How to Use Remote Desktop to
Access Multiple Computers on LAN
What are Ports and How Do They Work? Computers have different ports that are assigned specific numbers. These ports allow information into and out of the computer. For instance, port 80 is used by the web, while port 23 is used by FTP programs. Firewalls block information from accessing the ports on a computer unless the firewall is specifically told to allow something through. For this reason, we need to be able to setup each remotely accessed computer with a separate port and tell the firewall which computer is using each port. Remote Desktop Ports Windows Remote Desktop uses port 3389 to send and receive data. So the first computer being accessed remotely will be assigned this port to use for Remote Desktop. While the other computers in the local area network will be assigned sequential numbers starting with 3390. So, the second computer would be given port 3390, the third would use port 3391 and so on. Follow the directions below to change the listening port for Remote Desktop and each computer you wish to access remotely. 1) Click on Start, Run 2) Type REGEDIT and press Enter 3) Click on the plus signs (+) next to the following sections in the Registry Editor
5) Double-click on the name PortNumber 6) Choose the Decimal option under Base and type the correct port number using the information above. 7) Click OK 8) Close the Registry Editor 9) Repeat this procedure on each computer you wish to access remotely along with the steps involved in setting each computer up to use Remote Desktop. Changing the Firewall to Allow Access Now that each computer is assigned a unique port to use for Remote Desktop, you'll have to tell the firewall running on each computer to allow that port through. Follow these steps to change the Windows Firewall to allow access. 1) In the Control Panel, click on the option for Security Center 2) Click on Windows Firewall under the heading 'Manage Security Settings For' 3) Verify Windows Firewall is turned on 4) Click on the Exceptions tab 5) Click on the Add Port button 6) In the Name field, type REMOTE DESKTOP 2 7) In the Port field, type the port you assigned to the computer in the previous section: 3389, 3390, etc. 8) Choose TCP as the protocol and Click OK 9) Verify that there is a checkmark for the option REMOTE DESKTOP 2 and Click OK Changing Your Router to Allow Access Lastly, you'll need to make a change in your router for each computer you want to access. This change is called Port Forwarding and a friend of mine has created a great site called PortForward.com to explain how to do this. Depending on your router the procedure is slightly different, however there are great tutorials on portforward.com to explain this. Each computer you want to access must have its own static ip address on your network. There are two steps involved in setting a static IP address for each computer: discover your current ip address and assign the current ip address to your computer. Discover the Current IP Address on your computer 1) Click on Start, Run 2) Type CMD and press Enter 3) At the blinking cursor, type IPCONFIG /ALL and press Enter (remember there is a space between IPCONFIG and /ALL) 4) Find the section for the Connected Ethernet Adapter and write down the following information
Assign the Current IP Address to Your Computer as a Static IP 1) Click on Start, Control Panel 2) In Classic View: Open Network Connections In Category View: Select Network and Internet Connections, then click on Network Connections 3) Right-click on your active LAN or Internet connection 4) Click on Properties 5) In the General tab, highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties 6) Under the General tab, click Use the following IP Address and enter the information you wrote down in the previous section for this computer including
8) Click OK and then click OK again to leave the Network Settings section 9) Restart your computer 10) Follow the procedure above to check your current IP address and verify its the same as before 11) Finally, test the connection and make sure you can access the Internet. Port Forward the Remote Desktop Port Now you are ready to modify your router to port forward the remote desktop port number to the correct computer. Use the tutorials on PortForward.com to make changes to your router. Although the specific information will be different for your situation, you'll forward the port you assigned for Remote Desktop to the static IP address you assigned for that particular computer. If you have three computers you are trying to reach with Remote Desktop, then you'll have three entries in the port forward section of your router to accomplish this. Also, its best if your internet connection to your LAN is assigned a static IP by your ISP. If you dont have a static IP, you will find it harder to connect because your IP will change each time your router is rebooted. To discover your current LAN IP, go to the website WhatIsMyIP.COM and it will show you your current IP. As an alternative, you can sign up for a free Dynamic DNS account to track your IP and be able to access your network. You can sign up for DynDNS by visiting their site at http://www.dyndns.com Using the Remote Desktop Connection to Connect to Each Computer Now, you can test the remote desktop connections from another location. 1) On your laptop or another computer not connected to your LAN, open the Remote Desktop Connection software under Accessories and Communications 2) On the Remote Desktop screen type the IP of the network you want to connect to followed by a colon and the port number you wish to connect to. Example: 215.76.43.5:3390 3) Finally click connect and see if you can reach your computer. If the connection is successful, you will be presented with the login screen for your computer, type your username and password and click Ok to access your computer. 4) Test this connection for each computer you wish to connect to behind your local area network. NOTE: You'll have to log into an account on your computer has been assigned a password. If you don't have a password assigned, you'll need to assign one before using Remote Desktop to connect. Written by Mark Hasting
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Realtime-Spy: Monitor Any Remote Computer. Realtime-Spy is a cutting-edge Remote Monitoring Solution from Spytech Software and Design, Inc. That comes with a Remote Install feature! That means, you can now install this software even on a remote computer without the need to have physical access. Screens Connect is a free utility that lets you connect back to your Mac or Windows PC from anywhere in the world. Download Screens Connect 4 (macOS 10.11 or later) Screens Connect for Windows (Windows XP or later). 22 free screen-sharing apps for work-at-home collaboration Want to share your screen to collaborate with a colleague, or remotely access someone’s computer to troubleshoot a technical problem? Now you will see the screen below with the title “Windows Remote Assistance” as well as the two options displayed: a. Invite someone you trust to help you: Choose this option if you want to share your screen with someone. Help someone who invited yo: Choose this option if you want to control someone others PC remotely. Sep 24, 2014 Remote desktop software lets you access your computer and all its applications over the Internet using another device, essentially by streaming a feed of your desktop. This works from a tablet.
