ok, im trying to completely convert to linux. i've been currently running ubuntu 6.06 for a while. i am still confused on how to connect to a xp home computer. this is what im wanting to do. connect to parents xp comp. from my ubuntu. need to connect to show the parents how to do things. ive done this with real vnc before when we both had windows and no routers. now, we both are behind routers and not sure how to port forward. do i need to assign static ip's. parents box doesn't necessarily need to be behind router. which protocol should i use, real vnc since its already on their computer. i want it to be secure and fast as possible. i guess what i really need is someone to hold my hand thru this.

thanks for any help.

I'm not going to hold your hand, but the elements are not that different between Windows and linux. To overcome the router/firewall issue, you can use ssh and tunneling. If you install PuTTY on your parents' computer, an ssh server and vnc on yours, and if your IP is going to change, setup dynamic DNS (like DynDNS, but there are others) as well, then you will have the elements you need. You don't actually need dynamic DNS, you just need to be able to tell your parents what your current IP is, but it would be easier if they just had one button to press - the one that started PuTTY and established the tunnel for vnc.

So, there's a bit of a list, but it's all doable. Go and google all the words above that you didn't know before, with the word 'howto', and see how you get on.

There are a couple of vnc variants for linux - look for the one that ubuntu supports in aptitude/apt/adept (whichever package manager you're using) - it's only the viewer you need if you've already got a server on the parents end. It would be easier if you could install a ssh server on the parents box, but that is beyond my knowledge and, as far as I know, not well implemented. Easier for you to put the server on yours, and get them to start PuTTY from their end.

Others might know better, of course.