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x11vnc README file Date: Fri Sep 15 11:12:28 EDT 2006
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The following information is taken from these URLs:
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http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html
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http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html
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...
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they contain the most up to date info.
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=======================================================================
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http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html:
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_________________________________________________________________
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x11vnc: a VNC server for real X displays
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(to [1]FAQ) (to [2]Downloads) (to [3]Building) (to
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[4]Beta Test) (to [5]Donations) [6][PayPal]
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x11vnc allows one to view remotely and interact with real X displays
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(i.e. a display corresponding to a physical monitor, keyboard, and
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mouse) with any VNC viewer. In this way it plays the role for Unix/X11
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that WinVNC plays for Windows.
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It has built-in [7]SSL encryption and authentication, UNIX [8]account
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and password support, server-side [9]scaling, [10]single port HTTPS
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and VNC, and TightVNC and UltraVNC [11]file-transfer. It has also been
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extended to work with [12]webcams and TV tuner capture devices and
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with [13]embedded Linux systems such as Qtopia Core.
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I wrote x11vnc back in 2002 because x0rfbserver was basically
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impossible to build on Solaris and had poor performance. The primary
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x0rfbserver build problems centered around esoteric C++ toolkits.
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x11vnc is written in plain C and uses only standard libraries and so
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should work on nearly all Unixes. I also added a some enhancements to
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improve the interactive response, add many esoteric features, etc.
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This page and the [14]FAQ contain a lot of information [15][*] and
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solutions to many problems and interesting applications, but
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nevertheless please feel free to [16]contact me if you have problems
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or questions.
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An x11vnc side-project provides an [17]Enhanced TightVNC Viewer
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package with automatic SSL and/or SSH tunnelling support, NewFBSize
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support on Unix, and cursor alphablending. Please help test out some
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recently added features: automatic service tunnelling via SSH for CUPS
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and SMB Printing, ESD/ARTSD Audio, and SMB (Windows/Samba) filesystem
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mounting; and Port Knocking.
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Background:
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VNC (Virtual Network Computing) is a very useful network graphics
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protocol (applications running on one computer but displaying their
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windows on another) in the spirit of X, however, unlike X, the
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viewing-end is very simple and maintains no state. It is a remote
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framebuffer (RFB) protocol
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Some VNC links:
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* [18]http://www.realvnc.com
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* [19]http://www.tightvnc.com
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* [20]http://www.ultravnc.com/
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* [21]http://www.redstonesoftware.com/
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For Unix, the traditional VNC implementation includes a virtual X11
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server Xvnc (usually launched via the vncserver command) that is not
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associated with a physical display, but provides a "fake" one X11
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clients (xterm, mozilla, etc.) can attach to. A remote user then
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connects to Xvnc via the VNC client vncviewer from anywhere on the
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network to view and interact with the whole virtual X11 desktop.
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The VNC protocol is in most cases better suited for remote connections
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with low bandwidth and high latency than is the X11 protocol (the
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exception is cached pixmap data on the viewing-end). Also, with no
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state maintained the viewing-end can crash, be rebooted, or relocated
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and the applications and desktop continue running. Not so with X11.
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So the standard Xvnc/vncserver program is very useful, I use it for
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things like:
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* Desktop conferencing with other users (e.g. codereviews).
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* Long running apps/tasks I want to be able to view from many
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places.
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* Motif, GNOME, and similar applications that would yield very poor
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performance over a high latency link.
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However, sometimes one wants to connect to a real X11 display (i.e.
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one attached to a physical monitor, keyboard, and mouse: a Workstation
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or a SunRay session) from far away. Maybe you want to close down an
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application cleanly rather than using kill, or want to work a bit in
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an already running application, or would like to help a distant
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colleague solve a problem with their desktop, or would just like to
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work out on your deck for a while. This is where x11vnc is useful.
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_________________________________________________________________
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How to use x11vnc:
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In this basic example let's assume the remote machine with the X
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display you wish to view is "far-away.east:0" and the workstation you
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are presently working at is "sitting-here.west".
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Step 0. Download x11vnc ([22]see below) and have it available to run
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on far-away.east. Similarly, have a VNC viewer (e.g. vncviewer) ready
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to run on sitting-here.west. We recommend [23]TightVNC Viewers (see
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[24]also here.)
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Step 1. By some means log in to far-away.east and get a command shell
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running there. You can use ssh, rlogin, telnet, or any other method to
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do this. The x11vnc process needs to be run on the same machine the X
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server process is running on (otherwise things would be extremely
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slow).
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Step 2. In that far-away.east shell (with command prompt "far-away>"
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in this example) run x11vnc directed at the far-away.east X session
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display:
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far-away> x11vnc -display :0
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You could have also set the environment variable DISPLAY=:0 instead of
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using -display. This step attaches x11vnc to the far-away.east:0 X
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display (i.e. no viewer clients yet).
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Common Gotcha: To get X11 permissions right, you may also need to set
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the XAUTHORITY environment variable (or use the [25]-auth option) to
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point to the correct MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE file (e.g.
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/home/joe/.Xauthority). If x11vnc does not have the authority to
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connect to the display it exits immediately. More on how to fix this
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[26]below.
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If you suspect an X11 permissions problem do this simple test: while
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sitting at the physical X display open a terminal window
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(gnome-terminal, xterm, etc). You should be able to run x11vnc
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successfully in that terminal without any need for command line
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options. If that works OK then you know X11 permissions are the only
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thing preventing it from working when you try to start x11vnc via a
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remote shell. Then fix this with the tips [27]below.
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When x11vnc starts up there will then be much chatter printed out,
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until it finally says something like:
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.
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.
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13/05/2004 14:59:54 Autoprobing selected port 5900
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13/05/2004 14:59:54 screen setup finished.
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13/05/2004 14:59:54
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13/05/2004 14:59:54 The VNC desktop is far-away:0
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PORT=5900
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which means all is OK, and we are ready for the final step.
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Step 3. At the place where you are sitting (sitting-here.west in this
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example) you now want to run a VNC viewer program. There are VNC
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viewers for Unix, Windows, MacOS, Java-enabled web browsers, and even
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for PDA's like the Palm Pilot! You can use any of them to connect to
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x11vnc (see the above VNC links under "Background:" on how to obtain a
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viewer for your platform or see [28]this FAQ. For Solaris, vncviewer
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is available in the [29]Companion CD package SFWvnc).
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In this example we'll use the Unix vncviewer program on sitting-here
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by typing the following command in a second terminal window:
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sitting-here> vncviewer far-away.east:0
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That should pop up a viewer window on sitting-here.west showing and
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allowing interaction with the far-away.east:0 X11 desktop. Pretty
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nifty! When finished, exit the viewer: the remote x11vnc process will
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shutdown automatically (or you can use the [30]-forever option to have
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it wait for additional viewer connections).
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Shortcut: Of course if you left x11vnc running on far-away.east:0 in a
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terminal window with the [31]-forever option or as a [32]service,
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you'd only have to do Step 3 as you moved around. Be sure to use a VNC
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[33]Password or [34]other measures if you do that.
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Desktop Sharing: The above more or less assumed nobody was sitting at
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the workstation display "far-away.east:0". This is often the case: a
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user wants to access her workstation remotely. Another usage pattern
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has the user sitting at "far-away.east:0" and invites one or more
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other people to view and interact with his desktop. Perhaps the user
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gives a demo or presentation this way (using the telephone for vocal
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communication). A "Remote Help Desk" mode would be similar: a
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technician remotely connects to the user's desktop to interactively
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solve a problem the user is having.
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For these cases it should be obvious how it is done. The above steps
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will work, but more easily the user sitting at far-away.east:0 simply
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starts up x11vnc from a terminal window, after which the guests would
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start their VNC viewers. For this usage mode the "[35]-connect
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host1,host2" option may be of use automatically connect to vncviewers
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in "-listen" mode on the list of hosts.
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_________________________________________________________________
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Tunnelling x11vnc via ssh:
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The above example had no security or privacy at all. When logging into
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remote machines (certainly when going over the internet) it is best to
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use ssh, or use a VPN. For x11vnc one can tunnel the VNC protocol
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through the encrypted ssh channel. It would look something like this:
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sitting-here> ssh -t -L 5900:localhost:5900 far-away.east 'x11vnc -localhost
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-display :0'
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(you will likely have to provide passwords/passphrases for the ssh
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login) and then in another terminal window on sitting-here run the
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command:
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sitting-here> vncviewer -encodings "copyrect tight zrle hextile" localhost:0
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Note: The -encodings option is very important: vncviewer will often
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default to "raw" encoding if it thinks the connection is to the local
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machine, and so vncviewer gets tricked this way by the ssh
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redirection. "raw" encoding will be extremely slow over a networked
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link, so you need to force the issue with -encodings "copyrect tight
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...".
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Note that "x11vnc -localhost ..." limits incoming vncviewer
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connections to only those from the same machine. This is very natural
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for ssh tunnelling (the redirection appears to come from the same
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machine). Use of a [36]VNC password is also strongly recommended.
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Some VNC viewers will do the ssh tunnelling for you automatically, the
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TightVNC vncviewer does this when the "-via far-away.east" option is
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supplied to it (this requires x11vnc to be already running on
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far-away.east or having it started by [37]inetd(8)). See the 3rd
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script example [38]below for more info.
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Note the -t we used above (force allocate pseudoterminal), it actually
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seems to improve interactive typing response via VNC!
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If the machine you SSH into is not the same machine with the X display
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you wish to view (e.g. your company provides incoming SSH access to a
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gateway machine), then you need to change the above to, e.g.: "-L
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5900:OtherHOST:5900". Once logged in, you'll need to do a second login
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(ssh, rsh, etc.) to the workstation machine 'otherhost' and then start
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up x11vnc on it (if it isn't already running). For an automatic way to
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use a gateway and have all the network traffic encrypted (including
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inside the firewall) see [39]chaining ssh's
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_________________________________________________________________
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Scripts to automate ssh tunneling: As discussed below, there may be
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some problems with port 5900 being available. If that happens, the
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above port and display numbers may change a bit (e.g. -> 5901 and :1).
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However, if you "know" port 5900 will be free on the local and remote
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machines, you can easily automate the above two steps by using the
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x11vnc option [40]-bg (forks into background after connection to the
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display is set up) or using the -f option of ssh. Some example scripts
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are shown below.
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You may also want to look at the [41]Enhanced TightVNC Viewer
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packages, because they contain scripts and guis to automatically set
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up SSH tunnels (e.g. "ssl_tightvncviewer -ssh user@far-away.east:0")
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_________________________________________________________________
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#1. A simple example script, assuming no problems with port 5900 being
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taken on the local or remote sides, looks like:
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#!/bin/sh
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# usage: x11vnc_ssh <host>:<xdisplay>
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# e.g.: x11vnc_ssh snoopy.peanuts.com:0
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# (user@host:N also works)
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host=`echo $1 | awk -F: '{print $1}'`
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disp=`echo $1 | awk -F: '{print $2}'`
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if [ "x$disp" = "x" ]; then disp=0; fi
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cmd="x11vnc -display :$disp -localhost -rfbauth .vnc/passwd"
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enc="copyrect tight zrle hextile zlib corre rre raw"
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ssh -f -t -L 5900:localhost:5900 $host "$cmd"
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for i in 1 2 3
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do
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sleep 2
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if vncviewer -encodings "$enc" :0; then break; fi
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done
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See also rx11vnc.pl below.
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_________________________________________________________________
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#2. Another method is to start the VNC viewer in listen mode
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"vncviewer -listen" and have x11vnc initiate a reverse connection
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using the [42]-connect option:
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#!/bin/sh
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# usage: x11vnc_ssh <host>:<xdisplay>
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# e.g.: x11vnc_ssh snoopy.peanuts.com:0
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# (user@host:N also works)
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host=`echo $1 | awk -F: '{print $1}'`
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disp=`echo $1 | awk -F: '{print $2}'`
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if [ "x$disp" = "x" ]; then disp=0; fi
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cmd="x11vnc -display :$disp -localhost -connect localhost" # <== note new opt
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ion
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enc="copyrect tight zrle hextile zlib corre rre raw"
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vncviewer -encodings "$enc" -listen &
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pid=$!
