Remote Administration

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ElTaco
Networking Securely
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Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2005 4:12 pm
Location: Northern VA
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Remote Administration

Post by ElTaco »

OK so perhaps you run your own business or work for a company and do some IT stuff or perhaps you are just a developer or administrator of a few machines that others rely on, how do you remotely fix problems?

Our company of course does VPN connection for remote employees and this allows me to do my job remotely when needed, which is great, the problem is that I don't always have the option of being in a place with a reliable internet connection and while it is true that you can usually find an open wifi connection by just driving around, it might still mean leaving your current seat to solve a problem and furthermore, I generally don't take my laptop with me when I go out shopping or drinking or partying.

My solution? I've been using a Verizon XV-6700, which runs Microsoft's Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC software. Sure it does crash once in a while or freeze up or a variety of other problems, but thats life and until Google comes out with something better I guess I'll keep this solution. Why am I still fairly excited about this phone?

Well for one it has the modem connection capability, which allows me to connect my laptop to the phone anywhere I have a signal and use the phone as a cellular modem. Of course these days, most PDA phones, including BBs do this. The problem is I may not always have my laptop with me. My solution? Use my phone as a terminal device.

It comes with Wireless 802.11b/g capability so I can connect locally to the network where ever I am in the building and do some basic trouble shooting before I even make it to a computer. Nice but the real capability is the remote administration that is available.

MS Mobile 5.0 and above (and probably before too) comes with a mobile terminal (RDP) client. This is great, but I need to get access to the network. I installed Bluefire's Mobile Security VPN client. While there is a vpn client built in, it doesn't work with all types of vpn servers/concentrators and this does. The crappy part is that because there is not much else like it, it costs $70+.

Of course there are other tools as well such as SSH (pocket putty) and a VNC client that can be used and for penetration testers, there are a variety of tools available, some free, others cheap that can be used.

When you combine these tools with email access (Pop, corporate/exchange, imap, etc...), Instant messaging (IM+) and Office Communicator (free from ms), you are pretty much able to go anywhere. The only real issue that remains is battery power.

How do you do remote access / use your phone in geeky manner?
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