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Virtual Network Computing logo
In computing, Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is a graphical desktop-sharing system that uses the Remote Frame Buffer protocol (RFB) to remotely control another computer. It transmits the keyboard and mouse events from one computer to another, relaying the graphical-screen updates back in the other direction, over a network.[1]
VNC is platform-independent – there are clients and servers for many GUI-based operating systems and for Java. Multiple clients may connect to a VNC server at the same time. Popular uses for this technology include remote technical support and accessing files on one's work computer from one's home computer, or vice versa.
VNC was originally developed at the Olivetti & Oracle Research Lab in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The original VNC source code and many modern derivatives are open source under the GNU General Public License.
VNC in KDE 3.1
There are a number of variants of VNC[2] which offer their own particular functionality; e.g., some optimised for Microsoft Windows, or offering file transfer (not part of VNC proper), etc. Many are compatible (without their added features) with VNC proper in the sense that a viewer of one flavour can connect with a server of another; others are based on VNC code but not compatible with standard VNC.
VNC and RFB are registered trademarks of RealVNC Ltd. in the US and some other countries.
History[edit]
The Olivetti & Oracle Research Lab (ORL)[3] at Cambridge in the UK developed VNC at a time when Olivetti and Oracle Corporation owned the lab. In 1999, AT&T acquired the lab, and in 2002 closed down the lab's research efforts.
Developers who worked on VNC while still at the AT&T Research Lab include:[4]
- Tristan Richardson (inventor)
- Andy Harter (project leader)
- James Weatherall
Following the closure of ORL in 2002, several members of the development team (including Richardson, Harter, Weatherall and Hopper) formed RealVNC in order to continue working on open-source and commercial VNC software under that name.
The original GPLed source code has fed into several other versions of VNC. Such forking has not led to compatibility problems because the RFB protocol is designed to be extensible. VNC clients and servers negotiate their capabilities with handshaking in order to use the most appropriate options supported at both ends.
As of 2013, RealVNC Ltd claims the term 'VNC' as a registered trademark in the United States and in other countries.[5]
Etymology[edit]
The name Virtual Network Computer/Computing (VNC) originated with ORL's work on a thin client called the Videotile, which also used the RFB protocol. The Videotile had an LCD display with pen input and a fast ATM connection to the network. At the time, network computer was commonly used as a synonym for a thin client; VNC is essentially a software-only (i.e. virtual) network computer.[citation needed]
![Access Access](https://getinmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Ink2Go-For-mac.png)
Operation[edit]
- The VNC server is the program on the machine that shares some screen (and may not be related to a physical display – the server can be 'headless'), and allows the client to share control of it.
- The VNC client (or viewer) is the program that represents the screen data originating from the server, receives updates from it, and presumably controls it by informing the server of collected local input.
- The VNC protocol (RFB protocol) is very simple, based on transmitting one graphic primitive from server to client ('Put a rectangle of pixel data at the specified X,Y position') and event messages from client to server.
In the normal method of operation a viewer connects to a port on the server (default port: 5900). Alternatively (depending on the implementation) a browser can connect to the server (default port: 5800). And a server can connect to a viewer in 'listening mode' on port 5500. One advantage of listening mode is that the server site does not have to configure its firewall to allow access on port 5900 (or 5800); the duty is on the viewer, which is useful if the server site has no computer expertise and the viewer user is more knowledgeable.
The server sends small rectangles of the framebuffer to the client. In its simplest form, the VNC protocol can use a lot of bandwidth, so various methods have been devised to reduce the communication overhead. For example, there are various encodings (methods to determine the most efficient way to transfer these rectangles). The VNC protocol allows the client and server to negotiate which encoding they will use. The simplest encoding, supported by all clients and servers, is raw encoding, which sends pixel data in left-to-right scanline order, and after the original full screen has been transmitted, transfers only rectangles that change. This encoding works very well if only a small portion of the screen changes from one frame to the next (as when a mouse pointer moves across a desktop, or when text is written at the cursor), but bandwidth demands get very high if a lot of pixels change at the same time (such as when scrolling a window or viewing full-screen video).