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ssh -t -R 5500:localhost:5500 $host "$cmd"
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kill $pid
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Note the use of the ssh option "-R" instead of "-L" to set up a remote
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port redirection.
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_________________________________________________________________
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#3. A third way is specific to the TightVNC vncviewer special option
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-via for gateways. The only tricky part is we need to start up x11vnc
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and give it some time (5 seconds in this example) to start listening
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for connections (so we cannot use the TightVNC default setting for
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VNC_VIA_CMD):
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#!/bin/sh
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# usage: x11vnc_ssh <host>:<xdisplay>
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# e.g.: x11vnc_ssh snoopy.peanuts.com:0
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host=`echo $1 | awk -F: '{print $1}'`
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disp=`echo $1 | awk -F: '{print $2}'`
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if [ "x$disp" = "x" ]; then disp=0; fi
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VNC_VIA_CMD="ssh -f -t -L %L:%H:%R %G x11vnc -localhost -rfbport 5900 -display
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:$disp; sleep 5"
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export VNC_VIA_CMD
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vncviewer -via $host localhost:0 # must be TightVNC vncviewer.
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Of course if you already have the x11vnc running waiting for
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connections (or have it started out of [43]inetd(8)), you can simply
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use the TightVNC "vncviewer -via gateway host:port" in its default
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mode to provide secure ssh tunnelling.
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_________________________________________________________________
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VNC password file: Also note in the #1. example script that the
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[44]option "-rfbauth .vnc/passwd" provides additional protection by
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requiring a VNC password for every VNC viewer that connects. The
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vncpasswd or storepasswd programs, or the x11vnc [45]-storepasswd
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option can be used to create the password file. x11vnc also has the
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slightly less secure [46]-passwdfile and "-passwd XXXXX" [47]options
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to specify passwords.
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Very Important: It is up to YOU to tell x11vnc to use password
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protection (-rfbauth or -passwdfile), it will NOT do it for you
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automatically or force you to (use [48]-usepw if you want to be forced
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to). The same goes for encrypting the channel between the viewer and
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x11vnc: it is up to you to use ssh, stunnel, [49]-ssl mode, a VPN,
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etc. (use the [50]Enhanced TightVNC Viewer package if you want to be
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forced to use SSL or SSH). For additional safety, also look into the
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-allow and -localhost [51]options and building x11vnc with
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[52]tcp_wrappers support to limit host access.
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_________________________________________________________________
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Tunnelling x11vnc via SSL:
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One can also encrypt the VNC traffic using an SSL tunnel such as
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[53]stunnel or using the built-in (Mar/2006) [54]-ssl openssl mode. A
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SSL-enabled Java applet VNC Viewer is also provided (and https can be
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used to download it).
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Although not as ubiquitous as ssh, SSL tunnelling still provides a
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useful alternative. See [55]this FAQ on -ssl and -stunnel modes for
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details and examples.
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The [56]Enhanced TightVNC Viewer packages contains some convenient
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utilities to automatically set up an SSL tunnel from the viewer-side
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(i.e. to connect to "x11vnc -ssl ..."). And other enhancements too.
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_________________________________________________________________
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Downloading x11vnc:
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x11vnc is a contributed program to the [57]LibVNCServer project at
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SourceForge.net. I use libvncserver for all of the VNC aspects; I
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couldn't have done without it. The full source code may be found and
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downloaded (either file-release tarball or CVS tree) from the above
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link. As of Jul 2006, the [58]x11vnc-0.8.2.tar.gz source package is
|
|
|
released (recommended download). The [59]x11vnc 0.8.2 release notes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The x11vnc package is the subset of the libvncserver package needed to
|
|
|
build the x11vnc program. Also, you can get a copy of my latest,
|
|
|
bleeding edge [60]x11vnc-0.8.3.tar.gz tarball to build the most up to
|
|
|
date one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Precompiled Binaries/Packages: See the [61]FAQ below for information
|
|
|
about where you might obtain a precompiled x11vnc binary from 3rd
|
|
|
parties and some ones I create.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To obtain VNC viewers for the viewing side (Windows, Mac OS, or Unix)
|
|
|
try these links:
|
|
|
* [62]http://www.tightvnc.com/download.html
|
|
|
* [63]http://www.realvnc.com/download-free.html
|
|
|
* [64]http://sourceforge.net/projects/cotvnc/
|
|
|
* [65]http://www.ultravnc.com/
|
|
|
* [66]Our Enhanced TightVNC Viewer packages
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
More tools: Here is a rsh/ssh wrapper script rx11vnc that attempts to
|
|
|
automatically do the above Steps 1-3 for you (provided you have
|
|
|
rsh/ssh login permission on the machine x11vnc is to be run on). The
|
|
|
above example would be: "rx11vnc far-away.east:0" typed into a shell
|
|
|
on sitting-here.west. Also included is an experimental script
|
|
|
rx11vnc.pl that attempts to tunnel the vnc traffic through an ssh port
|
|
|
redirection (and does not assume port 5900 is free). Have a look at
|
|
|
them to see what they do and customize as needed:
|
|
|
* [67]rx11vnc wrapper script
|
|
|
* [68]rx11vnc.pl wrapper script to tunnel traffic thru ssh
|
|
|
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
|
|
Building x11vnc:
|
|
|
|
|
|
If your OS has libjpeg.so and libz.so in standard locations you can
|
|
|
build as follows (example given for the 0.8.2 release of x11vnc:
|
|
|
replace with the version you downloaded):
|
|
|
(un-tar the x11vnc+libvncserver tarball)
|
|
|
# gzip -dc x11vnc-0.8.2.tar.gz | tar -xvf -
|
|
|
|
|
|
(cd to the source directory)
|
|
|
# cd x11vnc-0.8.2
|
|
|
|
|
|
(run configure and then run make)
|
|
|
# ./configure
|
|
|
# make
|
|
|
|
|
|
(if all went OK, copy x11vnc to the desired destination, e.g. $HOME/bin)
|
|
|
# cp ./x11vnc/x11vnc $HOME/bin
|
|
|
|
|
|
Or do make install, it will probably install to /usr/local/bin (run
|
|
|
./configure --help for information on customizing your configuration,
|
|
|
e.g. --prefix=/my/place). You can now run it via typing "x11vnc",
|
|
|
"x11vnc -help | more", "x11vnc -forever -shared -display :0", etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: Currently gcc is recommended to build libvncserver. In some
|
|
|
cases it will build with non-gcc compilers, but the resulting binary
|
|
|
sometimes fails to run properly. For Solaris pre-built gcc binaries
|
|
|
are at [69]http://www.sunfreeware.com/. Some Solaris pre-built x11vnc
|
|
|
binaries are [70]here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
However, one user reports it does work fine when built with Sun Studio
|
|
|
10, so YMMV. In fact, here is a little build script to do this on
|
|
|
Solaris 10:
|
|
|
#!/bin/sh
|
|
|
PATH=/usr/ccs/bin:/opt/SUNWspro/bin:$PATH; export PATH
|
|
|
|
|
|
CC='cc' \
|
|
|
CFLAGS='-xO4' \
|
|
|
LDFLAGS='-L/usr/sfw/lib -L/usr/X11/lib -R/usr/sfw/lib -R/usr/X11/lib' \
|
|
|
CPPFLAGS='-I /usr/sfw/include -I/usr/X11/include' \
|
|
|
./configure
|
|
|
|
|
|
MAKE="make -e"
|
|
|
AM_CFLAGS=""
|
|
|
export MAKE AM_CFLAGS
|
|
|
$MAKE
|
|
|
|
|
|
In general you can use the "make -e" trick if you don't like
|
|
|
libvncserver's choice of AM_CFLAGS. See the [71]build scripts below
|
|
|
for more ideas. Scripts similar to the above have been shown to work
|
|
|
with vendor C compilers on HP-UX (ccom: HP92453-01) and Tru64 (Compaq
|
|
|
C V6.5-011).
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can find information on [72]Misc. Build problems here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
|
|
Building on Solaris, FreeBSD, etc: Depending on your version of
|
|
|
Solaris or other Unix OS the jpeg and/or zlib libraries may be in
|
|
|
non-standard places (e.g. /usr/local, /usr/sfw, /opt/sfw, etc).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: If configure cannot find these two libraries then TightVNC and
|
|
|
ZRLE encoding support will be disabled, and you don't want that!!! The
|
|
|
TightVNC encoding gives very good compression and performance, it even
|
|
|
makes a noticeable difference over a fast LAN.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shortcuts: On Solaris 10 you can pick up almost everything just by
|
|
|
insuring that your PATH has /usr/sfw/bin (for gcc) and /usr/ccs/bin
|
|
|
(for other build tools), e.g.:
|
|
|
env PATH=/usr/sfw/bin:/usr/ccs/bin:$PATH sh -c './configure; make'
|
|
|
|
|
|
(The only thing this misses is /usr/X11/lib/libXrandr.so.2, which is
|
|
|
for the little used -xrandr option, see the script below to pick it up
|
|
|
as well).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
libjpeg is included in Solaris 9 and later (/usr/sfw/include and
|
|
|
/usr/sfw/lib), and zlib in Solaris 8 and later (/usr/include and
|
|
|
/usr/lib). So on Solaris 9 you can pick up everything with something
|
|
|
like this:
|
|
|
env PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/ccs/bin:$PATH sh -c './configure --with-jpeg=/us
|
|
|
r/sfw; make'
|
|
|
|
|
|
assuming your gcc is in /usr/local/bin and x11vnc 0.7.1 or later.
|
|
|
These are getting pretty long, see those assignments split up in the
|
|
|
build script below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If your system does not have these libraries at all you can get the
|
|
|
source for the libraries to build them: libjpeg is available at
|
|
|
[73]ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/jpeg/ and zlib at
|
|
|
[74]http://www.gzip.org/zlib/. See also
|
|
|
[75]http://www.sunfreeware.com/ for Solaris binary packages of these
|
|
|
libraries as well as for gcc. Normally they will install into
|
|
|
/usr/local but you can install them anywhere with the
|
|
|
--prefix=/path/to/anywhere, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here is a build script that indicates one way to pass the library
|
|
|
locations information to the libvncserver configuration via the
|
|
|
CPPFLAGS and LDFLAGS environment variables.
|
|
|
---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8
|
|
|
<---
|
|
|
#!/bin/sh
|
|
|
|
|
|
# Build script for Solaris, etc, with gcc, libjpeg and libz in
|
|
|
# non-standard locations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
# set to get your gcc, etc:
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
PATH=/path/to/gcc/bin:/usr/ccs/bin:/usr/sfw/bin:$PATH
|
|
|
|
|
|
JPEG=/path/to/jpeg # set to maybe "/usr/local", "/usr/sfw", or "/opt/sfw"
|
|
|
ZLIB=/path/to/zlib # set to maybe "/usr/local", "/usr/sfw", or "/opt/sfw"
|
|
|
|
|
|
# Below we assume headers in $JPEG/include and $ZLIB/include and the
|
|
|
# shared libraries are in $JPEG/lib and $ZLIB/lib. If your situation
|
|
|
# is different change the locations in the two lines below.
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
CPPFLAGS="-I $JPEG/include -I $ZLIB/include"
|
|
|
LDFLAGS="-L $JPEG/lib -R $JPEG/lib -L $ZLIB/lib -R $ZLIB/lib"
|
|
|
|
|
|
# These two lines may not be needed on more recent Solaris releases:
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
CPPFLAGS="$CPPFLAGS -I /usr/openwin/include"
|
|
|
LDFLAGS="$LDFLAGS -L /usr/openwin/lib -R /usr/openwin/lib"
|
|
|
|
|
|
# These are for libXrandr.so on Solaris 10:
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
CPPFLAGS="$CPPFLAGS -I /usr/X11/include"
|
|
|
LDFLAGS="$LDFLAGS -L /usr/X11/lib -R /usr/X11/lib"
|
|
|
|
|
|
# Everything needs to built with _REENTRANT for thread safe errno:
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
CPPFLAGS="$CPPFLAGS -D_REENTRANT"
|
|
|
|
|
|
export PATH CPPFLAGS LDFLAGS
|
|
|
|
|
|
./configure
|
|
|
make
|
|
|
|
|
|
ls -l ./x11vnc/x11vnc
|
|
|
|
|
|
---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8<---8
|
|
|
<---
|
|
|
|
|
|
Then do make install or copy the x11vnc binary to your desired
|
|
|
destination.
