Hi, i dont know if this is a completely out of line question, but my dad just bought a new computer, and we want to set up remote acess and file sharing between the computers? Could a port scanner be used to do this? Like, if i found an open port on his IP adress, could i get on the new computer and remotely connect so that he could like check is files at work from our house.
Sorry if that is alot to ask. Im just curious, because i dont want to spend alot of money to pay a technician to do it.

thank you,
Molgoroth

That's not how it works; any program that listens for a connection opens a port on your computer.

Sometimes, specific programs that open specific ports have flaws that allow for remote entry; rare, but it happens.

Now there are remote management programs which do this, such as PcAnywhere; but usually are somewhat secure.

okay, i guess that makes sense. Not meaning to change the topic, what is telnet?
Back to the portscanning topic:
i should be using a remote administration tool like Logmein for my dads computer? Okay i will try that out. Thank you for the help.
Great website/forum by the way. I love it.

Remote management software is best to use; it can sometimes be free and is often patched against any known bugs on a regular basis.

As for telnet, it's a program which can display raw data from a port and allow you to input characters back to the server. Raw telnet servers aren't generally used anymore as it's raw text and thus not secure (unlike SSH)

So, is there a way to use telnet to remotely view the target's command prompt? And what is ssh?

Well, I doubt the SERVER application on the host allows command line emulation within it, so no, doubtful.

SSH is like Telnet, however it uses public keys and encryption for all communications to and from a server; thus making things more secure.