Remote Office; what VPN software is best?
 

Windows based, using windows VPN tools. Is anything better?

Maybe "Go to my PC" . .. ?

Kinda depends on your connection and what you want to do.

VPN is really to connect securely to your co's network so you have access to shared resources like drives, mail, printers etc.

Go To My PC is remote control software that let's you screenshare and control another PC as if you were sitting in front of it.

What is the goal. Connecting what/who to what/who?

I suppose that I should have been more specific; Which VPN-in software is best.

...just seems that "VPN" means more than it previously did. ...That most understand VPN-in as a remote connection ("private network" implied)

I want to remotely control my work computer. I am right now, but was curious as to the best solution.

So you want to have you or folks connect to the remote office from home?

How is the remote office connected to the rest of the world? Internet I assume? Does the remote office have a Cisco Router, Linksys Router? Do you guys own it or is it owned/managed by the Telco?

If you have a router that has the office connected to the Internet, then you could probably use the software from the manufacturer.

IE if you have a Cisco router, then you'd use the Cisco vpn client.

If the router has VPN terminating capabilities.

More info would be good.

I'm currently using windows remote desktop. Heavy graphics (always) sometimes locks it up. I haven't tried the heavily advertised "GoToMyPC" but a bit curious if this, or others do a better job.

Since I'm traveling, I can't count on any particular data link type.

If your site uses Cisco routers, why not use the Cisco VPN software? You can authenticate and become a remote node on the corporate virtually anywhere.

Island, are you saying that when you travel, you're already establishing a VPN (secure "tunnel") connection into your private network and your remote desktop is locking up? If so, you might want to set up a continuious ping from a CMD window to say a router on the inside (or anything really, but not the PC you're remoting to) and see if that's still working when your remote desktop "locks up". If the pings stop too, then you're looking at a VPN networking issue but if the pings are still getting responses, then you're dealing with a "client" related issue. Heavy graphics shouldn't matter on a VPN tunnel (from a networking perspective) if everything is "healthy".

Remote Desktop (Or go to my PC) is not VPN.

VPN is securely connecting to a remote network, essentially extending the destination network into your remote location via a secure (typically IPSEC) tunnel. It requires some sort of VPN concentrator at the destination network to accept and manage the tunnel traffic and put the clients onto the destination network. Then there is the client software which is loaded on the PC to initiate the VPN tunnel to the destination.

Even with a "VPN" you would still use something like Remote Desktop to actually control your PC at your office. VPN is more of a network infrastructure tool than an application. Think of it as the pavement on the road. The Road itself being the internet but the pavement shields you from the path cut into the ground giving you a safer ride.

Just get an open source VNC and off you go.

VNC
http://www.realvnc.com/

Works pretty well.

Yep. Exactly; I open a VPN link, and then launch Remote desktop. Thanks for the ping check idea. --I've actually been having better luck, w/ the conn, here in Hawaii than close to the source in Seattle.

Also of concern is the Desktop sizing. My work computer is set at a big resolution of 2560x1600, whereas my laptop is a more moderate 1920x1200... The problem is the VPN ...remote desktop comes in at only 1600x1200. (higher settings not available.) :-\

I have used PCAnywhere as well and liked their product.