The Certified Geek

Ever wondered how to provide remote desktop support to one of your non-techie friends who have a problem using their computer. If they are directly connected to the Internet meaning have public IP address assigned to them then this should be a cinch. We have Windows Remote Desktop and a plethora of VNC program to support this.

But how about if they are connected in an internal network where private network address is used as well NATting their environment prior to reaching the Internet. There are also some ISP out there still providing users in the private addressing space. How do you go about supporting them in case they need your help? Their network administrator as well as security guys would not allow any special treatment for these machines being accessed from the Internet. Now we have a bit of a problem.

But not long ago, programs have been developed to address these concerns. Without disturbing the current infrastructure, clients can be remote accessed and controlled by users outside the network. One particular program I have recently used and liked is theTeamviewer.

One good this about this program is that it is free for non-commercial use meaning normal users like you and I can use the program to be able to provide free remote desktop sharing. Simply downloading and installing the program is fairly straightforward. It has also a light version called Teamviewer Quick Support which does not require any installation and can be run in order to allow users to connect to the user’s desktop.

One the program is installed, running it will show you the main interface:

One the main interface, one can see the “Your Details” section which has the ID and Password (numeric password). These are the credentials required to be sent over to the user requiring remote desktop access to the client. This can be sent via IM or voice call. The Teamviewer mode below explains the type of access allowed for the remote user. Another in the main interface is the “Partner Details” which is used as entry for the ID of the remote client which will be connected if this host will act as the machine that is going to connect. Nifty aint it

One thing people should notice why this program works even if it is inside an internal network is because of a small program called DynGate which runs in the background. It is mainly responsible for the connectivity for the remote desktop access. This program requires outbound access via port 80 to an external IP address which is normally the case for every hosts requiring Internet access. Using the program tcpview, we can see how the program connected to the Internet.

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Though they state in their clause once the connection is established between the hosts, the line is secured using an encrypted channel and Teamviewers systems cannot decipher this traffic. Some people will raise security and privacy concerns on this. However, since its free and you only utilized it in certain occassions it would not be an issue to me. I would just terminate the program once done.