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Although TightVNC encrypts VNC passwords sent over the net, the rest of the traffic is sent as is, unencrypted (for password encryption, VNC uses a DES-encrypted challenge-response scheme, where the password is limited by 8 characters, and the effective DES key length is 56 bits). So using TightVNC over the Internet can be a security risk. To solve this problem, we have plans to implement built-in encryption in future versions of TightVNC.

1. Set up a secure VPN server at your site. This serves two purposes: getting access to external machines, and security.

OpenVPN is a good one to use, but if you can set up OpenVPN AS either on a Linux box or in a Linux VM you'll make life much simpler for everyone.

2. Set up the people you want to support with VPN access.

3. Set up VNC on their machines. TightVNC running as a service is ideal, but take the following precautions:

a. Set the service to Manual so they have to turn it on each time.

b. Have authentication.

4. Create easily-accessible shortcuts for them to use, and train them to use them.

5. At the start of a support session, get them to connect to the VPN, start the VNC service. You can either get them to tell you the IP address, or look at the currently-active VPN connections.

6. At the end of a support session, get them to shut down the VNC service and disconnect from the VPN.

I've found that even computer neophytes can be trained to do their part, and if they've got a minimal level of skill it's possible to talk them through the initial setup of the VPN and VNC client software. You just need to get them to the point that you can remote control, and then you can lock it down (changing service to Manual, etc).

There are open source/free software VNC programs that work on Windows XP, like TightVNC:

http://www.tightvnc.com/download.html

http://www.tightvnc.com/
http://sourceforge.net/projects/ipcop/

Network transparency is IMO the killer feature of X, it would be a shame to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

You got it right, almost.
Network transparency is the feature that kills X. Network transparency was nice and revolutionary (cough) when X was invented many years ago. Nowadays it's just a huge pain in the ass because it kills performance and makes the whole thing insanely complex.

Reality has taught us that the whole network transparency thing is better tackled independently from the underlying platform.
Free software like NoMachine and VNC exists today and handles the Remote Desktop Use-Case much better (faster!) than the native X protocol. Moreover they are cross-platform, they don't even care whether your client/server are a unix, Windows or Mac.

A new X server should most definately not even attempt to provide network transparency. It should focus on solid driver support, fast compositing and a sane programming API so people can actually build stuff on top of it. Anyone who has ever worked with Xlib knows that the ridiculous API is the #1 reason why "linux on the desktop" is just not happening.

The primary reason for QT and GTK being the monstrosities they are is that they both have to deal with an effectively broken foundation.

You could start a VNC server on a computer running applications that you'd use in your meeting, such as office applications. Then have everyone connect using a shared session. TightVNC is what I use, but the feature is standard across any VNC implementation. In the options dialog, you can "Request Shared Session."

Here's my list: OpenOffice, e-Sword, Firefox, Google Desktop, TightVNC, Thunderbird, Picasa, AVG Anti-Virus, GIMP, IrfanView, VLC Media Player, FileZilla, 7zip

Stupid lame filter nuked my <ul>

Funny that, I've been running TightVNC, both server and client, on my Windows machines for years.

Could have sworn my bullshit alarm just went off.

I use TightVNC.

http://tightvnc.com/

The latest version of TigtVNC does support file transfers, thanks to persistent requests from DONORS to the project (such as myself).

Download. Donate something.

(Note the last dev version is expected to be released as stable with no additional changes.)

Tightvnc does file xfer between win32 systems.

