Ubuntu uses VNC (Virtual Network Computing) to allow remote desktop access. The default VNC server which Ubuntu uses is vino. Vino works differently from most VNC servers; once it is enabled, the GNOME session manager automatically starts it for you whenever you log in. It can therefore only export the display of a user that is currently logged in, unlike more standard VNC servers that typically display a system’s login screen and therefore support remote access to your system by random users.
Enable Remote Desktop
- Go to System -> Preferences -> Remote Desktop
- Under “Sharing” heading check both the “Allow other users to view your desktop” and “Allow others to control your desktop” checkbox
- Keep the “Ask you for confirmation” checkbox is uncheck
- Check the “Require the user to enter this password” checkbox and enter the password in the textbox below. Note that this is the VNC password and is not related to your users login password.
- Under the “Users can view your desktop using this command:” make a note of the port number indicated in the command. This will the be port assign to acess your desktop.
Connecting to Remote Desktop
To connect to your remote desktop any VNC viewer can be installed. A popular VNC viewer is TightVNC, the viewer can be downloaded at http://www.tightvnc.com/download.html. The viewer is just a single executable file, and can be installed on any portable drive. When you start the VNC viewer, enter your computer’s public IP address and port number indicated by the by the screen above (:0 indicates port 5900, :1 to port 5901 etc.), and click on the “Connect” button.
It is also possible to use VNC through SSH Tunneling refer to setting up a SSH server, and configuring Putty in the blog Remote Desktop with SSH Tunneling.