|
|
|
|
|
|
BTW, To run a shell script, just cut-and-paste the above into a file,
|
|
|
say "myscript", then modify the "/path/to/..." items to correspond to
|
|
|
your system/environment, and then type: "sh myscript" to run it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that on Solaris make is /usr/ccs/bin/make, so that is why the
|
|
|
above puts /usr/ccs/bin in PATH. Other important build utilities are
|
|
|
there too: ld, ar, etc. Also, it is probably a bad idea to have
|
|
|
/usr/ucb in your PATH while building.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Starting with the 0.7.1 x11vnc release the "configure --with-jpeg=DIR
|
|
|
--with-zlib=DIR" options are handy if you want to avoid making a
|
|
|
script.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you need to build on Solaris 2.5.1 or earlier or other older Unix
|
|
|
OS's, see [76]this workaround FAQ.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Building on FreeBSD, OpenBSD, ...: The jpeg libraries seem to be in
|
|
|
/usr/local or /usr/pkg on these OS's. You won't need the openwin stuff
|
|
|
in the above script (but you may need /usr/X11R6/...). Also starting
|
|
|
with the 0.7.1 x11vnc release, this usually works:
|
|
|
./configure --with-jpeg=/usr/local
|
|
|
make
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Building on HP-UX: For jpeg and zlib you will need to do the same
|
|
|
sort of thing as described above for Solaris. You set CPPFLAGS and
|
|
|
LDFLAGS to find them (see below for an example). You do not need to do
|
|
|
any of the above /usr/openwin stuff. Also, HP-UX does not seem to
|
|
|
support -R, so get rid of the -R items in LDFLAGS. Because of this, at
|
|
|
runtime you may need to set LD_LIBRARY_PATH or SHLIB_PATH to indicate
|
|
|
the directory paths so the libraries can be found. It is a good idea
|
|
|
to have static archives, e.g. libz.a and libjpeg.a for the nonstandard
|
|
|
libraries so that they get bolted into the x11vnc binary (and so won't
|
|
|
get "lost").
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here is what we recently did to build x11vnc 0.7.2 on HP-UX 11.11
|
|
|
./configure --with-jpeg=$HOME/hpux/jpeg --with-zlib=$HOME/hpux/zlib
|
|
|
make
|
|
|
|
|
|
Where we had static archives (libjpeg.a, libz.a) only and header files
|
|
|
in the $HOME/hpux/... directories as discussed for the build script.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Building on AIX: AIX: one user had to add the "X11.adt" package to
|
|
|
AIX 4.3.3 and 5.2 to get build header files like XShm.h, etc. You may
|
|
|
also want to make sure that /usr/lpp/X11/include, etc is being picked
|
|
|
up by the configure and make.
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
|
|
Beta Testing:
|
|
|
|
|
|
I don't have any formal beta-testers for the releases of x11vnc, so
|
|
|
I'd appreciate any additional testing very much!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thanks to those who suggested features and helped beta test x11vnc
|
|
|
0.8.2 released in Jul 2006!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Please help test and debug the 0.8.3 version for release sometime in
|
|
|
Summer/Fall 2006.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The version 0.8.3 beta tarball is kept here:
|
|
|
[77]x11vnc-0.8.3.tar.gz
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are also some Linux, Solaris, and other OS test binaries
|
|
|
[78]here. Please kick the tires and report bugs, performance
|
|
|
regressions, undesired behavior, etc. to [79]me.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To aid testing of the [80]built-in SSL support for x11vnc, a number of
|
|
|
packages for Unix and Windows have been created that provide SSL
|
|
|
Support for the TightVNC Viewer (this is done by [81]wrapper scripts
|
|
|
that start STUNNEL, [82]more details here) It should be pretty
|
|
|
convenient for SSL connections. A number of other features where added
|
|
|
to TightVNC Viewer (e.g. rfbNewFBSize resizing support). It is
|
|
|
described and can be downloaded from the [83]Enhanced TightVNC Viewer
|
|
|
page.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here are some features that appeared in the 0.8.2 release:
|
|
|
* Linux console framebuffer keystroke and mouse insertion is now
|
|
|
supported by the uinput linux device driver. This enables full
|
|
|
interaction with non-X applications on the Linux console (e.g.
|
|
|
Qt-embedded/Qtopia-Core apps). This will be autodetected in:
|
|
|
[84]-rawfb console mode, and can be forced on via: [85]-pipeinput
|
|
|
UINPUT
|
|
|
* The [86]-display WAIT:... option extends the normal [87]-display
|
|
|
option by having x11vnc wait until a VNC viewer connects before
|
|
|
attaching to an X display. A command can also be supplied that
|
|
|
will determine the DISPLAY and XAUTHORITY data. A default one is
|
|
|
built-in for WAIT:cmd=FINDDISPLAY. Coupling this with "-unixpw
|
|
|
-users unixpw=" (available in beta version) provides a way to
|
|
|
allow a user to login with their UNIX password and have their
|
|
|
display connected to [88]automatically.
|
|
|
* The [89]-grabkdb and [90]-grabptr options allow some degree of
|
|
|
grabbing the pointer and keyboard so local users cannot perform
|
|
|
input (e.g. remote helpdesk application).
|
|
|
* More new options:
|
|
|
+ [91]-allowedcmds to fine-tune which external commands may be
|
|
|
run by x11vnc, rather than shutting them all off with
|
|
|
[92]-nocmds,
|
|
|
+ [93]-env VAR=VALUE convenience option to avoid the need of
|
|
|
setting environment variables before starting x11vnc,
|
|
|
+ [94]-allinput option to enable libvncserver
|
|
|
handleEventsEagerly parameter,
|
|
|
+ [95]-rawfb rand fun/testing option using /dev/urandom as a
|
|
|
fb,
|
|
|
+ [96]-license print license, copying, warranty information.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here are some features that will appear in the 0.8.3 release:
|
|
|
* The [97]-ssl option provides SSL encryption and authentication
|
|
|
natively via the [98]www.openssl.org library. One can use from a
|
|
|
simple self-signed certificate server certificate up to full CA
|
|
|
and client certificate authentication schemes.
|
|
|
* The [99]-stunnel option starts up a SSL tunnel server stunnel
|
|
|
(that must be installed separately on the system:
|
|
|
[100]www.stunnel.org) to allow only encrypted SSL connections from
|
|
|
the network.
|
|
|
* The [101]-sslverify option allows for authenticating VNC clients
|
|
|
via their certificates in either -ssl or -stunnel modes.
|
|
|
* An SSL enabled Java applet VNC Viewer applet is provided in
|
|
|
classes/ssl/VncViewer.jar. It may also be loaded into the web
|
|
|
browser via https (http over SSL) in addition to http. (via the
|
|
|
VNC port or also by the separate [102]-https port option). A
|
|
|
wrapper shell script [103]ssl_vncviewer is also provided that sets
|
|
|
up a stunnel client-side tunnel on Unix systems.
|
|
|
* The [104]-unixpw option supports Unix username and password
|
|
|
authentication (a variant is the [105]-unixpw_nis option that
|
|
|
works in NIS environments). The [106]-ssl or [107]-localhost +
|
|
|
[108]-stunnel options are enforced in this mode to prevent
|
|
|
password sniffing. As a convenience, the -ssl or -stunnel
|
|
|
requirements are lifted if a SSH tunnel can be deduced (but
|
|
|
-localhost still applies). Coupling -unixpw with "-display
|
|
|
WAIT:cmd=FINDDISPLAY" provides a way to allow a user to login with
|
|
|
their UNIX password and have their display connected to
|
|
|
[109]automatically.
|
|
|
* The [110]-rotate option enables you to rotate or reflect the
|
|
|
screen before exporting via VNC. This is intended for use on
|
|
|
handhelds and other devices where the rotation orientation is not
|
|
|
"natural".
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here are some [111]previous release notes
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some Notes:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Both a client and a server: It is sometimes confusing to people that
|
|
|
x11vnc is both a client and a server at the same time. It is an X
|
|
|
client because it connects to the running X server to do the screen
|
|
|
polls. Think of it as a rather efficient "screenshot" program running
|
|
|
continuously. It is a server in the sense that it is a VNC server that
|
|
|
VNC viewers on the network can connect to and view the screen
|
|
|
framebuffer it manages.
|
|
|
|
|
|
When trying to debug problems, remember to think of both roles. E.g.
|
|
|
"how is x11vnc connecting to the X server?", "how is the vncviewer
|
|
|
connecting to x11vnc?", "what permits/restricts the connection?". Both
|
|
|
links may have reachability, permission, and other issues.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Network performance: Whether you are using Xvnc or x11vnc it is
|
|
|
always a good idea to have a solid background color instead of a
|
|
|
pretty background image. Each and every re-exposure of the background
|
|
|
must be resent over the network: better to have that background be a
|
|
|
solid color that compresses very well compared to a photo image. (This
|
|
|
is one place where the X protocol has an advantage over the VNC
|
|
|
protocol.) I suggest using xsetroot, dtstyle or similar utility to set
|
|
|
a solid background while using x11vnc. You can turn the pretty
|
|
|
background image back on when you are using the display directly.
|
|
|
Update: As of Feb/2005 x11vnc has the [112]-solid [color] option that
|
|
|
works on recent GNOME, KDE, and CDE and also on classic X (background
|
|
|
image is on the root window).
|
|
|
|
|
|
I also find the [113]TightVNC encoding gives the best response for my
|
|
|
usage (Unix <-> Unix over cable modem). One needs a tightvnc-aware
|
|
|
vncviewer to take advantage of this encoding.
|
|
|
|
|
|
TCP port issues: Notice the lines
|
|
|
18/07/2003 14:36:31 Autoprobing selected port 5900
|
|
|
PORT=5900
|
|
|
|
|
|
in the output. 5900 is the default VNC listening port (just like 6000
|
|
|
is X11's default listening port). Had port 5900 been taken by some
|
|
|
other application, x11vnc would have next tried 5901. That would mean
|
|
|
the viewer command above should be changed to vncviewer
|
|
|
far-away.east:1. You can force the port with the "[114]-rfbport NNNN"
|
|
|
option where NNNN is the desired port number. If that port is already
|
|
|
taken, x11vnc will exit immediately. (also see the "SunRay Gotcha"
|
|
|
note below)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options: x11vnc has (far too) many features that may be activated
|
|
|
via its [115]command line options. Useful options are, e.g., -scale to
|
|
|
do server-side scaling, and -rfbauth passwd-file to use VNC password
|
|
|
protection (the vncpasswd or storepasswd programs, or the x11vnc
|
|
|
[116]-storepasswd option can be used to create the password file).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Algorithm: How does x11vnc do it? Rather brute-forcedly: it
|
|
|
continuously polls the X11 framebuffer for changes using
|
|
|
XShmGetImage(). When changes are discovered, it instructs libvncserver
|
|
|
which rectangular regions of the framebuffer have changed, and
|
|
|
libvncserver compresses the changes and sends them off to any
|
|
|
connected VNC viewers. A number of applications do similar things,
|
|
|
such as x0rfbserver, krfb, x0vncserver, vino. x11vnc uses a 32 x 32
|
|
|
pixel tile model (the desktop is decomposed into roughly 1000 such
|
|
|
tiles), where changed tiles are found by pseudo-randomly polling 1
|
|
|
pixel tall horizontal scanlines. This is a surprisingly effective
|
|
|
algorithm for finding changed regions. For keyboard and mouse user
|
|
|
input the XTEST extension is used to pass the input events to the X
|
|
|
server. To detect XBell "beeps" the XKEYBOARD extension is used. If
|
|
|
available, the XFIXES extension is used to retrieve the current mouse
|
|
|
cursor shape. Also, if available the X DAMAGE extension is used to
|
|
|
receive hints from the X server where modified regions on the screen
|
|
|
are. This greatly reduces the system load when not much is changing on
|
|
|
the screen and also improves how quickly the screen is updated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Barbershop mirrors effect: What if x11vnc is started up, and
|
|
|
vncviewer is then started up on the same machine and displayed on the
|
|
|
same display x11vnc is polling? One might "accidentally" do this when
|
|
|
first testing out the programs. You get an interesting
|
|
|
recursive/feedback effect where vncviewer images keep popping up each
|
|
|
one contained in the previous one and slightly shifted a bit by the
|
|
|
window manager decorations. There will be an [117]even more
|
|
|
interesting effect if -scale is used. Also, if the XKEYBOARD is
|
|
|
supported and the XBell "beeps" once, you get an infinite loop of
|
|
|
beeps going off. Although all of this is mildly exciting it is not
|
|
|
much use: you will normally run and display the viewer on a different
|
|
|
machine!
