Software to control a computer from another one?

I'd like to control my dektop PC from my laptop (both running XP). I mean, to operate from the laptop like if I was physically on the desktop computer.

I need it to be as lighter as possible because my desktop PC is an old one, and it cannot run resource hogs. I'd also like to control it from the internet and not only inside the home LAN.

Thanks

 

www.teamviewer.com

This is nice and free.

There is 928 kb file which you will run on the computer to be controlled. Program itself is small aboout 1.28 MB.
I am using it without any problems.

No tweaking needed.

 

Get started using Remote Desktop with Windows XP Professional

 

Yeah if you have XP Pro on the desktop (and either Pro or Home on the laptop) then you can use Remote Desktop built in to Windows.

Otherwise, there are third-party programs... check the free software sticky thread.
EDIT: Hmmm I don't see them in that sticky... well I don't use any so I'm not going to recommend anything specific.

 

Remote desktop is definitely the best option, but you need XP Pro (or Media Center Edition) for that. Otherwise, I'd suggest using VNC. Check out RealVNC or TightVNC.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_desktop_software
I read in Wikipedia that there are several protocols used for Remote control:
Virtual Network Computing (VNC) - a cross-platform protocol
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) - a Windows-specific protocol featuring audio and remote printing
NX technology (NX) - a newer cross-platform protocol featuring audio and remote printing
Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) - a proprietary protocol designed by Citrix Systems
X Window System (X11) - a well-established cross-platform protocol mainly used for displaying local applications, but can also be used remotely

There's also a software comparison, what programs have you tried?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_remote_desktop_software

 

FYI, NX and X11 are only for Linux/Unix hosts, so they wouldn't work for you.

 

Has anyone used UltraVNC before?

Both the OP and I are probably looking for a way to connect without knowning their host IP address. Many ISPs use DHCP (so IPs might change over time) and I for one am tired of trying to make it work right.

 

Here's another solution using Logmein Hamachi to locate the remote computer's address and UltraVNC for connection.

How To: Use Your Computer From Anywhere

 

All are good solutions, but we need more information still--where is the laptop going to be? Same network (in the same house), or are you interested in connection from somewhere else?

If the latter, odds are you have a router so you are going to need to do port forwarding to the desktop.

What I've done in the past....

I have a little application that checks once a day for external IP address and then emails the external IP address to an account I access from my laptop.

I have set up my router to port forward remote computer connections to the desktop.

If I need to check, I look at that day's email (so I know what the IP Address is--it rarely changes)

I connect using ultravnc to that ip address, the router forwards it to the desktop.

 

Two quick notes: The port that needs to be forwarded for Remote Desktop to function is 3389. And for the external IP address resoultion issue there are free dynamic DNS services that will automate this for you. They provide you a little app that runs as a service (so it wil run on the remote machine even if no one is logged in) and it will update a dns server with your current IP address. I currently use http://www.dyndns.com/ for this. That way you can connect to your desktop using a name such as mymachine.dyndns.org and not worry about the IP address.

Gary

 

I'm a big fan of DynDNS too. Most modern routers have an option to automatically update the IP address with DynDNS as well. I know all of Linksys' later routers do at least.

 

I use DynDNS for SSH/HTTP/FTP access to my home computer all the time, and it works amazingly well. I'd highly recommend setting it up, as it makes things a hell of a lot easier than trying to remember your IP address. If you have a Linksys router, you might want to try install dd-wrt or OpenWRT on it, and replace the default firmware. That'll give you a lot more functionality out of your router. Of course, you can set up DDNS and forward port 3389 to your desktop with the default Linksys firmware as well, but where's the fun in that?

 

I have a router and a AP both running DD-WRT, and I don't have any problem setting my home LAN and the router is running DyDNS so I always know the internet IP to reach it from outside the LAN.

My main concern is security, and I don't know what's the best option. There's a DD-WRT version where you can set a VPN and a Windows porgram called OpenVPN, so could be possible to tunnel the remote desktop program through a VPN? I never tried to set one up so I don't know how complex it can be.

 

I've used LogMeIn, and it works just fine.

 

I use it all the time. It's my favorite of the VNC programs.

If you download Hamachi it creates a VPN (virtual private network) between up to 5 computers. Giving each a static IP address and you won't have to change any router settings. If you are accessing a remote system you can even set it up to run as a service, which allows you access to the computer before login (software installation, uninstalls, updates, reboots, etc).

I use this combination to maintain my parents computers. Beats the heck out of a 45min to 1hr drive everytime they have a problem!

 

I think it's easier to configure the router to give static IPs to every computer in the LAN than using Hamachi. With Hamachi you have to install and configure it in every computer (despite it is very easy to do)

I use UltraVNC too, I like it the most and you can add encryption plugins. Anyone tried to set up a "real" VPN with OpenVPN?

 

https://secure.logmein.com/home.asp?lang=en

free version is excellent. using it as we speak. best part is. can be easily accessed from any browser.

 

X3 for LogMeIn.

 

but there is no file transfer in logmein..!!

 

I use Logmein for FREE remote desktop, and Avvenu for file transferring on both my PC and WM phone.

BTW ... For simple transferring of small files. Email works just fine. Or sometimes for bigger files I use my remote pc to upload a file to sendspace, then just download it on the pc your working on. There are many ways to transfer files if your creative. But I highly recommend Avvenu.