable.ntl.com (**.**.**.**) are closed

[deathtrap3000]

I thought only vista buisness and vista ultimate had the remote desktop server software on it.

Have you made sure RDP is enabled? I know you say you possibly have in post 1 - right click Computer, Properties, Remote tab - options in there...


Edit - it's not supported on Premium - check the RDP / Remote Desktop options here.

It you go to the RDP tab, you'll see a big white area under remote assistance - this is where the RDP options are set...

Use VNC, or Crossloop.

[Dai]

PCHelpware is free and pretty good.
http://www.uvnc.com/pchelpware/

It'll work through firewalls and via routers. You can create a customised version of the server program that will only talk to one specific viewer IP so it's more secure.
I email the server to clients and get them to run it. Gives you full control.

Worth a look if none of the earlier ideas do the business.

[tucker61]

Firewalls only off for 5 minutes whilst i tried to see if they were the problem.
Have installed logmein and ultra vnc, cannot work out ultra vnc so it is coming off tonight, will try crossloop later.

[7@m3 G33k]

Originally Posted by tucker61

Firewalls only off for 5 minutes whilst i tried to see if they were the problem.
Have installed logmein and ultra vnc, cannot work out ultra vnc so it is coming off tonight, will try crossloop later.

Still 5 minutes too long - it really isn't worth the risk of having your PCs compromised. That's all the time it takes to install some software that will bypass your firewall even when you switch it back on. Do you ever buy anything online? Oops...there goes your credit card details! Online banking? Oops...

Anyway on a more positive note...what is it that you actually want to achieve? Because with Remote Desktop or similar applications you won't see what's on the screen of your desktop - you will get a new Windows session the same as when you login at the machine.

For e-mail on your laptop you could use an IMAP e-mail client which allows you to do all your regular e-mail tasks without necessarily downloading the mail onto your laptop. Assuming you have a POP3 mail client on your desktop you will need to set that to leave your e-mail on VM's mail server for a certain period of time: a week or so, depending on what suits you. I do this with my laptop and it's very straightforward but if you want any further advice I'd be happy to help.

To check the progress of your downloads see if your P2P client has a web interface, some do, some don't. If so then you can check your downloads through a web browser on your laptop. I don't do much P2P (far too paranoid generally!) so maybe someone else here can advise about this.

[xpod]

Anyway on a more positive note...what is it that you actually want to achieve? Because with Remote Desktop or similar applications you won't see what's on the screen of your desktop - you will get a new Windows session the same as when you login at the machine.

I think tucker61 just wants to do so because.........he can
I like being able to "check" all pc`s in the house from where i`m sitting....it keeps the young un`s on their toes

[Jon T]

VNC will let you take control of an existing Windows session.

Very good for remotely "tutoring" someone, they watch while you take them through some operation or another.

As for remote desktop, providng your logging in as the same user you won't get a new session, that only happens on windows server os's, what will happen is that the user will get logged out on the local machine and the session will get transferred to remote desktop. If the same user then logs back in at the remote machine the remote desktop session will then get terminated.

[RexNoctis]

Just thought I'd throw in another idea here: Dameware.

We use it at work because it will install itself over the network provided you have admin rights on the remote PC.

Can even be configured so the remote user doesn't get any notification that they are being watched!