How to access your Computer from anywhere using VNC

If you are away from your home, you can still access your home computer from anywhere using VNC. With VNC (Virtual Network Computing), you can access your laptop or computer from everywhere provided that your machine is connected to the Internet. VNC is free (released under the GNU General Public License) and it's available on most platforms.

With TightVNC, you can see the desktop of a remote machine and control it with your local mouse and keyboard, just like you would do it sitting in the front of that computer. TightVNC can be used to perform remote control and administration tasks in Windows, Unix and mixed network environments. It can be very helpful in distance learning and remote customer support.

For a successful VNC connection you need-
1) A server on your home computer,
2) A client or viewer on the remote computer.

Let's set up each component one by one.
Step 1. Installing the VNC server.
Download TightVNC (.exe file,1.3MB) and get it successfully installed on your home PC. Start the server, and set a password for incoming connections. OSXvnc is a free Mac OS VNC server. Install it and set up a password and start the server.

Step 2. Install the VNC client.
On the remote Windows computer,from where you want to control your home PC, download and install TightVNC. Make sure that you start the viewer. Do not Start the server. Mac OS users need to download the free Chicken of the VNC Mac viewer to connect to home PC. Enter your home computer's IP address and password to connect. You can also assign a domain name to your IP address using free service like DynDNS.

WinXP Pro users have already got the application built into it. Click on icon on desktop "My Computer", select "Properties" and click on the "Remote" tab. Check the box to enable remote access. Now Navigate to Start-> Run-> type in "mstsc" (without quotes) and hit enter. You will get the popup window necessary to make the connection.

LogMeIn is a another application using which you can easily control your home computer from a remote location without any complex setup. Make sure that your home computer is not behind the firewall,else you will not be able to connect to your home computer. Please share your views about this post.For more tips visit About Online Tips

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