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Windows > Remote Desktop Connection articles: • Connecting to your home PC from somewhere else
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Connecting to your home PC from somewhere else
Category: Windows
Category: Remote Desktop Connection
1. Set up your host (home) computer to accept connections from other computers
"Open Control Panel click Add or Remove Programs, and then click Add/Remove Windows Components.
Click Internet Information Services, and then click Details.
In the Subcomponents of Internet Information Services list, click World Wide Web Service, and then click Details.
In the Subcomponents of World Wide Web Service list, select the Remote Desktop Web Connection check box, and then click OK.
In the Windows Components Wizard, click Next. Click Finish when the wizard has completed.
Click the Start button and click Run. Type Net Stop w3svc, and click OK. This temporarily stops the World Wide Web service to keep your system safe while you update it with security patches.
Enabling IIS without installing the appropriate security patches can make your system vulnerable to intruders. For more information, read Microsoft Security Bulletin MS01-018 and Security and Privacy for Home Users.
To check for updates:
Click Start, point to All Programs, click Windows Update, and then click Scan for updates. Follow the prompts to install all critical updates. If prompted, restart your computer.
Click Start, and then click Run. Type Net Start w3svc, and click OK. This starts the World Wide Web service."
2. Configure Remote Desktop Service
To connect using Remote Desktop, you must have a user account with a password. If you don't yet have a password on your account, create a password by opening Control Panel, and clicking User Accounts. Click your account, click Create a password, and follow the prompts. After you have a password, follow these steps to enable Remote Desktop:
Right-click My Computer, and click Properties.
On the Remote tab, click the Allow users to connect remotely to this computer check box, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Enabling remote desktop
Click Select Remote Users, and then click Add.
In the Select Users dialog box, type the name of the user and then click OK. Click OK again to return to the System Properties dialog box, and then click OK to close it. 3. Configure your router
You need to forward two ports to your Windows XP Professional-based computer: TCP port 3389, which Remote Desktop requires, and the port you specified in the TCP Port field in Internet Information Services (or TCP port 80 if you did not change the default). If you use Internet Connection Firewall (and you should!), see How to Manually Open Ports in Internet Connection Firewall in Windows XP for instructions on allowing traffic by TCP port. 4. Connect!
Open Internet Explorer, and enter the URL http://ipaddress:port/tsweb/. For example, if your IP address is 192.168.1.120, and you chose the TCP Port 1374, you would enter the URL http://192.168.1.120:1374/tsweb/.
If you're prompted to install the Remote Desktop ActiveX control, click Yes.
On the Remote Desktop Web Connection page, shown in Figure 2, click Connect. You don't need to fill in the Server field. If you leave the Size field set to Full-screen, the remote desktop will take over your local desktop.
Figure 2: Remote Desktop Web Connection page
Enter your user name and password at the Windows logon prompt, as shown in Figure 3, and then click OK. You'll see your desktop, complete with any windows that were left open the last time you used the computer.
Figure 3: The Remote Desktop Web Connection logon screen
When you're done, disconnect by closing the browser, or clicking the X at the top of the screen in full-screen mode. Be sure to close all browser windows. Your user name and password aren't stored, so you don't have to worry about someone else accessing your system.
10/8/2003
Source: Visit
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