Setting up remote access to help friends/family members/customers can be difficult, especially when firewalls and NAT routers are involved. Just yesterday I had to connect to my uncle’s computer via remote access and help him configure his emails, programs and etc… It’s not easy because I had to instruct my uncle to shut off his Windows built-in firewall, his anti-virus and ZoneAlarm firewall program in order for me to connect. Secondly, my uncle uses a router, meaning I won’t be able to connect to him “directly” if he didn’t forward his port. Port forwarding can be quite a task for a normal user because it involves configuring the router.
The normal way of connecting to a computer via remote access is, the Client only requires the server’s IP address. As for Server, it will require forwarding the port that the remote access application is using to his own local IP address. The server will sit there listening to the port for incoming connections. Reverse Connection is the other way round. The Server only requires the Client IP address and as for the Client, it requires port forwarding and it will be the one listening for incoming connections. With “Reverse Connection” technology, I am able to skip the part where I had to ask my uncle to configure port forwarding from his router.
The following tutorial explains how to use VNC’s reverse connection to remote access easier.
Setup on your side
1. If you have a router, make sure to forward port 5500 to your computer. If you’re unsure how, check here.
2. Download tightvnc-1.2.9_x86_viewer.zip
3. Unzip vncviewer.exe to your Desktop
4. Go to Start -> Run, type cmd to open a command prompt. CD to your Desktop path.
5. Type: vncviewer -listen and press Enter. You’ll see a small icon appear on your traybar.
6. That’s it for your part. You are now ready to accept connections from your customer.
Setup on customer side
1. YOU download tightvnc-1.2.9_x86.zip. (Take note as this file is different from the above)
2. Extract WinVNC.exe and VNCHooks.dll from tightvnc-1.2.9_x86.zip
3. Send WinVNC.exe and VNCHooks.dll to customer. Optionally, you can combine the two into a single executable with PEBundle.
4. Have customer double click WinVNC.exe, type anything into the “Password:” box, and press OK.
5. Have customer right click on WinVNC icon in system tray, choose “Add New Client“.
6. Give your IP address to your customer to type it in. Upon clicking OK button, you will be able to see and control your customer’s computer.
When finished, simply right click VNC tray icon on customer’s Desktop and choose “Close”. Customer may delete the VNC file(s) you sent.
Source: TinyApps
Related posts:
You could use showmypc.exe . Just double-click and choose show pc. Give the generated key to the viewer. The viewer will click view pc and enter the key. It creates a vnc session in the backend using ssh.
for LogMeIn, there is a beta version that is free…
secure.logmein.com/US/products/express/Default.aspx
You should check out Bozteck VNCScan for easy deployment and management of TightVNC, UltraVNC, and RealVNC. It’s at vncscan.com
In customer side setup, better than typing anything in the password box, uncheck “Accept socket connections” VNC won’t be used the classic way.
This avoids unwelcomed connections in case of network/virus attack.
Don’t you think it will be faaaar more easier to use TeamViewerQS (QuickStart) and the only thing the customer has to do is to paste you the ID which remains the same and the password which is randomly generated by TeamViewer servers and relayed via SSL connection. And the pasting of these informations can be easily done via IM. One download – one double click – one copy – one paste. I have not studied the architecture of TeamViewer. What i can tell you is that i had never configured a router with port forwarding in order to use this app. It is seamless.
Great little guide, simple
little bit of web hosting and combing the dll and exe and a script into a single file, script it to popup the connect box on launch and host the file on a web server
just click on run , then run then enter the destnation hostname.
perfect thanks
A much better alternative to this is ntr connect, who have a free version, and also an iPhone app.
LogMeIn website claims to have a free version but any which way you follow the links, only installs Pro in trial.
Hello,
Is it possible, in reverse connections, to hide screen on computer on which we start connections.
Thank you
1. @Chris Kim – LogMeIn is *still* free, just doesn’t permit file transfer. Go check the website (sheesh!).
2.@ Randy – sorry you’re not technical enough to do this, but it works every time. Don’t be a script kiddie – learn how VNC works and this setup will make sense to you.
3. LogMeIn et, al are nto *better*, just different capabilities. LogMeIn is very nice for performance and general support issues. But it’s “always on” unless you know (as I do) how to automate/script starting and stopping the utility. Also, LogMeIn requires installtion that edits the reg and adds a driver to the system, so it lacks some portability, such as adding to a BartPE installation.
4. XP’s Remote Support still requires opening ports on the client router…again, a daunting task for an end user whom you’re trying to remote control anyway (why would you need Remote Control if your user is savvy enough to open router ports?).
