Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is a system that allows a coputers to be seen and accessed remotely from other computers. VNC is useful for remote technical support or remote access to personal/work computers.

tip: If you need to access a Mac Remotely, see [wiki:AppleRemoteDesktop]

Enabling other Computers to Connect to your Computer

To allow other computers to access your computer remotely, perform the following steps:

using GNOME / Ubuntu

System > Preferences > Remote Desktop

'Check' the first two boxes to activate the service:

Allow other users to view your desktop (view only)

Allow other users to control your desktop (view & control).

Below you can set security. The two options are:

Ask you for confirmation (ie; someone at the machine must click OK to grant remote access. This will be a problem if you plan on accessing your home machine from work or visa versa, as no one may be there to grant you access.)

Require the user to enter this password: This will require a password from anyone trying to remotely connect to your machine. This is ALWAYS a good idea.

using KDE / Kubuntu

System Settings > Sharing > Desktop Sharing > Create & Manage Invitations ...

Choose 'New Personal Invitation...' (you give the invitation by whichever means you prefer (Email, Instant Messaging, Written-Down Note) or 'New Email Invitation...'. The newly created invitation will last a default of 1 hour.

Accessing Another Computer Remotely

You can access other computers using VNC by clicking:

Applications > Internet > Terminal Server client.

To login to a remote machine using the terminal:

vncviewer [ip address]

tip: if you are connecting through a router you'll need to forward port 5900 to the machine you need to connect to. (VNC can use other ports as well. If you have multiple machines you would like to connect to you can forward 5900 to the first, 5901 to the second, 5902 to the third, etc.) If you are using a non-standard port (ie; other than 5900) you will need to specify the port in the connection command.

example:

vncviewer [ip address]:[port]

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