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
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|
|
|
|
Sun Ray Notes:
|
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|
|
|
|
You can run x11vnc on your (connected or disconnected) [118]SunRay
|
|
|
session. Here are some [119]notes on SunRay usage with x11vnc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
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|
Limitations:
|
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|
|
|
|
* Due to the polling nature, some activities (opaque window moves,
|
|
|
scrolling), can be pretty choppy/ragged and others (exposures of
|
|
|
large areas) slow. Experiment with interacting a bit differently
|
|
|
than you normally do to minimize the effects (e.g. do fullpage
|
|
|
paging rather than line-by-line scrolling, and move windows in a
|
|
|
single, quick motion). Recent work has provided the
|
|
|
[120]-scrollcopyrect and [121]-wireframe speedups using the
|
|
|
CopyRect VNC encoding and other things, but they only speed up
|
|
|
certain activities, not all.
|
|
|
* A rate limiting factor for x11vnc performance is that video
|
|
|
hardware is optimized for writing, not reading (x11vnc reads the
|
|
|
video framebuffer for the screen image data). The difference can
|
|
|
be a factor of 10 to 1000, and so it usually takes about 0.5-1 sec
|
|
|
to read in the whole video hardware framebuffer (e.g. 5MB for
|
|
|
1280x1024 at depth 24 with a read rate of 5-10MB/sec). So whenever
|
|
|
activity changes most of the screen (e.g. moving or iconifying a
|
|
|
large window) there is a delay of 0.5-1 sec while x11vnc reads the
|
|
|
changed regions in.
|
|
|
Note: A quick way to get a 2X speedup for x11vnc is to switch from
|
|
|
depth 24 (32bpp) to depth 16 (16bpp). You get a 4X speedup going
|
|
|
to 8bpp, but the lack of color cells is usually unacceptable.
|
|
|
To get a sense of the read and write speeds of your video card,
|
|
|
you can run benchmarks like: x11perf -getimage500, x11perf
|
|
|
-putimage500, x11perf -shmput500 and for XFree86 displays with
|
|
|
direct graphics access the dga command (press "b" to run the
|
|
|
benchmark and then after a few seconds press "q" to quit). Even
|
|
|
this "dd if=/dev/fb0 of=/dev/null" often gives a good estimate. We
|
|
|
have seen a few cases where the hardware fb read speed is greater
|
|
|
than 65 MB/sec: on high end graphics workstations from SGI and
|
|
|
Sun, and also from a Linux user using nvidia proprietary drivers
|
|
|
for his nvidia video card. If you have a card with a fast read
|
|
|
speed please send us the details.
|
|
|
On XFree86/Xorg it is actually possible to increase the
|
|
|
framebuffer read speed considerably (5-100 times) by using the
|
|
|
Shadow Framebuffer (a copy of the framebuffer is kept in main
|
|
|
memory and this can be read much more quickly). To do this one
|
|
|
puts the line Option "ShadowFB" "true" in the Device section of
|
|
|
the /etc/X11/XF86Config or /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. Note that this
|
|
|
disables 2D acceleration at the physical display and so likely
|
|
|
defeats the purpose. Nevertheless this could be handy in some
|
|
|
circumstances, e.g. if the slower speed while sitting at the
|
|
|
physical display was acceptable (this seems to be true for most
|
|
|
video cards these days). Unfortunately it does not seem shadowfb
|
|
|
can be turned on and off dynamically...
|
|
|
Another amusing thing one can do is use Xvfb as the X server, e.g.
|
|
|
"xinit $HOME/.xinitrc -- /usr/X11R6/bin/Xvfb :1 -screen 0
|
|
|
1024x768x16" x11vnc can poll Xvfb efficiently via main memory.
|
|
|
It's not exactly clear why one would want to do this instead of
|
|
|
using vncserver/Xvnc, (perhaps to take advantage of an x11vnc
|
|
|
feature, such as framebuffer scaling), but we mention it because
|
|
|
it may be of use for special purpose applications.
|
|
|
Also, a faster and more accurate way is to use the "dummy"
|
|
|
XFree86/Xorg device driver (or our Xdummy wrapper script). See
|
|
|
[122]this FAQ for details.
|
|
|
* Somewhat surprisingly, the X11 mouse (cursor) shape is write-only
|
|
|
and cannot be queried from the X server. So traditionally in
|
|
|
x11vnc the cursor shape stays fixed at an arrow. (see the "-cursor
|
|
|
X" and "-cursor some" [123]options, however, for a partial hack
|
|
|
for the root window, etc.). However, on Solaris using the SUN_OVL
|
|
|
overlay extension, x11vnc can show the correct mouse cursor when
|
|
|
the [124]-overlay option is also supplied. A similar thing is done
|
|
|
on IRIX as well when -overlay is supplied.
|
|
|
More generally, as of Dec/2004 x11vnc supports the new XFIXES
|
|
|
extension (in Xorg and Solaris 10) to query the X server for the
|
|
|
exact cursor shape, this works pretty well except that cursors
|
|
|
with transparency (alpha channel) need to approximated to solid
|
|
|
RGB values (some cursors look worse than others).
|
|
|
* Audio from applications is of course not redirected (separate
|
|
|
redirectors do exist, e.g. esd [125]the FAQ on this below.) The
|
|
|
XBell() "beeps" will work if the X server supports the XKEYBOARD
|
|
|
extension. (Note that on Solaris XKEYBOARD is disabled by default.
|
|
|
Passing +kb to Xsun enables it).
|
|
|
* The scroll detection algorithm for the [126]-scrollcopyrect option
|
|
|
can give choppy or bunched up transient output and occasionally
|
|
|
painting errors.
|
|
|
* Using -threads can expose some bugs in libvncserver.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Please feel free to [127]contact me if you have any questions,
|
|
|
problems, or comments about x11vnc, etc.
|
|
|
Also, some people ask if they can make a donation, see [128]this link
|
|
|
for that.
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc FAQ:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Building and Starting]
|
|
|
|
|
|
[129]Q-1: I can't get x11vnc to start up. It says "XOpenDisplay failed
|
|
|
(null)" or "Xlib: connection to ":0.0" refused by server Xlib: No
|
|
|
protocol specified" and then exits. What do I need to do?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[130]Q-2: I can't get x11vnc and/or libvncserver to compile.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[131]Q-3: I just built x11vnc successfully, but when I use it my
|
|
|
keystrokes and mouse button clicks are ignored (I am able to move the
|
|
|
mouse though).
|
|
|
|
|
|
[132]Q-4: Help, I need to run x11vnc on Solaris 2.5.1 (or other old
|
|
|
Unix/Linux) and it doesn't compile!
|
|
|
|
|
|
[133]Q-5: Where can I get a precompiled x11vnc binary for my Operating
|
|
|
System?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[134]Q-6: Where can I get a VNC Viewer binary (or source code) for the
|
|
|
Operating System I will be viewing from?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[135]Q-7: How can I see all of x11vnc's command line options and
|
|
|
documentation on how to use them?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[136]Q-8: I don't like typing arcane command line options every time I
|
|
|
start x11vnc. What can I do? Is there a config file? Or a GUI?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[137]Q-9: How can I get the GUI to run in the System Tray, or at least
|
|
|
be a smaller, simpler icon?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[138]Q-10: How can I get x11vnc to listen on a different port besides
|
|
|
the default VNC port (5900)?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[139]Q-11: Can I make x11vnc more quiet and also go into the
|
|
|
background after starting up?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[140]Q-12: Sometimes when a VNC viewer dies abruptly, x11vnc also dies
|
|
|
with the error message like: "Broken pipe". I'm using the -forever
|
|
|
mode and I want x11vnc to keep running.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[141]Q-13: Are there any build-time customizations possible, e.g.
|
|
|
change defaults, create a smaller binary, etc?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Win2VNC Related]
|
|
|
|
|
|
[142]Q-14: I have two separate machine displays in front of me, one
|
|
|
Windows the other X11: can I use x11vnc in combination with Win2VNC in
|
|
|
dual-screen mode to pass the keystrokes and mouse motions to the X11
|
|
|
display?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[143]Q-15: I am running Win2VNC on my Windows machine and "x11vnc
|
|
|
-nofb" on Unix to pass keyboard and mouse to the Unix monitor.
|
|
|
Whenever I start Win2VNC it quickly disconnects and x11vnc says:
|
|
|
rfbProcessClientNormalMessage: read: Connection reset by peer
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Color Issues]
|
|
|
|
|
|
[144]Q-16: The X display I run x11vnc on is only 8 bits per pixel
|
|
|
(bpp) PseudoColor (i.e. only 256 distinct colors). The x11vnc colors
|
|
|
may start out OK, but after a while they are incorrect in certain
|
|
|
windows.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[145]Q-17: Color problems: Why are the colors for some windows
|
|
|
incorrect in x11vnc? BTW, my X display has nice overlay/multi-depth
|
|
|
visuals of different color depths: e.g. there are both depth 8 and 24
|
|
|
visuals available at the same time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[146]Q-18: How do I figure out the window id to supply to the -id
|
|
|
windowid option?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[147]Q-19: Why don't menus or other transient windows come up when I
|
|
|
am using the -id windowid option to view a single application window?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[148]Q-20: My X display is depth 24 at 24bpp (instead of the normal
|
|
|
depth 24 at 32bpp). I'm having lots of color and visual problems with
|
|
|
x11vnc and/or vncviewer. What's up?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Xterminals]
|
|
|
|
|
|
[149]Q-21: Can I use x11vnc to view and interact with an Xterminal
|
|
|
(e.g. NCD) that is not running UNIX and so x11vnc cannot be run on it
|
|
|
directly?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[150]Q-22: How do I get my X permissions (MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE file)
|
|
|
correct for a Unix/Linux machine acting as an Xterminal?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Sun Rays]
|
|
|
|
|
|
[151]Q-23: I'm having trouble using x11vnc with my Sun Ray session.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Remote Control]
|
|
|
|
|
|
[152]Q-24: How do I stop x11vnc once it is running in the background?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[153]Q-25: Can I change settings in x11vnc without having to restart
|
|
|
it? Can I remote control it?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Security and Permissions]
|
|
|
|
|
|
[154]Q-26: How do I create a VNC password for use with x11vnc?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[155]Q-27: Can I make it so -storepasswd doesn't show my password on
|
|
|
the screen?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[156]Q-28: Can I have two passwords for VNC viewers, one for full
|
|
|
access and the other for view-only access to the display?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[157]Q-29: Can I have as many full-access and view-only passwords as I
|
|
|
like?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[158]Q-30: Does x11vnc support Unix usernames and passwords? Can I
|
|
|
further limit the set of Unix usernames who can connect to the VNC
|
|
|
desktop?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[159]Q-31: Why does x11vnc exit as soon as the VNC viewer disconnects?
|
|
|
And why doesn't it allow more than one VNC viewer to connect at the
|
|
|
same time?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[160]Q-32: Can I limit which machines incoming VNC clients can connect
|
|
|
from?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[161]Q-33: How do I build x11vnc/libvncserver with libwrap
|
|
|
(tcp_wrappers) support?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[162]Q-34: Can I have x11vnc only listen on one network interface
|
|
|
(e.g. internal LAN) rather than having it listen on all network
|
|
|
interfaces and relying on -allow to filter unwanted connections out?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[163]Q-35: Now that -localhost implies listening only on the loopback
|
|
|
interface, how I can occasionally allow in a non-localhost via the -R
|
|
|
allowonce remote control command?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[164]Q-36: Can I fine tune what types of user input are allowed? E.g.
|
|
|
have some users just be able to move the mouse, but not click or type
|
|
|
anything?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[165]Q-37: Can I prompt the user at the local X display whether the
|
|
|
incoming VNC client should be accepted or not? Can I decide to make
|
|
|
some clients view-only? How about running an arbitrary program to make
|
|
|
the decisions?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[166]Q-38: I start x11vnc as root because it is launched via inetd(8)
|
|
|
or a display manager like gdm(1). Can I have x11vnc later switch to a
|
|
|
different user?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[167]Q-39: I use a screen-lock when I leave my workstation (e.g.
