I'm about to start college and I made a bit of a knee-jerk decision six months back when I bought a desktop PC for about Rs. 37,000 (around $422). Now I'm thinking of getting a second-hand or third-hand laptop to use while I'm on campus or outside. Here's my plan: I want to have my desktop PC running 24/7 in my hostel and connect to it using an old laptop that runs Arch with XFCE. I'm trying to figure out if it's feasible to perform heavy tasks over SSH into my PC. Do I need a decent laptop for that, or can I make do with my ancient one? I've heard that SSH should work for terminal access, but I'm not sure how effective it will be for more demanding tasks. I also got some advice about setting up a firewall and using an app called Signal for security. Any insights on whether this setup can actually work?
3 Answers
Just a heads up: your college network might have restrictions on SSH connections. Check if port 22 is blocked since many schools limit those types of access to prevent unauthorized connections. Also, think about how the hostel’s network is set up. If it’s behind NAT, you might need to reach out to the network admin about port forwarding to make your setup work. It’s crucial to know these details before diving in!
Absolutely, you can SSH into your desktop from an older laptop! Just keep in mind that SSH is mainly a console interface, so you'll be limited to command line tasks. If you're planning to do graphical tasks, you might want to look into alternatives like VNC or RDP. SSH will do fine for heavy terminal-based tasks, but for anything GUI, you need a different approach.
Yeah, I've used SSH without any issues on older hardware! Works great for terminal stuff.
Safety first! It’s great that you’re considering security. Set up your firewall and maybe look at using a VPN to ensure secure access. Also, if you're doing more than just command line stuff and need a graphical interface, consider using software like RustDesk, which can help you manage remote access without worrying about port issues. Just get a domain if you're going for SSH externally; it makes things a lot easier.
Solid advice! I love using RustDesk for remote access, super user-friendly.
Definitely check the network policies first. I've been in a similar situation and couldn't access anything!