accessing my ubuntu computer remotely from a Windows PC

[Magnus Therning]

On Sat, Jul 23, 2005 at 01:47:25AM +0900, Jeff Co wrote:
>> 
>> You have two main options: a shell-based interface, like SSH, or a remote
>> desktop solution like VNC, or FreeNX. Both provide you with ways of doing
>> both, but have different resource requirements, so you'll want to pick
>> whatever suits your needs best.
>
>I think I'll stay away from just a text-based "command line/dos prompt"
>way.  I'd like to do a GUI way. Between VNC and FreeNX, which (better)
>suits my needs? Again, my needs are accessing my home directory and my
>home/pictures directory. Basically, I want access to my computer
>because I want to be able to show friends and family the pictures I
>have taken.

Both are easy to install.

I used VNC for a while, also over SSH. As with so many things on Windows
it is clunky, not difficult just clunky, to get VNC over SSH (PuTTY). I
have to say that my milage on Windows is minimal, and I'd like to keep
it that way :-)

I switched over to (Free)NX a few weeks ago. Mostly to try it. I haven't
looked back since, despite my problem with reconnecting. It uses SSH by
default (no clunkiness at all).

>>>I want something that is secure. Something that only I, with some sort of
>>> password, can access, and that nobody else on the internet can access.
>> 
>>"Some sort of password" is far from secure.
>
>Do you mean that using a password is not enough security? Is there
>another "level" of security?

Well, telnet uses a password, but it's far from secure. Security is
tricky, go with a standard solution like SSH unless you have
restrictions you can't get around (and they'd have to be serious
restrictions since you can tunnel SSH through most things).

>>If you know you only want to access your computer from ONE remote
>>windows XP box on a known network, you have a number of better
>>options, such as limiting the connections to that remote IP address
>>only, using keypairs, etc.
>
>At this time, I don't know the client PC's IP address, but I can ask and 
>find out if it will help. Will it help if i find out that client PC's IP 
>address? Both PCs are directly connected to the internet. There is no 
>home-network (LAN).

Many times you don't need the IP, just reverse name lookup.

It does raise the bar a bit to put limitations like this in place.

/M

-- 
Magnus Therning                    (OpenPGP: 0xAB4DFBA4)
magnus at therning.org
http://therning.org/magnus

Software is not manufactured, it is something you write and publish.
Keep Europe free from software patents, we do not want censorship
by patent law on written works.

If you think cryptography is the answer to your problem, then you
don't know what your problem is.
      -- Peter G. Neumann, quoted in the _New York Times_
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 189 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-users/attachments/20050723/6097e554/attachment.sig>