Remote Desktop Solutions

I very often get phone calls from family or friends, who exasperatedly state, "My computer's not working!" Over the years, I have found that it can be quite challenging to debug problems over the phone. Trying to recreate the conditions of their computers on the one in front of me to get a better visual representation of what I'm dealing with can be challenging, especially when they are running a different OS than the one I am using! To ease my struggles with technology afar, I started installing VNC on people who trusted me with it. Occasionally, however, I have found that it likes to be troublesome, and the VNC Viewer won't always connect to the VNC Server (usually happens when firewalls are involved).

So, I come to the knowledgeable folk here to ask a few questions:

1. If two computers are on separate LANs (meaning they are each behind a router, but in separate houses), can a VNC Viewer on one computer and a VNC Server on the other communicate correctly?
2. I have used RealVNC in the past. Are there any other VNC clients that you would suggest over RealVNC?
3. Would you suggest using the Windows Remote Desktop Connection instead of a VNC solution?

I look forward to reading your replies. Thanks!

 

I am able to connect two computers on my LAN, but now when those same two computers aren't on the same private network. I'm using my WAN IP address and it won't work. So I'm looking for the answer to your problem, too. Good luck!

 

If the server computer is behind a router and the client computer is not, I have found that the two will connect to each other with RealVNC just fine. When both of the computers are behind Routers, I can't get them to connect.