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If you’re planning to connect to a remote com-
puter, you fi rst need to know where it is—and
“in my house” isn’t the answer you’re looking
for. In technological terms, you need the host
machine’s IP address. It’s the unique identifi er
that’s bestowed on Internet-attached comput-
ers by an Internet service provider. At least,
that’s the simple version. If you’re running
behind a router, the IP situation gets a
little more complicated. And if you’re
trying to remote-control a machine
at your workplace... well, things
could get interesting. Unless you use
Hamachi, that is.
Rather than fi ddling with a bunch
of complex settings, forwardingoptions, and other technological thaumaturgy,
install the Hamachi client on each machine
you want in the connection loop. This one-
stop solution to network confi guration creates
a virtual private network (VPN) on top of your
current confi guration. Think of it as the differ-
ence between following a series of directions to
get somewhere versus taking a teleporter that
deposits you exactly where you want to go.
Installing the client itself is simple. Once
you’ve fi nished running the executable, fol-
low the onscreen directions to create your fi rst
(password-protected!) private network. Set
Hamachi to run when Windows starts. This will
save you the head-slapping you’d surely infl ict
on yourself the fi rst time you try to remotely
access your desktop only to fi nd that you forgot
to start Hamachi before heading out.
Make sure you give your computers
descriptive names as well. If you’re planning
to include multiple rigs on the network, you’ll
defi nitely want better differentiators than “dave-
desktop” and “dave-desktop2.”W
e’ll set the stage. You’re at work, toiling away on yet another
spreadsheet for the Man, when you suddenly have a flash of
inspiration. You’ve installed Peggle Deluxe at home, and surely a
round of puzzle-ball action would make the day pass faster! But how are you
ever going to access your computer and fire up your saved game?
It’s easy to move files from your home computer to any location you
want: That’s what portable hard drives are for. But why use your legs
when a simple program will let you manipulate any faraway computer
using the mouse and keyboard sitting in front of you. Double-click folders.
Create pretty Photoshop pictures. Transfer files. Private networks are the
ultimate way to manage your computer from afar.Use Your Computer from Anywhere
1 Create a Virtual Network
BY DAVID MURPHYhow (^2) IMPROVING YOUR PC EXPERIENCE, ONE STEP AT A TIME
You can label computers via IP
address if you’re a real network
nerd. We prefer an IP address
followed by a label such as “PC
in Lab,” which tells us exactly
what we need to know.
50 MAXIMUMPC | FEB 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com
Normal networking is for
chumps. We’ll show you
how you can access your
faraway computer as if it
were sitting right in front
of you!
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TWO COMPUTERS
ULTRAVNC
Free, http://www.uvnc.com
LOGMEIN HAMACHI
Free, http://www.logmein.com
WHAT YOU NEED
how (^2) IMPROVING YOUR PC EXPERIENCE, ONE STEP AT A TIME
TIME HOURS:MINUTES
00:15
2 Install UltraVNC
Once you’ve got Hamachi up and running,
you need to install UltraVNC, which actually
handles all the remote interface fun. Installing
it is as easy as clicking a mouse button a few
times. If you want the program to run when
Windows starts, select the option to register
UltraVNC as a system service—unless you’re
using Vista; Microsoft’s latest OS frowns when
you try to do that. Vista users will want to copy
the shortcut to UltraVNC from the program’s
Start Menu folder into the Startup folder. You’ll
get UltraVNC when you log in to Vista, and
better still, you won’t see any error messages.
You’ll see an icon in the lower-right
corner of your taskbar when UltraVNC’s run-
ning. Right-click it and select UltraVNC’s
Administrative Properties. Most of the
options can be left at their defaults, but a few
offer handy upgrades to UltraVNC’s network
operations. If you’re accessing a computer
located in a public location, you can prevent