One of the most requested items I hear from small business folks is accessing their work computer from a remote location. They don’t want to pay the fees of services like GoToMyPC, Timbuktu, etc. They want a reliable and cost effective method to get to their data remotely. Most people assume that this type of thing is too complicated. I have news for you – you can do this. So, grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and get ready to go remote.

Before we get started, let’s get some things straight. When I speak of a “host” computer, I am talking about the computer that you want to connect to from a remote location. When I speak of a “remote” computer, I am talking about the computer that you are using to connect to the “host.” I am also assuming that:

1.You have high speed internet access 2.Your host computer is running Windows XP Professional 3.You are using a Linksys router, though you can do this on other routers

Most small business setups have a very simple network design. Let me diagram a typical design for you: -->broadband internet line to office -->internet jack in office -->line from wall to dsl or cable modem -->line from modem to router-->lines to computers. The major player in this setup, for our purposes, is the router. The router routes traffic to various locations. We are going to use it to route our remote desktop traffic to our host computer.

Alright, take a deep breath and get ready to learn. The first step is to make sure your host (the office machine you will be connecting to) has a static ip (internet protocol) address. Most folks get really confused when techies like me start talking about ip addresses. Think of an ip address like a mailing address for a home. Each one is unique on a street. Well, each ip address in a given network must be unique or computers get really confused. Usually, a router takes care of assigning an ip address to each computer as it is booted up, or turned on. We need to make sure your ip address is static. What this means is that it will not change. If it did, we wouldn’t be able to find it. It would be like trying to find a house that changes locations. See what I mean? So, let’s find out your ip address. Click on “Start,” go to “Run,” and type “cmd.” Click “ok” and a black box will appear. Type “ipconfig.” Note the ip address listed here. It will most likely be a 192.168.1.x number, where x is a number 2-254.

Now, we want to assign our host computer with a static ip address. Click on “Start” in the lower left hand corner and then click on “Control Panel”. Again, this is on the “host” computer – the one you want to connect to. Now, click on “Network Connections.” You will see a “Local Area Connection.” Right click on this and select “Properties.” This will bring up a box. In this box is a white box that will include “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).” Click this to highlight and select “Properties.” This is where we will enter in a static ip address – you know, a 192.168.1.x number. Click on “Use the following address” and enter 192.168.1.180 in the ip address area. Now, go down to the gateway. The gateway is simply the router. Enter 192.168.1.1. Note: if your ip address happens to be something different, like 192.168.0.x, then you would enter 192.168.0.180 for your static ip address and 192.168.0.1 for your gateway.