VNC Open

VNC Open is the open source version of the VNC (Virtual Network Computing) remote control technology, which relies on Remote Frame Buffer (RFB) protocol to allow management of a remote system.

Based on its code, developers can create their own remote desktop applications using version 3 of the RFB protocol.

By downloading and installing VNC Open you get both the server and viewer of the VNC Free edition and there is the possibility to pick only the one you need.

The server needs to be present on the local computer while the viewer should reside on the remote system.

Configuring the server is the more difficult part but the application should work for most users with the default options and little tweaking is necessary.

Although it is not absolutely necessary, the connection can be protected by a password that is required by the viewer.

Additional protection can be enforced by changing the connection port and the HTTP port for the Java Viewer. You can create a whitelist with local machines whose connection should be accepted by the server.

Some settings available in the server part of the application touch on increasing the quality of the data transmission by disabling the wallpaper, the background pattern or the user interface effects.

On the Viewer side, the tweaks include selecting a different color level (default is set to 64 colors) for snappier reception of the events as well as input methods for controlling the activity on the server; these should also be accepted by the server in order to work.

Despite the lack of complicated settings and the presence of intuitive options, working with VNC Open is not as simple as with other utilities of the same feather. It’ll get the job done, but there are more intuitive alternatives, with less configuration options to choose from.