VNC Question

[deadly7]

When wanting to VNC in to a person's computer, do both people need to be running the software? How does VNC work, exactly? I tried finding something easy to understand, but technical, and failed miserably.

[warz]

depends what OS youre talking about. SUSE comes with VNC as its remote admin service. so if youre on SUSE just enable it. if youre on windows you have to download the VNC server onto the host computer, and VNC viewer on client comps.

[deadly7]

Know of any good VNC Server/Viewers programs for WinXP?

[rabbit]

TightVNC is a good one, though RealVNC is the most popular on Windows.

[iago]

Yeah, both people need to run the service -- one has to run the client, and the other the server.

And like rabbit said, tightvnc/realvnc are the popular ones.

[warz]

we run realvnc at work on a few things without any problems

[deadly7]

So do either TightVNC/RealVNC allow you to select if the computer the program is running on is the server or the client? Are there separate installers for each?

[rabbit]

Tight and Real are different programs with the same protocol.  IIRC both have 1 installer which lets you select if you want to install  the server/viewer/both.  I prefer TightVNC over Real.

[warz]

So do either TightVNC/RealVNC allow you to select if the computer the program is running on is the server or the client? Are there separate installers for each?

Are you doing any research about this on your own? Really, you've got the names of two popular VNC applications - go read up on them and make the decision for yourself.

I've never even heard of TightVNC until this thread. RealVNC has a server and client executable.

[Chavo]

Any particular reason you are looking at just VNC?

[deadly7]

Any particular reason you are looking at just VNC?

Was trying to diagnose and repair a malware issue on a friend's computer and needed remote access while she was some thousand miles away. But her school's network doesn't allow incoming access, or VNC wasn't configured properly. Either way, that was a bust.

[iago]

VNC can go either way (client->server or server->client).

To go client->server is obvious.

To go the other way, the client is started in listening mode and on the server, you right-click on the icon and click "add new connection" (or something). Then she could connect back to you.

The other option, that Chavo may have been implying, is remote desktop -- it's Windows's built-in way of doing what you want. It's faster and nicer, but isn't opensource or cross platform. If you couldn't get VNC working, however, you probably won't get remote desktop working either.

[Chavo]

If restrictions on in-bound connections is your primary issue, there are a number of tools that use a 3rd party server with a sustained outbound connection from the server you want to connect to.  These tools obviously have the concern that all your data is going through some random companies server, but depending on your need this may not be an issue.

In particular, CrossLoop is an excellent tool for helping friends with problems remotely.  You both install CrossLoop, they give you their invite key, you insert that on your end, you connect to them (through a 3rd party server so you don't need to configure NAT), they accept and boom you have remote control.  This solution is fairly easy for both parties and provides assurance that to the remote user that you cannot arbitrarily remote in and see what they are doing.  I don't remember if CrossLoop supports any platforms beyond Windows.

Similarly, if the remote user trusts you and doesn't mind you being able to remote in at any time, I enjoy using a tool called LogMeIn.  I don't know if the service is based on VNC or what, but it is remarkably faster and more responsive than any VNC or RDP tool I have used.  It uses the 3rd party server approach with 128bit encryption and you can use a firefox plugin instead of a completely separate app.  They also have some cool paid features (like an iPhone app) that I don't use.  The only drawback (beyond the 3rd party server issue) is that you need physical access to install it since you have to login to your LMI account to get the installer and have it hook into your account.

[Lead]

If restrictions on in-bound connections is your primary issue, there are a number of tools that use a 3rd party server with a sustained outbound connection from the server you want to connect to.  These tools obviously have the concern that all your data is going through some random companies server, but depending on your need this may not be an issue.

In particular, CrossLoop is an excellent tool for helping friends with problems remotely.  You both install CrossLoop, they give you their invite key, you insert that on your end, you connect to them (through a 3rd party server so you don't need to configure NAT), they accept and boom you have remote control.  This solution is fairly easy for both parties and provides assurance that to the remote user that you cannot arbitrarily remote in and see what they are doing.  I don't remember if CrossLoop supports any platforms beyond Windows.

Similarly, if the remote user trusts you and doesn't mind you being able to remote in at any time, I enjoy using a tool called LogMeIn.  I don't know if the service is based on VNC or what, but it is remarkably faster and more responsive than any VNC or RDP tool I have used.  It uses the 3rd party server approach with 128bit encryption and you can use a firefox plugin instead of a completely separate app.  They also have some cool paid features (like an iPhone app) that I don't use.  The only drawback (beyond the 3rd party server issue) is that you need physical access to install it since you have to login to your LMI account to get the installer and have it hook into your account.

Similarly, you can try your luck with Teamviewer, which from the sounds of it, is very similar if not identical to CrossLoop.

http://www.teamviewer.com/

[Joe]

If you're both on Windows, load up the stock MSN (er.. Live Messenger?) and have him request remote assistance. It'll use Microsoft's proprietarysatanic remote desktop thingy.