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Can I can I connect my home network to my office network via the internet? I have Windows 7 in both locations.

Thanks in advance guys.

Depending on what you want to do, you might be able to get away with a go-to-my-pc type service which will let you remote control your pc from the 'net.

For more comprehensive connection to the network, you will need a VPN endpoint router at the office. I do this into my house so I can access everything on my network from anywhere on the 'net securely. I have a Netgear FVS-318G, cost is about $130. If you put one in each location, you can make a permanent secure tunnel between both locations.

I use GoToMyPC regularly to work from home, accessing my computer as though I was there and therefore have the same access to the office network. That includes using the high end graphics programs I use. Haven't had any issues at all with it, been using it for about 5 years. There is a free trial so you can test it out to see if it does what you want.

I use PhoneMyPC to remote into my home computer from my Android phone/tablet.

Short answer yes...Long answer its complicated depending on what you want.

What are you trying to accomplish a remote desktop type interface or a just access files remotely on your machine? If I was being cheap and wanted file access only I'd setup a PPTP vpn if I only wanted remote desktop i'd either use the Windows Protocol or I'd use Logmein or something like that. But all of this depends on the security situation at your office and what is allowed.

I use both PPTP and Remote desktop on my personal machines so i can access files when needed depending or remotely access my system if I need access to specific applications or more difficult to find files.

More details would be helpful.

This is what I do for a living.

George Schilling wrote:Can I can I connect my home network to my office network via the internet? I have Windows 7 in both locations.

Thanks in advance guys.

As others have said, it depends on what you want to do. For me, GO to My PC was the answer ($9.95 per month is what I pay.) As long as I leave the server on at work, I can access it from anywhere in the world. I started using it when I was laid up after each knee replacement surgery. From my computer at home I could access my programs and files at work. Aside from having Sharon position pieces in the laser and engraving table, I could actually start and run the jobs in the shop FROM my home.

Obviously, I'm not a computer guy, so I hope what I say will make sense. We have two programs we use to run the business. One that is industry specific and Quickbooks Pro 2013. The data for both are stored on one computer and accessed from two others at my office via our network. I like like to load these programs at home and share the data only at my office. Nothing fancy, no graphics, just data. Certainly sounds like go-to-my pc, will work, but do I need that for what I want to do?

And thanks again guys for taking the time to answer.

Gotomypc, logmein, remote desktop are probably the best solutions to your problem.

Quickbooks requires quite a bit of I/O which makes it bad for running over a VPN so logging in remotely to your machine is the best solution they generally offer a trial so you can test to see if its a good fit. Now not knowing your companies network security situation this may not be doable, I'm going to assume that its a simply router with no firewall or NAT traversal issues.

George Schilling wrote:Obviously, I'm not a computer guy, so I hope what I say will make sense. We have two programs we use to run the business. One that is industry specific and Quickbooks Pro 2013. The data for both are stored on one computer and accessed from two others at my office via our network. I like like to load these programs at home and share the data only at my office. Nothing fancy, no graphics, just data. Certainly sounds like go-to-my pc, will work, but do I need that for what I want to do?

And thanks again guys for taking the time to answer.

For hardware side (preparation for software stuff):
This data sounds important (or like it should have some security), so I would say get a VPN setup like Will suggested above. You don't "have" to do this part to make it work, but it's highly recommended when dealing with any potentially private/valuable data.
This basically makes the computer @ home behave like a computer at your work network (with some setup required, of course).

For software side (actually using the data/programs after hardware side is setup):
From here, you can either install the programs on your home computer & use it to access the data like your other pc's (again, some setup required)
or
Remote desktop into one of the computers at work & simulating that you are on the work computer; this one usually works better if you have a decently fast connection at home.

I've been thinking about the same thing. I often leave a file behind on my home computer, or have a sudden need on the road for a file I didn't think I would need. Additionally I would love to leave my quicken/quickbooks file on the home computer, rather than having to back them up,transfer them, reinstall them on the laptop when I leave, and vs. versa every time I come home. Same for email / address book files in Thunderbird, bookmarks in Firefox etc., etc..

I'd rather point the programs on the laptop to the open the files on the networked (home) computer.

My question is, do I have to leave my home computer running 24/7 for up to two mths that I'm gone, or is there some power on via IP call vs. wake on modem that older computers had (though they were only in sleep mode, vs powered off)?

Some of my specifics, the home computer is connected to a access point via hard wire, the access point to a combo router wirelessly, and the router to the cable modem hard wired.

So Quickbooks and Virtual Plunger v.3.1???

Craig Naylor wrote:I've been thinking about the same thing. I often leave a file behind on my home computer, or have a sudden need on the road for a file I didn't think I would need. Additionally I would love to leave my quicken/quickbooks file on the home computer, rather than having to back them up,transfer them, reinstall them on the laptop when I leave, and vs. versa every time I come home. Same for email / address book files in Thunderbird, bookmarks in Firefox etc., etc..

I'd rather point the programs on the laptop to the open the files on the networked (home) computer.

My question is, do I have to leave my home computer running 24/7 for up to two mths that I'm gone, or is there some power on via IP call vs. wake on modem that older computers had (though they were only in sleep mode, vs powered off)?

Some of my specifics, the home computer is connected to a access point via hard wire, the access point to a combo router wirelessly, and the router to the cable modem hard wired.

To accomplish your goal you'd need to leave your machine on 24/7...that doesn't mean it needs to be on and running but it needs to be on or in a low power state S3 or S4(what you would call sleep mode) and you would need to be hardwired to your router/modem/gateway. Being that gotomypc and logmein protocols don't support wakeonlan there going to be solutions that won't work for what you're trying to do so remote desktop becomes the go to solution and remote desktop won't send a magic packet for wakeonlan unless your running Windows 7 so that becomes your limitation.

So to generalize what you would need to do to make this happen
1. You'd need to statically assign an Ip address to your machine so you can correctly forward the remote desktop port(3389)
2. You need to foward the port to your machine and enable remote desktop and sleep mode so you don't need to keep your machine running 24/7 (in a modern machine sleep mode should consume no more than 10w)
3. You need to know the ip address to your modem going to a service like whatismyip.com will tell you but if you have a residential ISP your wan IP address might change so its not something to be relied on.
4. You need to make sure your computer is running windows 7 profession as it support everything you're going to be needing.
5. You need to make sure your computer is hard wired to the route/gateway or else it won't work if it goes to sleep.

If your computer goes into a powered off state none of the above will work as the it needs an actual switch trigger to turn the power supply on so the machine remains powered off.

Sorry if this comes off complicated its really not but it might be more work to put up with than the average person is willing to deal with. If you want to PM me I can go into specifics on how to do things, I'd rather not clog the thread with walls of text.

Bobby: As I have mentioned, I DO use GoToMyPC and, for my needs, it works. When I think I might need it, I leave the computer at work ON 24/7. What's the downside? Is there anything I should be concerned about short of intrusion and/or power failures/surges/spikes? What can be done?

For your uses I don't think there's a downside aside from having to leave your computer fully powered on but that's minimal at best.

A power surge/spike is a worry no matter if the computer is off or on and the only real way to mitigate that problem is to install a ups but that's likely overkill even so much that I don't do it myself.