This is a great solution for specific circumstances. LogMeIn, et al, are also great solutions for their circumstances (I use LMI daily, along with Hamachi).
Or you can easly set up a reverse connection with netcat, that if you know work in a shell scripting (sometimes is faster than grafical systems)
-> Port fowarding on your router telnet connections
-> Copy the file to both systems
On helpers side:
nc -L -vv -p 23
On People side:
nc -d -e “cmd.exe” HELPERS_IP 23 (Assuming that is a windows box with cmd)
If they could not do this you can create a .bat file like this:
@echo off
COPY nc.exe C:\windows\system32\nc.exe
call nc -d -e “cmd.exe” HELPERS_IP 23
call del nc.exe
call del start.bat
exit
Name it start. and put netcat with start file in RAR (or other)
Send the file (for email, or something else), and people just need to turn off antivirus(if need it), extract files and click in start.
And Voila :)
Note: don’t forget to check if port 23 is enable to outgoing in people firewall, you can use port 53 or other ;)
netcat is a small file (60 kb +\-, depending on the version)
You can allways use Cryptcan to encrypted connections, or even, if you are in *nix system use udp – udp 53 outgoing, get the point ? ;)
In windows, udp mode don’t work.
This is just a option…
logmein is not free… it cost money now… does anyone know of a good remote desktop that is free? vnc is great.. been using it for years… however, its not fast…
hola deseo saber detalladamente sobre como puedo instalarme el vcn para usar por control remoto yo tambien quiero ayudar a mi familia que esta lejos de mi lado y tambien a la viceversa (al cotrario) empese a instalar los free sofware que dicen en esta pagina pero no logro entender..llego a la parte donde dice descomprimir que es eso? y en la parte de ejecutar y sale una pantalla negra y no se como bajar de renglon
alguien me da una mano detalladamente por favor.
gracias.
I\\\’d really advice against using plain TightVNC over the Net, because it does not encrypt sessions.
UltraVNC will encrypt, if you install the Data Stream Encryption Plugin.
Another alternative is to just use the Remote Assistance feature available in all versions of XP.
support.microsoft.com/kb/306800/EN-US/
This should not be confused with Remote Desktop, which is only available in XP Pro.
My remote access tools of choice are actually Zebedee (winton.org.uk/zebedee/) combined with TightVNC or Remote Desktop. But Zebedee is not very user-friendly, and would be overkill for this purpose.
Excellent tutorial… but it does require a competent person on one end. FYI I used PEBundle to compile the EXE and DLL and that works. But appending \”-connect examplehost.com\” doesn\’t work (nor will it work if you use a simple Windows shortcut). Raymond drop me an email if you are still looking at this.
Randy, that’s because you did it wrongly. Worked for me and thousands of people.
Im sorry but these instructions are not all inclusive. As far as I got was typing the vncviewer listen command. All I got was an error message stateing that it failed to get server address. This isnt even the server machine, this is the viewer. Im getting tired of poeple puttin stuff on here that dosent work. I really needed something that would work, do you know how frusturating this is???? Could of known though. It’s free, and you usually get what you pay for.
salut
I’ve been looking over the net in search of a decent tool to remotely access technical support. I’ve found some: LogMeIn, iRemotePC, WebEx (VERY costly — $375/month!). At last I’ve come across a web-based tool by the name of Techinline Remote Desktop — techinline.com. It works just great and the pricing is just $20 a month for unlimited use, or $40 for 20 session You’ll only need an internet connection and a browser, no need to install anything on your pc. And right away you’ll have a ready-to-use remote desktop access environment.
We’re going to use it for technical support and I’m concerned how is it reliable?
I landed on this, very cool and interesting project for desktop sharing. WebEx seems over rated looking at some thing free and open.
Just quoting from the site directly.
What is ShowMyPC.com?
This is an open source Remote PC access project, an alternative to subscription
based sites like WebEx or Gotomypc.
ShowMyPC uses SSH port forwarding mechanism using Open Source SSH client plink
and VNC Remote access software. Users can use there own middle SSH server.
No registration, no logins, all open and free.
Thanks for the writeup, this works great it just requires a non-idiot on one end of the connection :)
Don has a point but the setup involved in both situations does not give you fine detail about where to set the password. SC asks you to edit your rc4.kry file which I have no idea how to do. The part I don’t like about this is that you have to upload you edited zip file for it to become an EXE (therefore uploading pertinant info to ultraVNC servers).
Then there’s raymond who says:
3. Send WinVNC.exe and VNCHooks.dll to customer. Optionally, you can combine the two into a single executable with PEBundle.
