Networking


Windows Software: mRemote

MremoteThe latest Remote Desktop client which comes with Windows Vista only allows you to open up one remote desktop at a time. You are able to run multiple instances of it to open other desktops but this will clog up your taskbar quickly. Imagine having multiple clients to connect to other types of servers such as telnet and ssh2.

mRemote will let you store all your remote connections information in one place so that they can easily be recalled and accessed at the same time.

Their website explains it best

“mRemote allows you to manage all your remote connections in a single place. Currently it supports the RDP, VNC, SSH2 and Telnet protocols. The main intention is to have a central place to store all your connections and access them in the same window.”

I liked that the program was highly configurable for each server I connected to. I had the same control with remote desktops as I have with the latest Microsoft release of the Remote Desktop Client. Each new server connection loaded up in a new tab, making the switching between remote servers instant.

mRemote is still in Beta so take a bit of caution using it. There were a few tick box and layout problems which I came across but all in all, mRemote worked just as I hoped it would. I was able to connect to two computers via remote desktop, and another with telnet.

The install is a single file download and there is an uninstaller included. The latest version 0.0.7.0 was released 10/10/07. If you are using XP, ensure you have updated to the latest Remote Desktop Client from Microsoft before trying to use mRemote. You can download it here. This is not necessary if you are using Vista.

There are Remote Desktop Clients that will let you connect to multiple desktops from the same window. The programs I have seen are commercial releases, or they come with Windows Server. mRemote is the only client I have seen that will let you log on to multiple types of servers at the same time.

Download it for free from SourceForge.


IMG SOS: Network Clipboard Options

CutandpasteI am currently using a dual screen KVM (Keyboard Video Mouse) setup. I chose to use a KVM because I did not have the money or the space to run more monitors. Both of the computers are connected to a network so that I am able to see the same documents on both computers and do just about any file manipulation I want to do on both. One computer is running XP, and the other is a Vista/Ubuntu dual boot system.

There is one feature I wish to add to this setup, and that is a shared/network/remote clipboard. It would be really handy to be able to copy and paste text and images between the two computers. Text would be enough to keep me happy, but the ability to copy and paste images would be a real bonus.

I had seen some tools around the web in the past which I thought would do the job for me. I initially wanted to test them out to so that I could recommend the best one to the readers of Inspect My Gadget. I did not have any luck in getting any of them to work so I am turning this article over to you.

This article will take a look at a handful of Network Clipboard options which are all available for free online. I didn’t think it would be so hard to get this feature up and running, because there are existing applications designed for this task. I assumed it was a feature that many people would want, and possibly already use. Have you had success with getting similar functionality on your network? Please, let me know, this one has me stumped.

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Port Forwarding Basics – A Beginners Guide

Difficulty: 3

I thought this picture was bad. There are plenty worse ones available.Port Forwarding allows you to access computers behind a router, for various services. To put it another way, Port Forwarding offers you access to computers on your home network accessible from anywhere.

Eg, You may want to setup one of your home computers as a web server. If you have not set up port forwarding, typing in your home IP address into a browser will bring up the router settings. You will need to setup your router to send webpage requests to the computer that will be hosting the site. This is known as port forwarding and it is a supported feature for most routers. Without port forwarding you can’t move beyond the router, restricting you access to all of the computers on the network. 

I have found over the years, my needs for port forwarding have been limited to only a few simple tasks. I set up a web server and an ftp server on one machine. I also needed to have access to a remote desktop connection from another machine. This was easy to setup and allowed me to take my home computers with me on the road.

Once you have access to remote desktop on one machine, you have freedom to access shared network drives from within your home network. There is nothing that you are unable to access. It is as if you were at home, on your home computer.

This article will show you how to configure your router so that you can access computers on your home network, from any computer that is outside of your network. This article is designed for newcomers to Port Forwarding, meaning that there is lots of technical stuff left out.

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Windows Mobile: Remote Desktop Client

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The last Terminal Services/Remote Desktop client for Windows Mobile devices was released by Microsoft many years ago. The only other options were VNC alternatives. Many hours of searching led me nowhere worthwhile until I came across this. I got all excited!

Remote Desktop allows you to operate one computer from another, eg. allowing you to control your home computer from your work computer over a network connection. This is an easy way to have access to your files, or to receive support from an IT department.

Microsoft released a new version of their RDP software with the release of crossbow. While vendors were offered the opportunity to install this on new devices, many did not take up the offer and left the devices with a little extra free space. It was not released as a download from Microsoft, though I believe they are talking about making that happen at some stage.

Luckily there are some clever people out there who managed to play around with the program from a WM6 device and port it across to a stand alone executable. It is capable of working on WM5 and for those who didn’t get it with their phone, on WM6.

The new version is great stuff. You are able to view your remote desktop in full screen, in bright 16 bit graphics and you can transfer the sounds from the desktop you are using to your device, just as you can do on desktop versions.

The screenshot on the right shows an XP desktop being accessed by the RDP client on a WM5 device. I thought I would push the 801.11b to see what it could handle, playing a small movie with sound through it. It worked well, but it was on a local network. As you can see from the screenshot, the media player window has gone to an appropriate size.

It works exactly how you would expect it should. Download it for free from the pdaphonehome forums, where you can also read a bit more on it.


Networking: DynDNS

DyndnsDynDNS is a great service which lets you connect to your home computer or network, without having to know the IP address. You are able to use a word domain name instead, such as name.dyndns.org.

Once you sign up, which takes less than 10 minutes, you can setup the service to a domain name you like, and which you can remember. This domain name will then be associated with your home IP address.

When you are out and about, you can type this address into any number of Internet programs, depending on what you have setup on your network. Eg. If you want to use remote desktop on your home PC, you would type in the domain name into your remote desktop client. DynDNS will forward you through.

What makes DynDNS particularly useful, is that if your home IP changes, either a desktop update client or your router will tell the DynDNS servers update your IP on their records. Many routers have the option to enter in some dynamic DNS settings. You will never have to remember your home IP address again.

If you are connecting to through a router, you will need to setup port forwarding, so that your router will know which computer it should send you to for any of the services you want to use. Check this link for an extended list of ports.

DynDNS opens up a whole bunch of of doors for you. You can setup your home computer as a web or FTP server and connect to them easily. I love this service.

Create your account for free at dyndns.com. They have been around for a long time, but they can never be over promoted.