Chapter 5.

Remote Desktop Access

In the enterprise environment, system administrators often need to deal with a large number of basic

problems on users' machines. Remotely taking control of a user's desktop to fix the problem, while at

the same time training the user how to resolve the problem for themselves, is an effective and simple

way to handle these types of support scenarios. This chapter describes how to use vncviewer and

Terminal Server Client to gain remote access to a user's desktop to aid in the administration of the

remote system.

Both vncviewer and Terminal Server Client allow the administrator to connect to a user's desktop

session in a way that allows both the user and the administrator to simultaneously view the same

desktop screen, including all currently active applications and actions (such as mouse movements,

etc.)

While vncviewer is primarily for connecting to a Linux desktop, Terminal Server Client can be used

to access both Windows and Linux desktops.

Note

These tools only allow you to connect to a user's existing session. If the user is not logged in, the

connection will fail.

Important

All remote desktop connections described in this chapter use unencrypted connections, thereby

sending authentication information over the network without encryption. Their use is therefore rec 

ommended only inside a trusted, secure network.

5.1. Allowing Access

Before you can gain access to a remote user's desktop, the user's environment must be configured

to allow remote access. There are different levels of access that a desktop user may grant to another,

ranging from simple viewing of the user's desktop, to gaining complete control of the desktop.

These different levels of access are configurable through Applications (the main menu on the panel)

=> Preferences => Remote Desktop menu item.

The default configuration for remote desktop access is shown in Figure 5 1.