Can I get more info on how to bundle up the VNC server to be pre-setup (port, password, options etc…) EXE file that I can simply send the client and once they double click, the “listening viewer” on my end would pick up automatically.
Any ideas? PE Bundle or Ultr@VNC’s Simple Click. I haven’t been able to do either (detailed instructions please)
I use, and have help setup Ultra VNC Single click for a number of people. I have found it is better than the PChelp version. The revers connection works flaw less. The single click executable is very small and I have mine set to automagicly connect to my PC, so people I support(Mom, family and friends) all they have to do is double click the the single click .exe (I named mine HelpmeDon.exe) or select the helpme link from my webpage. And the VCN single click app opens and connects to me.
This solution does not work at all for me. The reverse connection is deadly slow and I have not found any information on how to fix this. RealVNC / UltraVNC and TightVNC all have this problem it seems
[...] Free and Easy Remote Access with VNC Reverse Connections A quick write-up of how to assist someone over VNC via reverse connection. (tags: howto vnc administration) Links :: John :: [...]
[...] Free and Easy Remote Access with VNC Reverse Connections » Raymond.CC Blog (tags: vnc support remote free howto networking tech connection access) steve on April 10th, 2007 | Filed under Uncategorized | [...]
[...] Free and Easy Remote Access with VNC Reverse Connections create a simple reverse VNC connection to get connected with a remote computer while requiring very little know-how on the other end of the connection (tags: VNC) [...]
I’m going to have to second the use of LogMeIn.com being the most simplest way to remote connect to a users’s pc.
Wow, thanks dude – just found this off lifehacker – I’ve been wanting to do this for some time. Nice work!
Sorry for not adding the source to this tutorial. Post updated with source. Good remote access method but there’s a better one with PCHelpWare.
Hi
I can’t find where to download the ultravnc sc. Any links available.
Thanks
[...] Remote Access with VNC reverse connections raymond.cc/blog/archives/2007/04/05/free-and-easy-remote-access-with-vnc-reverse-connecti… [...]
[...] Free and Easy Remote Access with VNC Reverse Connections » Raymond.CC Blog: Setting up remote access to help friends/family members/customers can be difficult, especially when firewalls and NAT routers are involved. Just yesterday I had to connect to my uncle’s computer via remote access and help him configure his emails, programs and etc… It’s not easy because I had to instruct my uncle to shut off his Windows built-in firewall, his anti-virus and ZoneAlarm firewall program in order for me to connect. Secondly, my uncle uses a router, meaning I won’t be able to connect to him “directly” if he didn’t forward his port. Port forwarding can be quite a task for a normal user because it involves configuring the router. [...]
[...] Free and Easy Remote Access with VNC Reverse Connections » Raymond.CC Blog April 9th, 2007 by Jeff Christman Free and Easy Remote Access with VNC Reverse Connections » Raymond.CC Blog [...]
Nice summary of a useful little tool, and a handy way to avoid going through the intricacies of NAT and firewall rules. However, I usually use TightVNC in conjunction with Hamachi, to bypass the problems of port forwarding and (most) firewall issues.
[...] Free and Easy Remote Access with VNC Reverse Connections [Raymond.CC Blog] [...]
[...] check out a similar method using UltraVNC SingleClick or the much-loved LogMeIn. — Adam Pash Free and Easy Remote Access with VNC Reverse Connections [Raymond.CC [...]
[...] days ago I wrote a tutorial on how to remote access with reverse connection. You have to do a little configuration on your side such as port forwarding and creating the [...]
Here is another freebie that may suit some people? Worth a look…
uvnc.com/pchelpware/
Eliena, I’ll try to look for a way where you can skip adding new client. So your uncle only needs to run the EXE
My uncle won’t be able to do the above steps, its really tedious. Do u have other way ?
Maybe I really don’t know, but why do all this, involving port forwarding and router configs if there is easiers stuff? Besides LogMeIn, there is Crossloop, which is easier than LogMeIn, although it’s slower. But well, maybe I just don’t know…
Hi, Ultr@VNC single click is much better.The customer just click it and the server connect automatically.
You must check it
ultravnc.com/ – it’s down right now, I guess it’ll be back soon
if you know france try this ultravnc.fr/addons/singleclick.html
No doubt LogMeIn is good. But do you see the difference between my post on REVERSE CONNECTION and LogMeIn with direct connection? Well you can [b]forget it[/b] if you don’t know.
Forget it. Use LogMeIn and all troubles are solved. I’ve installed it in about 50 PCs, including servers, and work very well. And it’s freeeeeee…