|
|
|
xscreensaver or xlock). When I remotely access my workstation desktop
|
|
|
via x11vnc I can unlock the desktop fine, but I am worried people will
|
|
|
see my activities on the physical monitor. What can I do to prevent
|
|
|
this, or at least make it more difficult?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[168]Q-40: Can I have x11vnc automatically lock the screen when I
|
|
|
disconnect the VNC viewer?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[169]Q-41: Help! x11vnc and my KDE screensaver keep switching each
|
|
|
other on and off every few seconds.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Encrypted Connections]
|
|
|
|
|
|
[170]Q-42: How can I tunnel my connection to x11vnc via an encrypted
|
|
|
SSH channel between two Unix machines?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[171]Q-43: How can I tunnel my connection to x11vnc via an encrypted
|
|
|
SSH channel from Windows using an SSH client like Putty?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[172]Q-44: How can I tunnel my connection to x11vnc via an encrypted
|
|
|
SSL channel using an external tool like stunnel?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[173]Q-45: Does x11vnc have built-in SSL tunneling?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[174]Q-46: How do I use VNC Viewers with built-in SSL tunneling?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[175]Q-47: How do I use VNC Viewers with built-in SSL tunneling when
|
|
|
going through a Web Proxy?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[176]Q-48: Can Apache web server act as a gateway for users to connect
|
|
|
via SSL from the Internet with a Web browser to x11vnc running on
|
|
|
their workstations behind a firewall?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[177]Q-49: Can I create and use my own SSL Certificate Authority (CA)
|
|
|
with x11vnc?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Display Managers and Services]
|
|
|
|
|
|
[178]Q-50: How can I run x11vnc as a "service" that is always
|
|
|
available?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[179]Q-51: How can I use x11vnc to connect to an X login screen like
|
|
|
xdm, GNOME gdm, KDE kdm, or CDE dtlogin? (i.e. nobody is logged into
|
|
|
an X session yet).
|
|
|
|
|
|
[180]Q-52: Can I run x11vnc out of inetd(8)? How about xinetd(8)?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[181]Q-53: Can I have x11vnc allow a user to log in with her UNIX
|
|
|
password and then have it find her X display on that machine and
|
|
|
connect to it?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[182]Q-54: Can I have x11vnc restart itself after it terminates?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[183]Q-55: How do I make x11vnc work with the Java VNC viewer applet
|
|
|
in a web browser?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[184]Q-56: Are reverse connections (i.e. the VNC server connecting to
|
|
|
the VNC viewer) using "vncviewer -listen" and vncconnect(1) supported?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[185]Q-57: Can I use x11vnc as a replacement for Xvnc? (i.e. not for a
|
|
|
real display, but for a virtual one I keep around).
|
|
|
|
|
|
[186]Q-58: How can I use x11vnc on "headless" machines? Why might I
|
|
|
want to?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Resource Usage and Performance]
|
|
|
|
|
|
[187]Q-59: I have lots of memory, but why does x11vnc fail with
|
|
|
shmget: No space left on device or Minor opcode of failed
|
|
|
request: 1 (X_ShmAttach)?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[188]Q-60: How can I make x11vnc use less system resources?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[189]Q-61: How can I make x11vnc use MORE system resources?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[190]Q-62: I use x11vnc over a slow link with high latency (e.g.
|
|
|
dialup modem), is there anything I can do to speed things up?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[191]Q-63: Does x11vnc support the X DAMAGE Xserver extension to find
|
|
|
modified regions of the screen quickly and efficiently?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[192]Q-64: When I drag windows around with the mouse or scroll up and
|
|
|
down things really bog down (unless I do the drag in a single, quick
|
|
|
motion). Is there anything to do to improve things?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[193]Q-65: Why not do something like wireframe animations to avoid the
|
|
|
windows "lurching" when being moved or resized?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[194]Q-66: Can x11vnc try to apply heuristics to detect when a window
|
|
|
is scrolling its contents and use the CopyRect encoding for a speedup?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Mouse Cursor Shapes]
|
|
|
|
|
|
[195]Q-67: Why isn't the mouse cursor shape (the little icon shape
|
|
|
where the mouse pointer is) correct as I move from window to window?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[196]Q-68: When using XFIXES cursorshape mode, some of the cursors
|
|
|
look really bad with extra black borders around the cursor and other
|
|
|
cruft. How can I improve their appearance?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[197]Q-69: In XFIXES mode, are there any hacks to handle cursor
|
|
|
transparency ("alpha channel") exactly?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Mouse Pointer]
|
|
|
|
|
|
[198]Q-70: Why does the mouse arrow just stay in one corner in my
|
|
|
vncviewer, whereas my cursor (that does move) is just a dot?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[199]Q-71: Can I take advantage of the TightVNC extension to the VNC
|
|
|
protocol where Cursor Positions Updates are sent back to all connected
|
|
|
clients (i.e. passive viewers can see the mouse cursor being moved
|
|
|
around by another viewer)?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[200]Q-72: Is it possible to swap the mouse buttons (e.g. left-handed
|
|
|
operation), or arbitrarily remap them? How about mapping button clicks
|
|
|
to keystrokes, e.g. to partially emulate Mouse wheel scrolling?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Keyboard Issues]
|
|
|
|
|
|
[201]Q-73: How can I get my AltGr and Shift modifiers to work between
|
|
|
keyboards for different languages?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[202]Q-74: When I try to type a "<" (i.e. less than) instead I get ">"
|
|
|
(i.e. greater than)! Strangely, typing ">" works OK!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
[203]Q-75: When I try to type a "<" (i.e. less than) instead I get
|
|
|
"<," (i.e. an extra comma).
|
|
|
|
|
|
[204]Q-76: I'm using an "international" keyboard (e.g. German "de", or
|
|
|
Danish "dk") and the -modtweak mode works well if the VNC viewer is
|
|
|
run on a Unix/Linux machine with a similar keyboard. But if I run
|
|
|
the VNC viewer on Unix/Linux with a different keyboard (e.g. "us") or
|
|
|
Windows with any keyboard, I can't type some keys like: "@", "$",
|
|
|
"<", ">", etc. How can I fix this?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[205]Q-77: When typing I sometimes get double, triple, or more of my
|
|
|
keystrokes repeated. I'm sure I only typed them once, what can I do?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[206]Q-78: The x11vnc -norepeat mode is in effect, but I still get
|
|
|
repeated keystrokes!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
[207]Q-79: The machine where I run x11vnc has an AltGr key, but the
|
|
|
local machine where I run the VNC viewer does not. Is there a way I
|
|
|
can map a local unused key to send an AltGr? How about a Compose key
|
|
|
as well?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[208]Q-80: I have a Sun machine I run x11vnc on. Its Sun keyboard has
|
|
|
just one Alt key labelled "Alt" and two Meta keys labelled with little
|
|
|
diamonds. The machine where I run the VNC viewer only has Alt keys.
|
|
|
How can I send a Meta keypress? (e.g. emacs needs this)
|
|
|
|
|
|
[209]Q-81: Can I map a keystroke to a mouse button click on the remote
|
|
|
machine?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[210]Q-82: How can I get Caps_Lock to work between my VNC viewer and
|
|
|
x11vnc?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Screen Related Issues and Features]
|
|
|
|
|
|
[211]Q-83: The remote display is larger (in number of pixels) than the
|
|
|
local display I am running the vncviewer on. I don't like the
|
|
|
vncviewer scrollbars, what I can do?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[212]Q-84: Does x11vnc support server-side framebuffer scaling? (E.g.
|
|
|
to make the desktop smaller).
|
|
|
|
|
|
[213]Q-85: Does x11vnc work with Xinerama? (i.e. multiple monitors
|
|
|
joined together to form one big, single screen).
|
|
|
|
|
|
[214]Q-86: Can I use x11vnc on a multi-headed display that is not
|
|
|
Xinerama (i.e. separate screens :0.0, :0.1, ... for each monitor)?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[215]Q-87: Can x11vnc show only a portion of the display? (E.g. for a
|
|
|
special purpose rfb application).
|
|
|
|
|
|
[216]Q-88: Does x11vnc support the XRANDR (X Resize, Rotate and
|
|
|
Reflection) extension? Whenever I rotate or resize the screen x11vnc
|
|
|
just seems to crash.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[217]Q-89: Independent of any XRANDR, can I have x11vnc rotate and/or
|
|
|
reflect the screen that the VNC viewers see? (e.g. for a handheld
|
|
|
whose screen is rotated 90 degrees).
|
|
|
|
|
|
[218]Q-90: Why is the view in my VNC viewer completely black? Or why
|
|
|
is everything flashing around randomly?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[219]Q-91: I use Linux Virtual Consoles (VC's) to implement 'Fast User
|
|
|
Switching' between users' sessions (e.g. Betty is on Ctrl-Alt-F7,
|
|
|
Bobby is on Ctrl-Alt-F8, and Sid is on Ctrl-Alt-F1: they use those
|
|
|
keystrokes to switch between their sessions). How come the view in a
|
|
|
VNC viewer connecting to x11vnc is either completely black or
|
|
|
otherwise all messed up unless the X session x11vnc is attached to is
|
|
|
in the active VC?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[220]Q-92: I am using x11vnc where my local machine has "popup/hidden
|
|
|
taskbars" (e.g. GNOME or MacOS X) and the remote display where x11vnc
|
|
|
runs also has "popup/hidden taskbars" (e.g. GNOME). When I move the
|
|
|
mouse to the edge of the screen where the popups happen, the taskbars
|
|
|
interfere and fight with each other in strange ways. What can I do?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[221]Q-93: Can I use x11vnc to view my VMWare session remotely?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[222]Q-94: Can non-X devices (e.g. a raw framebuffer) be viewed (and
|
|
|
even controlled) via VNC with x11vnc?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[223]Q-95: Can I export via VNC a Webcam or TV tuner framebuffer using
|
|
|
x11vnc?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[224]Q-96: Can I connect via VNC to a Qt-embedded/Qtopia application
|
|
|
running on my handheld or PC using the Linux console framebuffer (i.e.
|
|
|
not X11)?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[225]Q-97: Now that non-X11 devices can be exported via VNC using
|
|
|
x11vnc, can I build it with no dependencies on X11 header files and
|
|
|
libraries?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[226]Q-98: Can I use x11vnc to record a Shock Wave Flash (or other
|
|
|
format) video of my desktop, e.g. to record a tutorial or demo?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Misc: Clipboard, File Transfer/Sharing, Printing, Sound, Beeps,
|
|
|
Thanks, etc.]
|
|
|
|
|
|
[227]Q-99: Does the Clipboard/Selection get transferred between the
|
|
|
vncviewer and the X display?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[228]Q-100: Can I transfer files back and forth with x11vnc?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[229]Q-101: Can I (temporarily) mount my local (viewer-side)
|
|
|
Windows/Samba File share on the machine where x11vnc is running?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[230]Q-102: Can I redirect CUPS print jobs from the remote desktop
|
|
|
where x11vnc is running to a printer on my local (viewer-side)
|
|
|
machine?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[231]Q-103: How can I hear the sound (audio) from the remote
|
|
|
applications on the desktop I am viewing via x11vnc?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[232]Q-104: Why don't I hear the "Beeps" in my X session (e.g. when
|
|
|
typing tput bel in an xterm)?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[233]Q-105: Thanks for your program and for your help! Can I make a
|
|
|
donation?
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Building and Starting]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-1: I can't get x11vnc to start up. It says "XOpenDisplay failed
|
|
|
(null)" or "Xlib: connection to ":0.0" refused by server Xlib: No
|
|
|
protocol specified" and then exits. What do I need to do?
