Setup VNC Server for Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon and Hardy Heron in 3 easy steps

I just did this on Gutsy, and I thought that it might be worth sharing as a simple way to set up a persistent VNC server. If you dont know what VNC is, its similiar to Remote Desktop for wind0ze. This is accessible using regular vnc viewers, and through java-enabled browsers. That's right, you work on your computer through a browser.

1) Install packages | click here for 1 click install
sudo aptitude install x11vnc vnc-java
2) Set up password to allow clients to view
x11vnc -storepasswd
3) Open up ports 5800 and 5900 on your firewall

4) Run this command:
x11vnc -forever -usepw -httpdir /usr/share/vnc-java/ -httpport 5800

That's it!

And an optional step 5:

5) Add the command from 4) to your sessions, so that it starts at each login

If you want to test it out on a browser, type this in the URL field:

25.542.161.414:5800

Of course, replace the 25.etc. w/ your external IP address.

Addendums to this are welcome, such as how to make it more secure. I just thought it'd be nice to have a quick and dirty tutorial for getting this set up easily.

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