You should first enable Remote Desktop
to XP machine:
- Right click the
My Computer
and click Properties
- On the
Remote
tab there is a group box that includes a checkbox to enable or disable remote desktop and a button to select users which will have the accessing permission.
- Read this window carefully. It says "remote accessing user must have a password"
- If there is a firewall on that XP machine other than Windows Firewall, you should also create an Allow Rule to localhost on port
3389
(port number is by default) incoming. (I wouldn't know the firewall specs, if you have). If you're using Windows Firewall, then just enabling Remote Desktop on that window will create proper access rule.
Then you should make a port forwarding on your internet gateway at home, assuming it is basicly a common modem. Login to your modem's administration page and find the NAT
configuration. There should be a group or a sub-menu about Port Forwarding
. After that type that port number 3389
to WAN TCP
and LAN TCP
editboxes (can't give you specifics, you have to determine what is what when you in there) and that XP machine's IP address to IP address involved editbox.
That way you are saying your modem:
"Take all the TCP packets coming to my WAN IP address, port 3389, which is Remote Desktop application's port number and it uses TCP, then forward all those packets to my internal XP machine's 3389 port, which is RDP is listening."
By doing those you actually set up two different listeners for RDP application, first one is your modem, which is now configured to forward what it listens and second one is the actual application on specific machine.