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Andrea Ambu
Asked: 2009-05-06 04:54:32 +0800 CST

How to remote control Windows?

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Is there a way to remote control a Windows machine as easy as I do with my other Linux pcs through SSH?

I'm currently using a FTP server for files but I prefer the way I can manage my other linux boxes. I'd like it to be textual just like ssh, is there anything like that? I mean running programs, rebooting/turning off, copying/editing files ect...

I read about Cygwin, does it do what I need?

EDIT:
I did not specified it before, it should be free

windows remote-access console text

8 Answers

  1. Ignoring your "I'd like it to be textual" comment for a moment, the obvious answer is remote desktop. Now, not ignoring that answer, we've had good success with PSExec from sysinternals (now part of microsoft). It allows you to exec a command on the remote box. Remember though, many things you're going to want to do expect to have a graphical shell. Also, the newer versions of Windows and some apps (Exchange, IIS, VMWare) support powershell and you have some remote execution options there too.

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  2. Windows has telnet (can be enabled using services.msc) but this is insecure.

    An SSH server can be obtained from http://sshwindows.sourceforge.net/

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  3. I've had good experience with freeSSHd.

    http://www.freesshd.com/

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  4. You can install the SSH server on Windows using Cygwin. From there, you can use the command-line net commands to do lots of cool remote and automated tasks.

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  5. There is whats called WinSSHD. http://www.bitvise.com/

    Here is the pricing on it. http://www.bitvise.com/winsshd-pricing

    There is a free personal edition.

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  6. PSexec, as mentioned above, is going to take care of just about everything you need, though you're going to have to learn a host of other commands (iisreset, etc) to complement it, depending on exactly what you're managing.

    I'd also like to throw in that PowerShell seems to have been designed for this purpose, if you're looking toward a 2008 / Windows 7 environment.

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  7. If you're used to Linux, then definitely look into using OpenSSH on Cygwin (another guide here). However, if you do use one of the other Windows-native SSH server options, you may like to beef-up your command-line experience with the following:

    • GnuWin32 provides ports of tools with a GNU or similar open source license, to MS-Windows (Microsoft Windows 95 / 98 / ME / NT / 2000 / XP / 2003 / Vista / 2008)

    • Take Command Console LE: like cmd.exe on crack. Well worth checking out, even if you're not remoting in. It feels quite similar to cmd.exe, but with a huge (and I mean huge) amount of extra functionality in there, so it's not as big a change as switching to...

    • PowerShell: Microsoft's own advanced command line shell and scripting language.

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  8. While not "textual" VNC is great. It can run as client or server on both windows and linux. I use the Ultravnc version.

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