X11vnc

x11vnc is a virtual network client that allows you to log into a computer and see the desktop screen from a remote location (remote dekstop). This requires running x11vnc as a server on the server computer, then connecting to the x11vnc server using a host with a remote desktop client (I use Chicken of the VNC).

Installing

Prerequisites

Mac

To install x11vnc on a Mac, you will need a jpeg library, which I was able to download from Fink.

Linux

You can use a package management software like aptitude or yum to install x11vnc. This should resolve dependencies.

Configuring

For the Mac, my configure line looked like:

#!/bin/sh
#
# run configure
# make
# make install

./configure \
 --prefix=/path/to/x11vnc \
 --with-jpeg=/sw

Then run make and make install.

Once the installation is done, add the bin/ directory to your $PATH variable, and open a new shell. Typing "which x11vnc" should print /path/to/x11vnc/bin/x11vnc.

Starting

When you first run x11vnc, you will see a bunch of loud warnings about not setting a password. Follow the instructions given to set a password. This is a password used to access your desktop - without it, anyone who connects to your server can control the screen.

Once you have set your password, create a script for starting x11vnc. Mine looks like this:

#!/bin/sh

sudo x11vnc -usepw -display :0 -ncache 10 -forever

Tunneling Via SSH

See also SSH Tunnels

To tunnel a VNC connection through SSH, you'll want to make an ssh tunnel from local port 5900 to remote port 5901 (or whatever remote port VNC is listening on).