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I was wondering what the cheapest way is for me to connect to a pc on my office network from my home.

I know this can be done using a special router with VPN access, connecting to a static ip with VPN and then using remote desktop, or am I wrong?

I read about UltraVNC, but it looks to me as if it's only possible if there's 2 people sitting behind their pc on both ends, or am I wrong again? If it IS possible, is there a guide somewhere? Because I can't seem to figure it out :s

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What operating system? Do you have root access or similar? – Eroen Dec 13 '11 at 12:32
1  
Pick your favorite. – slhck♦ Dec 13 '11 at 12:46
absolute cheapest is BO2K. Free and open-source -- one drawback is that it is detected by almost any anti-virus :( – Nate Koppenhaver Dec 14 '11 at 1:44

closed as not a real question by Sathya♦ Dec 13 '11 at 13:00

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, see the FAQ.

1 Answer

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There's no need for a person to sit on the remote machine. Just install VNC server and redirect VNC's listen ports from the router to the remote machine's IP. Set security clearance and restrictions on the VNC server. That's all. (Incidentally I prefer TightVNC)

There are many ways to remote desktop - VNC is the one of them. You can use Windows RDP, which is included since Windows XP, or you can use ammyy like non-p2p tools. There are also web services which give you a chance to remote desktop (http://www.mikogo.com, http://logmein.com) and are all free.

Anyway, once you setup the host machine there is no need for a person to be there.

Ultra VNC guide:

Windows RDP guide:

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ok so, that's nice, all works pretty well locally, but if I want to connect through the internet, on a pc in an office network. What do I type in e.g. VNC server address? We have a static ip in our office, but that's not a selected pc, how do I select a certain pc? – WtFudgE Dec 13 '11 at 15:36
If you mean your computers are behind a NAT, a common solution is to employ a VPN, with the server listening on the external IP, so that you can "dial in." – Eroen Dec 13 '11 at 16:04

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