Remote Desktop

[dverdier]

I there anyone here that wants to help me get the remote desktop working? The best microsoft tech support would do is tell me to use quick assist. That's not gonna work from another state with no one here to click allow. Plus it was slow as hell. Gameplay was impossible. It'll work here locally from one computer to another but when I connect to an outside network, it won't connect. The guy did mention something about having to use a vpn. I know windows used to let you set up your own vpn. I don't know if it still does and the only videos I could find were using a third party vpn. Anyone up for this?

[Xtr]

What is it that you are looking to achieve by utilizing RDP , sounds like you are looking for unattended access to a system in another state? RDP (remote desktop) require 3389 port to be opened and IMO is a massive risk to open this up to the internet (you can do a reg hack to change the port though)

 

Are you trying to play a game across a RDP session?

[dverdier]

Yes. I want to be able to access all my media and play games should I choose. Mainly media. I'll only be gone a week. If no one is using this remote pc but me and only for that, is there still a security risk If I close that port upon return?

[dverdier]

I tried to do this last year when I went home for the holidays. That time I was told I needed to be able to port fw in my router. I have a third party modem and router now. Comcast was of no help getting me access to their hardware for forwarding. Should have total access now. I think you meant open that port in my firewall though, right? I don't know what imo is either.

[Crunchy Dragon]

3 minutes ago, dverdier said:

Yes. I want to be able to access all my media and play games should I choose. Mainly media. I'll only be gone a week. If no one is using this remote pc but me and only for that, is there still a security risk If I close that port upon return?

You present a risk by opening the port in the first place. RDP is an encrypted protocol, but you can allow unwelcome traffic by opening 3389 in your network firewall.

 

The most secure option is use of a VPN, there are a couple that let you self-host a VPN server and install a client on other devices, so your VPN connection will take you inside your home network, from which you can access all your network resources and do what you need to do. I've used SoftEther VPN for this in the past, but there are other options. OpenVPN is another popular choice.

4 minutes ago, dverdier said:

I tried to do this last year when I went home for the holidays. That time I was told I needed to be able to port fw in my router. I have a third party modem and router now. Comcast was of no help getting me access to their hardware for forwarding. Should have total access now. I think you meant open that port in my firewall though, right?

Port forwarding is essentially opening a port in the firewall. The port being open is what allows traffic to come and go through the firewall, via that port.

 

RDP is awesome, but there are much better options for remote gaming. I would look into a cloud service like GeForce Now for your games, and keep RDP around for accessing files and media, but still run it through a VPN.

[dverdier]

Are the vpns you mentioned free to use in that manner? Easy to set up. I tried steamlink. It didn't work very well but I'm testing all this with a mobile hotspot to get outside my network. It prob doesn't have near enough bandwidth to stream it smoothly.

[dverdier]

6 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

You present a risk by opening the port in the first place. RDP is an encrypted protocol, but you can allow unwelcome traffic by opening 3389 in your network firewall.

 

The most secure option is use of a VPN, there are a couple that let you self-host a VPN server and install a client on other devices, so your VPN connection will take you inside your home network, from which you can access all your network resources and do what you need to do. I've used SoftEther VPN for this in the past, but there are other options. OpenVPN is another popular choice.

Port forwarding is essentially opening a port in the firewall. The port being open is what allows traffic to come and go through the firewall, via that port.

 

RDP is awesome, but there are much better options for remote gaming. I would look into a cloud service like GeForce Now for your games, and keep RDP around for accessing files and media, but still run it through a VPN.

Are the vpns you mentioned free to use in that manner? Easy to set up. I tried steamlink. It didn't work very well but I'm testing all this with a mobile hotspot to get outside my network. It prob doesn't have near enough bandwidth to stream it smoothly.

[Xtr]

a quick and "dirty" way is to use something like https://anydesk.com/ to connect to your computer remotely but latency wont be great if youre trying to play a game from it if im understanding the objective 

 

Rainway would be an option for gaming but honestly I think its dead now

[Crunchy Dragon]

2 minutes ago, dverdier said:

Are the vpns you mentioned free to use in that manner? Easy to set up. I tried steamlink. It didn't work very well but I'm testing all this with a mobile hotspot to get outside my network. It prob doesn't have near enough bandwidth to stream it smoothly.

It requires a bit of technical know-how, but it's not too bad if you can find a decent guide.

[dverdier]

2 minutes ago, Xtr said:

a quick and "dirty" way is to use something like https://anydesk.com/ to connect to your computer remotely but latency wont be great if youre trying to play a game from it if im understanding the objective 

 

Rainway would be an option for gaming but honestly I think its dead now

Accessing all the media is my main objective. Secondarily gameplay. Coincidentally I just saw an ad for anydesk.

[dverdier]

It looks like anydesk is a bit expensive. For a week of use, the smallest license they have is 15 a month billed annually. I suppose I'm going to look into one of those vpns

[dverdier]

37 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

RDP is awesome, but there are much better options for remote gaming. I would look into a cloud service like GeForce Now for your games, and keep RDP around for accessing files and media, but still run it through a VPN.

Using a vpn would not make me have to open that port correct? I meant not open the port

[Electronics Wizardy]

How about Parsec and simmilar services? There designed for gaming and will offten much better gaming performance and compatibility than RDP. And you don't have to do port forwarding.

[dverdier]

Well I tried softether. Followed all the steps and again, it won't work outside my local network. I guess this just isn't meant to be. Thank you all for the advice.

[dverdier]

I messed around with that vpn for hours between 3 computers. When I looked at parsec I thought there was a charge. I finally excepted defeat and went back. No charge and it's better than microsofts bul****. Thanks again

[Crunchy Dragon]

9 hours ago, dverdier said:

Using a vpn would not make me have to open that port correct? I meant not open the port

You do need to port forward the VPN server, which is what allows you to connect outside the network. The benefit is that you open a different port for the VPN server, not 3389 for RDP.