USE MORE THAN ONE PC?

Best software for your network

Ifyou have multiple PCS at home there will be occasions when you need to access a file on one that’s stored on another. Advanced IP Scanner is a brilliant free program that gives you control over all PCS connected to your home network. You can access any files on your network and transfer them between PCS. You can even remotely shut down any PC on your home network.

STEP 1

To download the program, go to www.snipca.com/22897, click Free Download, then click the Download Latest Version button at the top right of the web page that opens. Click the downloaded setup file, then click OK. At this stage, you can select Install 1 to install the program on your PC (we selected this) or click Run 2 to install the portable version. Click Next 3 , select ‘I accept the agreement’, then click Install, Yes, then Finish to launch the program. Install the program on all your home PCS.

STEP2

First, click the IP button 1 . This enters your PC’S IP address into the address bar below 2 . Now click Scan 3 to search for all devices (PCS, phones, tablets, printers and routers) connected to your home network. These appears in a list in the main window. It’ll also show you the IP addresses of those devices, their MAC address, and in some cases the Manufacturer 4 . If Network Sharing is enabled on your home PCS, you’ll see a dropdown menu beside those PCS 5 .

STEP3

If you don’t see any dropdown menus, it means you need to set up Network Sharing on your PCS. To do this, open File Explorer, click Network 1 , OK, then wait until you see the ‘Click to change’ panel 2 . Click it, then click ‘Turn on network discovery and file sharing’. Next, click ‘No, make the network that I am connected to a private network’ 3 , then click OK. You now need to enable all your PCS to share information without needing passwords.

STEP4

Press the Windows key, type manage advanced sharing settings, then press Enter. You’ll see three sections with dropdown menus on the right. In the first section, ‘Private (current profile)’, ensure the first option (of two) is selected under each heading. Next, click the All Networks dropdown menu 1 , select the first option under both ‘Public folder sharing’ 2 and ‘File sharing connections’ 3 , and the second option under ‘Password protected sharing’ 4 , then click ‘Save changes’ 5 .

STEP5

Now restart Advanced IP Scanner and you should see dropdown menus beside the PCS you want to include. If not, there’s another way to add a PC for remote access. Click Actions 1 , then Add Computer. Now go to the other PC, open Advanced IP Scanner there and note down its IP and MAC addresses (see Step 2). Return to the PC you want to use for remote access, enter these addresses into the fields provided 2 , then click Add 3 . The PC will now appear in the Favorites tab 4 .

STEP6

If you want to add other PCS to your list of favourites, right-click them 1 in the Results tab list, then click ‘Add to favorites’. You can now access these devices from the Favorites tab. Next, click the dropdown menu beside the PC you want to control 2 , then click the Users folder 3 . You’ll now be able to access all files on that PC 4 , as well as copy and paste files (using keyboard shortcuts or by dragging and dropping) from one PC to another. You can navigate around the remote PC using its address bar 5 .

STEP7

To remotely shut down connected PCS, right-click the PC in the list 1 , then click ‘Shut down’. Next, tick ‘Use Windows authentification’ 2 and enter the remote PC’S username and password in the fields provided. By default, there’s a 60-second shutdown delay, but you can change this 3 . You can also choose to shut down immediately or restart the PC 4 . Click the Shutdown button 5 to confirm your choice. ●