I’m going to be away from home for a few weeks and would like to access my computer (LMDE) while I’m away. Remote desktop connection would be ideal, just file transfer would be acceptable.
Is a VPN necessary, or can port forwarding be good enough for a one time use?
What software/networking recommendations do you have?
Jesus… Just port forward 22 to your system and ssh in directly.
That’s not always an option and when it is, setting it up is often more complicated and less secure than using a relay server. Honestly, the fastest (to setup), easiest and most secure option would be ssh server as a tor hidden service. Everything is handled by tor out of the box, .onion domain name, nat hole punching, E2EE, port scanning bots… all taken care of, no need for opening ports, static ip, dns, ddns, fail2ban, worrying that there’s a 0 day or that you misconfigured something. No one can exploit you service if nobody knows it exists.
Setting up ssh is nearly trivial. And saying it’s “less secure” doesn’t mean it’s insecure.
It’s the primary access point for thousands of systems and for good reason. It’s “good enough” for your little homelab.
Depends what you mean by setting up ssh. Installing sshd, sure. Opening up ports, calling your isp to buy dedicated ip if they even offer one, getting a domain, setting up ddns…
Opening ports is also trivial. You don’t generally need a dedicated IP if you keep a connection running but YMMV. And you don’t need a domain - just remember the IP. This is only for a few weeks.
If you’re behind cgnat oppening ports on your router won’t do you any good. You have to call your isp and ask them for a dedicated public ip, usually for a price if they offer one at all. If that ip is static you can remember it, if not, you need ddns. If you’re one of the lucky few not behind cgnat then yeah, your setup will be the simplest possible, but if you are, like the majority of people these days, it’s one of the most complicated.
Well yeah, duh.