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the former error, you need to specify the X display to connect to
|
|
|
(it also needs to be on the same machine the x11vnc process is to run
|
|
|
on). Set your DISPLAY environment variable or use the [234]-display
|
|
|
option to specify it. Nearly always the correct value will be ":0" (in
|
|
|
fact, x11vnc will now assume :0 if given no other information).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the latter error, you need to set up the X11 permissions
|
|
|
correctly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To make sure X11 permissions are the problem do this simple test:
|
|
|
while sitting at the physical X display open a terminal window
|
|
|
(gnome-terminal, xterm, etc). You should be able to run x11vnc
|
|
|
successfully without any need for special steps or command line
|
|
|
options in that terminal (i.e. just type "x11vnc"). If that works OK
|
|
|
then you know X11 permissions are the only thing preventing it from
|
|
|
working when you try to start x11vnc via, say, a remote shell.
|
|
|
|
|
|
How to Solve: See the xauth(1), Xsecurity(7), and xhost(1) man pages
|
|
|
or [235]this Howto for much info on X11 permissions. For example, you
|
|
|
may need to set your XAUTHORITY environment variable or use the
|
|
|
[236]-auth option to point to the correct MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE file (e.g.
|
|
|
/home/joe/.Xauthority or /var/gdm/:0.Xauth or /var/lib/kdm/A:0-crWk72K
|
|
|
or /tmp/.gdmzndVlR, etc.), or simply be sure you run x11vnc as the
|
|
|
correct user (i.e. the user who is logged into the X session you wish
|
|
|
to view).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: The MIT cookie file contains the secret key that allows x11vnc
|
|
|
to connect to the desired X display.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If, say, sshd has set XAUTHORITY to point to a random file it has
|
|
|
created for X forwarding that will cause problems. (Under some
|
|
|
circumstances even su(1) and telnet(1) can set XAUTHORITY. See also
|
|
|
the gdm parameter NeverPlaceCookiesOnNFS that sets XAUTHORITY to a
|
|
|
random filename in /tmp for the whole X session).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Running x11vnc as root is often not enough: you need to know where the
|
|
|
MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE file for the desired X display is.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Example solution:
|
|
|
x11vnc -display :0 -auth /var/gdm/:0.Xauth
|
|
|
|
|
|
(this is for the display manager gdm and requires root permission to
|
|
|
read the gdm cookie file, see [237]this faq for other display manager
|
|
|
cookie file names). While running x11vnc as root, remember it comes
|
|
|
with no warranty ;-).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Less safe, but to avoid figuring out where the correct XAUTHORITY file
|
|
|
is, if the person sitting at the physical X session types "xhost
|
|
|
+localhost" then one should be able to attach x11vnc to the session
|
|
|
(from the same machine). The person could then type "xhost -localhost"
|
|
|
after x11vnc has connected to go back to the default permissions.
|
|
|
Also, for some situations the "-users lurk=" option may be of use
|
|
|
(please read the documentation on the [238]-users option).
|
|
|
|
|
|
To test out your X11 permissions from a remote shell, set DISPLAY and
|
|
|
possibly XAUTHORITY (see your shell's man page, bash(1), tcsh(1), on
|
|
|
how to set environment variables) and type xdpyinfo in the same place
|
|
|
you will be typing (or otherwise running) x11vnc. If information is
|
|
|
printed out about the X display (screen sizes, supported extensions,
|
|
|
color visuals info) that means the X11 permissions are set up
|
|
|
properly: xdpyinfo successfully connected to DISPLAY! You could also
|
|
|
type xclock and make sure no errors are reported (a clock should
|
|
|
appear on the X display, press Ctrl-C to stop it). If these work, then
|
|
|
typing "x11vnc" in the same environment should also work.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Important: if you cannot get your X11 permissions so that the xdpyinfo
|
|
|
or xclock tests work, x11vnc also will not work (all of these X
|
|
|
clients must be allowed to connect to the X server to function
|
|
|
properly).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-2: I can't get x11vnc and/or libvncserver to compile.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Make sure you have all of the required -devel packages installed.
|
|
|
These include X11/XFree86, libjpeg, libz, ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
After running the libvncserver configure, carefully examine the output
|
|
|
and the messages in the config.log file looking for missing
|
|
|
components. For example, if the configure output looks like:
|
|
|
checking how to run the C preprocessor... gcc -E
|
|
|
checking for X... no
|
|
|
checking for XkbSelectEvents in -lX11... no
|
|
|
checking for XineramaQueryScreens in -lXinerama... no
|
|
|
checking for XTestFakeKeyEvent in -lXtst... no
|
|
|
|
|
|
there is quite a bit wrong with the build environment. Hopefully
|
|
|
simply adding -devel packages will fix it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For Debian the list seems to be:
|
|
|
gcc
|
|
|
make
|
|
|
libc6-dev
|
|
|
libjpeg62-dev
|
|
|
libx11-dev
|
|
|
libxext-dev
|
|
|
libxrandr-dev
|
|
|
libxtst-dev
|
|
|
x-dev
|
|
|
xlibs-static-dev
|
|
|
zlib1g-dev
|
|
|
|
|
|
For Redhat the list seems to be:
|
|
|
gcc
|
|
|
make
|
|
|
glibc-devel
|
|
|
libjpeg-devel
|
|
|
XFree86-devel or xorg-x11-devel
|
|
|
zlib-devel
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-3: I just built x11vnc successfully, but when I use it my keystrokes
|
|
|
and mouse button clicks are ignored (I am able to move the mouse
|
|
|
though).
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is most likely due to you not having a working build environment
|
|
|
for the XTEST client library libXtst.so. The library is probably
|
|
|
present on your system, but the package installing the development
|
|
|
header file is missing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you were watching carefully while configure was running you would
|
|
|
have seen:
|
|
|
checking for XTestFakeKeyEvent in -lXtst... no
|
|
|
|
|
|
The solution is to add the necessary build environment package (and
|
|
|
the library package if that is missing too). On Debian the build
|
|
|
package is libxtst-dev. Other distros/OS's may have it in another
|
|
|
package.
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc will build without support for this library (e.g. perhaps one
|
|
|
wants a view-only x11vnc on a stripped down or embedded system...).
|
|
|
And at runtime it will also continue to run even if the X server it
|
|
|
connects to does not support XTEST. In both cases it cannot inject
|
|
|
keystrokes or button clicks since XTEST is needed for that (it can
|
|
|
still move the mouse pointer using the X API XWarpPointer()).
|
|
|
|
|
|
You will see a warning message something like this at run time:
|
|
|
20/03/2005 22:33:09 WARNING: XTEST extension not available (either missing fr
|
|
|
om
|
|
|
20/03/2005 22:33:09 display or client library libXtst missing at build time
|
|
|
).
|
|
|
20/03/2005 22:33:09 MOST user input (pointer and keyboard) will be DISCARDE
|
|
|
D.
|
|
|
20/03/2005 22:33:09 If display does have XTEST, be sure to build x11vnc wit
|
|
|
h
|
|
|
20/03/2005 22:33:09 a working libXtst build environment (e.g. libxtst-dev,
|
|
|
20/03/2005 22:33:09 or other packages).
|
|
|
20/03/2005 22:33:09 No XTEST extension, switching to -xwarppointer mode for
|
|
|
20/03/2005 22:33:09 pointer motion input.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-4: Help, I need to run x11vnc on Solaris 2.5.1 (or other old
|
|
|
Unix/Linux) and it doesn't compile!
|
|
|
|
|
|
We apologize that x11vnc does not build cleanly on older versions of
|
|
|
Solaris, Linux, etc.: very few users are on these old releases.
|
|
|
|
|
|
We have heard that since Dec/2004 a Solaris 2.6 built x11vnc will run
|
|
|
on Solaris Solaris 2.5 and 2.5.1 (since a workaround for XConvertCase
|
|
|
is provided).
|
|
|
|
|
|
In any event, here is a workaround for Solaris 2.5.1 (and perhaps
|
|
|
earlier and perhaps non-Solaris):
|
|
|
|
|
|
First use the environment settings (CPPFLAGS, LDFLAGS, etc.) in the
|
|
|
above [239]Solaris build script to run the configure command. That
|
|
|
should succeed without failure. Then you have to hand edit the
|
|
|
autogenerated rfb/rfbconfig.h file in the source tree, and just before
|
|
|
the last #endif at the bottom of that file insert these workaround
|
|
|
lines:
|
|
|
struct timeval _tmp_usleep_tv;
|
|
|
#define usleep(x) \
|
|
|
_tmp_usleep_tv.tv_sec = (x) / 1000000; \
|
|
|
_tmp_usleep_tv.tv_usec = (x) % 1000000; \
|
|
|
select(0, NULL, NULL, NULL, &_tmp_usleep_tv);
|
|
|
int gethostname(char *name, int namelen);
|
|
|
long random();
|
|
|
int srandom(unsigned int seed);
|
|
|
#undef LIBVNCSERVER_HAVE_LIBPTHREAD
|
|
|
#define SHUT_RDWR 2
|
|
|
typedef unsigned int in_addr_t;
|
|
|
#define snprintf(a, n, args...) sprintf((a), ## args)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Then run make with the Solaris build script environment, everything
|
|
|
should compile without problems, and the resulting x11vnc binary
|
|
|
should work OK. If some non-x11vnc related programs fail (e.g. test
|
|
|
programs) and the x11vnc binary is not created try "make -k" to have
|
|
|
it keep going. Similar sorts of kludges in rfb/rfbconfig.h can be done
|
|
|
on other older OS (Solaris, Linux, ...) releases.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here are some notes for similar steps that need to be done to build on
|
|
|
[240]SunOS 4.x
|
|
|
|
|
|
Please let us know if you had to use the above workaround (and whether
|
|
|
it worked or not). If there is enough demand we will try to push clean
|
|
|
compilations back to earlier Solaris, Linux, etc, releases.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-5: Where can I get a precompiled x11vnc binary for my Operating
|
|
|
System?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hopefully the [241]build steps above and [242]FAQ provide enough info
|
|
|
for a painless compile for most environments. Please report problems
|
|
|
with the x11vnc configure, make, etc. on your system (if your system
|
|
|
is known to compile other GNU packages successfully).
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are precompiled x11vnc binaries built by other groups that are
|
|
|
available at the following locations:
|
|
|
Debian: (.deb) [243]http://packages.debian.org/x11vnc
|
|
|
|
|
|
Slackware: (.tgz) [244]http://www.linuxpackages.net/ Redhat/Fedora:
|
|
|
(.rpm) [245]http://dag.wieers.com/packages/x11vnc/
|
|
|
[246]http://dries.ulyssis.org/rpm/packages/x11vnc SuSE: (.rpm)
|
|
|
[247]http://linux01.gwdg.de/~pbleser/ Solaris: (pkg)
|
|
|
[248]http://www.sunfreeware.com/ FreeBSD: (.tbz)
|
|
|
[249]http://www.freebsd.org/ [250]http://www.freshports.org/net/x11vnc
|
|
|
OpenBSD: (.tgz) [251]http://www.openbsd.org/ NetBSD: (src)
|
|
|
[252]http://pkgsrc.se/x11/x11vnc Nokia 770 (.deb)
|
|
|
[253]http://mike.saunby.net/770/x11vnc/ Sharp Zaurus
|
|
|
[254]http://www.pdaxrom.org/ and [255]http://www.focv.com/
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the above binaries don't work and building x11vnc on your OS fails
|
|
|
(and all else fails!) you can try one of [256]my collection of
|
|
|
binaries for various OS's and x11vnc releases.
|
|
|
|
|
|
As a general note, the x11vnc program is simple enough you don't
|
|
|
really need to install a package: the binary will in most cases work
|
|
|
as is and from any location (as long as your system libraries are not
|
|
|
too old, etc). So, for Linux distributions that are not one of the
|
|
|
above, the x11vnc binary from the above packages has a good chance of
|
|
|
working. You can "install" it by just copying the x11vnc binary to the
|
|
|
desired directory in your PATH. Tip on extracting files from a Debian
|
|
|
package: extract the archive via a command like: "ar x
|
|
|
x11vnc_0.6-2_i386.deb" and then you can find the binary in the
|
|
|
resulting data.tar.gz tar file. Also, rpm2cpio(1) is useful in
|
|
|
extracting files from rpm packages.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-6: Where can I get a VNC Viewer binary (or source code) for the
|
|
|
Operating System I will be viewing from?
