Ok, here's the deal... I've had a small taste of Linux (Fedora Core 1 & 3, Ubuntu, Knoppix) and I'm completely converted. Now the only Win (un?)powered machine I keep is strictly for gaming purposes.

Next, I'm gonna go ahead and start setting up a home network for sharing files, internet connection (DSL), printer, etc... between 4 machines. The server will be an FC3 box, with mixed clients (FC3 & WinXP).

The problem is that I need to know if this setup will allow me to access the network resources of the clients through the internet from (and here's the tricky part) any win machine (win 98 or newer) without needing to install any extra software to this remote client.

What are my options for the server to allow SECURE access to the internal resources of the network, without needing to install extra software to the win clients i might be using?

Hey, come to think of it, this should be on WinQuestions.org...
thanx in advance for your help.

I use 'samba.' If you haven't heard of it, check out samba.org.

I use it to share files over my home network with an XP machine and a FC3 machine. You just setup Win machines to share and Linux will pick them up, usually with the 'mount -t [fstype]' command. For more help on that you'd have to ask a person more familiar with it, but I get an XP share by typing Be forewarned that sharing printers can get difficult. We're all here to help. Also, remember when connecting from Win to Linux that the username you are logged in as matters.

samba is sharing files and printers between linux and windows PCs for your home network. It is not secure for internet remote access. For the internal network clients, file/print sharing and internet access require no additional software.

For remote internet clients it depends. For example XP does not require any additional software to connect to a Virtual Private Network pptp server. To do the same in 98 a patch to DUN might be required for 128 bit encryption. You will need to install the poptop VPN server on the linux box.

Another method would be to use a ssh tunnel to connect a remote client. This would require the application puTTy to be installed on the client and sshd running on the server.

AFAIK any other solution will require some sort of software to be installed on the client.

Thanx azucaro & michaelk...
This is exactly what I needed to know...
So I'm gonna SAMBA the internal network together, and VPN to the server over the Internet.... I'll check out poptop VPN server.
thanx again for your help.



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I'll be adding to this thread (later on) a report of what happened along the way as I try to make this work.