Hi
A friend of mine wants to be able to log into his UK XP network from Thailand, and obvioujsly access files/printer etc. Can anyone point me to a clear and concise source of information on how to do it ? Ta very much

www.logmein.com

is a free program and highly recommended.

However I would not be confident in speed on a connection from LOS to the UK.

The free program also does not allow printing but it can be upgraded.

You have to download logmein on the pc at home, then you can use a browser to access the computer at home after entering passwords etc. Routers if set up not right may be a problem.

This is the simpliest solution and one that works otherwise you will have to go down the vpn route which is more complex.

Derren

Thanks Darren that's useful. Have you ever used PCAnywhere to do a similar job ? - I remember using this on a single computer years ago - but not reliable then.
Also, vpn is the original route I was thinking of, but as you say it's so complex I can't seem to find a clear set of instructions for implementing it..

Yes used pc anywhere but this logmein is fantastic. Main thing is its so simple. I think think the problem comes in not being able to be in two places at same time, so if he has someone who can turn pc on etc then its easy, but if he turns it on then goes to LOS to try it he may have problems.

My knowledge of computers etc is fairly good but I could not get vpn to work on mine nor could someone who was helping who was an expert. We concluded it was the router stopping it even through firewall etc was off. So logmein it was.

Derren

John,

A friend of mine has used this and he says it's briliant.

Go to my PC

I've been looking into the setting up of a VPN (virtual private network), and I thought I'd share this site http://portforward.com/guides.htm
This site has good info and programs on how to set up your router/firewalls and wireless security - which appears to be one of the areas where dificulties arise.

John, that looks rather complicated. These days don't most routers come with built-in port forwarding? My Netgear box certainly does.

Yes John, I agree that it could get as complicated as you want it to be. However, not knowing much about it myself, I found the guides on the site quite useful (like understanding what port forwarding is in the first place !)

Most routers also support Dynamic DNS.

Packpao

quote:

Go to my PC

But their advert on the radio with the dragons den man (Jones I think) is so annoying I have to turn it off everytime it comes on as he must say these four words 15 times
colin 244