Use Real VNC Over the Internet

Real VNC is a handy tool for accessing the remote desktop of nearly any computer over the Internet. Using VNC over the Internet can present some challenges however, including network latency, connecting through firewalls, momentary network congestion issues, disconnects, as well as security issues. 

By configuring Real VNC to handle adverse network conditions securely, acceptable performance and reliability over an unpredictable network can be achieved.

 

Instructions

1. Click "Start" on the Real VNC Server computer, then click "Programs" (if using Windows Vista or 7) or "All Programs" (if using Windows XP), then click the "Real VNC" program group then "VNC Server" then "Configure VNC Service".
   
2. Click the "Desktop" tab and in the "While Connected" area select the "Remove Wallpaper", "Remove background pattern" and "Disable user interface effects" then click the "Apply" button.
   
3. Click the "Authentication" tab then click the "Configure" button then type in a password that is at least 10 characters long and consists of both numbers and letters (the more numbers the better) and click the "OK" button.
   
4. Click the "Connections" tab then click the "Accept connections on port" box and type a number between 6000 and 65535 in both boxes (make note of the numbers for later use) then click the "OK" button in the "VNC Server Properties" window.
   
5. Enable port forwarding on the firewall that protects the Real VNC Server from the Internet to forward all incoming requests to the Real VNC Server port to the IP address of the Real VNC Server. Also, note the Internet facing IP address of the firewall as it will be used by the Real VNC Viewer to connect to the Real VNC Server.
   
6. Disable the firewall component of the anti-virus program running on the Real VNC Server computer. Configure an "Exception" for the Real VNC Server service in the Windows Firewall configuration panel located in the "Control Panel", and then restart the Real VNC Server computer.
   
7. Click "Start" on the Real VNC Viewer computer, then click "Programs" (if using Windows Vista or 7) or "All Programs" (if using Windows XP), then click the "Real VNC" program group then click "VNC Viewer" then click "Run VNC Viewer."
   
8. Click the "Options" button then click the "Colour & Encoding" tab and select the "Low (64 colours)" radio button and click the "OK" button. Type "x.x.x.x::1234" in the "Server:" field of the Real VNC Viewer, and replace "x.x.x.x" with the IP address of the firewall and "1234" with the VNC service port number and press the "Enter" key to connect to the Real VNC Server computer. Type the password and press the "Enter" key when requested to view the Real VNC Server computer desktop.