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Remote computer viewing
davrus - 23/5/07 at 08:44 PM

Hi ya

Got my kids the internet now for there bedroom to stop them going on my p.c, They are connected to the internet through wireless connection from my modem on my p.c. Is there any way i can see what they are doing on there p,c while sitting on mine with out them knowing.

Many thanks

Dave


ProjectX - 23/5/07 at 08:49 PM

yeah get a program like Vision 6 or NSS

HTH


flak monkey - 23/5/07 at 08:49 PM

Yes you can. You need to install a bit of software that allows you remote desktop capability.

Will slow their machine down a bit though. You can also have fun remotely controlling their machine, closing windows, opening progs etc. All a laugh


scottc - 23/5/07 at 08:50 PM

VNC will do what you want. Its basically a remote control application.
Its free and proven. I've no idea how old it is but at least 5 years old.


davrus - 23/5/07 at 08:54 PM

Thats basically what i want to do , have a little laugh with them. Is there any where i can get free download from for the sofware or do i need hardware as well.


flak monkey - 23/5/07 at 08:56 PM

quote:
Originally posted by davrus
Thats basically what i want to do , have a little laugh with them. Is there any where i can get free download from for the sofware or do i need hardware as well.


As scott said, VNC is free.

http://www.realvnc.com/


martyn_16v - 23/5/07 at 09:07 PM

Plenty of vnc implementations out there, my personal choice is Ultra VNC


Keith Weiland - 23/5/07 at 09:10 PM

Logmein is easier but probably not as powerful as VNC. It might do what you want though.


davrus - 23/5/07 at 09:13 PM

Downloaded vnc , looks to be a bit involved to me. not clued up too much on a p,c. , needing a sever add i think , where do i get that from?

When i click run viewer it asks me to ender vnc server , whats that and where do i get it , do i need to install this software on there p.c aswee?

[Edited on 23-5-07 by davrus]


scottc - 23/5/07 at 09:17 PM

I think VNC is the easiest way to go.

Install the full version on the kids machine, and just VNC Viewer on your machine and you're away. You will need to know the kids PC IP address or host name, but just run Ipconfig from a command line.


davrus - 23/5/07 at 09:21 PM

Where can i find out there i.p address or host name


scottc - 23/5/07 at 09:33 PM

Sat at their computer, click start, then run. type in CMD and click Ok

black window will appear, type in IPCONFIG and press enter. You will then see something like

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : work
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.168.1.65
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 10.168.1.1


martyn_16v - 23/5/07 at 09:40 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Keith Weiland
Logmein is easier but probably not as powerful as VNC. It might do what you want though.


I don't think you can stop logmein from popping up a notification on the target pc when someone logs in, and the tray icon starts flashing away as well so not so covert.

Mind you, it's still good enough to scare the crap out of some of our more 'special' staff out at sites by logging in and leaving "i'm watching you, love, the ghost" messages on the desktop


ayoungman - 23/5/07 at 09:40 PM

i use netop at work. I use it to keep an eye on 36 machines in use by teenage boys ! Works a treat, no problems at all. Very functional


Keith Weiland - 23/5/07 at 09:41 PM

quote:
Originally posted by scottc
Sat at their computer, click start, then run. type in CMD and click Ok

black window will appear, type in IPCONFIG and press enter. You will then see something like

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : work
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.168.1.65
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 10.168.1.1


Or easier still, Right click the icon that looks like 2 computers down near the time on the task bar, click status then click the support tab

[Edited on 23/5/2007 by Keith Weiland]


Keith Weiland - 23/5/07 at 09:47 PM

quote:
Originally posted by martyn_16v
quote:
Originally posted by Keith Weiland
Logmein is easier but probably not as powerful as VNC. It might do what you want though.


I don't think you can stop logmein from popping up a notification on the target pc when someone logs in, and the tray icon starts flashing away as well so not so covert.

Mind you, it's still good enough to scare the crap out of some of our more 'special' staff out at sites by logging in and leaving "i'm watching you, love, the ghost" messages on the desktop


Yea I think yiou are right about that


davrus - 23/5/07 at 09:49 PM

ok , so all i do is install complete package on kids p.c.

Then i go to my p.c and open vnc viewer, where it says vnc server i type other p,c i.p address in , is that correct?

Sorry to be a pain!!


Scoob - 23/5/07 at 10:36 PM

quote:
Originally posted by scottc
Sat at their computer, click start, then run. type in CMD and click Ok

black window will appear, type in IPCONFIG and press enter. You will then see something like

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : work
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.168.1.65
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 10.168.1.1


Or, go on their PC, and just type in in IE/Firefox etc " www.whatsmyip.com " And itll tell you in big numbers


chockymonster - 23/5/07 at 11:19 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Scoob


Or, go on their PC, and just type in in IE/Firefox etc " www.whatsmyip.com " And itll tell you in big numbers


That will only tell you the networks internet facing address, it won't tell you their address on the local network.


DaveFJ - 24/5/07 at 09:51 AM

VNC is the simplest solution, we use it professionally to manage over a thousand users globally! BUT your kids will soon get wise to the fact that their VNC icon in the system tray changes colour when they are being 'monitored'

still the best solution I can think of though.


James - 24/5/07 at 09:57 AM

How old are your kids?

It just strikes me as a bit weird to be viewing what they're looking at!
If they're teenagers you might see some things you'd rather not!!!!


If they're young and you're worried about their safety then most recomendations I've read are to have the PC in a 'public' area of the house rather than a bedroom.

Cheers,
James


britishtrident - 24/5/07 at 10:35 AM

Seem to remember there is a neat bit of software out in the freeware world that fishes images out of the local network traffic and displays them a remote computer with little or no overhead. --- I'll try and remember the name.

If you want to filter thier network traffic for content there are some neat freeware soltions mostly what are called proxiy filters, trouble is these can be very easy to get around..

An alternative is to use Trewalk DNS and load it with a plug-in clled Confetch both are free and can be hidden fron the non-admin user, recently looked at this for a client to block BeBo from thier law office network, it was easy to get working.

Treewalk http://ntcanuck.com/

Confetch http://confetch.com/




[Edited on 24/5/07 by britishtrident]

[Edited on 24/5/07 by britishtrident]


davrus - 24/5/07 at 12:04 PM

when it asks for vnc server , what do i type in there,

If it is some kind of address, i.p address or host name, where can i find it?

Many thanks


DaveFJ - 24/5/07 at 12:06 PM

either the computer name or the IP address of the machine you are trying to see.

to see the computer name go to:

Mycomputer (right click)> properties>computer name

finding the IP address of the PC you want to view has been covered somewhere else in this thread....

HTH

[Edited on 24/5/07 by DaveFJ]


britishtrident - 26/5/07 at 05:56 PM

easy way to get your local IP addresses is to Angry IP scanner
Freeware http://www.angryziber.com/ipscan/

Some virus scanners will show this up as an unwanted program only because a lot network administrators won't want ordinary users using it for network browsing --- it isn't any kind of malware.

It is however a very useful and powerful tool.