I'll be (working from) home for Christmas!

With the Christmas Holidays (or Winter Break for those of you so inclined) fast approaching, it might be helpful to look at your options of getting some work done while you are away from the campus.

After all the shopping, parties, and gatherings with family and friends, you might just need to sneak off to the office for a while. Here are a few ideas to help you do so without going out in the cold!

The need to access resources inside your school network is the natural result of a maturing infrastructure.  Being able to do important tasks at the office while you are at home or while traveling or on vacation can dramatically improve your administrative oversight. And the ability to remotely access your computer at work is a necessity as workloads continue to encroach upon personal time.

Getting the big picture about remote access and then understanding your options might be helpful in deciding which method or technology is best suited for you. Without a basic understanding and game plan, the implementation of remote access can be a harrowing experience and very confusing. Let’s consider a few options.

From a practical standpoint, there are three methods of interacting with computers and resources in your organization from afar. There are other methods, including VNC, a popular open source solution, but my experience with these other solutions is that they require a higher degree of technical skill, both to install and to use. Our mandate is to keep things simple.

Depending upon the task at hand you may want to use all three of the following methods, which include:

1. Website or web browser based programs
2. Virtual Private Network or VPN
3. Remote Desktop Connection or RDP

Website or browser based programs

Using browser based technologies to connect to resources in your organization is likely the simplest way to access remote resources, unless you have a firewall with remote access features. You have probably seen ads for “GoToMyPC.com” or “Logmein.com”.  This option requires you to visit a provider’s website, create a user account, and then download and install their software.

You then complete this same process on computers to be remotely controlled, by logging into your account installing the same software on each machine to be managed remotely. As you install the remote control software on each remote PC, you will see an icon that represents it in your list of controllable computers.  And if you manage all of your computers in one account, you can control any one of them, at any time by clicking on the icon that represents that specific computer.

The advantage of this type of access is that it is pretty reliable (based upon my own experience) and relatively easy to use. The most complex part of the process is understanding which role you are playing when you are installing the software and getting it set up properly. And be sure to record your passwords or access codes.

The disadvantage of this type of access is that it costs money. It is a subscription based service that will cost about $10.00 per month per machine you wish to control. There are some free versions (www.logmein.com) but they restrict the things you can do while connected using the free version in order to encourage you to buy a full-featured subscription.

It is important to understand that when you use this type of remote access you are only remotely controlling the remote PC. Read this statement slowly three times – I am remotely controlling my remote PC. When you disconnect from the remote PC, the work you have accomplished remains there, unless you specifically transfer the files to your controlling PC or laptop. And there may be challenges associated with getting that file transferred back to your current location.

This is an important concept to understand, because if you spend an hour working on a Power Point presentation at the office. It’s at the office! Saving it back to your home PC or Laptop is not always easy. Additionally, you must have the same software installed on your home PC or Laptop to use the file just created.

Bottom line; understand the inherent limitations of remotely controlling your office computer.

Virtual Private Networks

A VPN connection is an excellent choice for remote access to your network. But it is important to understand how a VPN connection works and the planning required using it. The most common VPN scenario associates your firewall device, installed to protect your network from outside intrusion, to your remote computer via software. The software facilitates the connection by opening a secure pathway across the Internet and through your firewall, to your remote computer. These client programs are normally manufacturer specific, designed to work only with your firewall, and provisioned with a security key or token to verify your identity.

A VPN connection is like virtually connecting an Ethernet cable into your network hub at the office. Just imagine a very long cable from the server room out the door, along the street, up your driveway, and into your den at home and you will get the concept. But that is all a VPN connection will do for you…, give you a remote connection. This alone may not provide you with the remote experience you desire because of the network security built into computers, printers, servers, and other devices at the school.

Think of it this way: you can take any PC or Laptop to the school and plug it into the network, but your connection may be restricted to just a few resources. Unless your PC or Laptop at home is joined to the school’s network, you may only have a connection to the Internet and access to very generously shared resources.

When correctly planned an implemented, a VPN connection can be as close to a seamless or transparent connection to your school network as possible. But it has to be correctly implemented and you need to understand the consequence of that implementation.