http://www.tightvnc.com/intro.html

1) Install a second NIC or connect the modem directly to the server. Connection to the Internet should be though the server and connection to the Office should be though a VPN on the server.
2) Install a new IDE Hard drive in a 3.5" removable rack and tray. The drive should be than big enough for the operating system (Linux of course) and copies of some of the local desktop partitions. A telecommuter can shut down the server and bring in the HD during the day to resync and repair.
3) Install DHCP demon to allocate local IP addresses, DNS and gateway settings. If the desktops are network boot capable then install TFTP to remotely boot KNOPPIX via PXE. IF the desktop OS is constantly crashing, the user can select PXE boot, network KNOPPIX. The user can then be instructed over the phone to enable ssh server to allow remote repair and reimaging of the desktop partitions from copies on the local server.
4) Partition the desktops with as small as required C: ( or in the case of Linux the root ) partition for software. When software is install, use dd and netcat via live KNOPPIX to copy a snapshot of the partition to the server. You can allocate the remaining free space as a persistant partition where documents are stored. ( Consider hireing someone who knows how to customise Knoppix for your setup.)
5) Install/Enable VNC on all the platforms, but only allow incoming connections from the local server ( which is redirected over a SSH tunnel ).
6) For local backup, create share directories on the desktop accessable by the server. On the local server create loopback encrypted file systems, unmount and copy the images to the desktops shares in chunks, using redundantcy if enough space is available on the desktops. Checksum ( MD5 is enough ) each piece.
7) If the network load to the Office is takeing up all the available internet bandwidth or the connection is just too slow then install proxy servers on the local server and consider using a distributed filesystem ( OpenAFS is still the best ) .
8) If phone charges are eating into the budget, and the internet connection is good enough, then install Asterisk on the local server ( upgrade the server to a Celron 800Mhz or better ) and a card with enough FXS ports for each local user. Don't bother with software based phones/headsets. The phone will work when the desktop does not.
9) Set up a Linux server at the Office that operates as a thin client application server. Allow remote access though both FreeNX and VNC. Create login accounts and logins that operate as virtual meeting rooms, with multiple users logging in via VNC. Use VNCserver with a screen size of around 1000x600, that will operate via a VNC viewer on any 1024x768 desktop. Use phone based conference calling for voice -- it's a lot less hassle for the users
10) Add the ususal list of cross platform applications: Firefox, Thunderbird, Gaim, OpenOffice etc.

Do the open ten step and save yourself and your santity from all those hours driving from site to site.

Productivity:

Graphics:

Media:

Internet:

Survival Kit:

Development:

Check out Tight VNC and a good audio connection.

I prefer VNC

The article referenced by the Slashdot article, Reverse VNC connection, recommends TightVNC version 1.2.9. However, the TightVNC 1.3dev6 development version is a release candidate, and in my experience works fine.

Read the TightVNC Windows Documentation.

The article referenced by the Slashdot article, Reverse VNC connection, recommends TightVNC version 1.2.9. However, the TightVNC 1.3dev6 development version is a release candidate, and in my experience works fine.

Read the TightVNC Windows Documentation.

See, for example, http://www.tightvnc.com/: "TightVNC is a free remote control software package derived from the popular VNC software. With TightVNC, you can see the desktop of a remote machine and control it with your local mouse and keyboard, just like you would do it sitting in the front of that computer."

I run Ad-Aware once in a while and way pretty sure I didn't have any spyware. No such luck...Microsoft AntiSpyware apparently classifys eMule *and* TightVNC as spyware! I think I'll stick with Ad-Aware.

VNC is an acronym for a software product that exist in a few different variants, most notably RealVNC which is free. http://www.realvnc.com/. I have yet to see any of the manufacturers use the acronym VNC for their commercial products, since it is the name for a specific software, not a generic acronym. http://www.windowsnetworking.com/kbase/WindowsTips /Windows2000/AdminTips/Network/VNCstandsforVirtual NetworkComputing.html The question itself is interesting. If the author of the grandparent post doesn't reply, I can recommend RealVNC and TightVNC http://www.tightvnc.com/ - AFAIK the different versions of the VNC based products are mostly compatible with eachother, except of course version specific changes, most notably security enhancements which you asked about.

You might want to know about VNC. If your clients can allow it(firewall, adjustment, etc) , it works wonder in X and every version of Windows. We use this over vpn for remote desktop/server support. But I will always prefer ssh for command-line Linux. A nice client/server package is Tightvnc : http://www.tightvnc.com/

Sygate's Personal Firewall and TightVNC.

I log on to my parent's PC via TightVNC at least once a week. So much easier than fixing things over the phone or IM.

