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Any\r\nIT representative or system administrator worth his or her salt is always as\r\navailable as possible, even off-site. When trouble arises and you need to step\r\na client through a complex software problem interactively or troubleshoot a\r\nremote server graphically, and whenever a Telnet or SSH session is\r\ninsufficient, it’s important to have a VNC client\r\nhandy to give you the power to access any other machine over an intranet or the\r\nregular Internet. Of course, it’s assumed that you have a VNC server process\r\nrunning on the destination machine beforehand in order to facilitate in the\r\nproper handshake and connection. Here are five apps that will work well for\r\nconnecting into a VNC server remotely.
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Credit: Images by Matthew Nawrocki for TechRepublic
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\r\n\r\nAlthough a paid app with a\r\nprice tag of $99.99, VNC Viewer Plus might very well be worth every last penny.\r\nIn addition to the bog standard VNC connection capability, you can also\r\ncommunicate with Intel hardware, powered by Advanced Management Technology,\r\nliterally giving you complete control over an entire PC, versus control at the\r\noperating system level alone with VNC.
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Credit: Images by Matthew Nawrocki for TechRepublic
Credit: Images by Matthew Nawrocki for TechRepublic
Credit: Images by Matthew Nawrocki for TechRepublic
If you are looking for a remote desktop tool with quite the history to back it up, TightVNC is most certainly worth a look. With the older version 1.3 provided on the site, the server and viewer software can be used on versions of Windows as far back as 95 and NT 4.0. You can also utilize JPEG compression in order to conserve bandwidth and cut down on render lag for remote sessions. The source code is licensed under GPLv2 and is available as freeware.
Credit: Images by Matthew Nawrocki for TechRepublic
Credit: Images by Matthew Nawrocki for TechRepublic
Credit: Images by Matthew Nawrocki for TechRepublic
\r\n\r\nOriginally conceived as a\r\ndirect continuation of the unreleased TightVNC v4 branch, TigerVNC became its\r\nown animal as it were (pun intended) and delivers a more modern interface in\r\nconcert with improved security and bug fixes from the development side. Aside\r\nfrom that, TigerVNC behaves much like the project it spawned from, and as a\r\nresult, is also available under the GPLv2 as freeware.
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Credit: Images by Matthew Nawrocki for TechRepublic
Credit: Images by Matthew Nawrocki for TechRepublic
Credit: Images by Matthew Nawrocki for TechRepublic
\r\n\r\nWhen it comes to a remote\r\ndesktop tool that consolidates all display options right at your fingertips,\r\nUltraVNC is quite nice here. Before you pop into a session, you can choose from\r\na series of pre-defined connection quality settings, allowing you to jump right\r\ninto work without having to mess around with the settings menu later. There is\r\nalso a chat feature where you can send text messages across the network to the\r\ndestination machine for others to see. UltraVNC is available for free as\r\ndonationware.
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Credit: Images by Matthew Nawrocki for TechRepublic
Credit: Images by Matthew Nawrocki for TechRepublic
\r\n\r\nIf you’d rather not deal\r\nwith a dedicated software VNC viewer client, SmartCode Solutions has an\r\nActiveX-powered VNC viewer which works a lot like regular viewers do, albeit\r\nwith less features. You are also limited to Internet Explorer 8 and up, due to\r\nthe fact that ActiveX is required, and not something more ubiquitous like a\r\nJava applet. This web service is available for free.
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Credit: Images by Matthew Nawrocki for TechRepublic
Credit: Images by Matthew Nawrocki for TechRepublic
A former avid technology writer and an IT guru, Matthew is here to help bring the best in software, hardware and the web to the collective consciousness of TechRepublic's readership. In addition to writing for TechRepublic, Matthew currently works as a Customer Success Professional for Ultimate Software in Santa Ana, California.
