Can't Access Remote PC with Remote Desktop Connection (RDC)

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JoK

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Hi there,

I have a PC that works as a server (Win 11) and another one (Win 10) I use to connect to the first one via RDC.

What I want to do is use RDC when I am away from home.

I have installed no-ip and got a custom domain. I have also configured the router to forward port 50000 to 3389 on the server.

When I connect via RDC using my home network all works well. But I am unable to do the same when I am away. The connection does not seem to go through.

I managed to do this a couple of times before but now it does not work. Would it be possible that the router is crap and doesn't forward the port correctly? It is a standard BT (UK) Halo router.

I've also tried TeamViewer, which works nicely, but RDC has a much better screen resolution and responsiveness and it allows to mount local drives.

Any suggestions?
 
Teamviewer works when RDP doesnt? (from outside the house of course)
if you ping your No-IP name, is that the correct IP your router has for the Internet/WAN? (try www.whatismyip.com to confirm)
 
Set up a VPN, you really, really don't want to open RDP to the world.

It's going to get crawled and hammered with logins - if this ever succeeds, you will be crypo'd.
 
Using a VPN is the best option, or something like Zero-Tier.

I have noticed one issue with Comcast for some services. When I am on my home network I can connect directly using my computer name and port. But if I connect through my domain desktop.domain.com that points at my external IP it will not work. However, if I disconnect from WiFi and use my cellular signal it will. It is like this for all services I have tried.
It is as if the Comcast router does not like routing through itself back to itself, if that makes any sense.
 
dbwillis said:
Teamviewer works when RDP doesnt? (from outside the house of course)
if you ping your No-IP name, is that the correct IP your router has for the Internet/WAN? (try www.whatismyip.com to confirm)
Click to expand...
If I ping no-ip name or check the IP, it returns no-ip's ip address not my router's.
 
socK said:
Set up a VPN, you really, really don't want to open RDP to the world.

It's going to get crawled and hammered with logins - if this ever succeeds, you will be crypo'd.
Click to expand...
Yes, I've read a lot about attached on the default RDP port. But, as explained, 3389 is not open at all. Do you think this is still a problem?

I tried setting up a VPN but I found it really cumbersome. I tried OpenVPN.

I will check Zero-Tier, as grim4593 suggests although I do not know what it is (I assume a vpn server).
 
*** UPDATE ****
Oh, I forgot to mention that the PC that acts as a server in my setup runs ProtonVPN

I think this is an important detail but as said it worked a couple of times.
 
If your pinging your No-IP name and its not coming back with your routers Internet/WAN IP, then there is a problem with the NoIP setup I would think.
You should be able to ping your no-IP name and get the same IP as your router, not no-ip.com [158.247.7.199]
 
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JoK said:
Yes, I've read a lot about attached on the default RDP port. But, as explained, 3389 is not open at all. Do you think this is still a problem?

I tried setting up a VPN but I found it really cumbersome. I tried OpenVPN.

I will check Zero-Tier, as grim4593 suggests although I do not know what it is (I assume a vpn server).
Click to expand...

Yes, you'll still get crawled - it's security through obscurity and won't help. You'll probably find yourself on shodan.io within a month.

Some routers support acting as a VPN server. This is an easy route if supported. I haven't used it personally but I've heard a coworker say good things about https://www.pivpn.io/ before.

Otherwise ZeroTier and Tailscale look good, but they don't seem to be a 100% self hosted solution, if that matters.
 
dbwillis said:
If your pinging your No-IP name and its not coming back with your routers Internet/WAN IP, then there is a problem with the NoIP setup I would think.
You should be able to ping your no-IP name and get the same IP as your router, not no-ip.com [158.247.7.199]
Click to expand...
Yes, you are right. pinging no-ip returns the IP of protonvpn which is correct.

Following socK 's comment, I removed the port forwarding rule from the router. I will give ZeroTier a go.

Thanks
 
ZeroTier seems to work fine.

What I do not like is that it needs installation as an admin. I wanted to install it on my work laptop but I understand.

There is something that confuses me. After reading the documentation, I understand that zerotier creates a virtual encrypted VPN. That's the whole idea.

But then, at some point, the docs say "How to create a VPN"...So, is this different from the basic operation?
 
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