Taking control of an office PC - help req!!

Hamster · 17 Feb 2009 at 21:19

A friend has a small business and wants to take control of his work PC away from the office, so he wants to be able to access all programs, files securely on that pc and also print out from the office printer from his laptop at home or abroad via the work PC.

Both the laptop and work PC are running XP. What would be the best, reliable solution for this and how would i go about setting this up for him? A free solution would be an advantage too!! Also would there be much of a lag when doing this?

Thanks

JM

DarthBallz · 17 Feb 2009 at 21:21

try 'log me in'

people I know are pretty happy with it.

Supertaff · 17 Feb 2009 at 21:22

+1 for log me in

I use it to control friends and families PC for training and for fixing

I use there free version, but there are a number of different versions dependent on what functionality he requires from the connected PC.

Taff

Hamster · 17 Feb 2009 at 21:40

Great stuff! Thanks for the quick replies.

I've just had a look at the logmein website and the job looks a lot easier than i was expecting. As he wants to be able to print remotely so Logmein Pro seems the best solution and i'm sure he won't mind paying 60 odd dollars a year subscription as he's the type that buys a new computer when one stops working rather than getting it repaired!

Are there any firewall issues to be aware of when setting it up, whether that be router firewall or software firewall? Also would testing it from his workplace be adequate (ie connected to the same router) or would i be better off testing it from another router and internet connection?

Rangler · 17 Feb 2009 at 22:37

Your friend, is he running any kind of server at work.? e.g. SBS2003 / 2008.?
If so so RWW works very well.

Failing that setup a port forwading rule that forwards inbound traffic on port 3389 to his work pc then just RDP in completely free too.

Hamster · 17 Feb 2009 at 22:45

No, he's not running any servers at work, just a few pcs in a simple workgroup.

I'll look into RDP as well, thanks.

Rangler · 17 Feb 2009 at 22:47

LMI free works well too and its free.

datawrite · 17 Feb 2009 at 23:16

Log me in looks a great little program.

Nanobot · 17 Feb 2009 at 23:39

Have been using LMI Free for a while now and its really good if you're able to go to the PC to install the client. The Pro versions will remote install for you if you cant be 'there'.
Had times where it has been too far away to go and short of giving them your login, its rather tricky unless you want or trust them to log in and install the client for you over the phone or something.

Hamster · 18 Feb 2009 at 01:07

Thanks. I will be able to install the LogMeIn on location as he wants some me to buy and install some other software and put in some network storage. I've given the program a trial here at home and it looks very good and simple to use which would be great for him and his missus.

With the free version is there any way of transferring files between the host and client? It only seems to be the pro version that allows that unless i've missed something.

peige · 18 Feb 2009 at 09:04

Another vote for logmein. I've got it installed on 11 computers now, I can control any of them from any pc that i'm at with an internet connection, even over 3g from my laptop.
Fantastic for dealing with the family and work PC's.

With the free version is there any way of transferring files between the host and client? It only seems to be the pro version that allows that unless i've missed something.

There is no direct way, I normally get around this by emailing the file to the destination pc or logging into the destination pc and downloading it there.

Supertaff · 18 Feb 2009 at 11:25

JoeMama said:
Thanks. I will be able to install the LogMeIn on location as he wants some me to buy and install some other software and put in some network storage. I've given the program a trial here at home and it looks very good and simple to use which would be great for him and his missus.

With the free version is there any way of transferring files between the host and client? It only seems to be the pro version that allows that unless i've missed something.

I use the same methods as piege for transferring files to the remote PC and email them.

There is also another similar program called gotomypc i haven't used it for a number of years, but it may be worth exploring if he's looking for a payware solution.

Regards

Taff

ruffneck · 18 Feb 2009 at 11:38

logmein also do a professional version that you can subscribe to. It allows file transfer between pc's as well as file sync and drag'n'drop. I believe its around 70$ per year.

philjohn · 18 Feb 2009 at 13:04

I much prefer RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) as it seems to require less bandwidth than LogMeIn and GoToMyPC - I believe they both use some sort of VNC.

RDP sends primitives down the wire (box, button, line etc.) whereas VNC sends images.

He could also setup a VPN server (PPTP) on his machine as some extra security - he connects first to the VPN and then to the RDP.

Hamster · 18 Feb 2009 at 16:49

peige said:
There is no direct way, I normally get around this by emailing the file to the destination pc or logging into the destination pc and downloading it there.

Thanks. I'll suggest that to him.

ruffneck said:
logmein also do a professional version that you can subscribe to. It allows file transfer between pc's as well as file sync and drag'n'drop. I believe its around 70$ per year.

Thanks. I've been testing the free and the pro versions. Free is excellent with the only drawback being the simple file transfer.

I'll have a chat with him and see whether he will be wanting to transfer files. More than likely he will so i'll steer him in the direction of the pro version. Great thing is that there is a 30day (or 2hrs max) trial for pro so i can assess what features he has been using that period.

philjohn said:
I much prefer RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) as it seems to require less bandwidth than LogMeIn and GoToMyPC - I believe they both use some sort of VNC.

RDP sends primitives down the wire (box, button, line etc.) whereas VNC sends images.

He could also setup a VPN server (PPTP) on his machine as some extra security - he connects first to the VPN and then to the RDP.

Thanks. The solution needs to be something that i can set up and leave, without much need for future configuration or the need to maintain or repair. His, and his wife's, pc skills aren't great which is why a logmein type program is very appealing. Saying that though, i have not explored the RDP route. I will be going over there in a week so will have time to look into it before then.