What is the best software to use to access a desktop remotely? My Dad wants to be able to access his desktop at work 2000 miles away when he visits us here in Utah. Once in a while things go wrong there while he is away, and he needs to look up and/or print something remotely.

There seem to be a few options, including using a feature built into Windows 7. My concern is I am not an IT person, and I am not familiar with the security implications/risks of opening ports and using the various software options available.

In the past he has used GoToMyPc.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I use VNC Viewer occasionally. Great for limited use and you don't need a static IP.

Teamviewer was the most recommended one when I asked about this.

Windows Remote Desktop is the best choice.

Avoid "Citrix" we call it Shitrix.

quote:

Originally posted by CS200:
Windows Remote Desktop is the best choice.

Will you please explain why you like Windows Remote Desktop? Is it reasonably secure as compared with the other options?

I like windows built-in RDP for within LAN (speed is almost like your sitting at the PC), but teamviewer is just too damn easy to set up & forget for working remotely.
My use case seems similar to what you want to do - remotely diagnosing & fixing family/friends issues w/o going there. I would suggest Teamviewer.
1) Install TV on both computers
2) Remember the IDs/passwords OR add them to your account
3) Done

Windows RDP is arguably more secure since you're not using a 3rd party server, but it's many more steps to setup & if you don't know what you are doing, you are leaving holes in your firewall. If you don't have a static IP / DynDNS and don't have anything else that needs to use it, I wouldn't bother with RDP.

I use Windows RDP over a VPN for most machines in the office and TeamViewer for all others. TeamViewer is nice and easy - no holes to punch in the firewall.


For your dad's purposes, I'd highly recommend TeamViewer.

If you use RDP, make very certain you use a strong password on all enabled accounts.

For those who will be using specific device to connect to the RDP host, you can set a firewall NAT to only allow RDP (port 3389 unless you change that on the RDP host) from your device/network and then lock down the host's firewall (router) to drop any other RDP traffic.

I have made a lot of money over the years cleaning up networks that were compromised by folks exploiting RDP and weak passwords.

No matter what you use, use a separate password for the remote access and not anything you use anywhere else at all.

Team viewer is the easiest.
MS RDP is better however there are several things you need to do to make it work.
1. Only Pro versions can host (the computer you are connecting to) ie: can't connect to Home version but a Home version can be a client.
2. You will need to forward port 3389 (default port) in your router.
3. You will need a static IP or have a Dynamic DNS service running/configured to keep track of your public IP.
4. You should set the desktop (host machine) with a static IP or config a reservation on your DHCP server (usually the router).
Deploying a VPN first is most secure but not necessary in most home scenarios.

I use TeamViewer as well as MS Remote Desktop for multiple computers daily. For what your Dad wants, IMO, TeamViewer is the clear choice.

If the system where he'll be is also Windows, why not use the built-in functionality?

Someone on the home system would need to initiate the session, and send the invite details to your dad.

I've used it a couple times and it seemed solid.

Preface this with a disclaimer - I am not a security guru - but if the capability is generally off, only enabled for the one session and then turned back off, it seemed fairly low-risk to me.

If he has 'GoToMyPC' and likes it, maybe he could bring a copy with him, install it on your machine and do it that way? Not sure cost/licensing issues with that - the built-in Windows functionality is of course free.

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
Avoid "Citrix" we call it Shitrix.

Sounds like your IT department is full of retards.

Regardless, for the uninformed, Citrix is an enterprise-class solution, and one guy that wants to access one desktop is very unlikely to invest thousands of dollars in licensing and build servers to enable him to do so.

quote:

Originally posted by exx1976:

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
Avoid "Citrix" we call it Shitrix.

Sounds like your IT department is full of retards.

Regardless, for the uninformed, Citrix is an enterprise-class solution, and one guy that wants to access one desktop is very unlikely to invest thousands of dollars in licensing and build servers to enable him to do so.

Really, Teamviewer is enterprise software, too. You can install it for free, but that's supposed to be for personal use only, nothing commercial. The cheapest Teamviewer license is $850/year and that license is for one connection at a time managed from up to 3 devices.

You don't need your own servers, though.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:

quote:

Originally posted by exx1976:

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
Avoid "Citrix" we call it Shitrix.

Sounds like your IT department is full of retards.

Regardless, for the uninformed, Citrix is an enterprise-class solution, and one guy that wants to access one desktop is very unlikely to invest thousands of dollars in licensing and build servers to enable him to do so.

Really, Teamviewer is enterprise software, too. You can install it for free, but that's supposed to be for personal use only, nothing commercial. The cheapest Teamviewer license is $850/year and that license is for one connection at a time managed from up to 3 devices.

You don't need your own servers, though.

I'm aware. I wasn't talking about Teamviewer. I was specifically responding to the brilliant comment that I quoted.

quote:

Originally posted by exx1976:

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
Avoid "Citrix" we call it Shitrix.

Sounds like your IT department is full of retards.

This really cracked me up.

Are there any security issues with GoToMyPC? Maybe he's better off using that.

I don't see them paying for Teamviewer to use remote software 5 or 6 times a year.

TeamViewer for the win! Easy to install and easy to run. Create a free account and you're set.

I run it on my personal computers and also at work. Can support any of you SF friends in just a few clicks and keystrokes. Works like a charm.

0-0

quote:

Originally posted by deepocean:
Are there any security issues with GoToMyPC? Maybe he's better off using that.

I don't see them paying for Teamviewer to use remote software 5 or 6 times a year.

No experience with GoToMyPC - however, I'm pretty sure he can use the free version of TeamViewer to access his machine remotely.

If this is a corporate environment, I'd be surprised if his IT department doesn't have an approved solution. They would probably not even allow remote access from just anyone either.

If not a corporate environment, there could be any number of solutions, but he's going to have to set everything up ahead of time and needs to use very secure passwords. Some sort of VPN or tunneling software should be used so that the traffic he generates is encrypted.