Dr.E

For our part, here's what we've settled on:

x11vnc -forever -passwd mysecretpw

for password encryption, VNC uses a DES-encrypted challenge-response scheme, where the password is limited by 8 characters, and the effective DES key length is 56 bits

Same here.
Ever since I've tried Goscreen I've been looking for a similar alternative and found it in Virtual Dimension. When I sit behind someone else's pc or laptop, I get kinda frustrated at not being able to switch desktops. But because I also want to be able to work on one screen and have another open for reference/status/whatever, I started the trend at work to use a second workstation. Soon after that I started using tightvnc with win2vnc (the improved version).
Thanks to the link to synergy provided by gl4ss I'm going to hook up my third workstation running FreeBSD as well (had a bit too much trouble with using vnc for X).
I'm going to get sooo spoiled. *grin*

I don't have a chance to dig up links for these, but diagnostic tools are a must if you really want to lock stuff down. First, generate and read logfiles whenever possible. Check things out with nmap, tcpdump, ActivePorts, Look@Lan, Kiwi syslog Daemon, Portlistener XP, Bazooka Spyware Utility, Spybot Search and Destroy, Socketlock ... the list goes on. Generally try any tool you can and you'll get a feel for what is actually to your tastes and useful.

Or you can use lbxproxy.

I use both of them to throw windows quite some distance - even across dial-up connections sometimes. Dial-ups are still slow, but not interminable. Cable or DSL, while not as snappy as local access, are still well within acceptable limits.

Oh, and Citrix sucks. The Citrix X server has got to be the worst one I've ever used. Constantly crashing, can't handle lots of applications like some versions of Mozilla. All in all, Citrix is a giant, stinking turd.

Citrix has many things that xorg doesn't have, but if you're interested in good BSD/linux terminal services, take a look at tightvnc
All i miss in this solution is audio :(

Invasion of privacy? ... Yes. However in this day in age when the "average joe/jane" prefers to not stand up for his/her rights others are somewhat painted into a corner. And as the famous Bugs Bunny said "If you can't beat them, join them"

And here's is how I do it. I have three spots I can toss a headless server running linux in a basement. (My Dad's basement - Cable, My Mother's basement - Cable, and My Grandmother's basement - DSL) Most ISP's don't block or legaly restrict port 22 for SSH access. So I set up some secure Linux boxes all with SSH and X tunneling. I toss PuTTY [www.chiark.greenend.org.uk] and TightVNC [www.tightvnc.com] on my Wrist Watch [www.thinkgeek.com] and I'm all set to abide by there arcaine rules and yet all MY stuff is safe secure and packaged away on secure Linux boxes and many layers of encryption. They can't legally invade that.

As for a Desktop; I would suggest an alternate OS. In the past 4 years I have been able to live without a windows based machine (Yeah I fix them all the time) but I personally never had the need for one (Except some games which I quickly satisfy using a PS2, Thanks to WA, Windows Anonymous)

Yes, I carry a handgun for those few ISP's that block port 22 (That would be a joke!)

From the manpage for screen:

"Screen is a full-screen window manager that multiplexes a
physical terminal between several processes (typically
interactive shells)."

I use it all the time; start an interactive job while I'm at work on a particular machine using screen, disconnect using "CTRL-A d" then go home, log into the same machine, issue the command "screen -r" and I'm right back into that shell session.

These days, I mostly use TightVNC over a VPN pipe instead, which gives me the graphical equivalent of this.

Hope this helps.

- Leo

If you are running Windows XP you can open TCP port 3389, or forward it to your machine from your router, and connect to it remotely using remote desktop (Terminal Services). The client can be found here . If you are using another OS or would rather use something more free try VNC. Personally I like Tight-VNC as it offers the ability to add jpeg compression.

I often use either of these to check my Bit Torrent downloads from work. Once you start using it you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. Sometimes I find myself VNC'ing into a computer in the other room on my network at home just because sometimes I'm *that* lazy.

I actually recommend Tight VNC as it's a bit faster than standard VNC and an extension (fork) of the original source IIRC. I use it here at work.

