Make computer fully accessible over internet

zachary80

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 15, 2002
Messages
2,745
This summer I'll be working in several different states, and I want to only bring my Lenovo S10 netbook with me. It has XP Home on it right now, and I'll probably put Ubuntu Netbook Remix on it soon (160gb HD, 2gb Ram)

I'd like to be able to both control and have full access to the files on my q6600 desktop, which will run 24/7. It would be nice to do it within windows, although I also have Ubuntu Studio installed. Ideally, I'd be able to stream music (browser) as well as access it and other files directly for copying. It will be at home hooked up to 5down/2up Verizon FIOS. I don't know what this means for static/dynamic IP

What's the best way to set everything up?
 
hmm, this may not be the ideal way, but one program you could use is www.logmein.com

*edit* on a side note, whoo hoooo [H]ard|Gawd status after 4.7 years :)
 
hmm, this may not be the ideal way, but one program you could use is www.logmein.com

*edit* on a side note, whoo hoooo [H]ard|Gawd status after 4.7 years :)

I should note that I've played around with logmein (free and pro), realvnc, and realvnc with hamachi

Also, teamviewer looks nice, but it wouldn't cover everything
 
It looks like I'm stuck with dynamic ip and no port 80...

"
Ports 80 and 135 are blocked inbound.

However, although port 25 is not "blocked", Verizon's dynamic IP addresses are listed in the Spamhaus Policy Block List (PBL). The PBL is/can be used by mail exchange servers (MX's) to reject connections from these addresses. Thus, for the purpose of running a mail exchange server port 25 is effectively blocked. However, a mail server can be run that utilizes Verizon's authenticated SMTP just like your mail client would do.

As always, YMMV. It has been reported that sometimes a port which should be blocked by standard Verizon policy has instead been left open. In the past port 25 was blocked. Which ports are blocked may change in the future.
"
 
Are you just trying to dish out files from the computer, or are you looking for complete control?

If youre just trying to dish out files, just setup an FTP, and a media server application on the host and be done with it all.

If youre trying to have complete control plus files, FTP+Media Server App+ RDP?
 
I always need complete access to my home PC, so I set up multiple ways of getting at it.

  • LogMeIn Free
  • Hamachi
  • FTP via the zFTP Server (awesome FTP server)
  • Windows Remote Desktop

I opened up any necessary ports on my router and have had zero issues.
 
Are you just trying to dish out files from the computer, or are you looking for complete control?

If youre just trying to dish out files, just setup an FTP, and a media server application on the host and be done with it all.

If youre trying to have complete control plus files, FTP+Media Server App+ RDP?

I want complete control, preferably over both ntfs and ext3 partitions
I also want to dish out files and stream them

Apache w/ no-ip + Teamviewer + zFTP could work

I'm just not sure how to set up apache

Would it be better to run something like Ubuntu Server? Is NTFS fully supported and stable enough?
 
as you have some ports blocked by your isp, could you not do everything over an ssh connection and then use port re-direction. you can then do whatever you want, plus everything is encrypted! :)
 
I have some concerns about running a full ftp server all the time (security)

I think Ubuntu Server with Apache, no-ip, mysql, and kplaylist will get me access to everything.

http://www.kplaylist.net/
http://www.no-ip.com/services/managed_dns/free_dynamic_dns.html
http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/serveredition/features/fileprint

First off, Ubuntu server sucks. It is the most bloated install I have ever worked with, and completely not suited for server use. If you want to setup a server, use debian or freebsd minimal install and build up from there. I also run a tweaked kplaylist (php programmer), and it serves it's purpose well, even if there are a few hiccups.

Now, I've been in the same position you have, and this is what I did:

Set up a pfsense/smoothwall box with VPN, dyndns/noip, whatever firewall rules you need. If you don't want to use VPN, set up a dedicated server with ssh and ssh tunnel into it. You can then start a remote desktop to your home computer. The dedicated server should also have a web server (I recommend lighthttpd over apache for small installs like this), and an ftp server if you want (it would really be sftp).
 
setup dd-wrt on your router, use the dyndns feature to keep your IP updated.
setup port forwarding to RDP into home computer
orb.com for all media
and use the connect local disks option in RDP to be able to copy files (believe that works over RDP as well) just cant test at the moment.
 
create a vpn to your house, vpn in to access file or rdp

I would recommend this as well. It will minimize anyone from snooping and trying to get in to your system. Leaving a system open to the net is just begging for a brute force attack.
 
