Hotspot with remote networking

[dan_martin1003]

My wife just was asked to work from home. So they gave her a computer and had her take it home and set up to use on the work network. We want to travel a little and were going to buy a hotspot. And laptop. Could we use the laptop and hotspot to remote access the work computer at our house that then works on her work network? Thank you

 

[COLGeek]

It would be easier to just use the laptop to access her work network directly (use it like the computer she was provided). Is that an option?

 

[dan_martin1003]

It would be easier to just use the laptop to access her work network directly (use it like the computer she was provided). Is that an option?

 

[dan_martin1003]

Well I need to use the hotspot to give the laptop internet access as we will be in a place that has no wifi or internet otherwise. Would that work.

 

[dan_martin1003]

It would be easier to just use the laptop to access her work network directly (use it like the computer she was provided). Is that an option?

 

[COLGeek]

Well I need to use the hotspot to give the laptop internet access as we will be in a place that has no wifi or internet otherwise. Would that work.

Of course, you still the need the hotspot (or other network connectivity). You just don't want to try to access a PC at home to access the work network.

 

[dan_martin1003]

It would be easier to just use the laptop to access her work network directly (use it like the computer she was provided). Is that an option?

 

[dan_martin1003]

I dont think I can I think her work programs are stored on work computer at the house. So I would have to log into the work computer at the house that uses the programs that networks to her office that has the databases

 

[COLGeek]

Can what you are describing be done? Technically, yes. It means opening your firewall (router) to accept outside connections. Those can be secured, but does create an opening that can be exploited.

It also means leaving the work PC on all of the time. Then, using a remote desktop type app, you would then connect to the work PC and then the work network. This is likely to be slow and unreliable.

Does she have the option for her workplace to provide her a laptop instead of a desktop rig?

 

[dan_martin1003]

Can what you are describing be done? Technically, yes. It means opening your firewall (router) to accept outside connections. Those can be secured, but does create an opening that can be exploited.

It also means leaving the work PC on all of the time. Then, using a remote desktop type app, you would then connect to the work PC and then the work network. This is likely to be slow and unreliable.

Does she have the option for her workplace to provide her a laptop instead of a desktop rig?

 

[dan_martin1003]

She works for a transcript company so the programs are on her computer at the house and the reporters deliver to the office in florida get uploaded into the system at the office and she pulls them all from there. They might but this is a new venture with her boss, so didn't want to really ask if she could have a laptop so we could do it while on vacation ect.. not yet anyway. I actually get time off from work so we were thinking about getting a rv and doing a little traveling while she is actually on the clock. Plus her company had lots of extra computers and they use iPads for the reporters. So they just use what they have without adding expense also. So we went and picked up a laptop and we were going to grab a hotspot

 

[COLGeek]

What specific programs are they using? Would it be possible to load those onto your laptop?

 

[COLGeek]

There are tools like GoToMyPC that you can use:

https://get.gotomypc.com/

Personally, I don't recommend. I would worry about the security of such tools.

Is your wife a salaried or hourly paid employee? Is the company okay with her not working from home (if they needed her to come in, for example)?

Just a couple other considerations.

 

[dan_martin1003]

What specific programs are they using? Would it be possible to load those onto your laptop?

 

[dan_martin1003]

I can have her ask. I am not sure because I think they pay a ton of money for the license and existing copies and dont know it if would be an issue with installing it to a laptop. She can ask tho. I think she didn't want to ask as she is kinda new at the company and has a hard time with asking for things like that. She doesn't want the conversation to head to that she wants to work from vacation lol

 

[dan_martin1003]

What specific programs are they using? Would it be possible to load those onto your laptop?

 

[dan_martin1003]

Plus it might have a issue with putting the program on her computer which then gives her ownership of progran

 

[bill001g]

It depends a lot on how the PC gets to the work network....I suspect a VPN. If the VPN is tightly controlled ...and this is the recommended configuration by security people.....the pc will only talk to the work network and nothing else while it is open. Many times the if you want to use the internet it will go all the way to the work network and then out their internet gateway. It prevents someone from doing exactly what you are talking about.

Not that your intentions are bad but it is exactly the same method a hacker would use to gain access to a company internal network. They somehow get some invalid software on the pc and then remotely run it using the companies own vpn to bypass the firewalls.

So if they were not careful to lock down their vpn you can run a vpn on your router. You would open a tunnel to your house from the remote location, use the standard microsoft remote desktop to the PC, then open the connection to the work network.

If it is correctly done you will not be able to establish stuff like remote desktop when the vpn to the work connection is up.

 

[dan_martin1003]

It depends a lot on how the PC gets to the work network....I suspect a VPN. If the VPN is tightly controlled ...and this is the recommended configuration by security people.....the pc will only talk to the work network and nothing else while it is open. Many times the if you want to use the internet it will go all the way to the work network and then out their internet gateway. It prevents someone from doing exactly what you are talking about.

Not that your intentions are bad but it is exactly the same method a hacker would use to gain access to a company internal network. They somehow get some invalid software on the pc and then remotely run it using the companies own vpn to bypass the firewalls.

So if they were not careful to lock down their vpn you can run a vpn on your router. You would open a tunnel to your house from the remote location, use the standard microsoft remote desktop to the PC, then open the connection to the work network.

If it is correctly done you will not be able to establish stuff like remote desktop when the vpn to the work connection is up.

 

[dan_martin1003]

Oh ok I understand thank you for taking the time to respond. I tried it with the laptop but at home which is same network as the other computer and I could remote in and remote out to work computer but imagine once I try with a hotspot it will change

 

[bill001g]

It depends on the configuration of the VPN. If they allow what is called split tunnel you can remotely access it. You will at a minimum have to port forward but using RDP remotely. RDP had a big security hole a number of years ago that has been fixed but people tend to still mistrust it.