Needed - a way to log onto my Dad's computer

[traderNik]

Hi guys

I need to know if there's a (reasonable plug and play) way for me to gain remote access to my Dad's computer. Dad and Mom often run into little snags and they are always phoning me for help. If I could log into their machine I could just do a show and tell as opposed to trying to figure out what they are looking at over the phone.

Is Telnet a way to do this? Is there an easier way. I should say that I am not a networking guy at all. My computer knowledge is ok - I just built my first computer from scratch with a lot of help from you guys.

My sister is going to their home for the holidays so she could do whatever work is necessary on that end, on my instructions.

Thanks for any comments.

PS - All I need is a nudge in the right direction - I am willing to do my own research and figure out the details.

Nik

[Daijoubu]

Netmeeting or remote desktop/remote assistance is what you're looking for :)

[traderNik]

Ok - remote desktop.

I'm off to do a search on that term right now. I'll also check on the NetMeeting product. Thanks for that.

EDIT: Hey!! Could it be that the s/w I need is already installed in WIN XP? Seems like that might be the case.

Start--> Programs--> Accessories--> Communications-->Remote Desktop Connection

Unfortunately, when you open this and click on the Help, all it says is this, in terms of how to set a computer up to accept these connections

"To enable your computer to accept remote connections, check Help for your operating platform".

"Check Help for my operating platform"... hmmmm. Operating platform? Does that mean operating system? I hate WIN XP help - why wouldn't they just link me to the relevant help document in Windows itself?

Ah well... this seems do-able, which is great.

[traderNik]

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/csc/scripts/remote/desktop/cscre002.mspx

Hmmm.. not great for someone who isn't a computer head.

[Flyer]

www.logmein.com

[traderNik]

thanks flyer.

[traderNik]

www.logmein.com

Wow... could it be that easy?

I just opened a test account for my own machine. Tomorrow I'll go to an internet cafe and see if I can gain access.

If I can, that is just totally seamless and easy.

[NLI10D]

remote desktop is nice

[cereal83]

Remote desktop but they won't be able to see what is going on and you also have to open ports on routers/firewalls


Windows Assistance through MSN would let them see what you are doing but they have to send you an invite first.

I say remote desktop. Thats how I log into my computer from anywhere on the world

[willy]

Take a look at VNC ... http://www.realvnc.com/products/features.html

[lobt]

I can vouch for logmein.com. I've used it for about 6 months without any problems. Just note that after 30 days of free trial, you lose some features if you don't pay (e.g. file sharing), but the remote desktop function still works like a charm.

I now use Symantec's PCAnywhere. Great interface, easy to use. You need to do some router configuration (provides step by step instructions). After that, everything should be good.

[wonton1017]

Correct me if im wrong, but i think MSN has remote desktop as well.
About 2 years ago, i asked for help and someone fixed something for me on MSN.

[puff_daddy_58_99]

www.logmein.com

second thumbs up from me on logmein. I use it every day from work to access my home PC, or my parents PC if they are having problems that need to be fixed. Fantastic interface, great support, and best of all it's free and easy to install.

[traderNik]

Remote desktop but they won't be able to see what is going on and you also have to open ports on routers/firewalls


Windows Assistance through MSN would let them see what you are doing but they have to send you an invite first.

I say remote desktop. Thats how I log into my computer from anywhere on the world

Ok, I tested the Log Me In system today. Went to an internet cafe and presto - logged in to my rig at home! Amazingly easy.

The only thing I would like to know from Log Me In users is this - does anyone know if my parents will be able to see my mouse moving around on their desktop if I use Log Me In to remotely access their computer?

cereal points out that Windows Assistance will allow them to see exactly what I am doing. As I mentioned, my sister is out there so she can follow my instructions for sending an invitation (I did a WIN XP help search for 'Remote Assistance' and I saw the beginning of that process). I am assuming that the Remote Assistance process does NOT involves manually opening ports? Is this right?

