I need to be able to hook my boss’s home computer to my network here in the office so he can access all of his stuff…However we are on a VERY limited budget - If we did have a budget, we could hire a REAL tech person instead of having me take care of everything 
Anyway…I’ve heard of VPN’s but I’m not exactly sure if this is going to be something I want to go with if we only want to hook one person. Anyone have any suggestions for this poor, happless, uninformed, half-assed LAN administrator?
IMHO it sucks but if you’re on a budget and want the easy way to go this is it.
Anything else starts getting expensive and complicated. VPN’s are cool but then you need a router and maybe a dedicated/leased line to your office. Now you’re starting to get into some buckage…
Try PC Anywhere…if it doesn’t work you can always try something else and only be out $80 or so.
Just to be fair I shouldn’t say PC Anywhere sucks. It does what it’s meant to do and that’s good. That off the cuff remark comes from someone who tried to support 15 people using it through two modems and that was a nightmare. Time for something else at that point.
For what you described PC Anywhere is EASILY your best solution for one person to access their computer at work. Just keep an eye on the security issues (which PC Anywhere can accomodate to some extent).
I support networks and PCs using PC Anywhere. It can be a pain but it has at least one major advantage. The programs are actually running on the local PC and therefore run at the same speed as if you were operating them directly. You don’t have to pass all the data across a slow modem connection, just the screens, keystrokes and mouse movement and clicks. Plus if your connection fails, the program continues to run on the local PC until you reconnect. It sounds like the easiest way to accomplish what you are trying to do.
It’s definately not the greatest way, but it works.
Jim
Yes, one person connecting and a budget means PC Anywhere. We have the modem set up on our server, so our remote users just dial in and there are their files. I maintain security by having just use the File Transfer mode, not the Remote Control, and restricting the login account.
If your budget is too tight for PC Anywhere, and you are using a windows network, then all you need to do is set up the dial up networking access on your server and the home computer, create a dial up account and away you go. Cost: $0
Wha? We’re on windows NT, not a problem…I’m not familiar enough with NT to know exactly what you speak of! We are on a DSL here in the office, what do you mean “create a dial-up account?”
-mel
OH, one more thing, will this compromise security (not that we have anything that important on our server…)?
-m
He means you need to have a modem on the server at work for the client to call in to. This can be done over the internet instead of over a modem using PPTP (point-to-point tunneling protocol) which is a VPN implementation by Microsoft - if you are using Windows NT you can do this with the software you have - I dunno about Win9x or Win2k - probably it would also work.
The basic idea is you encrypt the data and send it over a ‘tunnel’ in the internet so no one can snoop. The client appears to be on the LAN for all intents and purposes.
Can’t help more than that, I’m afraid. Good luck.