Are you a busy body that might have access to your home computer when you’re away. Or does you’re laptop have to be in two places at the same time. In this easy guide you’ll learn how to access your laptop anywhere in the world be it your operating system is Windows, Mac or Linux.

Windows

With windows 7 and above you can very easily access your computer remotely in four easy steps, no fee.

1)      Ensure that your computer is turned on and connected to the internet.

2)      Click start and in search type in ‘Remote desktop connection’ and click the Remote connection links at the top of the list, as can be seen in fig 1.

fig 1

3)      A tab as shown in fig 2 will appear. Here, type in your computer’s name and click connect.

fig 2

4)      It’ll load, then another window will open. Type in your user name and password and click OK, as seen in fig 3.

fig 3

And voila, you are now connected. To exit this, all you have to do is click start then log off and it should take you back to your main computer.

Mac

With any Mac, you can make your computer easy for you to access for no fee in 5 easy steps.

1)      Install the most up-to-date Apple Remote Desktop application. Download the program on each computer that you plan to monitor. Complete the install with the assistance of the directions that show up on your computer screen. Fig 4 shows how you can update computer.

fig 4

2)      Click “System Preferences” and press “Apple Remote Desktop.”Mark the selection that states “Start Apple Remote Desktop Client at System Start up.” Navigate to “System Preferences.” Set the privilege levels for each Mac on your network by choosing “Sharing or Remote Desktop,” and finally select “Apple Remote Desktop.”. Fig 5 shows extract of one of the programs you may come across.

fig 5

3)      Travel to the Apple Macintosh you use to manage the network and download the package for administrators. The directions on the computer screen walk you through the entire process. Fig 6 shows a picture of an apple Macintosh which the name came from – the old computer.

fig 6

4)      Start the remote desktop application on your laptop or desktop. Type in the serial number that came with your program. Click “Continue.” Write down the password that you use to access your Remote Desktop software, so you can use it in the future. Press “Done” and wait for the next box to come up on your screen. Fig 7 shows an idea of what the program has the potential to look like.

fig 7

5)      Look at the names of the other clients on the network that you administer. These computers show up in the main window. Make sure to grant these users the usage rights you desire, so you can then manage their computers remotely. If you want to break up the computers into certain sections, you can also perform this feature to stay better organized.

Linux

With Linux it’s a bit trickier. But in four simple steps and internet connection, for no fee at all you can make it so your device is accessible from anywhere in the world.

1)      Go to your LXTerminal and type in the following; sudo nano /etc/network/interface. See fig 8. A file will then pop up. Scroll down to the ‘iface eth0’ line and remove DHCP with static. Now below there will be an area to type in your IP address, subnet mask and gateway. Type them in here and press Ctrl and X then Y. Press enter a few times and either;

• Restart your device or,
• Type in; sudo /etc/init.d/networking stop

fig 8

2)      Whilst still in the LXTerminal, type in the following;

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install tightvncserver

tightvncserver

See fig 9. When the packages have downloaded it will ask you for a password and to verify your password. This can be whatever you like, but ensure that you remember it. After that it will ask ‘Would you like to enter a view only password?’ in which you should reply ‘n’. After all this, go back to the LXTerminal and type in the following and press enter.

Sudo nano /etc/init.d/tightvncserver

fig 9

3)      As you can see, the nano text editor has opened up, type in the following as can be seen in fig 10.

#!/bin/sh

# /etc/init.d/tightvncserver

# Set the VNCUSER variable to the name of the user to start

tightvncserver under

VNCUSER=’pi’

case “$1” in

start)

su $VNCUSER –c ‘/usr/bin/tightvncserver :1’

echo “Starting TightVNC server for $VNCUSER”

;;

stop)

pkill Xtightvnc

echo “Tightvncserver stopped”

;;

*)

echo “Usage:  /etc/init.d/tightvncserver{start|stop}”

exit 1

;;

esac

exit 0

fig 10

4)      After doing step 3, press Ctrl and X at the same time, then Y to save. Press enter a few times. After this go to the LXTerminal a final time and type in;

Sudo chmod 755 /etc/init.d/tightvncserver

Update_rc.d tightvncserver defaults

Sudo reboot

See fig 11. The entire system should then reboot and hay presto, you can now access it from anywhere in the world with internet connection. Enjoy.

fig 11