That said, if you're ISP tech support, getting a user to install a VNC client is not only painfully difficult, but a security risk as well. In the case of VNC coming with the ISP software, I'd actually be extremely ticked off (e.g. cancel my service) if a VNC client was installed with any ISP software I installed.

Cheers

• Abiword - Word processor, supports .doc, .rtf, GPL.
• Open Office - Whole Office suite, including a database frontend and BASIC macro language.
• Perl - Scripting language
• Python - Scripting language
• Cygwin - UNIX emulator. Can create Windows programs, reliant on a cygwin1.dll.
• MinGW - Port of some of the UNIX utilities (BASH, gcc, vi...) to Windows.
• djgpp - UNIX emulator for DOS.
• Mozilla, Firefox, Thunderbird - Web browser, e-mail client, IRC client, lots more.
• Filezilla - FTP client.
• xchat - IRC client.
• putty, pscp, psftp and others - Telnet/SSH clients.
• Gaim - Client for IRC/Yahoo/MSN/ICQ/AIM and more.
• gzip - Compression (usually better than .zip).
• tar - Extracts/Makes tar archives.
• bzip2 - Totally ace compression (usually better than gzip).
• Info-ZIP - Support for .zip. Good free substitute for Winzip.
• 7-zip - Support for multiple compression formats.
• frhed - Hex editor
• Ext2fs - Several programs for doing Ext2 under Windows.
• Antiword - Converts documents out of the proprietary .doc format.
• MySQL - RDBMS.
• Apache - Web/Proxy server
• sendmail - Mail server
• squid - Proxy server
• freeamp - Audio player
• winlame - MP3 encoder
• cd-ex - MP3/OGG encoder?
• gimp - Very detailed graphics program.
• imagemagick - Graphic manipulation. Provides the 'convert' utility under UNIX.
• freeciv - Civilisation clone.
• gnuplot - Plotting package.
• TightVNC - A fork of VNC, with enhancements.
• RealVNC - The original VNC.
• rdesktop - Access Windows Terminal Services and Remote Desktops.
• Nmap - Well known port scanner.
• John the Ripper - Password cracker. Does NT and MD5.

1. Cygwin - get the POSIX environment on!
2. PuTTY - the only terminal I've found that handles colors and stuff right.
3. TightVNC - get to some other computer
4. OO.o
5. vim - I'm not even a VI guy, but it's fast and has nice hooks into explorer and I'm too lazy to deal with registering TextPad or whatever. JEdit's also nice, but way too slow for casual use... I usually go straight to emacs for that kind of editing.
6. Mozilla / Firefox / etc. - and the plugins:
   • Flash
   • Acrobat Reader
   • StumbleUpon toolbar - it's like having your own personalized fark (not that I read fark, but this is probably why)
7. Winamp - get the groove on
8. MPlayer - it handles just about all the codecs
9. MultiDesk - usable multiple desktops for Windows... like getting that 10% productivity improvement for having dual monitors without having to pay 100% more in displays. If only it had a visual pager...
10. Windows PowerToys - because every little option matters

More on Linux and MacOS X later, I guess...

Well, there's no reason why you cannot run VNC under Linux. See here for one implementation.
The (unstated) benefit is that you can get a windows client to connect to a Linux VNC server (and vice-versa).

Heh, some of the links you'll need are:

Vmware

(Tight)vnc

NTLM Auth setup
(Noob) RDP setup for XP

I do realize some of the above aren't anywhere near secure, and also that if this system was on the outside world that I would recommend none of these services be enabled. -Ori

This has been done before. Try:

Wine if you just want a few Windows apps on your PC.
Win4Lin if you really want Windows on your PC.
VMWare if you want XP on your PC.
TightVNC if you want to access a Windows box from another box.
Samba if you want to share your drives back to your Windows box.

VNC and Samba should do the trick. Robin

All the solutions I have seen thus far are either extremely complex, involve writing code (though that doesn't sound to unreasonable for the poster), or Linux-only.

Sheesh. :-)

If you got Shoutcast working, which it sounds like you have, you're halfway there.

Remote access couldn't be easier! Just use VNC.

It's so simple and common, there are Java clients you can use for systems with no local execution allowed. Executable downloads measure in the < 100k range.

