This tutorial will provide you with the necessary instructions to set-up a VPN (Virtual Private Network) and connect to your Windows 7 desktop remotely from any internet connected computer.
What is VPN?
A
virtual private network is a private computer network that
interconnects remote (and often geographically separate) networks
through primarily public communication infrastructures such as the
Internet.
What is PPTP?
As with VPN, Microsoft created Point to point Tunneling Protocol which allows you to securely connect to remote networks such as your home or work.
Back in the days folks would have to spend a ton of money in order to set-up a VPN and have dedicated hardware.
1. Click the Windows Start icon from the toolbar and Type network connections into the search bar. Then Click the Network Connections link.
2. In the Network Connections window if the File menu isn’t available Hold Alt, then Click New Incoming Connection…
3. Assign which users will be allowed to use the connection, you add a new user if you like. Click Next to continue.
4. Check the box Through the Internet then Click Next.
5. Select Internet Protocal Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and then Click Properties.
In the Properties window Check the box to Allow callers to access my local area network, and Set Assign IP addresses automatically using DHCP. Now return to the previous window and Click Allow access.
6. The
VPN host connection is now created! We’re not done yet though, now we
need to make sure that the gateway firewall (router) on your network is
routing the internet PPTP traffic to your Windows 7 computer.
7. From your internet browser Type in your Router Network Address. This is usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 by
default on most home networks. Once you’ve accessed your router
interface, some routers have the option to enable PPTP passthrough as
well as other VPN ports. If this option isn’t available for your
router, you can adjust this with port forwarding in the next step.
8. If your router doesn’t have a built-in VPN setting, you can manually open your PPTP VPN port. Under Port Range Forwarding Create a New forward. Set the Start to 1723 and the End to 1723. The protocol should be Set to TCP/UDP and the IP Address needs to be set to your local network IP address.
9. Once the firewall rules are setup it will forward all VPN / PPTP traffic to your Windows 7 computer. From there your remote computer will be able to access all the network devices on your home network (Other computers, servers, etc…)
Once you have established a VPN / PPTP connection I highly recommend that you connect to your Windows 7 computer via RDP (Remote Desktop Connection) which will grant you access to your computer as if you were physical there.
Having trouble establishing a VPN connection? check out my Troubleshooting Tips in the comment section below.
Connectivity Troubleshooting Tips - if you are unable to establish a VPN connection from a remote computer try the below steps to resolved.
ReplyDeleteTip 1 - The remote computer IP address you are trying to connect too might have changed, this is especially possible if you do not have a static IP.
You will need to obtain the new IP address of the host computer and update it in on the remote computer network connection properties.
Tip 2 - The remote computer local IP address might have changed, this is especially possible if you do not have a static IP.
You will need to obtain your computer local IP address and also update the port forwarding address with the new IP address in your router setting (see step 8).