Gaining access to workplace network

Hi all,

Any help appreciated.

My wifes office has a small network installed by a company who have now
gone bust and as such are not able to support them.

I have a very limited knowledge of networking (only what I have taught
myself) and I now want to gain access to their network to do a bit of
support for them.

All I want to do at this stage is set up a VNC connection so I can see
what's on my wifes screen, as she knows how to operate a PC but trying
to talk someone through the intricacies of virus detection etc is
getting quite frustrating.

There are just 2 desktop PCs on the network and a couple of ports in
each office so laptop users can plug in. These are all behind a firewall
of course and there is a router in the mix aswell.

I don't know much about VPN and I think gaining access to the network is
going to involve some routing through the firewall and some VPN action
aswell.

Any assistance or tips on this matter is appreciated.

Hardware (as described by the missus):

"I have been in the store cupboard we have three boxes with flashing
lights!!

Efficient Networks
Netscreen 5XP
Office Connect Hub 8TPO (3com)

And the one in reception which is connected to Kerry's computer
Jetdirect 170X"

--
Regards
Jon


Jon Parker

In message <(E-Mail Removed)>, Jon Parker
<(E-Mail Removed)> writes

>I don't know much about VPN and I think gaining access to the network is
>going to involve some routing through the firewall and some VPN action
>aswell.
>
>Any assistance or tips on this matter is appreciated.
>
>Hardware (as described by the missus):
>
>"I have been in the store cupboard we have three boxes with flashing
>lights!!
>
>Efficient Networks
>Netscreen 5XP

Juniper Networks is the manufacturer, it's a firewall device. If you
want to set up VNC you will need to have the firewall let the
appropriate ports through and perhaps set up port forwarding from the
router. This will make the network insecure. Don't do this unless you
have authorisation from a company signatory. There are other remote
control options, I think the latest issue of PC Plus has a group test of
several, not including VNC.

You can install VNC on one of the office machines and have it set up the
connection to a listening client on your home system. That gets around
the port-forwarding issue, but the firewall may still block it.

>Office Connect Hub 8TPO (3com)
>
>And the one in reception which is connected to Kerry's computer
>Jetdirect 170X"

That's a network interface for a Hewlett Packard printer.

My employer specialises in providing remote support to small and medium
sized organisations, including handling remote support. If you want to
investigate that option then look at http://www.ihotdesk.com/

--
Bernard Peek
London, UK. DBA, Manager, Trainer & Author.

(E-Mail Removed) declared for all the world to hear...
> >Efficient Networks
> >Netscreen 5XP
>
> Juniper Networks is the manufacturer, it's a firewall device. If you
> want to set up VNC you will need to have the firewall let the
> appropriate ports through and perhaps set up port forwarding from the
> router. This will make the network insecure. Don't do this unless you
> have authorisation from a company signatory. There are other remote
> control options, I think the latest issue of PC Plus has a group test of
> several, not including VNC.
>
> You can install VNC on one of the office machines and have it set up the
> connection to a listening client on your home system. That gets around
> the port-forwarding issue, but the firewall may still block it.

Cheers. I suspected as much. I did also try VNC the other way around,
I.e. for the wifes machine to connect to me but it didn't work. I have
XP SP2 firewall and a NAT router with firewall in the way. How con one
tell which ports require opening?

It would probably help if I could even just access their router config
remotely. EG to access my router from home I browse to 192.168.1.1, from
outside I browse to my WAN IP:8000 and enter a password.

I got the wife to do ipconfig /all and tell me gateway IP (presumably
the IP if the router) but she could not access it internally, nor could
I.

> >And the one in reception which is connected to Kerry's computer
> >Jetdirect 170X"

> That's a network interface for a Hewlett Packard printer.

Nothing to worry about then?

> My employer specialises in providing remote support to small and medium
> sized organisations, including handling remote support. If you want to
> investigate that option then look at http://www.ihotdesk.com/

Will do, but unless you work for free (or close to it!) it's not going
to happen!

