remote access, whats best?

**reiss** · August 25th, 2005, 06:39 AM

hi
want to be able to access my hard drive from a friends house.

i have winxp sp2, norton internet security 2005 and have a firewalled/nat router.

do i go for ftp? which one is easy to set up?

do i try windows file sharing?

any suggestions would be much appreciated.

cheers

**GroundZero3** · August 25th, 2005, 07:19 AM

for winxp RDP (if you have pro), for win2k and below RADMIN

I do find those remote programs to be a bit slower on file transfers so i use a FTP

**reiss** · August 25th, 2005, 07:35 AM

cheers guys. yes i have winxp pro

**kwebb** · August 25th, 2005, 08:27 AM

Yeah, if all you are looking to do is move data then go FTP. RDP is more about management than file transfers. Filezilla is free, offers both server and client, and is very straightforward and easy to use. Since your behind a router you would have to forward ports with either solution. Forward ports 20 and 21 to your FTP server or if he/she is behind a router, same deal.

**PresterJohn** · August 25th, 2005, 09:12 AM

Originally Posted by Steve R Jones

Remote Desktop Sharing that comes with XP Pro would allow you full control of the remote pc and the ability transfer files.

the way you worded this is inaccurate and misleading since it implies that remote desktop has some sort of file transfer capability in the client which it DOESN'T have.

remote desktop is merely remotely controlling a desktop. there is no inherent file transfer capability built into remote desktop and if someone wanted to transfer files to and from a XP machine, they're still reliant on the windows OS file-sharing mechanism which is setting up folder shares and mapping to them. it's immaterial whether he's running xp pro, xp-home (which doesn't have remote desktop), or some other older version of windows...he'd still have to do basically the same set of steps.

whereas some of other remote access programs on the market actually have a file transfer capability built-in their client.

what it really boils down to is that he doesn't need to enable remote desktop at all, if all he wants to do to access the drive contents.

either windows file sharing or ftp will work. each has their own pros and cons, ftp is more secure and flexible but you'll need third-party software to set it up and running a ftp server may violate your broadband service agreement.

**PresterJohn** · August 25th, 2005, 12:05 PM

i stand corrected. the remote desktop client does indeed have file transfer capability built-in. i've obviously never enabled this setting in and the default seems to be off.

you were 100% correct, Steve!

**kyd** · August 25th, 2005, 03:22 PM

You should try the web based remote login in service www.logmein.com
it lets you access all the files on the hard drive and you can also take full control of the remote computer if you want..

**thelonegunman** · August 26th, 2005, 11:23 AM

If you just want files then I would advise FTP.

If you want more remote control try Radmin or if you can get your hands on it Citrix Metaframe - cracking software!

**reiss** · August 26th, 2005, 03:12 PM

my friend gave me a copy of 'symantec pc anywhere' to try.
this any good?

**kwebb** · August 26th, 2005, 05:14 PM

Originally Posted by reiss

my friend gave me a copy of 'symantec pc anywhere' to try.
this any good?

What do you want to do? The original post made it sound like all your looking to do is move data. If that is the case then there is not reason to try to deal with remote desktop/admin apps. PCAnywhere, RAdmin, Remote Desktop. They all have some form of local PC drive mapping to move files but FTP would be a better option typically if that is all your concerned about.

**reiss** · August 26th, 2005, 07:51 PM

all i want to do is sit in my friends house and transfer files from my computer at home to his computer. im working on some designs for a website, and essentially just want access to my images database and whatever else i've probably forgotten to backup to dvd.

we both have very high speed connections and are both behind router firewalls, nats & norton security. (makes us feel very safe) and hasn't caused us any problems for now.

have no experience with setting up ftp and wouldn't really know where to start, but sure i'll pick it up very quickly.

thanks for the input guys, this forum and its members really are rescourceful and friendly