
Run Your Desktop over the Internet #31
Chapter 4, Related to X
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103
HACK
View Your Desktop in a Web Browser
One intriguing feature of the VNC server is that it includes a small web
server that exports the VNC desktop to a browser using a special Java
applet. To access your VNC server, connect to port
5801 with a Java-enabled
web browser. This port number is appended to the hostname/IP address in
the same way as a normal web resource:
http://foo.com:5801
This port number actually maps to the VNC display you are running. If
you are running display number
1, use port 5801; display number 2 is port
5802, etc.
Some distributions, notably Debian, package the Java applet
separately from the VNC server package.
When you are running any server on the Internet, you should take steps to
ensure that it is protected with a firewall. A firewall keeps all unwanted traf-
fic away from your server. If you are running a firewall already, you should
ensure that ports 5800-5805 are available for use. If you want to be extra
secure, only open port 5801 for use and make sure you always run off desk-
top number 1. Another option is to encrypt your VNC connection with an
SSH tunnel
[Hack #32].
HACK
#31
Run Your Desktop over the Internet Hack #31
You can access your desktop system and run graphics applications from
remote systems at close to full speed, even over dial-up connections.
You might want to access a desktop computer remotely ...