UltraVNC remote desktop service

Because of an issue an attorney was having connecting to a work PC over VPN using VNC (Virtual Network Computing remote desktop software), I set out to look for a different flavor of VNC that would fix the problem.

Let's begin with the issue he was having: RealVNC and most other flavors of VNC (they are all based on the original VNC software created by AT&T labs) have a problem when used in conjunction with Windows built in Remote Desktop (RDP) sharing software. Basically, if you connect to the console of an XP or 2003 system (you can only connect to console in XP as only one RDP connection is allowed) with RDP and disconnect without logging out of the connection, the connection stays open. When you try to connect with VNC, it will connect, but all you see is a black screen.

For most people, this isn't an issue, as they either use RDP or VNC and not both, but for this user and for me as well, it is a problem as both apps need to be used at different times.

So why use VNC as opposed to PC Anywhere or RDP?

RDP has a major disadvantage for support people in that only one person can see the desktop at a time. If I connect to a user's PC with RDP, their screen goes black and then they get the "locked PC" screen. If I connect with VNC or PC Anywhere, both of us can see what is going on. Much more useful when helping someone with a problem or teaching them how to do something in an app.

PC Anywhere costs money and is really only useful when you need to be able to connect to a PC over dialup or serial connection. If you only do remote sharing over IP at your local network or over the internet, then PC Anywhere isn't worth the cost.

If you don't need to share the desktop among multiple people and you don't need to connect through means other than IP, then I suggest you use Windows RDP as it's typically the best performing solution of the lot.

Anyhow, as luck would have it, there is a flavor of VNC out there that has a built in fix to the issue, UltraVNC. This flavor also has many other features that are not available in any of the other opensource and free versions. Features such as the ability to use NT/200x AD domain authentication for security and working screen scaling. Both of these are muy bueno (that means very good for those of you who don't speak Spanish).

By the way, all VNC flavors are opensource based, but RealVNC does have pay for play versions. Their enterprise version that costs around $50 per license (less if you buy in bulk) does include the ability to use NT/200x AD domain security, but it doesn't yet have the RDP "blackscreen" fix.

UltraVNC also has what they call the Singleclick version, which allows a central support person to deploy UltraVNC on a temporary and as-needed basis to another person. Plus it has other features, like a proxy that can be used to connect two systems hidden between NATed "routers".

So if you do need a remote desktop and RDP won't fit the bill, definitely take a look at UltraVNC. For what it's worth, it gets my stamp of approval.

In another post, I'll also talk about how to deploy it to multiple machines in your network automatically.