|
|
|
|
|
|
To obtain VNC viewers for the viewing side (Windows, Mac OS, or Unix)
|
|
|
try here:
|
|
|
* [257]http://www.tightvnc.com/download.html
|
|
|
* [258]http://www.realvnc.com/download-free.html
|
|
|
* [259]http://sourceforge.net/projects/cotvnc/
|
|
|
* [260]http://www.ultravnc.com/
|
|
|
* [261]Our Enhanced TightVNC Viewer packages
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-7: How can I see all of x11vnc's command line options and
|
|
|
documentation on how to use them?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Run: x11vnc -opts to list just the option names or run: x11vnc
|
|
|
-help for long descriptions about each option. The output is listed
|
|
|
[262]here as well. Yes, x11vnc does have a lot of options, doesn't
|
|
|
it...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-8: I don't like typing arcane command line options every time I
|
|
|
start x11vnc. What can I do? Is there a config file? Or a GUI?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You could create a shell script that calls x11vnc with your options:
|
|
|
#!/bin/sh
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
# filename: X11vnc (i.e. not "x11vnc")
|
|
|
# It resides in a directory in $PATH. "chmod 755 X11vnc" has been run on it.
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
x11vnc -wait 50 -localhost -rfbauth $HOME/.vnc/passwd -display :0 $*
|
|
|
|
|
|
a similar thing can be done via aliases in your shell (bash, tcsh,
|
|
|
csh, etc..).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Or as of Jun/2004 you can use the simple $HOME/.x11vncrc config file
|
|
|
support. If that file exists, each line is taken as a command line
|
|
|
option. E.g. the above would be:
|
|
|
# this is a comment in my ~/.x11vncrc file
|
|
|
wait 50 # this is a comment to the end of the line.
|
|
|
-localhost # note: the leading "-" is optional.
|
|
|
rfbauth /home/fred/.vnc/passwd
|
|
|
display :0
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Dec/2004 there is now a simple Tcl/Tk GUI based on the
|
|
|
remote-control functionality ("-R") that was added. The /usr/bin/wish
|
|
|
program is needed for operation. The gui is not particularly
|
|
|
user-friendly, it just provides a point and click mode to set all the
|
|
|
many x11vnc parameters and obtain help on them. It is also very useful
|
|
|
for testing. See the [263]-gui option for more info. Examples: "x11vnc
|
|
|
... -gui" and "x11vnc ... -gui other:0" in the latter case the gui is
|
|
|
displayed on other:0, not the X display x11vnc is polling. There is
|
|
|
also a "[264]-gui tray" system tray mode.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-9: How can I get the GUI to run in the System Tray, or at least be a
|
|
|
smaller, simpler icon?
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Jul/2005 the gui can run in a more friendly small icon mode
|
|
|
"-gui icon" or in the system tray: "-gui tray". It has balloon status,
|
|
|
a simple menu, and a Properities dialog. The full, complicated, gui is
|
|
|
only available under "Advanced". Other improvements were added as
|
|
|
well. Try "Misc -> simple_gui" for a gui with fewer esoteric menu
|
|
|
items.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the gui fails to embed itself in the system tray, do a retry via
|
|
|
"Window View -> icon" followed by "Window View -> tray" with the popup
|
|
|
menu.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For inexperienced users starting up x11vnc and the GUI while sitting
|
|
|
at the physical X display (not remotely), using something like "x11vnc
|
|
|
-display :0 -gui tray=setpass" might be something for them that they
|
|
|
are accustomed to in a Desktop environment (it prompts for an initial
|
|
|
password, etc). This is a basic "Share My Desktop" usage mode.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-10: How can I get x11vnc to listen on a different port besides the
|
|
|
default VNC port (5900)?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use something like, e.g., "x11vnc -rfbport 5901" to force it to use
|
|
|
port 5901 (this is VNC display :1). If something else is using that
|
|
|
port x11vnc will exit immediately. If you do not supply the -rfbport
|
|
|
option, it will autoprobe starting at 5900 and work its way up to 5999
|
|
|
looking for a free port to listen on. In that case, watch for the
|
|
|
PORT=59xx line to see which port it found, then subtract 5900 from it
|
|
|
for the VNC display number to enter into the VNC Viewer(s).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-11: Can I make x11vnc more quiet and also go into the background
|
|
|
after starting up?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use the [265]-q and [266]-bg options, respectively. (also: -quiet is
|
|
|
an alias for -q)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that under -bg the stderr messages will be lost unless you use
|
|
|
the "[267]-o logfile" option.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-12: Sometimes when a VNC viewer dies abruptly, x11vnc also dies with
|
|
|
the error message like: "Broken pipe". I'm using the -forever mode and
|
|
|
I want x11vnc to keep running.
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Jan/2004 the SIGPIPE signal is ignored. So if a viewer client
|
|
|
terminates abruptly, libvncserver will notice on the next I/O
|
|
|
operation and will close the connection and continue on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Up until of Apr/2004 the above fix only works for BSD signal systems
|
|
|
(Linux, FreeBSD, ...) For SYSV systems there is a workaround in place
|
|
|
since about Jun/2004.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-13: Are there any build-time customizations possible, e.g. change
|
|
|
defaults, create a smaller binary, etc?
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are some options. They are enabled by adding something like
|
|
|
-Dxxxx=1 to the CPPFLAGS environment variable before running configure
|
|
|
(see the [268]build notes for general background).
|
|
|
/*
|
|
|
* Mar/2006
|
|
|
* Build-time customization via CPPFLAGS.
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
* Summary of options to include in CPPFLAGS for custom builds:
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
* -DVNCSHARED to have the vnc display shared by default.
|
|
|
* -DFOREVER to have -forever on by default.
|
|
|
* -DNOREPEAT=0 to have -repeat on by default.
|
|
|
* -DADDKEYSYMS=0 to have -noadd_keysyms the default.
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
* -DREMOTE_DEFAULT=0 to disable remote-control on by default (-yesremote).
|
|
|
* -DREMOTE_CONTROL=0 to disable remote-control mechanism completely.
|
|
|
* -DEXTERNAL_COMMANDS=0 to disable the running of all external commands.
|
|
|
* -DFILEXFER=0 disable filexfer.
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
* -DHARDWIRE_PASSWD=... hardwired passwords, quoting necessary.
|
|
|
* -DHARDWIRE_VIEWPASSWD=...
|
|
|
* -DNOPW=1 make -nopw the default (skip warning)
|
|
|
* -DUSEPW=1 make -usepw the default
|
|
|
* -DPASSWD_REQUIRED=1 exit unless a password is supplied.
|
|
|
* -DPASSWD_UNLESS_NOPW=1 exit unless a password is supplied and no -nopw.
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
* -DWIREFRAME=0 to have -nowireframe as the default.
|
|
|
* -DWIREFRAME_COPYRECT=0 to have -nowirecopyrect as the default.
|
|
|
* -DWIREFRAME_PARMS=... set default -wirecopyrect parameters.
|
|
|
* -DSCROLL_COPYRECT=0 to have -noscrollcopyrect as the default.
|
|
|
* -DSCROLL_COPYRECT_PARMS=... set default -scrollcopyrect parameters.
|
|
|
* -DSCALING_COPYRECT=0
|
|
|
* -DXDAMAGE=0 to have -noxdamage as the default.
|
|
|
* -DSKIPDUPS=0 to have -noskip_dups as the default or vice versa.
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
* -DPOINTER_MODE_DEFAULT={0,1,2,3,4} set default -pointer_mode.
|
|
|
* -DBOLDLY_CLOSE_DISPLAY=0 to not close X DISPLAY under -rawfb.
|
|
|
* -DSMALL_FOOTPRINT=1 for smaller binary size (no help, no gui, etc)
|
|
|
* use 2 or 3 for even smaller footprint.
|
|
|
* -DNOGUI do not include the gui tkx11vnc.
|
|
|
* -DPOLL_8TO24_DELAY=N
|
|
|
* -DDEBUG_XEVENTS=1 enable printout for X events.
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
* Set these in CPPFLAGS before running configure. E.g.:
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
* % env CPPFLAGS="-DFOREVER -DREMOTE_CONTROL=0" ./configure
|
|
|
* % make
|
|
|
*/
|
|
|
|
|
|
If other things (e.g. "-I ...") are needed in CPPFLAGS add them as
|
|
|
well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
On some systems is seems you need to set LC_ALL=C for configure to
|
|
|
work properly...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Be careful the following two variables: HARDWIRE_PASSWD and
|
|
|
HARDWIRE_VIEWPASSWD. If set (remember to include the double quotes
|
|
|
around the string), they will be used as default values for the
|
|
|
-passwd and -viewpasswd options. Of course the strings will exist
|
|
|
unobscured in the x11vnc: the binary better not be readable by
|
|
|
unintendeds. Perhaps this is of use in remote access for an embedded
|
|
|
application, etc...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Let us know if more build-time customizations would be useful.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Win2VNC Related]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-14: I have two separate machine displays in front of me, one Windows
|
|
|
the other X11: can I use x11vnc in combination with Win2VNC in
|
|
|
dual-screen mode to pass the keystrokes and mouse motions to the X11
|
|
|
display?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, for best response start up x11vnc with the "[269]-nofb" option
|
|
|
(disables framebuffer polling, and does other optimizations) on the
|
|
|
secondary display (X11) machine. Then start up Win2VNC on the primary
|
|
|
display (Windows) referring it to the secondary display.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This will also work X11 to X11 using [270]x2vnc, however you would
|
|
|
probably just want to avoid VNC and use x2x for that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For reference, here are some links to Win2VNC-like programs for
|
|
|
multiple monitor setups:
|
|
|
* [271]Original Win2VNC
|
|
|
* [272]Enhanced Win2VNC and [273]sourceforge link
|
|
|
* [274]x2vnc
|
|
|
* [275]x2x also [276]here
|
|
|
* [277]zvnc (MorphOS)
|
|
|
|
|
|
All of them will work with x11vnc (except x2x where it is not needed).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-15: I am running Win2VNC on my Windows machine and "x11vnc -nofb" on
|
|
|
Unix to pass keyboard and mouse to the Unix monitor. Whenever I start
|
|
|
Win2VNC it quickly disconnects and x11vnc says:
|
|
|
rfbProcessClientNormalMessage: read: Connection reset by peer
|
|
|
|
|
|
Is the default visual of the X display you run x11vnc on low color
|
|
|
(e.g. 8 bit per pixel PseudoColor)? (you can run xdpyinfo to check,
|
|
|
look in the "screen" section). There seems to be a bug in Win2VNC in
|
|
|
that it cannot deal correctly with colormaps (PseudoColor is the most
|
|
|
common example of a visual with a colormap).
|
|
|
|
|
|
If so, there are a couple options. 1) Can you set the default visual
|
|
|
on your display to be depth 24 TrueColor? Sun machines often have 8+24
|
|
|
overlay/multi-depth visuals, and you can make the default visual depth
|
|
|
24 TrueColor (see fbconfig(1) and Xsun(1)). 2) As of Feb/2004 x11vnc
|
|
|
has the [278]-visual option to allow you to force the framebuffer
|
|
|
visual to whatever you want (this usually messes up the colors unless
|
|
|
you are very clever). In this case, the option provides a convenient
|
|
|
workaround for the Win2VNC bug:
|
|
|
x11vnc -nofb -visual TrueColor -display :0 ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
So the visual will be set to 8bpp TrueColor and Win2VNC can handle
|
|
|
this. Since Win2VNC does not use the framebuffer data there should be
|
|
|
no problems in doing this.
|
|
|
[Color Issues]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-16: The X display I run x11vnc on is only 8 bits per pixel (bpp)
|
|
|
PseudoColor (i.e. only 256 distinct colors). The x11vnc colors may
|
|
|
start out OK, but after a while they are incorrect in certain windows.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use the [279]-flashcmap option to have x11vnc watch for changes in the
|
|
|
colormap, and propagate those changes back to connected clients. This
|
|
|
can be slow (since the whole screen must be updated over the network
|
|
|
whenever the colormap changes). This flashing colormap behavior often
|
|
|
happens if an application installs its own private colormap when the
|
|
|
mouse is in its window. "netscape -install" is a well-known historical
|
|
|
example of this. Consider reconfiguring the system to 16 bpp or depth
|
|
|
24 TrueColor if at all possible.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also note the option [280]-8to24 (Jan/2006) can often remove the need
|
|
|
for flashing the colormap. Everything is dynamically transformed to
|
|
|
depth 24 at 32 bpp using the colormaps. There may be painting errors
|
|
|
however (see the following FAQ for tips on reducing and correcting
|
|
|
them).