Any comments on these two issue would be appreciated

1. Will Log Me In allow my parents to see my mouse movements on their desktop when I log in to their machine remotely (of course I can just try it and find out; I'm trying to save some time and effort for my sister), and

2. Does WIN XP Remote Assistance require manual opening and closing of ports?

Thanks guys, for any further comments.

[MkmBandit]

VNC will allow you to see the mouse movement. I run a few websites with some other administrators, and VNC allows them access, no problem. I just sit here and watch the curser move around while they browse my rig.

Its easier to set up then it sounds too.

[traderNik]

Thanks for that. The thing is this - I installed Log Me In on my machine. The I went to the internet cafe. When I tried to log on to my machine from the cafe, the little box along the bottom of the computer which shows which windows you have open said 'VNC' on it, along with something else. I therefore believe that Log Me In is some version of the VNC thing (yeah, you can tell I'm a real techie :) ). I know that there are several versions of VNC available and I believe that Log Me In is simply one of them.

Therefore... maybe the Log Me In is going to enable me to remotely access my parent's rig, move my mouse on my rig and have them see the movements.

Basically, the question is this - is Log Me In a VNC-based app?

Again, if anyone can confirm this for Log Me In, I would appreciate it.

[puff_daddy_58_99]

logmein AFAIK has done their own work, it's not just a copy of vnc or anything. I don't know the tech side of how it works, but they do more corporate support so i'm betting it's their own stuff.

As far as seeing the mouse goes, look in the options panel of logmein when you are connecting to the remote PC. There are options to blank the remote screen or to leave it on, to disable the remote keyboard/mouse, etc. You should be able to set it up as you like

[traderNik]

logmein AFAIK has done their own work, it's not just a copy of vnc or anything. I don't know the tech side of how it works, but they do more corporate support so i'm betting it's their own stuff.

As far as seeing the mouse goes, look in the options panel of logmein when you are connecting to the remote PC. There are options to blank the remote screen or to leave it on, to disable the remote keyboard/mouse, etc. You should be able to set it up as you like

Excellent, thanks for the information. I'll post here just to let any other newbs know what happens with it.

[traderNik]

Just a follow up - I was able to use Log Me In to log onto my parent's computer and control it remotely. They can see my mouse movements on screen. The installation process for this program is totally seamless.

www.logmein.com

The only thing that remains to be seen is what happens after 30 days, when the 'Pro' functionality reverts to the 'Free' version. As long as my parents can still see my mouse movements on screen, I should be okay. Who knows, though... maybe there will arise a situation in which I regret not having the file sharing capability that is only available with the Pro version.

UltraVNC is another program that has been recommended - one that provides all the functionality of Log Me In Pro, for free. There is some manual configuration of ports that is necessary with this s/w (or so I believe). I may try this just to see if I can get it installed.

http://www.uvnc.com/index.html

Thanks very much to everyone who contributed here.

[matkun]

LogMeIn is made by the same company that makes RemotelyAnywhere.. which is a pretty good remote administration package.

Keep in mind you can always send files through MSN or such as well. Remote control file-sharing utlities cannot send files any faster then that.

[traderNik]

LogMeIn is made by the same company that makes RemotelyAnywhere.. which is a pretty good remote administration package.

Keep in mind you can always send files through MSN or such as well. Remote control file-sharing utlities cannot send files any faster then that.

Ok Matkun, thanks for that. As long as the reversion from the 30 day trial version of Log Me In Pro to the standard freeware version doesn't involve losing the abililty for my parents to see my mouse moves when I'm logged into their rig, I should be fine.

I'm sure I will also be using the account I set up on my own rig for my own purposes while travelling, etc. Very handy setup.

