I state that this article is a bit technical and that the exceptional practical usefulness of this guide depends on various circumstances that cannot always be satisfied.
However, there remains an interesting theoretical hint that can find many fields of application and on which, I am sure, the most skilled people to use the computer will be able to find new ideas on the use of their home PC on the network.
In case you want to connect to your home computer from anywhere in the world, we have seen how easy it is with programs such as TeamViewer or other software to control a PC remotely in vpn.
For the transfer of files between computers, the best solution currently available is DropBox.
On this occasion we see how we can connect to the home computer really, as if it were in the same Lan, and access it in Remote Desktop or via FTP for file transfer.
Everything is based on Dynamic DNS, dynamic DNS, which allows you to give a fixed name to the dynamic IP address used by your computer.
Let's take a step back: every PC that connects to a network is assigned an IP address of the type 192.168.11.33 but, unless you purchase a fixed IP address from the provider, the PC comes out on the internet with another external IP address and dynamic, which changes almost with every new connection.
This is because you are behind a router that assigns this external IP according to availability (in DHCP)
If you have a broadband Internet connection, you most likely have a dynamic IP address.
DNS, on the other hand, is the way in which a name that is easy to remember is associated with a numeric IP address: for example google.it is the easy way to identify the webserver where the well-known search engine resides (otherwise every time you had to write an address numeric).
A dynamic IP address therefore changes occasionally while a static IP address never changes.
Without the necessary configurations, if you had a static IP, you could, from any PC in the world, connect to this computer.
The reasons why you would like to put a PC reachable from all over the world on the internet can be different:
1) You want to install a website or web service to be reached via a browser
2) You want to have a database of files always available (FTP service)
3) You want to create a kind of online radio to listen to your music from anywhere
4) you want to connect remotely in Remote Desktop or via VNC (see ThinVNC for desktop sharing and connections to a PC from the internet)
5) So much more
Since a static IP costs a lot of money with a subscription to be requested from the internet provider, we see here how to set it using a unique DNS, therefore an easy to remember name, which automatically updates and refers to the dynamic IP, even if this changes .
The dynamic DNS service is provided by some websites including no-ip and DynDNS capable of providing, free of charge, a fixed web address (called Host), such as navigaweb.net, which will constantly point to your computer, even when the provider of Internet services changes the IP.
Going then on DynDNS you can register and request a host, an internet address among the free ones made available.
The problem is that this is not enough and you must therefore have a minimum of familiarity with the home network settings.
In fact, you must inform your home router that the IP must be associated with the DynDNS subdomain.
Most routers support this redirection but the configuration depends on the type and model.
In general, in the router configuration interface, under the tab to the internal IP, there should also be a section relating to Dynamic DNS .
If this exists, then the router can receive this instruction and after enabling dynamic DNS, in the empty fields, the internet address, the login and the password just registered with DynDNS will be written.
Configuring the router, if possible, is the easiest way.
If this option is not possible or if you are not using a router at home, you can instead try with the DynDNS Updater program which allows you to communicate the current IP to DynDNS.
Its configuration is simple because there is a guided procedure in which you will have to report your network coordinates and those used when registering on the DynDNS website.
Now there is another problem: if an IP address is like the way home, the door is the house number.
If I try to connect to an IP address without giving the port number, I am not going anywhere.
The port is a numeric value that completes the network addresses and is different for each program.
For example, the port of a website is 80 (which is omitted for convenience but if you try to write on the browser //www.navigaweb.net:80 you come to this site).
A free program like VNC for the remote desktop uses its own specific port ( 5900 ) which must be enabled on the router and firewall used .
If you are not sure which port a particular program uses, you can always look for it in the specific configuration options and, always, you can change it with another number.
Read another article to learn more about how to configure port forwarding on the router.
Testing the installation of DynDNS is simple, just call a friend and ask him to try to connect to his home PC using one of the programs set.
Configure the Modem
Some ISPs (fastweb type providers) provide modems that also function as routers but are not configurable.
DynDNS in this case may not work because there is no possibility of making the association between the dynamic and fixed host.
I could suggest, in this case, to call the call center and ask them for support but knowing the level of preparation of the basic technicians (for charity with all due respect) I have a certain distrust.
As you can see, the procedure is not at all difficult in technical terms and is within everyone's reach but if you don't have the slightest idea of how to use this possibility, then perhaps it is better to leave it alone and resort to easier tools.
There are so many variables that all this may not work, tinkering and insisting in this case is the best way to try and solve, as long as it is possible.
