How do I access my home computer files from places I travel to (motel
rooms).  I have a cable modem and a lynksys router.     I do have VCN
set up on my
LAN, but don't know how to access it from the outside my home network.

Hello.

First, you must check that this usage of your cable modem is
considered acceptable by your ISP.  Cable connections tend to be very
restrictive in what they allow you to do.

Second, you need to make sure you have a stable IP number.  Your ISP
may provide you with a static IP number if you ask nicely / give them
money / leave your computer on 24/7 so the DHCP client renews the same
number serially.  You will need to setup your router to forward
connections to your computer, or simply setup your computer in what is
usually known as a DMZ.  If your computer thinks its IP number is
192.168.x.x, this is *not* the IP number you will need to use from
outside your home.  Visit a webpage such as http://www.whatismyip.com/
to easily determine what IP number computers outside your network are
seeing.

Third, you need the actual mechanism for accessing files.  You could
setup a VPN, but I have found this to be difficult to do, especially
under Windows which has numerous compatability issues, though you seem
to have one at least partly setup already.  Depending on how you need
to access your files, you may be best served by a simple system such
as running a FTP or SCP (encrypted logins and file transfers, rather
than FTP's unencrypted ones) server on your home machine.

Some FTP and SCP server packages:
  Serv-U ( http://www.serv-u.com/ )
  SurgeFTP ( http://netwinsite.com/surgeftp/ )
  wftpd ( http://www.simtel.net/pub/pd/31526.html )
  Cerebrus FTP server ( http://www.cerberusftp.com/ )

  SCP using Cygwin ( http://www.devguy.com/fp/scp/ )
  Hallogram SecureShell ( http://www.hallogram.com/secureshell/ ) <--
EXPENSIVE
  

Some of these are free, some not.  Download evaluation versions to be
sure you are pleased before purchasing.

You may also be interested in this page (
http://www.jfitz.com/tips/ssh_for_windows.html ) which is a list of
several SCP options available under Windows.

Note that if you have access to a Linux computer, you almost certainly
have SCP installed already.  In this case all you need is an SCP
client such as putty.  See the 'you may also be interested in' link
above for information about putty and its relatives.


Search terms:
Windows FTP server
Windows SCP server

Good luck!
 Haversian

If your ISP does not provide a static IP address, don't lose hope -
there's a workaround.  Go to http://www.no-ip.org/ or use a similar
service ( http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Software/Internet/Servers/Address_Management/Dynamic_DNS_Services/
to name quite a few).  These services will put a small program on your
PC that maps out whateveryouwant.no-ip.org (or
.whateveryourserviceis.tld) to your IP address.  I use no-ip.org
myself and give it my reccomendation.

David Bloom