PCA Forums

I was wondering which is the best software for remotely connecting to a pc. Say i wanted to send stuff from my pc to a pc that i am using at a freinds house, or i wanted to try and fix somebody pc without explaining all this mumbo jumbo to him.

As well, if i remotely connect to my pc from a freinds house and use the internet or a program that uses the internet, will the website or program be using the clients ip address from say COX, and say the server pc that i am using which say has DSL.
I think that it should, but i feel that since i am remote into that pc it may cause conflicts.

FREE:

- VNC
- Windows Remote Desktop

MONTHLY FEE:
- GoToMyPC.com

I use VNC or Remote Desktop on most of my client's computers that need to be remotely accessed, although you can't transfer files with VNC (at least not the basic version). It's strictly a remote control program. Remote Desktop does let you transfer files.

If the host computer is behind a router you need to use a static IP on the computer and use port forwarding in the router. Port forward 3389 for Remote Desktop or 5900 for VNC.

The other issue is that you need to know the host computer's IP address. Unless your client is using a static IP, that address will change regularly. I use a Dynamic DNS service like DYNU.COM. That allows me to find the computer at the same URL irregardless of the actual IP address.

GoToMyPC is more convenient, but costs a lot of money (monthly or annual subscription). However if you can get your client to pay for it, it's nice because you can access his computer from any computer that has a web browser. No special software required.

thx,
wut about the inquiry of whether or not i will be using my ip address or his to connect via internet if i am in his PC remotely through either of the 3 ways mentioned above

You IP address has nothing to do with it. You'll be using the IP address of your client/friend or whatever. That will be the public IP address of his cable or DSL modem.

As I mentioned, that address is dynamic and changes, so you'll probably want to use a Dynamic DNS service.

i run the dynu basic client (free) on a box at home with my dsl router forwarding the port...then RDP to it by DNS name whenever needed. works quite well...and free.

thanks,
now when you say the ip address is dynamic are you talking about the dsl/ cable ip or the pc that i am connecting to
i personally have had my cable company ip for about a few mths now. as well, i set up my router to only renew ip addresses every 30dys.
not sure exactly how the pc i will be connecting to is configured however, could be very similar

Yes the public IP of the DSL/cable. Unless you're paying extra for a static IP, it's always dynamic. If might not change for months or it might change in days, but it will change. It'll change any time they lose power att he main office, any time your modem loses power, or if the network does a refresh.

?, if he has several pc on his network, and i do remote desktop to his ip that the router owns, will it connect to the correct pc?

It will because you will be port forwarding the port that the remote desktop software uses to the specific computer on the network. That's why I mentioned earlier that you have to setup the computer to use a static IP on the LAN and then setup port forwarding to it.

You can also remotely access more than one computer on the same LAN by using different ports, but I don't want to confuse the issue.

FAQ here for VNC: http://faq.gotomyvnc.com/cgi-bin/fom?_recurse=1&file=1