How to connect to your work computer from a remote location using Remote Desktop
What you need to know:
- Your APPC credentials (username and password)
- Your APPC computer’s full network name (e.g.: APP311-1-u1.appc.upenn.edu) or its IP address (e.g.: 10.30.16.101)
Note: You must gather this information before you leave the APPC premises, as there is no way to discover it remotely (unless you call someone from Support who can look up and provide the information to you).
To discover your computer’s full network name, type ‘control panel’ in the Cortana search bar and select the Control Panel desktop app in the resulting list. In Control panel, select the System applet. Your computer’s full network name is displayed on the default screen of the System applet as “full computer name.”
To discover your computer’s IP address, type ‘cmd’ in the Cortana search bar. A console window appears. Type ‘ipconfig’ at the command prompt. A short list of Ethernet adapter settings is displayed. Copy down the IPv4 address (it will be 10.30.16.###). Note that your IP address may change each time your computer restarts unless APPC Support reserves a static IP address for it.
What you must do in preparation: (one time only)
- Leave your APPC computer powered on. You can’t remote desktop to your computer if it is not on.
- Configure your computer’s power settings to not go to sleep. You can’t remote desktop to your computer if it is asleep.
- Be sure that Remote Desktop connections are enabled on your computer.
To check, click the start menu, click the gear icon for Settings,
Click the System applet in the window that appears,
Select Remote Desktop from the menu list to the left of the System window,
and then make sure that Remote Desktop connections are enabled
Procedure:
First, be sure you are connected to the Internet (e.g. laptop wifi connection is active).
Launch Forticlient VPN.
(See here if you don’t have Forticlient VPN installed and configured.)
Connect to APPC network via Forticlient VPN.
Use the same username and password that you would to log in to your APPC computer. (e.g.: myUsername / MyP@55w0rd)
This gets you onto APPC’s internal network.
Once Forticlient successfully connects, launch the Remote Desktop app.
If you don’t have a desktop icon for Remote Desktop, use the Cortana search bar and type ‘remote desktop’, then pick the app from the list that appears.
When launched, a remote login dialog box appears:
Enter either the full APPC network name
or IP address.
and click the Connect button.
Now, a domain login dialog box appears:
Here, you must tell Remote Desktop that the credentials belong to the APPC domain and not the local computer (e.g.: Laptop). Do this by prepending APPC\ to your APPC username (e.g.: APPC\ggehman) and provide your password.
Now, a security warning may appear, warning that the remote computer’s security certificate cannot be verified.
You can safely click the Yes button to proceed.
When successful, you will see your APPC computer’s desktop on your laptop screen.
You are now “driving” your APPC computer remotely.
To quit your remote desktop session, click the X in the Remote Desktop control bar at the top of your screen:
or access the APPC computer’s Start menu and log off in the ususal way. As the Remote Desktop session closes, your original laptop screen will reappear.
After closing your Remote Desktop session, remember to also close the Forticlient VPN session.