For example, joining your home PC or Laptop to the Domain at the school may interrupt the small peer to peer network in your home. And changing from a workgroup to a domain and back may cause you a significant amount of grief. You may even loose important files and documents. (A workgroup is the most common way to create a shared broadband connection at home with DSL or Cable Internet service. A Domain is the network security model used in most schools.)

The benefits of VPN are quite remarkable. You simply turn on your remote PC or Laptop and do your tasks. Since you are part of the network, you will have full access to your email, your shared folders, and Client/Server based applications such as QuickBooks, Microsoft Office, Microsoft SQL, etc.

Remote Desktop

No discussion of remote access would be complete without considering Remote Desktop Connection, or Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), a very useful tool built into all Windows XP and later Microsoft Windows based computers. It is similar to web based remote access technologies in that it allows your home PC or Laptop screen to display your office screen in a real time remote control session. In Windows 7, the Remote Desktop program is found at the Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories folder.

Properly setup, RDP works great. It is quick, reliable, not subject to constant fiddling, and allows you to control both local and remote resources, i.e. local and remote hard drives, printers, and CD’s. And once you are plugged into the network, it can find computers by name.

The challenge in setting up and using remote desktop is twofold. First you must know the name or IP address of the machine you wish to control. And second you must get through the firewall protecting your network. Remote Desktop uses Domain Name Services (DNS) to translate computer names to network addresses, so setting it up can be a little tricky.

RDP is generally a set it and forget it type of configuration. Once it finds your remote desktop, it will remember the settings and allow you to connect quickly by clicking on an icon located on your desktop.

Using RDP will require your network administrator to open a port in your firewall and then route your RDP session to the correct PC. And don’t forget that the on premises user always wins with RDP. In other words, if you are using RDP and someone at the office touches your mouse or presses a key on your keyboard, you will get disconnected. And unlike a browser based technology where users on both ends can see the screen, RDP will not display both the remote and local session at once.

Summary

Technical Support has been completely revolutionized by remote access technologies. It is a fundamental component of providing support services to the schools we manage. And we use each one of these different methods extensively.

As a school administrator, the benefits of remote access should be very obvious to you. Choosing which method to use may be a little less clear and will depend in large measure on what specific task you need to accomplish. It will be further determined by your network infrastructure, Internet bandwidth, installed software, and level of technical support to set it up.

Feel free to call if you need assistance in deciding which of these remote access methods will work best for you. And don’t wait until the holidays begin, you have to set these solutions up while at school – it is quite difficult to do this entirely from home.

One final note: Remote access is not the same thing as working collaboratively with other team members who may also be remote. That kind of anytime, anywhere, access to your important files is a function of your core technology infrastructure. Search this site for articles about Office 365 for Education for more information.

Desktop Security - How to avoid getting the latest bug

I was raised on a small farm in Idaho, where, believe it or not, one of my daily chores was to milk a cow – by hand. It was not a particularly difficult task, but did require a few essential pieces of equipment (aside from the cow), that being a bucket, cleaning supplies, and a wooden stool. The stool had three legs and was crucial to a successful outcome of the task.

Think about that 3 legged stool as we address the topic of desktop security; there is a lesson.

You should understand three important components to adequately address desktop security, trying to provide security with less can be a problem. They are:

1. A Firewall to block all of the ports into and out of your computer’s resources
2. Antivirus software to detect and destroy malicious code that arrives on your computer
3. Spyware/malware protection to avoid being tracked, hijacked, or otherwise taken for a ride

Although possible, it was rather hazardous to milk the cow using a one or even a two legged stool. And no stool at all was a real show stopper.Keep this corollary in mind as you consider how to protect your desktop from intrusions, virus’, and malware. Optimally you need all three, having none of them will eventually stop your computer from working – unless you have no connection to the outside world whatsoever.

What about one of the popular Security Suites?

A number of software companies provide security suites for PC’s. They attempt to combine all of the aforementioned security services into one package, and sometimes throw in some extras. Are these a good use of your resources? Generally, they are not and here is why.

The problem with most of the security suites on the market today is that they are akin to using a Lazyboy recliner to milk the cow (think of the above example).   Most of them just get in the way of getting the task at hand accomplished.

