VPN into home network.

we have an ocasional BT broadband connection at home...and i would
like to connect to a home PC running a Buisness application from where
ever I am in world...

Is VPN the right way to go about this and do i need a static IP from
My ISP ----the dreaded BT.

what is the best VPN software?

ian h

On 10 May 2007 05:13:46 -0700, ianh <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>we have an ocasional BT broadband connection at home...and i would
>like to connect to a home PC running a Buisness application from where
>ever I am in world...
>
>Is VPN the right way to go about this and do i need a static IP from
>My ISP ----the dreaded BT.
>
>what is the best VPN software?
>
>ian h
if you're running windows xp pro, have a look at "remote desktop"
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...moteintro.mspx

a fixed ip would be better but there are other ways of doing it, i use
checkip which emails out any change of ip address to a webmail account.
http://www.topshareware.com/CheckIP-download-51336.htm

"Paul" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)
> On 10 May 2007 05:13:46 -0700, ianh
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
> > we have an ocasional BT broadband connection at
> > home...and i would like to connect to a home PC running
> > a Buisness application from where ever I am in world...
> >
> > Is VPN the right way to go about this and do i need a
> > static IP from My ISP ----the dreaded BT.
> >
> > what is the best VPN software?
> >
> > ian h
> if you're running windows xp pro, have a look at "remote
> desktop"
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...moteintro.mspx
>
> a fixed ip would be better but there are other ways of
> doing it, i use checkip which emails out any change of ip
> address to a webmail account.
> http://www.topshareware.com/CheckIP-download-51336.htm

Remote Desktop works within a local network (I'm using it now to log on to
my desktop upstairs from my laptop in the living room) but not sure if/how
it would work over the public internet. Think I'd rather go the VPN route
for that.

Ivor

ianh wrote:
> we have an ocasional BT broadband connection at home...and i would
> like to connect to a home PC running a Buisness application from where
> ever I am in world...

www.logmein.com is another option. I use it all the time to access home PCs
from all over.

On 10 May 2007 05:13:46 -0700, ianh <(E-Mail Removed)>
mused:

>we have an ocasional BT broadband connection at home...and i would
>like to connect to a home PC running a Buisness application from where
>ever I am in world...
>
How do you mean 'occasional'? If it's not on, you won't connect to it.

>Is VPN the right way to go about this and do i need a static IP from
>My ISP ----the dreaded BT.
>
>what is the best VPN software?
>
A static IP is not completely neccesary, but does make it a lot
easier. Have you looked at something like <www.logmein.com>?
--
Regards,
Stuart.

"Ivor Jones" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> "Paul" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)
>> On 10 May 2007 05:13:46 -0700, ianh
>> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>
>> > we have an ocasional BT broadband connection at
>> > home...and i would like to connect to a home PC running
>> > a Buisness application from where ever I am in world...
>> >
>> > Is VPN the right way to go about this and do i need a
>> > static IP from My ISP ----the dreaded BT.
>> >
>> > what is the best VPN software?
>> >
>> > ian h
>> if you're running windows xp pro, have a look at "remote
>> desktop"
>> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...moteintro.mspx
>>
>> a fixed ip would be better but there are other ways of
>> doing it, i use checkip which emails out any change of ip
>> address to a webmail account.
>> http://www.topshareware.com/CheckIP-download-51336.htm
>
> Remote Desktop works within a local network (I'm using it now to log on to
> my desktop upstairs from my laptop in the living room) but not sure if/how
> it would work over the public internet. Think I'd rather go the VPN route
> for that.

RDP works fine over the Internet

ianh <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> we have an ocasional BT broadband connection at home...and i would
> like to connect to a home PC running a Buisness application from where
> ever I am in world...

> Is VPN the right way to go about this and do i need a static IP from
> My ISP ----the dreaded BT.

Using a VPN is an excellent idea, provided that you have something with
you (i.e. a laptop) to run the VPN client.

You don't need a static IP, but it helps. I don't know whether BT offers
a static IP or not, so you might want to check out Dynamic DNS services
such as those provided by dyndns.org.

> what is the best VPN software?

How long's a piece of string? If your router supports VPN (I think the
Draytek Vigor series do) then use whatever it wants. Otherwise, take a
good look at OpenVPN (www.openvpn.net).

Chris

ianh wrote:
> we have an ocasional BT broadband connection at home...and i would
> like to connect to a home PC running a Buisness application from where
> ever I am in world...
>
> Is VPN the right way to go about this and do i need a static IP from
> My ISP ----the dreaded BT.
>
> what is the best VPN software?
>
> ian h
>


You could try this http://www.bitvise.com/winsshd Its just about idiot
proof (well it works for me!)

Winssh is a server application that runs on your home PC - you will need
to open a port on your router to the application on your PC (normally
port 22 as its a SSH server) but can be any unused port you want. I
believe you can use it for free for 30 days and it then cost $40 to buy
for (personal use)

You use this as the client on your remote PC ie one with you anywhere in
the world http://www.bitvise.com/tunnelier to connect which is free
for personal use.

The beauty of it is that it can forward through HTTP proxies so even if
your connection has port blocking etc provided you have internet access
it will work.

I have used it extensively for 2 years - it is superb

Remote Command prompt on your home PC
Secure FTP between home PC and your client
Remote Desktop works a dream
You can even set it up so you can log onto any server/client on your
home network.

Very highly recommended.

Kind regards

Alan

Ivor Jones wrote:

> Remote Desktop works within a local network (I'm using it now to log on to
> my desktop upstairs from my laptop in the living room) but not sure if/how
> it would work over the public internet. Think I'd rather go the VPN route
> for that.

RD is secure and fine by itself over the Internet. It's also pretty damn
fast. (Just remember to switch off the wallpaper option if it tries to
copy that across.)

VPNs are only required if you need to run an application locally and
connect to something else on your home network. They don't generally
work that well unless you have decent upstream performance - I gave up
on a Samba-over-VPN solution from my house shortly after trying it. A
similar setup from work did better with the office's business ADSL
setup, nearer 1Mbit upstream.

--
Jay L. T. Cornwall, http://www.esuna.co.uk/~jay/
PhD Student
Imperial College London