remote login Teamviewer safe?

[runnyeggsham]

I have been told by my friend that I should not use the Teamviewer program to troubleshoot my brother's computer at work. He didn't give any specifics but said it was unsafe. It's true that you can set it for automatic login but that's after it verifies who the client is. I am not sure how the Teamviewer app verifies the client before granting access. Anyone familiar with this program?
He thinks RDP and VPN is the only way to go to remote in.

[Cudni]

It is not unsafe. In default install nothing runs without user say so.

[runnyeggsham]

True. I was thinking about easily the system was compromised. Thanks for your input.

[Sully]

On my remote coms, I set the router to direct a non-standard port to an internal standard port. It is trivial, but bots search for ports on common assignments, so using a non-standard port is a very easy way to get around automated port scans.

If you have the availability, you could set the router and/or firewall at work to only allow incoming comms from the remote IP or a dyndns domain name. This provides really good security, but is the most constrictive.

Just some extra ideas.

Sul.

[axial]

Originally Posted by runnyeggsham

It's true that you can set it for automatic login but that's after it verifies who the client is. I am not sure how the Teamviewer app verifies the client before granting access. Anyone familiar with this program?
He thinks RDP and VPN is the only way to go to remote in.

With the free version and using it "manually" as opposed to autolognin, for each remote connection session the remote system "host" auto-generates two new items, a new UserID and a new Password. The person wishing to connect needs to know both of these items. If the connection is terminated new ID and p/w are generated. Then, the remote host has to grant access.

AFAIK the autologin is only a possibility if one explicitly sets the program to be run that way, it's not a default of the app.

As far as I know, TeamViewer is a VPN and is built on one of the most robust VPN implementations.

fwiw, TeamViewer is very easy to set up, I walked through it with a non-computer-knowledgeable friend just yesterday and had it running in just a couple of minutes. I've used it sporadically for 5+ years and always found it reliable.