Remote Access: Remmina, RealVNC, TeamViewer, Putty & More

As work from home becomes more a norm of everyday life, being able to remote access a computer is getting more important. Remote access technology gives users the ability to access a computer, device or network from a remote location, e.g. the ability to access an office computer from home or a home computer from a remote location.

TeamViewer and Chrome Remote Desktop

TeamViewer is a software solution for remote support, remote access, and online collaboration. It is available to everyone completely free of charge for personal, non-commercial use. Arch: yay -S teamviewer. Set Up TeamViewer Remote Control:

1. Open TeamViewer, navigate to the Remote Control tab, and you will find your TeamViewer ID (e.g. 928 961 702) and your temporary password (2xqkim46). You need to provide this information to allow someone to access your computer.
2. On the other side, you simply enter the Partner ID, i.e., the TeamViewer ID of the device that you want to remotely access and control.

Chrome Remote Desktop is a remote support and access solution that allows a user to remotely control another computer’s desktop through a proprietary protocol developed by Google.

Putty

Putty is a free implementation of Telnet and SSH for Windows and Unix platforms, along with an xterm terminal emulator.

FileZilla

FileZilla is a fast and reliable cross-platform FTP, FTPS (FTP with Security) and SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol, a secure file transfer protocol) client with lots of useful features and an intuitive graphical user interface.

1. Install it in Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install filezilla.
2. File, Site Manager and create a New Site: General (Host, Username, Password), Advanced (Default local and remote directories), etc.
3. Finally, you can connect to your website and start transferring files and directories from and to your server.

WinSCP

WinSCP “is a popular SFTP client and FTP client for Microsoft Windows!”

VNC

VNC allows your Raspberry Pi to be viewed and controlled remotely.

1. Raspberry Pi: sudo raspi-config, Interface Options, VNC.
2. Client. Download and install VNC Viewer. Enter your VNC Server address (Raspberry address).

Remmina: Remote Access to Windows

You can use Remote Desktop to connect and control your Windows PC from a remote device and Remmina as a remote desktop client. It supports SSH, VNC, and RDP.

1. Log in to Windows: Settings, Remote Desktop, Enable Remote Desktop.
2. Go back to GNU/Linux (Ubuntu): Open Remmina Remote Desktop, Name (Windows), Protocol (RDP), Server (IP Windows), Username and Password (Windows user), Resolution (Use client resolution).
3. If you are an Arch User, you need to install: sudo pacman -S remmina freerdp (RDP support) libvncserver (VNC support)

RealVNC

RealVNC is a company that provides remote access software. It provides a secure, cross-platform remote desktop experience, so it works across devices and operating systems.

Installation in Arch:

1. Install both the client and the server from the AUR repositories: yay -S realvnc-vnc-server, yay -S realvnc-vnc-viewer
2. Create a RealVNC account. Their Home subscription is a free solution for personal use. You can access up to 5 internet-connected computers securely from any device running their VNC® Viewer app.
3. Start the service (sudo systemctl start vncserver-x11-serviced) and enable it (sudo systemctl enable vncserver-x11-serviced).
4. When the RealVNC service is running, a VNC icon will be displayed in the system tray. Click on it to start the server GUI tool and provide your account details (email and password) so VNC is licensed and configured correctly to accept connections.

Shell In A Box

Shell In A Box is a web based terminal emulator. Installation: sudo apt install shellinabox. It allows you to access a remote SSH terminal using your browser

    sudo apt install shellinabox # Install Shell in a box.
    https://[PI_ADDRESS]:4200 # If you don't remember your PI's IP address, type: hostname -I. Warning: Potencial Security Risk Ahead. Select Advanced..., Accept the Risk and Continue

TightVNC

TightVNC is a free remote control software package. With TightVNC, you can see the desktop of a remote machine and control it with your local mouse and keyboard, just like you would do it sitting in the front of that computer. It is free for both personal and commercial usage and cross-platform.

Guacamole

Apache Guacamole is a clientless remote desktop gateway - no plugins or client software are required. It supports standard protocols like VNC, RDP, and SSH.

• Let’s clone a Guacamole with docker-compose repository, run the initial script, and bring it up with docker-compose:

        git clone "https://github.com/boschkundendienst/guacamole-docker-compose.git"
        cd guacamole-docker-compose
        sudo ./prepare.sh
        sudo docker-compose up -d

• Open your browser, the guacamole server should be available at https://ip of your server:8443/. The username and password is guacadmin.
• Add a new admin user: Settings, Users. Do not forget to grant your user the right permissions.
• Add a new connection: Settings, Connections, New Connection: Name (myWindows), Location (ROOT), Maximun number of connections (5), Maximun number of connections per user (5); PARAMETERS, Network, Hostname (Windows’ IP), Port (3389); Authentication, Username/Password (e.g., yourUser@hotmail.com, yourPassword), Security Mode: NLA (Network Level Authentication), Resize method: “Display Update” virtual channel (RDP 8.1+).
• Access your client: Go to Home, under the ALL CONNECTIONS section you will find the new one (myWindows). Just click on it.

Credits: Spaceinvader One, YouTube Securely Access any PC or VM Remotely using only a Web Browser with Guacamole