Dave writes in with a networking question
Q. Hi I'm trying to utilize the Remote Desktop Connection tool to remotely connect from laptop to another laptop at home. I have a Belkin wireless router that i connect to the internet with both laptops but I wish to access my home laptop with my other personal laptop from work. I have tried following the help guide from Windows but it hasn’t helped much I’ve tried configuring the laptop to connect to but when i try connecting my work laptop it does not work. I’ve tried IP address computer name etc etc and still it doesn’t work? Has this got to do with the router at all and if so how can i fix this. Work laptop is Vista Business and home laptop is XP. Thanks for Your help Dave.
A. To do this with your router you would need to have a static IP address at home that doesn't change or you would have to reconfigure your Remote Desktop session from work with the new IP address of your home internet connection each time it changes (dynamic IP address).
An easy way to do remote access of your home computer from work is to use something like logmein which is a free web based remote control software. It works via a web browser on your work computer and you can log into and control your home computer from anywhere that has an internet connection. You simply install the software on your home computer and a plugin on your work computer, log into the logmein.com website with your name and password and connect to your home computer. Just keep in mind that your home computer will have to have a password associated with the username since logmein wont allow for blank passwords. They have a free version that works great for most people. I use it myself to manage multiple computers remotely. Check out the tip of the month section in one of our older newsletters for more information.
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