Hey, I just got TightVNC installed, and I'm loving it! I have a Windows machine at home, and now I can run my Linux apps there as if I'm in my office. I have two quick questions (first being the more important one):

1. How can I set this up so that I can have xfce as the desktop I view when running this server. I have RedHat 9, with KDE as the default, yet when running vncserver I get Gnome?

2. I currently use TightVNC, and I only access my computer through ssh tunneling, I also do not have the vncserver running all the time. I only start it up once I'm in there, and kill it as soon as I'm done. Reading through this forum, those seem to be two highly recommended methods to making sure you keep your box as safe as possible. Am I missing anything else here?

Thanks

1. I'm not entirely sure about TightVNC, but with ordinary VNC you need to alter the ~/.vnc/xstartup file to start your X environment of choice. I bet TightVNC does something similar.

2. This sounds like a decent set-up. Just be sure your SSH is updated to the latest version to avoid problems with known issues. You probably also want to check your firewall to make sure that it doesn't allow traffic on the normal VNC ports like 5901. If you can connect using just TightVNC, you've got a potential problem. You can also ratchet up the paranoia level by installing an IDS like Snort and a file monitor like Aide or Tripwire. None of these will stop an attack, but they will be able to help diagnose what happened if someone does manage to gain entry. I'd also have a visit to unSpawn's sticky threads at the top of the Security forum. Loads of good reading there.

I've been trying to set this up without success. I would appreciate your help.

SSH Server is up and running....no problems login
Firewall on router is open on port 22 and directed to server.
Server Firewall open on port 22.

Can I start up the vncserver during the session and than connect?
(I read that you need to have the vncserver up when connecting with a Windows client)

Putty Question:
In tunnel setup "Support" is remote port on the server?
("Destination" is the localhost and port #)

I'm using dyndns.org to connect, so an example should look like:

IP: xxx.dyndns.org Port22 #ip & port
Support: 5901 #port of remote server
Destination localhost:5901 #locahost & port

Sorry for simple mind questions, but I know that I doing something wrong and I can seem to find it.

Buick, please don't hijack threads... I realize this is a very related question, but yours is different enough that it deserves its own thread.


If you are using PuTTY to connect to a linux box, have a read through this thread and see if that clears up the problems.

Well, if you want to use VNC to connect, then you have to have vncserver running. When I use VNC I usually connect with SSH, then start vncserver. If you just want console access, SSH is fine all by itself.

I apologize. It was not my intention to hijack the thread in anyway.

The thread discussed exactly what I wanted to do so I thought I would discuss my troubles (Not appropriate, I guess)

I had searched on the web, the forums, and even red some of the Putty docs, but didn’t find anything about the problems I was having.

I do appreciate directing me to the thread. Don’t know why I didn’t find it when I was searching for the topic, but I am happy to say that I got everything working. Thanks to you.

Once again I apologize and thank you for your help.

I'm glad you got it working. Please don't take my hijack comments too harshly since it wasnt' intended that way. My concern is actually for the people asking the questions. When someone posts a new question (even a related one) in the middle of a thread one of two things happen. Either the thread takes off in a new direction and the original poster might be left without the answers they are looking for or the new question doesn't get the attention it deserves because it is buried in a bunch of other replies.

Again, congrats on getting SSH and VNC working.