VNC - alternative to remote desktop

Having recently posted about Remote Desktop I reckon its time to mention an alternative.
TightVNC is a advanced version of VNC (Virtual Network Computing). In a nutshell it does exactly what remote desktop allows you to (Connect remotely to other machines) plus more! For more info check this out

What is involved in setting it up?

(1) Download the program from the TightVNC website
(2) Run the installer on the machine you want to connect to (choose TightVNC Server). Make sure to tick the boxes to enable and start the VNC services, and when you are prompted to enter a default password, do so, as VNC will not work until you have done so.
(3) Run the installer on any machine you want to use to connect to the server (choose TightVNC Viewer)

Things to note: VNC does not add exceptions to Windows firewall so you will need to add port 5900 to the exceptions list. If you have any third party firewalls you will have to do the same.

What are the advantages of TightVNC over normal remote desktop?

(1) It does not blank the server screen. This is very useful if you are helping someone on the other end because they can see what you are doing. You can blank the screen if you wish.
(2) It allows you to transfer files directly between client and server.


This is a very brief overview of TightVNC. Give it a go yourself.


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