Fred:
Hello! Hope your first days of VNC have not been
too intimidating. :)
In general, TW has given you some good information.
VNC is not incredibly "secure" as it was designed to be
optimally convenient. And, of course, convenience is the
opposite of security.
That is *not* to say, though, that you should worry
too much about using VNC for everyday stuff. Sure, someone
skilled-in-the-arts could spy on your VNC session if they
wanted to. But, in reality, your VNC session is *probably*
not all that interesting to anyone but yourself (no offense!).
Further, if you've a Windows machine *directly* connected
to your @Home cable-modem, then you've much larger security
weaknesses *already* above and beyond VNC.
So here's my advice, perhaps worth every cent
you paid for it. ;) Install the VNC server on the machine
you want to control. Install the VNC client on the machine
you want to control it from. Set a hard-to-guess password on
the server, and experiment until it works.
Once it works, get a firewall to protect your PC's
from the wild's of the Internet. Getting VNC to work from
"behind" a firewall can be a bit tricky for a novice, but
that's why the list is here: to help with all the tricky
bits. Just email a "network description" and what you're
trying to do, and you'll likely get a half-dozen response
about how to do it.
For instance: "I've a Windows 98 PC at home that I
want to use to connect to my WinNT machine at work. At home
I use a cable-modem with @Home, I think my workplace has
a firewall but I don't really know". Such an overview is a
great start for people on the list to get moving with.
Good luck, and I look forward to hearing of your
progress!
cheers,
Scott
> Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 11:44:09 -0500
> From: "Dr. Frederick A. Kelner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: RE: Compatibility with the internet
>
> Tim,
> Thanks for your advice. It looks like I have some reading to do. I hope that
> its within my abilities. If not you'll probably hear a very loud scream for
> help. Thanks again.
>
[snip]
>> It means that anyone who is on the path that the TCP/IP packets take
>> through the Internet can do bad things. So for instance, if you are
>> using cable, anyone on the same segment as you could observe what you
>> are doing, if they felt the need.
>
> Basically, 'raw' VNC on the Internet is a bad idea. It's better to
> use some kind of VNC tunneling. The VNC FAQ has an entry on this I
> think, and the archives of this list have quite a lot of discussion on
> the subject.
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