VNC by default uses TCP port 5900+N,[6][7] where N is the display number (usually :0 for a physical display). Several implementations also start a basic HTTPserver on port 5800+N to provide a VNC viewer as a Java applet, allowing easy connection through any Java-enabled web-browser. Different port assignments can be used as long as both client and server are configured accordingly. A HTML5 VNC client implementation for modern browsers (no plugins required) exists too.[8]
Although possible even on low bandwidth, using VNC over the Internet is facilitated if the user has a broadband connection at both ends. However, it may require advanced NAT, firewall and router configuration such as port forwarding in order for the connection to go through. Users may establish communication through Virtual Private Network (VPN) technologies to ease usage over the Internet, or as a LAN connection if VPN is used as a proxy, or through a VNC repeater (useful in presence of a NAT).[9][10]
Xvnc is the Unix VNC server, which is based on a standard X server. To applications, Xvnc appears as an X 'server' (i.e., it displays client windows), and to remote VNC users it is a VNC server. Applications can display themselves on Xvnc as if it were a normal X display, but they will appear on any connected VNC viewers rather than on a physical screen.[11] Alternatively, a machine (which may be a workstation or a network server) with screen, keyboard, and mouse can be set up to boot and run the VNC server as a service or daemon, then the screen, keyboard, and mouse can be removed and the machine stored in an out-of-the way location.
In addition, the display that is served by VNC is not necessarily the same display seen by a user on the server. On Unix/Linux computers that support multiple simultaneous X11 sessions, VNC may be set to serve a particular existing X11 session, or to start one of its own. It is also possible to run multiple VNC sessions from the same computer. On Microsoft Windows the VNC session served is always the current user session.[citation needed]
Users commonly deploy VNC as a cross-platform remote desktop system. For example, Apple Remote Desktop for Mac OS X (and more recently, 'Back to My Mac' in 'Leopard' - Mac OS X 10.5) interoperates with VNC and will connect to a Unix user's current desktop if it is served with x11vnc, or to a separate X11 session if one is served with TightVNC. From Unix, TightVNC will connect to a Mac OS X session served by Apple Remote Desktop if the VNC option is enabled, or to a VNC server running on Microsoft Windows.[12]
In July 2014 RealVNC published a Wayland developer preview.[13][14]
Security[edit]
By default, RFB is not a secure protocol. While passwords are not sent in plain-text (as in telnet), cracking could prove successful if both the encryption key and encoded password were sniffed from a network. For this reason it is recommended that a password of at least 8 characters be used. On the other hand, there is also an 8-character limit on some versions of VNC; if a password is sent exceeding 8 characters, the excess characters are removed and the truncated string is compared to the password.
UltraVNC supports the use of an open-source encryption plugin which encrypts the entire VNC session including password authentication and data transfer. It also allows authentication to be performed based on NTLM and Active Directory user accounts. However, use of such encryption plugins makes it incompatible with other VNC programs. RealVNC offers high-strength AES encryption as part of its commercial package, along with integration with Active Directory. Workspot released AES encryption patches for VNC. According to TightVNC,[15] TightVNC is not secure as picture data is transmitted without encryption. To circumvent this, it should be tunneled through an SSH connection (see below).
VNC may be tunneled over an SSH or VPN connection which would add an extra security layer with stronger encryption. SSH clients are available for most platforms; SSH tunnels can be created from UNIX clients, Microsoft Windows clients, Macintosh clients (including Mac OS X and System 7 and up) – and many others. There are also freeware applications that create instant VPN tunnels between computers.
An additional security concern for the use of VNC is to check whether the version used requires authorization from the remote computer owner before someone takes control of their device. This will avoid the situation where the owner of the computer accessed realizes there is someone in control of their device without previous notice.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Richardson, T.; Stafford-Fraser, Q.; Wood, K. R.; Hopper, A. (1998). 'Virtual network computing'(PDF). IEEE Internet Computing. 2: 33–38. CiteSeerX10.1.1.17.5625. doi:10.1109/4236.656066.
- ^The VNC family of Remote Control Applications: a list of VNC variants
- ^'VNC Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)'. 1999. Archived from the original on 15 August 2000.
- ^RealVNC Executive Profiles
- ^Copyright and trademarks RealVNC. Accessed Feb 23, 2018.
- ^'RealVNC - Frequently asked questions'.
- ^'UltraVnc Configuration'.
- ^'noVNC'.
- ^'OpenWRT VNC repeater'.
- ^'uVNC repeater'.
- ^AT&T Laboratories Cambridge (1999). 'X-based VNC server'. Virtual Network Computing. Archived from the original on 19 March 2007. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
- ^'OnlineVNC Server for Windows OSes'.
- ^'VNC® Wayland Developer Preview'. 8 July 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
- ^'RealVNC Wayland developer preview email'. freedesktop.org. 9 July 2014.
- ^How secure is TightVNC? TightVNC Frequently Asked Questions. TightVNC.com Accessed Feb 23, 2018
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to VNC. |
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Internet Technologies/VNC |
Access Pc Remotely Windows 10
- AT&T VNC - Original AT&T-Cambridge VNC website
Remote Access To My Computer
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