With today’s work force relying more and more on information technology, services that allow us to connect to systems remotely is becoming widely used and very popular.
Granted, not all of us are tech gurus. So, setting up a remote connection to a computer can become a real pain in the neck.
There is a free service called “DynDNS,” which stands for dynamic DNS. This makes setting up your remote connection very easy.
What Is DNS?
DNS is a key part of the World Wide Web. Think of it as the phonebook of the Internet. DNS converts a hostname (www.yahoo.com) into a readable machine name or IP address (69.147.125.65).
Think if everytime you wanted to visit your favorite web site, you had to type the IP address instead of the name. You’d probably not be able to remember too many and it could become very frustrating and time consuming.
With DNS, all that is handled for you. All you have to do is simply tell your web browser I want to go to www.facebook.com and DNS handles the rest.
Getting Started
First, visit http://www.dyndns.com. From there, you will need to create an account with them by registering a username, password, and valid email address.
Be sure to use a real email as you will need to activate your account via a link that will be mailed to that provided address.
There are three options to choose from: 1 (Free) 2 (Pro) 3 (Custom). You can choose a free account and if you like what you see, you can always upgrade later.
Once you’re registered and signed up, it’s time to log in and setup your device for remote access.
First you will choose your hostname. This is the name you’ll use when connecting to the machine. For example, you can use (myhomepc.dnydns.org).
Service type for this will be “Host with IP address,” which is selected by default.
Next you’ll need to provide the IP address of your machine which can automatically be done by clicking on the link below the empty field. It will automatically detect your system’s IP and add it for you.
Dynamic Updater
Most home users have an IP address that is provided by their ISP (Internet Service Provider) and this address changes frequently.
In order to keep your machine’s IP address updated with your DynDNS account, you’ll need to install the DynDNS Updater Tool which can be found at: http://www.dyndns.com/support/clients/windows.html.
Once installed, the updater tool simply asks for your DynDNS username and password. Then, it automatically will do its job as you never have to touch it again.
The last step is to choose what services you want to include with your free account.
You can add things like VPN, remote file access, remote desktop (always choose this), mail server, web server, chat server, ftp backup, VoIP, bog, ecommerce, webpage, and many more.
Voilà! You’re all set and ready to remotely access your machine. Simply open Remote Desktop Connection. It can be found under Start > All Programs > Accessories > Communications.
Enter in the hostname you setup with your account, click connect, enter your username/password for the machine, and you’ll be instantly connected.
Connect World Wide
You’re now able to connect to that machine from anywhere in the world as long as you have an active internet connection.
A little bit of advice: you should be sure you’re using a broadband or DSL connection. A dial up connection will cause issues with your access.
If you need more information, the website http://www.dyndns.org has plenty of video tutorials, step by step setups with screenshots, as well as several other resources you can use to get an account setup.
Remember, you can call Tech Experts at (734) 457-5000 for assistance setting up your remote access via DynDNS.