Page 774 - Windows 10 May 2019 Update The Missing Manual: The Book That Should Have Been in the Box

On the other hand, the remote computer—your laptop—doesn’t have any

such requirements. It just needs an internet connection.

Note
Several of the remote-connection methods described in this chapter require that your home-base
PC have a fixed, public IP address. (An IP address is a unique number that identifies a particular
computer on the internet. It’s made up of four numbers separated by periods.)
If you’re not immediately nodding in understanding, murmuring, “Ahhhhh, right,” then download
the bonus appendix available on this book’s “Missing CD” page at missingmanuals.com. The free
PDF supplement you’ll find there is called “Getting a Fixed, Public IP Address.”

Setting up your laptop

In general, the big network bosses who expect you to connect from the road

have already set up the VPN software on their end. They may even have set
up your laptop for you, so that dialing in from the road requires only one
quick click.

But if not—if you want to set up your remote PC yourself—open →
→ Network & Internet → VPN → “Add a VPN connection” (Figure 12-14,
top). Fill in the blanks.

You’ll need the server name or registered IP address of the VPN host—that
is, the computer you’ll be tunneling into.

If you fill in your user name and password now, and turn on “Remember

my sign-in info,” you won’t have to retype it every time you connect. If
you’re connecting to a server at work or school, your system administrator
can tell you what to type here. If you’re connecting to a computer you set

up yourself, specify its public IP address. (See the previous Note.)