I have a few options on my plate but I wanted to know if anyone of you guys do this-
I need to leave for work for two weeks, but I need to access my PC remotely…
What software would you suggest that allows me to see my desktop and launch apps?
Would it be able to wake up my PC remotely if it’s just in sleep mode?
Thanks in advance
Do you absolutely need forwarding of the GUI? Remote is so much easier and faster with CLI…
Yeah I need the graphical representation of my desktop, but don’t need to run RealTime-heavy stuff like games.
I guess we are talking about Windows here. I think I have used Remote Desktop (built in) and VNC in the past.
Maybe it is possible to use Wake On Lan somehow with those solutions.
First of all this is a perfect excuse to order a discounted Steam Deck.
Do you have any other aways-on devices in your network? You will need one for Wake on Lan.
I’ve used a Mikrotik mini router to do it in the past, but stopped using it as it was unreliable. Some day the PC just wouldn’t start anymore and I could not be bothered to check why.
The rest all comes down to either pay with money or with time and sweat. So I never went there even though sometimes it would be nice.
Yeah these are my “to go” solutions…
Oh my friend- if I had the cash… A colleague brought it to work and that was the closest I’ve ever been to stealing something… 
No, yeah- that’s the thing. I don’t so I guess I’ll just leave it on I guess…
From technical perspective I can think of 3 ways to go:
All come with risk and cost and I don’t have a perfect solution to tell you.
Oh and 4. A wife, a phone and buckets of patience on both sides. 
You do raise some excellent points.
Yeah I’m quite certain I’d go for TeamViewer.
^-^ Just in case - I still accept solutions, don’t be afraid.
I use Chrome Remote Desktop when needed. Works well for me.
Oh wow, I didn’t know this! Thanks!
Be very careful in how you implement whatever solution you end up going with.
My company has a few desktop computers that are used remotely by WFH employees. Over the years they’ve used a few different solutions with varying degrees of success, but eventually settled on the built-in windows Remote Desktop since it was the best performing solution. It’s like being there.
About 3-4 years ago they got hacked; an IP from Ukraine brute forced the password and was able to gain access. The hacker was interrupted in the process of clumsily installing some ransomware by hand and no damage was done, but they would up setting it so 3 wrong passwords would lock the account. Looking at the logs the computer was being attacked hundreds of times per day from dozens of IPs. Blocking non-domestic IPs put a stop to most of that.
Use a non-standard port, create a strong password, turn on the setting that locks the account after a couple attempts, and check your logs regularly.
Yeah, you had me thinking real hard with that.
Great points. No sarcasm, I’m honestly serious about this. Thanks man.
I learned enough from being around that whole deal to know that I don’t know enough to want to open ports in my firewall to the outside. 
I used TeamViewer/Anydesk for a while.
But noticed they were a bit weird at times.
Also used built in Windows remote connection (Requires Windows Pro).
Eventually company said eff it, Use the software Locally and just connect to our VPN to access the servers.
Probably the best solution ultimately. In my case (travel for work, ~20nts/month in hotel) I played with GoToMyPC to have access to my desktop for a bit and eventually decided to flip the game and just use my laptop as my main PC even when at home, so I always have my primary ‘desktop’ with me.
Yep, when we ended up getting sent to WFH during Covid, they pretty much just imaged us over to laptops, and called it a day. When I was still driving a keyboard for a living, it was nice to be able to just grab and go with my work machine if we were doing something off site.
I agree with the guys above. You’re best off using a VPN, it’s much safer than just opening ports to the whole world.
Then once you’re in the VPN/home network, it’s probably easiest to use RDP to connect to the computer, as I’m not sure Teamviewer can connect to computers via LAN (?).
Proton, the Swiss company known for their high privacy e-mail service, offer a VPN that has a free tier.
Proton VPN offers a Free plan with no data limits, no artificial speed limits, and no compromises on your privacy and security.
We’re able to offer Proton VPN Free thanks to the support of the Proton community. If you’d like to help us fight for online privacy and digital freedom around the world, please consider getting a paid plan with faster speeds, access to servers in over 65 countries, and all our advanced features.
They have a really solid reputation and lots of people paying expensive subscriptions because of their privacy guarantees, so I trust them.
Was RDP exposed to the Internet?
That’s my understanding, no VPN just an open port in the firewall. This was at a small aviation company without a dedicated IT professional keeping them out of trouble.
I’ve had really good luck using AnyDesk, which is free for non commercial use. Easy to deploy.