Windows provides a utility called remote desktop, which is most commonly used to administer servers, but can also be used in order to access files on another computer on a network as if you were sitting in front of that computer. It can also be used to fix problems on a remote computer. You are only able to connect to a computer using the remote desktop utility if the target computer is using Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate. If the target computer is a Windows 7 Starter, Home, or Home Premium computer you cannot connect to it. All versions of Windows 7, however, have remote desktop software that allows them to make outgoing connections.
Connections via remote desktop use port 3389, so this port must be open on your firewall. To be enable to connect to a computer using remote desktop you need to ensure the computer is turned on, both of the computers are connected to the same network, and the target computer is configured to allow incoming connections.
You can find a guide on how to configure your computer to accept remote connections here.
To establish a remote desktop connection, click start, and all programs, then accessories.
In the accessories folder you then need to click on Remote Desktop Connection.
In the box you need to type either the name or IP address of the computer you would like to connect to.
You can also choose to enter the username before you connect. You will still be required to enter the password after the connection has been made.
You may find that the connection throws up a security issue, if you trust the computer you are connecting to you can just select not be reminded of the issue from this computer again and continue.
You will then be required to enter login credentials
And then you will see the screen of the computer you have just logged in to, as if you were sitting in front of it.
If you are having problems with your computer you can also send out an invitation to someone you trust to connect remotely to your computer and help you out.
In order to do this you need to open your start menu and in the search bar type assistance, then you need to click on the Windows Remote Assistance link.
You then need to select to invite someone you trust to help you.
You then need to select how you would like to send the file, I am choosing to save the invitation and send it via email. (I am doing this between my laptop and PC, so that I can show you guys hows this works from both sides)
If you select to save the file you will need to choose where you want to save it. You should then see a window that looks like this:
Your helper will need the file that you have saved and this key in order to connect to your PC, the easiest way to send these is by email. Obviously your key is randomly generated and won't be the same as this one!
If you have received an email, with an invitation attached, you need to download and click on the file and you will see a window which will be a blank white page with this pop up in the middle.You will need to enter the password that has been provided by the person asking for your help.
The program will then attempt to connect. Once you have connected to the person who needs assistance, on their screen they will see:
Once the person who needs assistance accepts this they will see:
At this point the helper is only allowed to view the screen, they then need to request control using the button on the task bar.
The person in need of assistance will then need to approve this request.
Once the person in need of assistance has approved this request, the helper can then access and control the desktop of the person needing help, as if it was the helpers own desk.
Once the helper is finished, they can click stop sharing on the task bar, then both users can close the remote assistance window.
If you would like to take control of someone's PC through the command line you can use WinRS (Windows Remote management Service).
The Windows Remote management service allows you to execute commands on a remote computer, using a command prompt with WinRS. Before you can use WinRS you need to configure the target computer. To do this you need to run the WinRM quickconfig command from a command prompt. You will need to do this on the target computer.
Windows Remote Management service (WinRS) to execute command-line scripts on a remote computer.
To use WinRS, you need to open a command prompt and add the command you want to run on the remote computer to the WinRS -r command. For example, if you want to run the ipconfig command on a computer named laptop you would type:
WinRS -r:laptop ipconfig
If the remote computer you are trying to access is on the same network you can use its NetBIOS, if it is on a remote network you may need to use its fully qualified domain name. You can also specify what credentials you would like to use to access the remote computer, for example, if you wanted to run the net accounts command, which displays information about a computer's password policy, on a remote computer named laptop, with the user John, you would issue this command:
WinRS -r:http://laptop -u:John net accounts
If you don't specify a password using the -p:password option, you will be asked to enter the password after you have executed the command.
And that's it. Some nice simple ways to control a computer that belongs to someone else!
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