Remember Me
forgot your password?

Access Your PC From Anywhere

There are several services available now that allow you to remotely access your computer from any other machine in the world, as long as it is connected to the internet. The good news is that Windows XP Professional has this functionality built into the operating system. In this article, I am going to show you how to configure your Windows XP Professional computer to support remote access using the Remote Desktop feature.

To use Remote Desktop you will need the following:

A host computer (the one you want to access remotely) that is running Microsoft Windows XP Professional and is connected to the Internet.

A client computer (the one you will use when remotely accessing your PC) running Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, or Microsoft Windows 95, with access to the Internet.

Appropriate user accounts and permissions configured on the remote Windows XP Professional to allow remote access.

The IP address of your home computer. You can figure this out by going to a site like http://www.whatismyip.com. The only problem with this is that your ISP may dynamically change this address from time to time. I would recommend using a free dynamic DNS provider, such as http://www.no-ip.com. This will allow you to assign a public DNS record to your computer, such as http://yourcomputer.no-ip.com. You will need to have tcp port 3389 open on your firewall. If your machine is behind a firewall or NAT router you will need to forward traffic on tcp port 3389 to your host computer.

How to Configure the Remote Desktop service

On the host computer, go to the control panel and double click the system icon. Click the Remote tab, and then click to select the Allow users to connect remotely to this computer check box. Administrators are granted access by default, but there is an option to add other user accounts if needed. Click on OK to save your changes.

Connecting to your computer

On the client PC, you will need a software client called Remote Desktop Connection. Computers running Windows XP Home and Professional already have this client installed. If you are connecting from a client PC that is running another version of windows, you will need to install the Remote Desktop Connection software. You can download the software for free from Microsoft's website. The next step is to run the Remote Desktop Connection software so you can connect to your computer. To do this, Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and then click Remote Desktop Connection. From here you just need to enter the IP address or DNS host name and click on connect.

Obviously, there are security implications that need to be considered when opening ports on you firewall or NAT router and exposing your machine to the internet. Please consider all of the security risks and decide whether or not this method will work for you.

Matt Peterson

Matt Peterson is a Senior Consultant for N2 Network Solutions, an Arizona based IT Consulting firm providing network support and computer repair.

Rate this Article: 0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s)
Print Email Re-Publish

Add new Comment



Captcha

  • Latest Advertising Articles
  • More from Matt Peterson

Promotional Merchandise – The gift box

By: Liz Lagon | 27/12/2009
So with 1000’s of exhibitions held each year, how can you be sure the coming one will be a success for your company? There are many different aspects that make up a successful exhibitor. Firstly, you need to make sure you have chosen the right venue and obviously based on budget, have chosen a good location within the venue. Every industry has many well known exhibitions throughout the year so you need to make sure you are attending one with a good foot flow of the right audience.

Promotional merchandise, a winner at exhibitions

By: Liz Lagon | 27/12/2009
So with 1000’s of exhibitions held each year, how can you be sure the coming one will be a success for your company? There are many different aspects that make up a successful exhibitor. Firstly, you need to make sure you have chosen the right venue and obviously based on budget, have chosen a good location within the venue. Every industry has many well known exhibitions throughout the year so you need to make sure you are attending one with a good foot flow of the right audience.

Holiday Promotions: Color Stickers

By: Kate | 27/12/2009
There is really no obstacle in preventing you from using sticker printing today.

Miami Yellow Pages are Excellent Resources of Specific Information

By: Mark Ferrer | 26/12/2009
Information has been immensely accessible thanks to the internet. Online resources for virtually anything, from simple housekeeping tips to personal finance, is available and can be easily accessed without even leaving your own home. Among these vast resources of information are Miami yellow pages, which basically offer a one-stop destination for services you can find in the city and other neighboring areas.

Who Needs Promotional Merchandise?

By: Liz Lagon | 26/12/2009
It has become a common trend in small as well as large scale industries to implement innovative ideas for the promotion of their products. Banners or posters are an easy way to enhance visibility but the effectiveness may be limiting. After a short time the banners could be destroyed or vandalised creating a detrimental effect rather than positive. Instead both the embroidery of the company’s logo on a shirt or the giving of useful branded products is better due to subtlety and longevity. This

Corporate gifts supporting the environment

By: Liz Lagon | 26/12/2009
With the UN climate change conference underway in Copenhagen there has never been a better time to start thinking about your own contribution to the environment and make more efforts to be environmentally friendly. If your company is not making the steps to be greener then it could have a detrimental effect in the long term. We are all accountable for the amount of emissions we create, our journey to work, from work, paper we consume, electricity, the list is endless.

"Tweet to Win" Contest for the Holidays

By: MyContextualAds | 26/12/2009
Spread the holiday cheer and tweet for us! Our "Tweet to Win" Contest will have 4 grand winners announced at the end of the contest. All that you have to do is tweet about us - as many times as you like, saying whatever you like. Start tweeting!

My Virtual Job Finder More Than Just A Video Resume

By: MyVirtual JobFinder | 25/12/2009
http://www.MyVirtualJobFiner.com Find A Job Using Our Employment Resources And Internet Marketing Tools For Resumes And Internet Business Opportunity With Tips For Any Job Search.

Protect Your Computer Against Spyware

By: Matt Peterson | 13/02/2007 | Computers
Everyone has heard of the need for antivirus and anti-spyware programs, but some people still don't realize what spyware is, or why it's so dangerous. Spyware is not the same as a computer virus. Viruses corrupt files and destroy data. Spyware generally keeps track of where you go online, and...

Data Encryption

By: Matt Peterson | 13/02/2007 | Computers
Computers give us a remarkable amount of convenience. With one machine, we can send mail and pictures to friends, go shopping, pay bills, make appointments and confirm any number of different pieces of information in our lives. But all of this convenience can be horribly misused in the case of...

Windows Vista: Which Edition Do You Need?

By: Matt Peterson | 12/12/2006 | Computers
With the commercial release of Windows Vista right around the corner many users are preparing to upgrade to the latest Microsoft operating system. The software giant has created serveral editions of the Vista OS to meet the needs of home and business users. At first glance the list of Vista...

What Is Virtualization?

By: Matt Peterson | 07/09/2006 | Advertising
There is a lot of buzz going around about Virtualization.

Access Your PC From Anywhere

By: Matt Peterson | 07/09/2006 | Advertising
There are several services available now that allow you to remotely access your computer from any other machine in the world, as long as it is connected to the internet.

What Is Microsoft Terminal Server?

By: Matt Peterson | 07/09/2006 | Advertising
Microsoft Terminal Server is a component of the Windows operating system that allows users to remotely access servers and applications over the internet or a local area network.

Submit Your Articles Free: Signup
Article Categories




Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy | User published content is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Copyright © 2005-2008 Free Articles by ArticlesBase.com, All rights reserved. (0.34, 5, w3)