Have fun!

Requiring admins to use XP and then not letting them have admin on their own boxes .. could be ignrance, could be insanity, could be you are being set up as scapegoats for when, not if, things fall apart. Expect y'all already have, update your resumes, immediately start looking for another job.

If possible set up a Linux box with plenty of ram on which you do have root as a vnc server. Insist the XP boxes have a vnc client such as tightvnc and a terminal client such as putty. Use the XP box as essentially an expensive dumb terminal to a vnc session, with the terminal as a backup in case of a problem. Do all of your email, web, etc on the server via vnc.

I set up our development teams this way. Productivity increase was such that several managers have since had me to help set up their teams the same way.

• SSH for Windows - works great for terminal access and secure file transfers.
• Teraterm - network device access via either telnet or serial port. There is an SSH add-on, but I prefer the "real" SSH client above.
• TightVNC - for your Windows boxes
• Superscan - great port scanner and all around TCP/IP utility
• Cygwin - for all your real *nix shell and utility needs

Jason

VNC - stunning application with a couple variants. Either use the full function Ultra on the LAN or deploy the lightweight Tight to remotes.

Helpdesk is Liberum - Some people may say that it is a project that is alive and kicking. I think that a year with no updates for an open source project means it is pretty close to abandoned.

Works a treat though. Web interface, client updates, complete call tracking, very easy to customise, email interface. Best thing for what we do. It does not want to control my hardware audit (which is done separately) it simply tracks calls. Does what it says on the tin.

In stead of using raw X over SSH, perhaps you could try tightvnc?

<snip>
VNC [realvnc.com] remote controll software

Swap that out for tightVNC - comes in with inbuilt ssh support (but only using the unix viewer going to a unix server, mind. :-S), as well as compression (optional jpeg), local cursor handling...
Yeesh. I sound like an advertisement here.

• CygWin. The Linux-like environment for Windows.
  Mozilla. Use this for mail, news, and browsing if you like.
  Firebird. for FAST browsing.
  WS FTP Light. A FREE, FTP client that works great.
  Filezilla. which is TRULY free and does sftp as well.
  PuTTY. a free SSH client for Windows.
  TTSSH. is a much less clunky ssh client than PuTTY.
  iXplorer. freeware secure FTP client
  VNC hello!? remote controll software.
  Tight VNClike the original, only FAST.
  GNU-EMacs for Windows. just trust me ;).
  Dev-C++a free C++ compiler for those who can't afford VS.
  NetHack. as someone here said, you MUST have NetHack installed on everything...
  Free-AV.free Anti-Virus software for Windows, (mandatory these days). or
  AVG Free edition. another free Anti-Virus software for Windows.
  Zonealarm. my favorite Personal Firewall,, really!. or
  Kerio. another firewall that some seem to like. or
  Sygate. yet another firewall. whatever floats your boat.
  Boingo. to see where the closest hotspot is, hehe.
  OpenOffice 1.1 the Microsoft Office KILLER :) {really!}
  Winamp 2.x for audio/video usage in Windows, stay away from the new one :).
  Mark's Adding Machine is much better than the Windows calculator.
  SpyBot Search & Destroy The best Ad-ware / Spyware removal tool we've found, "IE is unusable without".
  Ad-Aware another spy-ware app "alas poor Windoze."
  Trillian a favorite IM, since we're all chatters @ heart. or
  GAIM since trillian hogs resources, "bad piggy!".
  Gimp image creation/editing. Who needs Photoshop anyway?
  EnZip freeware Zip Utility, Stop nagging you WinZip!!
  Iview is a great little image viewer. or
  Irfanviewone of the best image viewer out there for Windows.
  Audacity is a great little sound editor.
  Virtual Dub. a great video editor.
  cDex gotta rip those cd's for the RIAA!
  MAME for games, period. Free. You can buy some ROMs, or *ahem* ask around. and finally
  XPantiSPY since XP is E-V-I-L.

