How To...^ A step-by-step guide to tweaking your PC Experience
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HOURS MINUTESMAXIMUMPC Windows XP Professional includes a basic PC remote control tool, which lets you
log into your PC remotely from anywhere. Do you know how to use it?
I
t’s called Remote Desktop Connection, and when
you’ve properly configured your PC, this handy utility
will let you log into your computer from anywhere in
the world and control it as if you were sitting in front of
it instead of half a world away.
If you’re running Windows XP Professional, you
already have all the software you need to connectremotely to your PC. Whether you’d like to monitor a
server, grab files from your home PC at work, or just
keep an eye on your machines when you’re out, con-
necting remotely is easy to do. However, due to the
vagaries of network configurations and various other
quirks beyond your control, you may not be able to
actually connect. That’s where we come in.Windows XP Professional includes a basic PC remote control tool, which lets you
Remotely
ACCESS
YOUR PC
BY WILL SMITH
MAXIMUMPC MARCH 2004
First, you need to know the IP address of the computer you want
to connect to. The only sure-fire way to always be able to con-
nect to your PC is to use an ISP that provides you with a static IP
address. Most ISPs give customers dynamic IP addresses, which
can change every few days or even hours. Because your IP
address is the way you’ll locate your computer on the net, you’ll
need to know what your IP address is and monitor it as
it changes.
The good news is that there are loads of programs that will
notify you of IP address
changes, whenever they
occur. We like IP Address
Monster ( http://www.ipmonster.com ).
It’s a small program that
runs in your system tray
and can be configured to e-
mail you whenever your IP
address changes.
Now that you know your
IP address, you need tomake sure that Remote Desktop Connection is enabled. Make
sure your firewall is configured to allow incoming connections
on port 3389 (firewalls vary, so check your documentation to find
out how to open the port).
You can turn on Remote Desktop Connection in the System
Control Panel (Start, Control Panel, System). Check the Remote
tab and make sure “Allow users to connect remotely to this
computer” is checked. You’ll also need to have at least one user
account set up with a password because accounts without pass-
words are prohibited from logging into Remote Desktop.
It’s important to have
a “good” password on
the machine you’re going
to remotely log into.
This means you should
use a mixture of letters
and numbers and avoid
words that are found in
dictionaries. You should
also change the password
regularly to protect your-
IP Address Monster self from mischief.
should be your first
stop to remote con-
nectivity. This handy
utility will keep tabs on
your Internet address
and send you an e-mail
whenever it changes.To enable Remote
Desktop, open the
System Control Panel,
go to the Remote tab,
and check this box.PREPPING YOUR SYSTEM