Looking for input and advice about a vpn and remote desktop

[orac_zen]

I have a 10 year old stepson who lives several hours away from me. Although I am divorced I still consider him my son and want to provide for him best I can. I am building him a computer for Christmas. Still debating weather a 10year old should have a computer, but I would have wanted one when I was 10. Also he loves playing video games so I'm debating putting a video card in it.

I am thinking about getting a vpn service so I could easily remote desktop to his computer and help him out with learning about it and problems. Both computers will be running windows 10. Also I recently tried out LogMeIn and found that when remote desktoping the computer being taken over could not see on there screen what I was doing. Guessing there is some type of mirrioring or something I need to enable some were.

I don't want to spend too much money, but it looks like I can get one for about $50usd a year. Also we are located in Texas so a vpn with a local server might be best. I welcome all thoughts and ideas.

 

[DrunkenTeddy]

Don't spend any money, just get TeamViewer. I've used it for years now and it works great for personal use, especially for free software. It will allow him to see what you are doing and even control at the same time as you if you want to walk him through something instead of doing it yourself.

 

[Han Burgundy]

+1 for TeamViewer. I use it every day to access my home computer from work and it functions wonderfully.

 

[orac_zen]

ok playing with teamviewer. Looks pretty easy and I like it so far. How secure is it, and when I move his computer to his house will it still work or will I have to go through the password user id stuff again?

 

[Han Burgundy]

The way it works is you set up an account that you attach computers to. Then you can install TeamViewer on any computer and log in to gain access to your saved machines. (What that says about security is entirely open to interpretation)

 

[PaulEPeptide]

I'm paying for gotomypc right now. Am I better off ditching it for the free version of TeamViewer?

 

[Radegast74]

Two things...
1) wasn't there some hack/attack of Team Viewer accounts about 2 years ago? Did they straighten that out?

2) Wouldn't a pro version of Win10 allow you remote access/control another Win10 computer? while it would cost a little more, there wouldn't be any on-going fees, and that would probably be the most secure way to do it (maybe).

 

[Han Burgundy]

Two things...
1) wasn't there some hack/attack of Team Viewer accounts about 2 years ago? Did they straighten that out?

2) Wouldn't a pro version of Win10 allow you remote access/control another Win10 computer? while it would cost a little more, there wouldn't be any on-going fees, and that would probably be the most secure way to do it (maybe).

They did indeed have a data breach a while ago. Then again, those are happening everywhere nowadays. I mean, I wouldnt store Coca-Cola's seceret recipie on a computer connected to TeamViewer, but your terabytes of panda S&M should be safe.

I'm not aware of any windows remote that isnt incredibly privacy-invasive, so do with that what you will.

$0.02

 

[Michael]

I'm using Team Viewer too
Easy to use,
Easy to setup,
you can log in when you created an account,
you can even start your computer via wake on lan (further adjustments needed),
Our IT guys use it the whole day, so i guess its fairly safe.
Oh and you can even remote control via smartpone sitting on your couch.

So thats a + for TeamViewer

 

[Bruttle]

I am building him a computer for Christmas. Still debating weather a 10year old should have a computer, but I would have wanted one when I was 10. Also he loves playing video games so I'm debating putting a video card in it.

We gave our daughter her first computer when she was about 6-7 but it only had silly little kids games on it. Nothing online. We ended up getting her a mmo capable computer when she was 10 and she has been happily playing mmos with my wife and I ever since. Two years later, we are still gaming together. She now has her own steam account and a growing library of games.

I think the whole thing has been really good. She enjoys it immensely and it challenges her. The only advice I would give is to make sure the computer is locked up tight. Certain things like clickbait and cash shops are enticing to adults, but can be crack for kids. If you're not careful, you will check your email one day and find half the steam store has been purchased or a cash shop has been raided. You can explain boundaries (which you definitely should) but leave some password protection to keep the kid honest.

So for internet access, I use the Procon Latte addon for Firefox. It blocks the entire internet with the exception of the handful of sites she is allowed to go to. I also remove the credit cards from steam and pay for subscriptions using a prepay card. The combination of the two really limits her ability to get herself in trouble. I also kill the chatboxes on whatever mmo she is playing. She knows all the swear words, but mmo general chat can still be a bit rough. She also knows that talking to strangers is prohibited online as well as in the real world.

It may seem a bit involved, but even the best kids screw up. My dog is well behaved but I wouldn't put a piece of steak in front of her, leave the room, then yell at her when she eats it. I just wanted to keep my kid from getting herself into too much trouble. Besides, it was all worth it to see her naming her mounts in Archeage and coming up with backstories for literally... fucking... everything...

 

[Loonetik]

RealVNC is by far the best remote desktop software ive used.