Let’s keep this real simple and cost effective to boot, by reviewing the three legs of the stool in more detail and how to construct them.

Desktop Firewall

Every Windows Operating System today has a built in firewall. It is more than adequate, especially now that most networks are protected by a gateway or perimeter firewall device. Even most consumer class DSL /Cable Modems, which connects you to the Internet now have this functionality.

So, rarely do you need to buy additional firewall software. In fact, part of the problems associated with added firewall software is the inevitable conflict with the Microsoft Windows firewall.  It either turns it off, tries overriding it, or attempts to co-exist with it.

Some of these third party firewalls are so obtrusive, they may actually block current programs or programs you are attempting to install. This in turn requires you to configure the firewall to allow access to these programs. And if you are installing one brand of security software that competes with the security software of another provider, the problem can even get worse.

As conflicts and performance issues arise, the firewall often gets turned off to accommodate running a particular program, defeating the entire purpose of the firewall in the first place.

My recommendation is to turn on the Windows Firewall and use it alone. If you have already purchased one of the Security Suites, simply uninstall or turn off the Firewall portion of that duplicate Firewall.

Antivirus Protection

Antivirus software is an essential part of securing your desktop or laptop. But having tried just about every brand out there, it is my opinion that few difference exists between them. No doubt there are minor differences in function and form, but most provide the same basic protection and nearly all Antivirus Software manufactures share Virus Signatures with each other in a cooperative manner, especially true during a new Virus outbreak.

It really boils down to price, and I mean total price.

Manually installing 100 copies of a free Antivirus solution in your school may be much more expensive that doing a centralized “push” type of installation from a server or management console, using a commercial antivirus solution. In other words, the hidden cost of labor could far outweigh the savings of “free” software.

My recommendation for organizations of 10 or less PC’s is to use one of the free antivirus programs available. My favorite is Microsoft Security Essentials. It is free (currently), reasonably light weight (meaning it is not a resource hog), and effective.

You can obtain a copy at the following URL: www.microsoft.com/security_essentials (don’t miss the underscore if you type that url) If you have a Microsoft school agreement, you can buy anti-virus, (end point ) protection for a few dollars per computer per year.

Spyware/Malware

The difference between a Virus, Spyware, or Malware infection can be very slight, indeed there is significant overlap in the two areas. And while much of the spyware or malware software is relatively harmless, it is a great idea to understand what software on your system may be running in the background without your knowledge or consent.

Common purposes of more serious Spyware/Malware programs are to harvest information from your system, utilize your system for unsavory purposes (such as sending out SPAM), track your browsing habits, and/or taking control of your computer.

There are all types of clever ways you can become infected with these programs, so you do need protection.  A common trick used to infect your system convincing you to install a free “Antivirus Program” or click on “Free Malware Scan”. This is usually accompanied by an unsolicited  pop-up telling you that your computer is infected.

I won’t even try to list the good, the bad, or the ugly when it comes to the enormous variety of programs in this category. I like to keep things real simple and cost effective.

My recommendation, again, for organizations of 10 or less PC’s is to use Microsoft Security Essentials. If you are still running Windows XP, then you'll need to look for Windows Defender, instead; it is still available for computers running earlier versions of Microsoft Windows. For a larger numbers of computers, please consider adding the software for your Microsoft School agreement.

Summary

I am quite aware these are all Microsoft solutions, but I make no apologies. In education, particularly, Microsoft provides a compelling value for software of all kinds. And who better is capable of understanding the real security issue of the Windows operating system than the company that created it.

And in spite of problems that are common to any mega Corporation, Microsoft has a wide variety of software solutions for education that perform as good or better than most other companies (especially in light of the wide variety of solutions they offer),and you can trust a genuine Microsoft product to actually work as specified.

Best of all - the programs mentioned above are free, or very close to it, and work quite happily together; or in larger quantities can be bundled with your School agreement at a fraction of the cost of buying antivirus software commercially.

One final note. You can dramatically improve desktop and laptop security by keeping your operating system up to date. Optimally, that would include a Windows 7 upgrade. As a minimum, be sure your installed operating system has all of the latest security patches. All versions on Windows have an update facility built right into the main menu.

Stay safe out there!