[RenegadeX]

I haven't used LogMeIn, but I use, and 2nd the recommendation for Anyplace Control, from http://www.anyplace-control.com. It has an extremely-low network overhead so you can take over control of a remote computer and use it with barely any slow-down. I'd tried some other apps and the lag made the experience very, um, 'remote' - but with Anyplace Control it's so smooth that I sometimes forget which desktop I'm controlling in full-screen mode!!
http://www.anyplace-control.com/anyplace-control/images/screenshot320.gif
http://www.anyplace-control.com/anyplace-control/images/remote.jpg

You can log in on network or via Internet, however the program uses a 'host' module and an 'admin' module which must be installed on each. A nice feature is that the Admin can install host modules remotely. May not be the ideal software for logging into your own computer from an internet cafe (never been to one, I assume you can't install software on their machines?), but it's great for situations exactly like the OP stated - helping/fixing issues/cleaning up a family-member's computer remotely.

The Admin's mouse is visible on the remote screen.
You can transfer clipboard contents from 1 computer to the other (very nice!) and can reboot the remote computer remotely as well. They're working on text-chat for an upcoming version, however it's simple enough to open Notepad (or 2 copies of it) and chat that way.

[JugaJatt]

www.logmein.com

Best one i ever used, logmein.com rocks.

[dell]

I use logmein all the time when I'm at work to check my torrent downloads at home. I like the multimonitor feature to see whats on my 2nd screen if I have something opened. I also use UltraVNC at home to connect to my workstation at work to start/stop/monitor renders going on locally or on the farm. The only downside which might be the same for all remote programs is not being able to see OpenGL related stuff on screen. Like if I wanted to do some 3d work from home I won't be able to see that actual viewports from the 3d app running on my workstation. I think its the same if you run like a movie it'll only show the first frame.

[chdude3]

Take a look at VNC ... http://www.realvnc.com/products/features.htmlI'd vouch for VNC as well, if they need to see what you're doing at the time. Otherwise, Remote Desktop should work fine, if they're using Win XP Pro and can host.

[batu]

i am an avid user of remote desktop (it's the main reason i use xp pro over xp home)..it takes fewer clicks and password prompts to connect than with logmein....but it does have some disadvantages..the biggest one being that ip adresses for personal internet acounts are sometimes changed when your isp does work on the network. if you are out of town and your address is changed, good luck guessing the new one. logmein doesnt suffer the ip change problem, it also has a great setup for viewing dual monitor systems (RD doesn't). and as already mentioned it is great for helping out noobs (by letting them view what is going on) and simpler than connecting using remote assistance

[Captin Howdy]

i am an avid user of remote desktop (it's the main reason i use xp pro over xp home)..it takes fewer clicks and password prompts to connect than with logmein....but it does have some disadvantages..the biggest one being that ip adresses for personal internet acounts are sometimes changed when your isp does work on the network. if you are out of town and your address is changed, good luck guessing the new one. logmein doesnt suffer the ip change problem, it also has a great setup for viewing dual monitor systems (RD doesn't). and as already mentioned it is great for helping out noobs (by letting them view what is going on) and simpler than connecting using remote assistance

setup a dyndns and you wont have to worry about IP changing.

Logmein works great, i've been using it for a few months now without any problems.

VNC (RealVNC/UltraVNC) is pretty good considering its free, it has some problems but nothings that big.

[batu]

setup a dyndns and you wont have to worry about IP changing.

...


just wiki''d , thanks.

[traderNik]

logmein doesnt suffer the ip change problem, it also has a great setup for viewing dual monitor systems (RD doesn't). and as already mentioned it is great for helping out noobs (by letting them view what is going on) and simpler than connecting using remote assistance

Excellent, guys. Thanks, especially to RenegadeX for providing that detailed post. I will take all of this under advisement. Simplicity is definitely a bonus, and LogMeIn is working so far. As I mentioned, I'm just hoping that the ability for my parents to see my mouse moves when I'm logged into their machine doesn't go away after the 30 day trial expires and LogMeIn reverts to the free version.

Any other comments or suggestions are welcome. I may give UltraVNC or anyplace-control a shot if I can find the time in the next week.

[just_For_ipod]

Can you start playing games on it? like counterstrike? lol
Then, you can access your computer from school or work, and start playing games. No installation on the computer or anything, just a remote connection :D

Someone please try this.

[Daijoubu]

For the dynamic IP issue, install a no-ip.org or dyndns.org client (the latter usually supported by most routers/modem)