And FINALLY, don't trust me! Trust the experts;

Go to the Pricelessware site maintained by the alt.comp.freeware Usenet group.
The

As far as desktop apps go, I can only discuss Windows apps, since I don't use X at all. Linux = command line as far as I'm concerned.

• Windows Only
• AVG - Antivirus, free if you don't live in Europe.
• Spybot - Antispyware, freeware.
• Winamp - Nice for playing those mp3 collections.
• Kazaa Lite - Nice for getting those mp3 collections. For the legal-minded, substitute a good cd ripping program (I don't know of a good free one, I use a pay app).
• MAME - Bring back the memories.
• Trillian - Save them from the AIM/MSN/ICQ mix and match hell.

• Cross Platform
• Tight VNC - Install it so you can remote-admin their computer easily when they screw it up.
• Mozilla - Either Moz itself or one of it's 'light' siblings Firebird and Thunderbird for email and web browsing.

• Shareware Worth Trying

• Audiograbber: It's free to try, easy to rip with, and only $20 to register.
• GetRight - Assists in downloading all those patches and apps.

I prefer tightvnc to realvnc...in my experience it has been more stable.

ack...slashdot plaintext still requires escaping lesser-than signs...sorry for the broken post. :-(

My biggest annoyance with Linux (and other *nixen) has been X11. Admittedly, XFree86 is a fantastic piece of work and it offers great compatibility with every other version of X out there, but at the same time there are so many things wrong with it.

First off, it's slow. Plain and simple. It takes a long time to start up, and drawing operations seem very inefficient - ever tried to watch a movie? I realize that this is a side-effect of X originally being intended to be used over a network, but I have two arguments against this. First off, it would be better to have a snappy graphics subsystem running locally, with an optional networked system on top of it. Secondly, the protocol used by X11 can't be too efficient; at least, TightVNC uses less bandwidth. I think PicoGUI gets it right. The startup time could probably be reduced a bit by using the OS's keyboard etc. drivers - which would also save users from having to configure them once for the OS and once for XFree86.

Secondly, XFree86 is huge. Several megabytes get you a graphical subsystem with keyboard and mouse support - but we already have all of these in the kernel. The kernel framebuffer does just fine on my < 4 MB 486, now try to get XFree86 running on that. Okay, X11 offers a lot more functionality, but often you won't need that - how many people run their X server and clients on the same machine?

Configuring XFree86 can be a real nightmare. Fortunately, starting from 4.0 there's a VESA driver, so now one can be reasonably sure that it works with any modern graphics card. However, the last 4 times I installed XFree86, it wouldn't work with 32 bits color depth. I know I need to configure with depth 24 and fbbpp 32, but the installers I've seen never got it right by themselves.

Finally, I would like to say that I am happy enough to have XFree86. I just wish it would be better. I also know that some have said that XFree86 can be quite fast if programmed right, but the fact remains that I can't watch movies under XFree86 that run smoothly under Windows on the same machine, and Opera/Windows blazes away whereas Opera/Linux is ``merely'' fast.

My biggest annoyance with Linux (and other *nixen) has been X11. Admittedly, XFree86 is a fantastic piece of work and it offers great compatibility with every other version of X out there, but at the same time there are so many things wrong with it.

First off, it's slow. Plain and simple. It takes a long time to start up, and drawing operations seem very inefficient - ever tried to watch a movie? I realize that this is a side-effect of X originally being intended to be used over a network, but I have two arguments against this. First off, it would be better to have a snappy graphics subsystem running locally, with an optional networked system on top of it. Secondly, the protocol used by X11 can't be too efficient; at least, TightVNC uses less bandwidth. I think PicoGUI gets it right. The startup time could probably be reduced a bit by using the OS's keyboard etc. drivers - which would also save users from having to configure them once for the OS and once for XFree86.

Secondly, XFree86 is huge. Several megabytes get you a graphical subsystem with keyboard and mouse support - but we already have all of these in the kernel. The kernel framebuffer does just fine on my some have said that XFree86 can be quite fast if programmed right, but the fact remains that I can't watch movies under XFree86 that run smoothly under Windows on the same machine, and Opera/Windows blazes away whereas Opera/Linux is ``merely'' fast.