If you installed UltraVNC, which is free and open-source software, to provide Virtual Network Computing (VNC) connectivity from/to a system for remote administration capabilities, but haven't enabled the UltraVNC server service to allow the system itself to be managed remotely, you can enable that service by taking the following steps:

1. Run the uvnc_settings.exe program, which you can find in the directory where you installed UltraVNC. You will need to provide the login credentials for an account with administrator-level access on the system.
2. Click on the Service tab then click on the Install Service button, which will install the software as a service, i.e. as a function provided by a server, on the system.
3. Once the service is installed, you can click on the Start Service button to run the service.
4. You can set the password to be used for VNC connections by clicking on the Security tab. You can set two passwords. The "VNC Password" will allow remote control of the system whereas the "View-Only Password" will only allow viewing the display on the system, which is helpful if you want to show someone what is happening on the system without giving the person the ability to control the system. You can then click on the OK button to close the UltraVNC settings window.

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C:\Users\Collen>netstat -a | find "5900"
  TCP    0.0.0.0:5900           Speleologist:0         LISTENING

C:\Users\Collen>

I used windump, a free packet capture tool for Microsoft Windows systems, similar to the tcpdump tool found on OS X/macOS and Linux systems, to verify that the system was seeing the incoming connections to network port 5900.

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Right-click on it and select Admin Properties. At the Admin Properties window, you can type a password in the "View-Ony Password" that can be used to allow remote users access to the system via VNC. It will only check the first 8 characters of a password.After making any password change, click on the Apply button.

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• Default configuration uses 2048-bit RSA keys and 256-bit AES keys.
• RSA public-key cryptography supports 512-, 1024-, 2048-, and 3072-bit keys.
• Configurable choice of symmetric ciphers and keys:
  • AES: Supports 128-, 192-, and 256-bit keys.
  • Blowfish: Supports 56-, 128-, 192-, 256-, and 448-bit keys.
  • IDEA: Supports 128-bit keys.
  • CAST5: Supports 56- and 128-bit keys.
  • ARC4: Supports 56-, 128-, 192-, and 256-bit keys.
• Classic interface for older UltraVNC versions 1.0.8.2 or below uses 2048-bit RSA keys and 128-bit AES keys.
• All versions are threadsafe, allowing the UltraVNC server to host multiple simultaneous viewers.

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If you need to transfer files between the local and remote systems, you can take the steps listed at Transferring Files Via the Remote Desktop.

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You don't have to install client software on a Linux system to use it as a remote management system to manage other systems. You can simply use a browser, such as Firefox, to connect to the remote system through the TeamViewer website. But installing the TeamViewer client software on a Linux system and using it will give you additional features not present in the browser-based method. E.g., you can adjust the screen resolution for the client's display of the remote desktop, take screen snapshots on the remote system, transfer files, etc.

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I had used the TeamViewer application on a Microsoft Windows system before to manage the family member's PC, but since I didn't have access to the Microsoft Windows desktop system which I had used previously at the moment, I thought I would try using my Android phone, instead, since TeamViewer provides an app for it.

I installed the TeamViewer app on my Android phone and remotely connected to the Microsoft Windows 7 PC. The following gestures can be made on the Android phone to remotely manage another system.

Mouse interactions:

• Tap to click.
• Tap and hold to click right.
• Drag a finger on the screen for mouse movement.
• Double tap and drag for drag & drop.
• Two-finger drag to scroll.
• Pinch to zoom.

From my phone, I connected to the PC, but I found it difficult to manage the PC from the phone's small screen. So I tried from a Chromebook system running the Google Chrome OS, instead.

Using the Chrome browser on it, I logged into the TeamViewer website. I then could see the system I wanted to control with TeamViewer. I then was presented the option to download and install a client program or to use the alternative Web client. When I clicked on "Download and install", I was taken to a download page for a Microsoft Windows application, so I went back and selected the Web client, instead. However, I then received an error message:

Translate(FlashConnectionError)
TypeError: Object#<HTMLObjectElement> has no
method 'ExternalConnect'

But I was able to proceed past it to a login page to establish the connection where I was able to put in the email address I had given for the TeamViewer account and the accompanying password. But I kept getting "Timeout while connection" messages when I clicked on the Connect to partner button. I went back to the point where I opted for the Web client connection and tried again. This time I was able to successfully establish a connection. The text on the remote Windows system was very tiny, but I was able to read it well enough to complete the installation of the antivirus software.

I clicked on View at the top of the webpage displayed for the connection, then clicked on Quality and changed the setting from Optimize speed to Optimize quality, which made the remote display somewhat easier to read. Quicking on View and changing the scaling to "original" made the display even easier to read, but I had to scroll the display then to see various parts of the remote display.

At this point, I would consider managing a Microsoft Windows system remotely from a Chromebook with TeamViewer acceptable, but I'll have to experiment with managing a system from the Android phone more before I can consider it an acceptable means of remotely managing another system with TeamViewer on it in a situation where I might not have access to another device to use for remote troubleshooting.

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A program that can be run on one of those operating systems is rdesktop. If you have a Linux system, you may find that it is already installed. If not you can download and install it for free.

You can determine if rdesktop is already installed by using the command which rdesktop.

$ which rdesktop
/usr/bin/rdesktop

Rdesktop allows you not only to remotely manage a Microsoft Windows system, but also map a directory on the system running rdesktop to what appears to be a shared network drive on the Microsoft Windows system.

$ rdesktop -0 -r 'disk:Linux=/home/jdoe/Documents/' -u administrator 192.168.0.5

I used the following options with the rdesktop command issued on a Ubuntu Linux system:

-0

The -0 option allows you to attach to the console of the server (requires Windows Server 2003 or newer), which would be akin to sitting down at the system to which you are logging on, i.e., it doesn't establish a session separate from the login session you would get when sitting at the system. So, if you were already logged into the system locally, when you connect remotely via rdesktop, you will see all of the open programs and files.

-r disk:<sharename>=<path>,...

Redirects a path to the share \\tsclient\<sharename> on the server (requires Windows XP or newer). The share name is limited to 8 characters.

In this case I used -r 'disk:Linux=/home/jdoe/Documents/'. I picked "Linux" for the sharename, but you can use whatever name you like. The name you select is the name the Microsoft Windows system will see for a shared network drive. The /home/jdoe/Documents/ means that if, from the Microsoft Windows system, I use the Explorer or an application to browse to the shared network drive named Linux it is really pointing to /home/jdoe/Documents on the Linux system. So I can place a file in /home/jdoe/Documents/ on the Linux system and access it from the Microsoft Windows system. Or I can save a file with an application on the Microsoft Windows system to the directory /home/jdoe/Documents on the Linux system.

-u <username>

The -u option allows you to spcify the Username for authentication on the Microsoft Windows system to which you wish to logon. In this case, I'm logging in as the administrator.

The 192.168.0.5 is the IP address of the Microsoft Windows system to which I wish to connect. You can also use a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) as well, e.g., a.example.com.

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1. Click on the Start button.
2. Select All Programs.
3. Select Accessories.
4. Select Remote Desktop Connection.
5. When the Remote Desktop Connection window opens, click on Options.
6. Click on the Local Resources tab.

   

7. Click on the More button.
8. Click on Drives to share all drives. If yo only want to share some local drives, click on the "+" to the left of drives and select only the drives you want to share.

   

9. Click on OK.
10. Click on Connect.

If you go to My Computer on the remote system or use Windows Explorer, you should see the drives on the local system from which you connected listed among the drives visible on the remote system.

References:

1. Transfer files via the Remote Desktop
   Setup32.com

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