Accessing my work pc from home

elljay

Please could someone advise me how to do this? I have Windows with dialup internet (can't get broadband where I live) on my pc at home and want to be able to access a Linux application that's on my work pc. That pc is standalone with a broadband internet connection.

I'm sure this is possible but have no idea how to do it. Many thanks

Liz

trcooke

What kind of application are you trying to connect to? Is it terminal based or is it a graphical UI? Also, can you actually 'see' your work computer from home? i.e. do you know its IP address?

Assuming you can actually connect directly to your work PC you then have 2 main options. If you're running a terminal program then the best thing to do is to install an ssh server on your work PC and access it using an ssh client on your home PC. A good ssh server for linux is openssh-server. If you need graphical access to your desktop then use VNC instead.

elljay

trcooke wrote: »

What kind of application are you trying to connect to? Is it terminal based or is it a graphical UI? Also, can you actually 'see' your work computer from home? i.e. do you know its IP address?

Hi - apologies for sounding thick but I think that's what I'm asking. How do I see my work computer from home? I assumed I would be able to see my desktop and work on it as if I was sitting in my office. Maybe not that simple.

Thanks

Liz

trcooke

The deciding factor is whether you can directly connect to your work PC. If it's sitting on an internal network then there's a good chance you cannot access it. You'll have to talk to your IT department to see if they have anything set up for this because it's most likely that they'll have it blocked for security reasons.

It sounded like there was a particular application you wanted to use so I was asking whether it was a terminal application or not because if it was a terminal app then you could connect to it much quicker over your dial up using a terminal based client as opposed to having to remotely load the whole desktop UI which would be unpleasant at best.

elljay

thanks

There is no IT dept, it's only me and a standalone pc - no network etc. I was assuming that I would be able to link direct, one pc to another. Is this not possible?

It's a library cataloguing open source system called Koha, I was hoping I could work on it at home as well as in the office. It's warmer at home!!

Thanks

Liz

MX5huggy

Is the work pc runing Windows or Linux?
Had a quick look on the Koha website I you would do better to ask on there about accessing the data base behind Koha remotley.
Think about your security becasue if you can access it others can!!

You will may struggle on dial up have you checked reciently that you cant get BB

elljay

Thanks, yes I check constantly as well as an ongoing 'discussion' with my isp and BT about rural access to broadband.

The work pc runs windows and linux, I go in and out of each one to do different things during the day. Well actually I only need the Linux for Koha. Other things I need, such as documents etc can be shared through things like google documents, it's only the Koha I can't use at home.

I'll ask on the Koha site, thanks for your help. Liz

fwor

You might want to take a look at VNC. It's a cross-platform tool that seems to do exactly what you want.

One thing to be very cautious about though is security, as you probably don't want some undesirable getting in remotely and trashing your library database.

However, I believe it's possible to implement VNC so that it's very secure.

[Edit: just realised it's already been suggested. Oh well, the stuff about security was worth saying anyway...]

madnlooney

if your able to install an application you could try logmein but being a work pc i doubt you an install anything

elljay

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll have a look at them all. I can install anything I choose, I'm the only employee in this office and can do what I like. There's no central control. Thanks again

Liz

pmdf

I would echo the recommendation to use VNC - I've used it for remote access on Windows, Ubuntu and also on my iMac and it works very well. It can be run over a secure SSH tunnel if you need security.

There are lots of versions, but I use and would happily recommend the free edition of RealVNC.