They are currently just chugging along and it's not until something goes
seriously wrong will they spend any money. However their virus
protection is about to run out and in the absence of anyone in the
business with any knowledge of IT matters, they will have to consider
some paid-for support soon I feel.
--
Regards
Jon

In message <(E-Mail Removed)>, Jon Parker
<(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>All I want to do at this stage is set up a VNC connection so I can see
>what's on my wifes screen, as she knows how to operate a PC but trying
>to talk someone through the intricacies of virus detection etc is
>getting quite frustrating.
What operating systems are the machines using? You don't need VNC if
they have XP, you can use RDP.
>
>I don't know much about VPN and I think gaining access to the network is
>going to involve some routing through the firewall and some VPN action
>aswell.
It will, you will need to forward a port on the router to the VPN device
through the firewall (the firewall *may* be able to provide VPN
services) Once you have the VPN established, your PC will have an extra
IP address and is part of the office network so you can access shared
files, print to the printer etc. You can also use VNC or RDP to control
the machines on the network.

>
>Any assistance or tips on this matter is appreciated.
>
>Hardware (as described by the missus):
>
>"I have been in the store cupboard we have three boxes with flashing
>lights!!
>
>Efficient Networks
You need to know who provided this hardware, if it's BT, they won't
allow you to touch anything in the config so your journey stops here
unless you're prepared to replace it or are happy to break the T&Cs of
the service contract. IIRC, they will change things for you, for a
price.

>Netscreen 5XP
You need the login details of this device and see the manual (doweled it
if it's not been left on the site) so you can work out how to configure
it for VPN
>Office Connect Hub 8TPO (3com)
>
>And the one in reception which is connected to Kerry's computer
>Jetdirect 170X"
>
Print server.

If you're in Manchester or surrounding areas, I can help. Email me.
--
Clint Sharp

In message <(E-Mail Removed)>, Jon Parker
<(E-Mail Removed)> writes

>Cheers. I suspected as much. I did also try VNC the other way around,
>I.e. for the wifes machine to connect to me but it didn't work. I have
>XP SP2 firewall and a NAT router with firewall in the way. How con one
>tell which ports require opening?

You can configure your VNC viewer to listen on any port.

>
>It would probably help if I could even just access their router config
>remotely. EG to access my router from home I browse to 192.168.1.1, from
>outside I browse to my WAN IP:8000 and enter a password.
>
>I got the wife to do ipconfig /all and tell me gateway IP (presumably
>the IP if the router) but she could not access it internally, nor could
>I.

She could point a browser at www.whatismyipaddress.com which would tell
her what her external IP address is. There might be a way of configuring
the router from outside, although I hope there isn't.

>
>> >And the one in reception which is connected to Kerry's computer
>> >Jetdirect 170X"
>
>> That's a network interface for a Hewlett Packard printer.
>
>Nothing to worry about then?

Hopefully not.

>
>> My employer specialises in providing remote support to small and medium
>> sized organisations, including handling remote support. If you want to
>> investigate that option then look at http://www.ihotdesk.com/
>
>Will do, but unless you work for free (or close to it!) it's not going
>to happen!

Fortunately we don't work for free, or at least we try not to. You're
stuck with whatever help I can offer here then.

>
>They are currently just chugging along and it's not until something goes
>seriously wrong will they spend any money. However their virus
>protection is about to run out and in the absence of anyone in the
>business with any knowledge of IT matters, they will have to consider
>some paid-for support soon I feel.

Please tell me that someone is looking after their backups.


--
Bernard Peek
London, UK. DBA, Manager, Trainer & Author.

(E-Mail Removed) declared for all the world to hear...
> >"I have been in the store cupboard we have three boxes with flashing
> >lights!!
> >
> >Efficient Networks

> You need to know who provided this hardware, if it's BT, they won't
> allow you to touch anything in the config so your journey stops here
> unless you're prepared to replace it or are happy to break the T&Cs of
> the service contract. IIRC, they will change things for you, for a
> price.

The company who provided and installed it no longer exists.

