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[Chunkers]

I live in the UK and work in North Africa for long periods of time.  During these times I download TV shows recorded on my home media / HTPC server using either internet access to my work laptop or, at times, via my mobile phones data service.  This can be expensive but makes life a little more comfortable / tolerable under otherwise difficult circumstances..... ever watched 'Cricket on 5' in the Sahara?  I have 

My HTPC/server is on my home network running MediaPortal server software under Windows 7 and is generally very reliable but occasionally experiences a hiccup.  This can be VERY frustrating if it occurs at the beginning of a 4 week rotation, this is the situation I find myself in now and hence the post! 

My partner is a technophobe and not able to provide support (trust me!) so I am looking for the best secure way to remotely gain full access to the PC in the future and resolve problems remotely / reboot - a bit of googling has resulted in some thoughts :

• No W7 Professional so no Remote Desktop
• I ideally need to be able to do this from random company networks or phone network where I typically only have a web browser internet access e.g. port 80 so no opening ports at the remote end (no problem at home obviously).
• TeamViewer and UltraVNC seem to be likely candidates, I like the idea of TeamViewer running as a service so it starts on boot every time.
• Security is an issue, especially as I am in Africa, it needs to be secure!

Has anyone done this on a home network or could anyone make recommendation of the most foolproof and secure way I can remotely connect over an internet connection and troubleshoot control my home PC?  Cross-platform is also good as I am a frequent (but bad) user of Linux.

Thanks in advance, wub u

Chunkers

[broadstairs]

Well I do have a W7 PC which runs TightVNC in order for me to access it to check remotely on my weather software which it runs. I have it set up to run as a service so it is there after a reboot and I have it set to require a password in order to connect. It uses a non-standard port to connect so my PC does not expose itself when people try attacks on the usual ports. You can access it with a client from a tablet or phone or by using a web browser. So far I've not had any security issues with it. For added security you could always set a new password each time on your return.

Stuart

[Chunkers]

Well I do have a W7 PC which runs TightVNC in order for me to access it to check remotely on my weather software which it runs. I have it set up to run as a service so it is there after a reboot and I have it set to require a password in order to connect. It uses a non-standard port to connect so my PC does not expose itself when people try attacks on the usual ports. You can access it with a client from a tablet or phone or by using a web browser. So far I've not had any security issues with it. For added security you could always set a new password each time on your return.

Stuart

Cool,  I will check out TightVNC.  Thanks for the reply

C

[Berrick]

Tight VNC can be run as a service and you can use it so it is available if you need to boot into safe mode (windows mode needed).

If you go with TightVNC, unless things have changed,

From VNC Website
Although TightVNC encrypts VNC passwords sent over the net, the rest of the traffic is sent as is, unencrypted (for password encryption, VNC uses a DES-encrypted challenge-response scheme, where the password is limited by 8 characters, and the effective DES key length is 56 bits). So using TightVNC over the Internet can be a security risk. To solve this problem, we have plans to implement built-in encryption in future versions of TightVNC.

In the mean time, if you need real security, we recommend installing an SSH server, and using SSH tunneling for all TightVNC connections from untrusted networks.

UltraVNC has an Encryption plugin but I have never used it

PS have you tried Emby media server (formely Media Browser)?

[AArdvark]

PS have you tried Emby media server (formely Media Browser)?

I have/am it is very good.
I like it better than Plex.
Not as fancy as Kodi but can be integrated with Kodi. (I have read this is possible ... never tried)
It gets very regular updates
Works with Chromecast very well.

See this thread for comments re: Emby, Kodi & Plex http://techreport.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=115428
For my needs works well but may be lacking in features for some. (Not sure what they are ? )

Worth having a play with.

[Berrick]

Worth having a play with.

I'm a long time user of Emby/mediaBrowesr 

[AArdvark]

@Berrick
 Oops

Wasn't sure if you meant 'Have you tried this  .... I haven't ?" or "Have you tried this .... It is good" 

Isn't English good in how it can confuse with such ease!   

[Chunkers]

I haven't tried Emby, main priority for me is Live TV in the UK and I am pretty happy with MP (although that could always change)

I moved to a MediaPortal backend/Kodi frontend to replace the increasingly unreliable Windows MediaCenter and to gain the advantage of the networking abilities.  The thing I like about the MP server is is very stable, has web access and ad-removal  and runs flawlessly for weeks at a time (important in my situation).

As a family we decided to use Kodi as a frontend as it is platform transparent and runs beautifully on pretty much everything from a phone to a core i5 so its great for a networked setup.  I recently started using a ChromeBox on my network, which is a great HTPC imho.  Here is a (bad) video I made about it and put on my Youtube channel :

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3200yv2_w3s[/youtube]

Am I derailing my own thread?  Yes ....... nm, lol

C