I don't have any extra computers to set up, just the q6600

I can't use ddwrt; the modem/router are combined.

What about freesshd and freeftpd? Could I then use ext2 ifs to access my linux (ext3) partitions from XP?

http://www.freesshd.com
http://www.fs-driver.org/

I should be the only user connecting to the computer, so it doesn't have to be super efficient software/OS. It's a Core 2 Quad with 3gb of ram (for now) and 1.5tb hd's. I may want to build a dedicated server later; this is just for the summer.

Does orb work well? Last time I remember using it it was a PITA...
However, it looks to support iTouch and I think before I was trying to work it with my x360, so it may be worth a shot. Right now I have tversity hooked up for my x360
 
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First off, Ubuntu server sucks. It is the most bloated install I have ever worked with, and completely not suited for server use. If you want to setup a server, use debian or freebsd minimal install and build up from there.

Or you could use Ubuntu JEOS and work up from there. It's not Jailtime.org small, but it's not bloated either.
 
Currently I have Orb set up and running, it works but isn't exactly snappy to stream files from. I can control my computer with logmeinfree, but that is pretty slow too. All I still need is a way to access all files. The ext2 ifs driver isn't reading my ext3 partitions correctly, it may be because they are on an extended partition - but most of my stuff is ntfs

I haven't been able to get freeftpd, kplaylist, or vibe to work properly.

I'm still looking for quicker, more secure options. Are the RDP suggestions inclusive of VNC? Or just windows/linux remote desktop?

I don't know anything about VPN; I tried to follow a guide for using what windows has built in but ran into problems early on and felt there were probably better solutions.

we have used remotelyanywhere
really nice software..

That looks nice but this isn't worth $100 to me now
 
I've spent a little more time looking into this but it is hard to test (I'm not on the FIOS network now). It looks like UltraVNC supports file transfers and encryption. Hopefully it is fast enough to use; I haven't tried it yet.

Ext2 IFS ran into an error mounting my linux partitions because their inode size is 256 instead of 128. Rather than reformatting I'll look into alternatives: ext2fsd and DiskInternals Linux Reader (read-only is probably best for my usage at this point)

http://www.uvnc.com/
http://msrc4plugin.home.comcast.net/~msrc4plugin/msrc4plugin.html
 
something in this thread has been bugging me...unless i'm misunderstanding something, it seems you have a mix of file system formats due to the different operating systems in use...and that seems to be adding unnecessary complexity to the setup. why not just choose an o/s and filesystem and stick with it, or alternatively (if you wish to keep different o/s and filesystems) why not just make everything available via either http, ftp, or nfs - that way the backend o/s and filesystem doesn't really matter? similarly, if you want remote access then choose an option and stick with it. ssh port-forwarding is really simple to setup, it only requires one port to be forwarded at your router, happy days. your box sounds quite pokey, if you want to mix operating systems, rather than dual-booting, why not use vmware so you can run everything concurrently? maybe up the ram in your machine a bit, but other than that, your good to go.
 
something in this thread has been bugging me...unless i'm misunderstanding something, it seems you have a mix of file system formats due to the different operating systems in use...and that seems to be adding unnecessary complexity to the setup. why not just choose an o/s and filesystem and stick with it, or alternatively (if you wish to keep different o/s and filesystems) why not just make everything available via either http, ftp, or nfs - that way the backend o/s and filesystem doesn't really matter? similarly, if you want remote access then choose an option and stick with it. ssh port-forwarding is really simple to setup, it only requires one port to be forwarded at your router, happy days. your box sounds quite pokey, if you want to mix operating systems, rather than dual-booting, why not use vmware so you can run everything concurrently? maybe up the ram in your machine a bit, but other than that, your good to go.

I was unclear; the already installed multi-OS shouldn't matter much, I have it so I can read the ext3 partitions under windows now.

The reason I threw out the idea of Ubuntu server is that I don't know the best way to get this going. A server OS seemed like a good possibility, and I am somewhat familiar with Ubuntu

Normally it is my studio workstation along with my main desktop. I don't run VMWare because I need the lowest latency possible.

However, my job is going to be moving me around the country for the next few months and I want to have access to the machine wherever I am

Orb streams my files, even if it is a little slow I can deal with it. TeamViewer is working great for me as far as remote control connections go, but I'm not sure how to browse my desktop explorer style to get files/folders. All I have figured out is how to send one at a time

I'm not sure how to make everything available with ssh port-forwarding. TeamViewer can quickly set up a VPN if that matters at all
 
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