Any comments to supplement or die doubts about this article will be logically appreciated.
However, there remains an interesting theoretical hint that can find many fields of application and on which, I am sure, the most skilled people to use the computer will be able to find new ideas on the use of their home PC on the network. In case you want to connect to your home computer from anywhere in the world, we have seen how easy it is with programs such as TeamViewer or other software to control a PC remotely in vpn.
For the transfer of files between computers, the best solution currently available is DropBox.
On this occasion we see how we can connect to the home computer really, as if it were in the same Lan, and access it in Remote Desktop or via FTP for file transfer.
Everything is based on Dynamic DNS, dynamic DNS, which allows you to give a fixed name to the dynamic IP address used by your computer.
Let's take a step back: every PC that connects to a network is assigned an IP address of the type 192.168.11.33 but, unless you purchase a fixed IP address from the provider, the PC comes out on the internet with another external IP address and dynamic, which changes almost with every new connection.
This is because you are behind a router that assigns this external IP according to availability (in DHCP)
If you have a broadband Internet connection, you most likely have a dynamic IP address.
DNS, on the other hand, is the way in which a name that is easy to remember is associated with a numeric IP address: for example google.it is the easy way to identify the webserver where the well-known search engine resides (otherwise every time you had to write an address numeric).
A dynamic IP address therefore changes occasionally while a static IP address never changes.
Without the necessary configurations, if you had a static IP, you could, from any PC in the world, connect to this computer.
The reasons why you would like to put a PC reachable from all over the world on the internet can be different:
1) You want to install a website or web service to be reached via a browser
2) You want to have a database of files always available (FTP service)
3) You want to create a kind of online radio to listen to your music from anywhere
4) you want to connect remotely in Remote Desktop or via VNC (see ThinVNC for desktop sharing and connections to a PC from the internet)
5) So much more
Since a static IP costs a lot of money with a subscription to be requested from the internet provider, we see here how to set it using a unique DNS, therefore an easy to remember name, which automatically updates and refers to the dynamic IP, even if this changes .
The dynamic DNS service is provided by some websites including no-ip and DynDNS capable of providing, free of charge, a fixed web address (called Host), such as navigaweb.net, which will constantly point to your computer, even when the provider of Internet services changes the IP.
Going then on DynDNS you can register and request a host, an internet address among the free ones made available.
The problem is that this is not enough and you must therefore have a minimum of familiarity with the home network settings.
In fact, you must inform your home router that the IP must be associated with the DynDNS subdomain.
Most routers support this redirection but the configuration depends on the type and model.
In general, in the router configuration interface, under the tab to the internal IP, there should also be a section relating to Dynamic DNS .
If this exists, then the router can receive this instruction and after enabling dynamic DNS, in the empty fields, the internet address, the login and the password just registered with DynDNS will be written.
Configuring the router, if possible, is the easiest way.
If this option is not possible or if you are not using a router at home, you can instead try with the DynDNS Updater program which allows you to communicate the current IP to DynDNS.
Its configuration is simple because there is a guided procedure in which you will have to report your network coordinates and those used when registering on the DynDNS website.
Now there is another problem: if an IP address is like the way home, the door is the house number.
If I try to connect to an IP address without giving the port number, I am not going anywhere.
The port is a numeric value that completes the network addresses and is different for each program.
For example, the port of a website is 80 (which is omitted for convenience but if you try to write on the browser //www.navigaweb.net:80 you come to this site).
A free program like VNC for the remote desktop uses its own specific port ( 5900 ) which must be enabled on the router and firewall used .
If you are not sure which port a particular program uses, you can always look for it in the specific configuration options and, always, you can change it with another number.
Read another article to learn more about how to configure port forwarding on the router.
Testing the installation of DynDNS is simple, just call a friend and ask him to try to connect to his home PC using one of the programs set.
Configure the Modem
Some ISPs (fastweb type providers) provide modems that also function as routers but are not configurable.
DynDNS in this case may not work because there is no possibility of making the association between the dynamic and fixed host.
I could suggest, in this case, to call the call center and ask them for support but knowing the level of preparation of the basic technicians (for charity with all due respect) I have a certain distrust.
As you can see, the procedure is not at all difficult in technical terms and is within everyone's reach but if you don't have the slightest idea of how to use this possibility, then perhaps it is better to leave it alone and resort to easier tools.
There are so many variables that all this may not work, tinkering and insisting in this case is the best way to try and solve, as long as it is possible.
Any comments to supplement or die doubts about this article will be logically appreciated.