> >Netscreen 5XP

> You need the login details of this device and see the manual (doweled it
> if it's not been left on the site) so you can work out how to configure
> it for VPN

The manual is not on site alas, I've asked the wife to have a hunt
around for it but it's not looking good.

> If you're in Manchester or surrounding areas, I can help. Email me.

Norwich, sadly but thanks for the tips. I think I'm getting there.
--
Regards
Jon

(E-Mail Removed) declared for all the world to hear...
> Please tell me that someone is looking after their backups.

The only thing they backup is the accounts which are produced by Sage.
That goes onto a single CDRW every night. I doubt they even have a copy
of XP in the office.

It's comical I know, but the MD really has no clue about matters of IT.
--
Regards
Jon

(E-Mail Removed) declared for all the world to hear...
> >Cheers. I suspected as much. I did also try VNC the other way around,
> >I.e. for the wifes machine to connect to me but it didn't work. I have
> >XP SP2 firewall and a NAT router with firewall in the way. How con one
> >tell which ports require opening?

> You can configure your VNC viewer to listen on any port.

D'oh! I knew that aswell!

> She could point a browser at www.whatismyipaddress.com which would tell
> her what her external IP address is. There might be a way of configuring
> the router from outside, although I hope there isn't.

Nice, thanks for that link.

> Fortunately we don't work for free, or at least we try not to. You're
> stuck with whatever help I can offer here then.

You've already given that, thanks! As pointed out by another poster I
think I'm going to be stuck without the login details of their router.
--
Regards
Jon

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, "Jon
Parker" (E-Mail Removed) says...
> (E-Mail Removed) declared for all the world to hear...
> > >Cheers. I suspected as much. I did also try VNC the other way around,
> > >I.e. for the wifes machine to connect to me but it didn't work. I have
> > >XP SP2 firewall and a NAT router with firewall in the way. How con one
> > >tell which ports require opening?
>
> > You can configure your VNC viewer to listen on any port.
>
> D'oh! I knew that aswell!
>
> > She could point a browser at www.whatismyipaddress.com which would tell
> > her what her external IP address is. There might be a way of configuring
> > the router from outside, although I hope there isn't.
>
> Nice, thanks for that link.
>
> > Fortunately we don't work for free, or at least we try not to. You're
> > stuck with whatever help I can offer here then.
>
> You've already given that, thanks! As pointed out by another poster I
> think I'm going to be stuck without the login details of their router.
>
http://www.juniper.net/techpubs/hardware/netscreen-
appliances/netscreen-appliances50/ug_5xp.pdf

or

http://tinyurl.com/dr26g

Jon Parker <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:(E-Mail Removed):

> Hi all,
>
> Any help appreciated.
>
> My wifes office has a small network installed by a company who have now
> gone bust and as such are not able to support them.
>
> I have a very limited knowledge of networking (only what I have taught
> myself) and I now want to gain access to their network to do a bit of
> support for them.
>
> All I want to do at this stage is set up a VNC connection so I can see
> what's on my wifes screen, as she knows how to operate a PC but trying
> to talk someone through the intricacies of virus detection etc is
> getting quite frustrating.
>
> There are just 2 desktop PCs on the network and a couple of ports in
> each office so laptop users can plug in. These are all behind a firewall
> of course and there is a router in the mix aswell.
>
> I don't know much about VPN and I think gaining access to the network is
> going to involve some routing through the firewall and some VPN action
> aswell.
>
> Any assistance or tips on this matter is appreciated.
>
> Hardware (as described by the missus):
>
> "I have been in the store cupboard we have three boxes with flashing
> lights!!
>
> Efficient Networks
> Netscreen 5XP
> Office Connect Hub 8TPO (3com)

The simpleist way I can think of is to install PCAnywhere on both your
wifes and your machine.

Log into the Netscreen Router (default username is 'Netscreen' password
'Netscreen'.)

From there it's a case of using the web-interface to configure port
forwarding for PCAnywhere to work.

I can guide you through that, if you opt for this method.