Windows Remote Access

This document discusses gaining remote access to your CS files from outside the lab-maintained network.

If you are outside the CS trusted network, you will need to setup a secure tunnel to access your CS directories. Examples of this include access from home through your ISP, from the Duke wireless network or from a network at another school. This can be accomplished by using a Windows or UNIX stunnel client.

In order to use stunnel, you will need to put the following files in the stunnel directory (typically C:\Program Files\stunnel). The client.pem will allow you to establish the secure connection, and the stunnel.conf file has all of the settings to connect to the servers, and use the client.pem file. (these files are only accessible from machines within the CS network; if you need access to the files outside the department network please contact the Lab Staff.

Uninstall File and Printer Sharing

You will either need to uninstall File and Printer Sharing on your machine or temporarily stop the Server service on your system. If you choose to stop the server, it will restart on the next reboot. This is useful if you intend to reenable local file serving or printing services on your home network.

  1. Open Control Panel → Network Connections → (select enabled network device) → Properties
  2. Select the File and Print Sharing services and select Uninstall.

To stop the Windows Server Service:

  1. Start → Run and run the services.msc command
  2. Scroll down until you find the Server entry, and right-click on Server and select Stop.
  3. Note: This stops the server service during the current session. It will automatically start again after a reboot unless you change the Startup Type.

After putting the files in place, and starting stunnel you will have a secure tunnel for accessing your CS files as well as providing access to the CS printers.

In order to mount a directory, right-click on the My Computer icon and select Map Network Drive. When the Map Network Drive dialog box appears, enter the address 127.0.0.1. The computer will select an available drive letter that is appropriate.

        \\127.0.0.1\username

Replace username with your CS login ID.

To Install a Printer

This same method used to mount a directory can also be used to add printers.

  1. Open Start → Settings → Printers
  2. Open the Add Printer icon
  3. Select Network Printer Server and click Next
  4. Type \\127.0.0.1\printer-name and click OK (replace printer with the name of the printer)
  5. Click OK to install drivers on your local machine
  6. Select the make and model of your printer, and click OK (for a list of printer types see here)
  7. Select Yes or No for your default settings
  8. Click Next and then Finish