Accessing remote pc through vpn or team viewer ?

[Skorpinok Rover]

Hello,

I have two laptops Dell XPS & Toshiba satellite, i use dell for penetration purposes, i would like to know how to access my pc from any other location using a VPN ? how setup a VPN or can i go for team viewer or ultra vnc which is the best ? please suggest me a idea or solution am not so good at this..

Regards

Skorpinok.

[no42]

VPN is the most secure option (assuming client data etc, is traveling between your two machines):

You have three options:

PPTP VPN - http://knowledgelayer.softlayer.com/procedure/setting-pptp-windows-xp

SSL VPN (openvpn) - http://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/documentation/howto.html

IPSEC VPN - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816514

The pptp is the easiest to set up, but recent hash attacks powered by the cloud, make this a bit worrying.

OpenVPN has a good setup guide, I know this is used by a lot of pentesting companies.

IPSEC I think is one of the harder VPNs to set up, if you use this ensure you use main-mode auth (not aggressive mode)

[digip]

I like OpenVPN, but I've also used TeamViewer. TeamViewer is kind of like window remote assistance though, in that you usually need someone at the other end unless you register with them to control specific machines remotely. Other wise, the password changes after every use. Also, With TeamViewer, you can't log onto a windows machine, if the windows screen is locked (WindowsKey + L) so if you lock your workstation, but left it online, TeamViewer can't login since its a desktop app. OpenVPN is also nice, but there is a built in VPN to Windows itself most people forget about. There are also alternatives like PcAnywhere as well as Cisco or Citrix GoTo Assist has one that sponsors the show, but I don't think its free.

Edited January 8, 2013 by digip

[Skorpinok Rover]

Thank u digip for this suggestion..

[digip]

Also forgot to mention, if you don't need a GUI access to the PC, you can setup OpenSSH and just use WinSCP or SCP in linux, to tunnel into the machine to access, upload and download files.

[Infiltrator]

I like OpenVPN, but I've also used TeamViewer. TeamViewer is kind of like window remote assistance though, in that you usually need someone at the other end unless you register with them to control specific machines remotely. Other wise, the password changes after every use. Also, With TeamViewer, you can't log onto a windows machine, if the windows screen is locked (WindowsKey + L) so if you lock your workstation, but left it online, TeamViewer can't login since its a desktop app. OpenVPN is also nice, but there is a built in VPN to Windows itself most people forget about. There are also alternatives like PcAnywhere as well as Cisco or Citrix GoTo Assist has one that sponsors the show, but I don't think its free.

Actually, if you install Teamviewer on the remote machine you will still be able to log into that machine, even if it's completely locked out, you will still need to know the local administrator account username/password to be able to log in.

I've done this before at my work, I needed to remote into a machine which was part of another domain altogether. For this to work, the remote machine and TeamViewer must be running, a username/password will need to be either generated or created by the user manually.

Upon establishing the remote connection, you will be prompted for the teamviwer login details, once authenticated you will be presented with the login screen of the remote system. Furthermore, there is an option in the TV advanced settings, that will need to be enabled, for this to work.

Having this option enabled, can be very convenient as you don't have to rely on the end user to accept your connection, or even better, have to leave your computer screen unlocked.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Infiltrator

[digip]

Actually, if you install Teamviewer on the remote machine you will still be able to log into that machine, even if it's completely locked out, you will still need to know the local administrator account username/password to be able to log in.

I've done this before at my work, I needed to remote into a machine which was part of another domain altogether. For this to work, the remote machine and TeamViewer must be running, a username/password will need to be either generated or created by the user manually.

Upon establishing the remote connection, you will be prompted for the teamviwer login details, once authenticated you will be presented with the login screen of the remote system. Furthermore, there is an option in the TV advanced settings, that will need to be enabled, for this to work.

Having this option enabled, can be very convenient as you don't have to rely on the end user to accept your connection, or even better, have to leave your computer screen unlocked.

Might work that way in newer versions. On Windows 7 Pro, 64bit, I had setup hard coded logins and registered with their site to remote into my machines, but if I locked my WIndows 7 workstation and tried to remote into it, it wouldn't let me while the screen was locked. Once it was unlocked, all worked as should. I have not tried it with the later, newer versions or latest version though, so maybe they put a tweak in for that, or UAC bypass or something I'm not aware of, like running as a service. I always used the portable versions though, not the full install ones, since I like just being able to throw it on my thumb drive and take it with me.

[Infiltrator]

Might work that way in newer versions. On Windows 7 Pro, 64bit, I had setup hard coded logins and registered with their site to remote into my machines, but if I locked my WIndows 7 workstation and tried to remote into it, it wouldn't let me while the screen was locked. Once it was unlocked, all worked as should. I have not tried it with the later, newer versions or latest version though, so maybe they put a tweak in for that, or UAC bypass or something I'm not aware of, like running as a service. I always used the portable versions though, not the full install ones, since I like just being able to throw it on my thumb drive and take it with me.

I am still yet to try with Windows 7 though, but with XP it worked without any problems.

[digip]

I am still yet to try with Windows 7 though, but with XP it worked without any problems.

Yeah, Windows XP lets you go to the registry, changed, edit just about anything. In windows 7, if I tried to like, load regedit, you get a UAC pop up, and you usually have to walk somethign through what to do, which I've had to do for my mother in law before. Unless you disable UAC, and start TV witha Run As Administrator pre-hand, it blocks you from a not of stuff. Kind of like OpenVPN, if you don't start it with a Run As Administrator, it won't properly work to connect and clear the arp cache for DHCP renewals, etc, since Windows 7, requires netsh commands and elevated privileges for most things these days, it can put a dent in things if you don't remember to start certain programs, with elevated privileges. I still haven't seen it work around a locked screen in Win7, but again, haven't tried in the latest version. For me though, I'd probably either use SCP and SSh, or just VPN into the lan and RDP onto the box I need to have a GUI on and thats only if I need to repair something from the GUI side. Mostly I just use it to fix my moms, wife or mother in laws PC's when they foobar something and I'm not there to do it. TV is by far one of the best free tools for Remote Desktop support though, since it doens't require port forwarding and works through NAT without any issues, which I love about it. Just works.