Remote desktop

The port that you need to rediect is 3389.

You will also need to set a static IP address on your office computer otherwise your redirect will not work if your computer gets a new IP address via DHCP.

Make sure you have one hell of a password if you are going to open this port up to the internet.

My Internet connection comming through the router is also DHCP, provided by the ISP. I don't have to request a static IP address from my ISP also, do I? If I set a static IP on my offic pc and the router (Internet IP) is DHCP how will the remote access find my static IP if the router is DHCP and likely to change periodicaly? I hope what I just said makes sense.

i wouldnt open port 3389 for internet use, you might want to set up an ipsec tunnel from your home to your router or to your workstation and terminal in from that connection that way you would limit which ip address can use that connection

So your ISP gives you a dynamic IP Address. Thats ok as long as you always know what it is to connect from home.

Your office computer must have a fixed IP address in order for the port forwarding to always work thru the router to your office computer.

So set your computer to something like 192.168.1.199

Then in the linksys router port forward port 3389 to ip 192.168.1.199

now you use Remote desktop from home to connect to the office external ip address.

The router will forward the port 3389 to your office computer.

does this leave a hole in your office? If someone does find that port 3389 is open to your computer the only thing your computer will do is ask them for a login name and password.

So make sure all your computer's users have passwords.

Even better is to make sure you have loaded Windows XP Service Pack 2 and turn the firewall on.

You will have to have the firewall allow remote desktop desktop. Its one of the exceptions you can enable.

To summarize, you MUST use static IP addresses on ALL of the office computers. You have to have a way of knowing the public IP address of the router. (Use something like FollowMEIP, from fmip.org. It will run from your office PC, and upload the public IP address of the router to a web site, where you can login to access it.) Your office PC MUST use password protected account. Any other home user who tries to connect to work will be directed to your office PC.
This situation would be better managed by using PCAnywhere or GotoMyPC, or by using a VPN client.

Thanks for all the information. I will give it a shot tonight.

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