Tight VNC Viewer

Although Microsoft no longer hosts the gadget gallery, encouraging users to replace such programs with Windows 8 built-in apps, there are still a variety of gadgets out there that you might find really useful. One example is Tight VNC Viewer, a simple and lightweight sidebar gadget whose main purpose is to help you connect to a VNC server much faster.

Gadgets are designed to provide fast access to information or essential tasks and Tight VNC Viewer does just that. It offers you a simple solution for connecting to a VNC server, without a lot of hassle.

Once installed, the gadget is placed on your desktop and displays its main window, where you can enter the connection details. Logging in to a remote VNC server requires you to enter the corresponding IP address or the host name. In addition to this, users can optionally specify the display and the port number. However, this piece of information is not mandatory for the connection to be initiated.

Once the necessary information is provided, you simply have to press the 'Login' button in order to access the target host. The connection is initialized and the viewer automatically connects to the target PC, which acts like a server. You can take full control over another computer and manage all the operations just as if the workstation was in front of you.

Tight VNC Viewer can only be used for connecting to an existing VNC server, which has to be already deployed on the target computer. You cannot use this gadget to initialize a VNC server.

If the server is not responding or cannot be reached, you are prompted to verify the host details and enter the correct information.

Right-clicking on the gadget's interface reveals a menu that includes options for keeping the applications on top of all the other opened windows and customizing the transparency level.

The Virtual Network Computing sharing system comes in handy for remotely accessing and controlling another computer in the same network, offering users solutions for dealing with infected or malfunctioning machines over the Internet. Tight VNC Viewer can help you start a VNC connection much faster, right from your desktop.