|
|
|
|
|
|
In some rare cases the [281]-notruecolor option has corrected colors
|
|
|
on 8bpp displays. The red, green, and blue masks were non-zero in 8bpp
|
|
|
PseudoColor on an obscure setup, and this option corrected the
|
|
|
problems.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-17: Color problems: Why are the colors for some windows incorrect in
|
|
|
x11vnc? BTW, my X display has nice overlay/multi-depth visuals of
|
|
|
different color depths: e.g. there are both depth 8 and 24 visuals
|
|
|
available at the same time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You may want to review the [282]previous question regarding 8 bpp
|
|
|
PseudoColor.
|
|
|
|
|
|
On some hardware (Sun/SPARC and SGI), the [283]-overlay option
|
|
|
discussed a couple paragraphs down may solve this for you (you may
|
|
|
want to skip to it directly). On other hardware the less robust
|
|
|
[284]-8to24 option may help (also discussed below).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Run xdpyinfo(1) to see what the default visual is and what the depths
|
|
|
of the other visuals are. Does the default visual have a depth of 8
|
|
|
but there are other visuals of depth 24? If it does, can you possibly
|
|
|
re-configure your X server to make a depth 24 visual the default? If
|
|
|
you can do it, this will save you a lot of grief WRT colors and x11vnc
|
|
|
(and for general usage too!). Here is how I do this on an old
|
|
|
Sparcstation 20 running Solaris 9 with SX graphics
|
|
|
xinit -- -dev /dev/fb defclass TrueColor defdepth 24
|
|
|
|
|
|
and it works nicely (note: to log into console from the dtlogin
|
|
|
window, select "Options -> Command Line Login", then login and enter
|
|
|
the above command). See the -dev section of the Xsun(1) manpage for a
|
|
|
description of the above arguments. If you have root permission, a
|
|
|
more permanent and convenient thing to do is to record the arguments
|
|
|
in a line like:
|
|
|
:0 Local local_uid@console root /usr/openwin/bin/Xsun -dev /dev/fb defclass
|
|
|
TrueColor defdepth 24
|
|
|
|
|
|
in /etc/dt/config/Xservers (copy /usr/dt/config/Xservers). Also look
|
|
|
at the fbconfig(1) and related manpages (e.g. ffbconfig, m64config,
|
|
|
pgxconfig, SUNWjfb_config, etc ...) for hardware framebuffer settings
|
|
|
that may achieve the same effect.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In general for non-Sun machines, look at the "-cc class" and related
|
|
|
options in your X server manpage (perhaps Xserver(1)), it may allow
|
|
|
modifying the default visual (e.g. "-cc 4", see <X11/X.h> for the
|
|
|
visual class numbers). On XFree86 some video card drivers (e.g. Matrox
|
|
|
mga) have settings like Option "Overlay" "24,8" to support multi-depth
|
|
|
overlays. For these, use the "-cc 4" X server command line option to
|
|
|
get a depth 24 default visual.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The -overlay mode: Another option is if the system with overlay
|
|
|
visuals is a Sun system running Solaris or SGI running IRIX you can
|
|
|
use the [285]-overlay x11vnc option (Aug/2004) to have x11vnc use the
|
|
|
Solaris XReadScreen(3X11) function to poll the "true view" of the
|
|
|
whole screen at depth 24 TrueColor. XReadDisplay(3X11) is used on
|
|
|
IRIX. This is useful for Legacy applications (older versions of
|
|
|
Cadence CAD apps are mentioned by x11vnc users) that require the
|
|
|
default depth be 8bpp, or the app will use a 8bpp visual even if depth
|
|
|
24 visuals are available, and so the default depth workaround
|
|
|
described in the previous paragraph is not sufficient for these apps.
|
|
|
|
|
|
It seems that Xorg is working toward supporting XReadDisplay(3X11) as
|
|
|
part of the RENDER extension work. When it does support it and
|
|
|
provides a library API x11vnc will be modified to take advantage of
|
|
|
the feature to support -overlay on Linux, *BSD, etc. Until then see
|
|
|
the -8to24 mode below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Misc. notes on -overlay mode: An amusing by-product of -overlay mode
|
|
|
is that the mouse cursor shape is correct! (i.e. XFIXES is not
|
|
|
needed). The -overlay mode may be somewhat slower than normal mode due
|
|
|
to the extra framebuffer manipulations that must be performed. Also,
|
|
|
on Solaris there is a bug in that for some popup menus, the windows
|
|
|
they overlap will have painting errors (flashing colors) while the
|
|
|
popup is up (a workaround is to disable SaveUnders by passing -su to
|
|
|
Xsun, e.g. in your /etc/dt/config/Xservers file).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The -8to24 mode: The [286]-8to24 x11vnc option (Jan/2006) is a kludge
|
|
|
to try to dynamically rewrite the pixel values so that the 8bpp part
|
|
|
of the screen is mapped onto depth 24 TrueColor. This is less robust
|
|
|
than the -overlay mode because it is done by x11vnc outside of the X
|
|
|
server. So only use it on OS's that do not support -overlay. The
|
|
|
-8to24 mode will work if the default visual is depth 24 or depth 8. It
|
|
|
scans for any windows within 3 levels of the root window that are 8bpp
|
|
|
(i.e. legacy application), or in general ones that are not using the
|
|
|
default visual. For the windows it finds it uses XGetSubImage() to
|
|
|
retrieve the pixels values and uses the correct indexed colormap to
|
|
|
create a depth 24 TrueColor view of the whole screen. This depth 24,
|
|
|
32bpp view is exported via VNC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Even on pure 8bpp displays it can be used as an alternative to
|
|
|
[287]-flashcmap to avoid color flashing completely.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This scheme is approximate and can often lead to painting errors. You
|
|
|
can manually correct most painting errors by pressing 3 Alt_L's in a
|
|
|
row, or by using something like: [288]-fixscreen V=3.0 to
|
|
|
automatically refresh the screen every 3 seconds. Also -fixscreen
|
|
|
8=3.0 has been added to just refresh the non-default visual parts of
|
|
|
the screen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In general the scheme uses many resources and may give rise to
|
|
|
sluggish behavior. If multiple windows are using different 8bpp
|
|
|
indexed colormaps all but one window may need to be iconified for the
|
|
|
colors to be correct. There are a number of tunable parameters to try
|
|
|
to adjust performance and painting accuracy. The option -8to24
|
|
|
nogetimage can give a nice speedup if the default depth 24 X server
|
|
|
supports hiding the 8bpp bits in bits 25-32 of the framebuffer data.
|
|
|
On very slow machines -8to24 poll=0.2,cachewin=5.0 gives an useful
|
|
|
speedup. See the [289]-8to24 help description for information on
|
|
|
tunable parameters, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Colors still not working correctly? Run xwininfo on the application
|
|
|
with the incorrect colors to verify that the depth of its visual is
|
|
|
different from the default visual depth (gotten from xdpyinfo). One
|
|
|
possible workaround in this case is to use the [290]-id option to
|
|
|
point x11vnc at the application window itself. If the application is
|
|
|
complicated (lots of toplevel windows and popup menus) this may not be
|
|
|
acceptable, and may even crash x11vnc (but not the application).
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is theoretically possible to solve this problem in general (see
|
|
|
xwd(1) for example), but it does not seem trivial or sufficiently fast
|
|
|
for x11vnc to be able to do so in real time. The [291]-8to24 method
|
|
|
does this approximately and is somewhat usable. Fortunately the
|
|
|
[292]-overlay option works for Solaris machines with overlay visuals
|
|
|
where most of this problem occurs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-18: How do I figure out the window id to supply to the -id windowid
|
|
|
option?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Run the xwininfo program in a terminal. It will ask you to click on
|
|
|
the desired application window. After clicking, it will print out much
|
|
|
information, including the window id (e.g. 0x6000010). Also, the
|
|
|
visual and depth of the window printed out is often useful in
|
|
|
debugging x11vnc [293]color problems.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also, as of Dec/2004 you can use "[294]-id pick" to have x11vnc run
|
|
|
xwininfo(1) for you and after you click the window it extracts the
|
|
|
windowid. Besides "pick" there is also "id:root" to allow you to go
|
|
|
back to root window when doing remote-control.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-19: Why don't menus or other transient windows come up when I am
|
|
|
using the -id windowid option to view a single application window?
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is related to the behavior of the XGetImage(3X11) and
|
|
|
XShmGetImage() interfaces regarding backingstore, saveunders, etc. The
|
|
|
way the image is retrieved depends on some aspects of how the X server
|
|
|
maintains the display image data and whether other windows are
|
|
|
clipping or obscuring it. See the XGetImage(3X11) man page for more
|
|
|
details. If you disable BackingStore and SaveUnders in the X server
|
|
|
you should be able to see these transient windows.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If things are not working and you still want to do the single window
|
|
|
polling, try the [295]-sid windowid option ("shifted" windowid).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-20: My X display is depth 24 at 24bpp (instead of the normal depth
|
|
|
24 at 32bpp). I'm having lots of color and visual problems with x11vnc
|
|
|
and/or vncviewer. What's up?
|
|
|
|
|
|
First off, depth 24 at 24bpp (bpp=bits-per-pixel) is fairly uncommon
|
|
|
and can cause problems in general. It also can be slower than depth 24
|
|
|
at 32bpp. You might want to switch to 32bpp (for XFree86 see the
|
|
|
"-fbbpp 32", DefaultFbBpp, FbBpp and related options). Perhaps you
|
|
|
have 24bpp because the video memory of the machine is low and the
|
|
|
screen wouldn't fit in video RAM at 32bpp. For this case depth 16 at
|
|
|
16bpp might be an acceptable option.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In any event x11vnc should handle depth 24 at 24bpp (although
|
|
|
performance may be slower). There are some caveats involving the
|
|
|
viewer however:
|
|
|
|
|
|
The RealVNC Unix viewer cannot handle 24bpp from the server, it will
|
|
|
say: "main: setPF: not 8, 16 or 32 bpp?" and exit. I have not checked
|
|
|
the RealVNC Windows viewer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
So you need to use the TightVNC Unix viewer. However there are some
|
|
|
problems with that too. It seems libvncserver does not do 24bpp
|
|
|
correctly with the Tight encoding. The colors and screen ultimately
|
|
|
get messed up. So you have to use a different encoding with the
|
|
|
TightVNC vncviewer, try "zlib", "hextile", or one of the other
|
|
|
encodings (e.g. vncviewer -encodings "zlib hextile" ...). I have not
|
|
|
checked the TightVNC or UltraVNC Windows viewers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
It appears the older RealVNC Unix viewers (e.g. 3.3.3 and 3.3.7) can
|
|
|
handle 24bpp from the server, so you may want to use those. They
|
|
|
evidently request 32 bpp and libvncserver obliges.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Update: as of Apr/2006 you can use the [296]-24to32 option to have
|
|
|
x11vnc dynamically transform the 24bpp pixel data to 32bpp. This extra
|
|
|
transformation could slow things down further however.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Now coming the opposite direction if you are running the vncviewer on
|
|
|
the 24bpp display, TightVNC will fail with "Can't cope with 24
|
|
|
bits-per-pixel. Sorry." and RealVNC will fail with "main: Error:
|
|
|
couldn't find suitable pixmap format" so evidently you cannot use
|
|
|
24bpp for the vncviewers to work on that X display.
|
|
|
[Xterminals]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-21: Can I use x11vnc to view and interact with an Xterminal (e.g.
|
|
|
NCD) that is not running UNIX and so x11vnc cannot be run on it
|
|
|
directly?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can, but it will likely be very wasteful of network bandwidth
|
|
|
since you will be polling the X display over the network as opposed to
|
|
|
over the local hardware. To do this, run x11vnc on a UNIX machine as
|
|
|
close as possible network-wise (e.g. same switch) to the Xterminal
|
|
|
machine. Use the [297]-display option to point the display to that of
|
|
|
the Xterminal (you'll of course need basic X11 permission to do that)
|
|
|
and finally supply the [298]-noshm option (this enables the polling
|
|
|
over the network).
|
|
|
|
|
|
The response will likely be sluggish (maybe only one "frame" per
|
|
|
second). This mode is not recommended except for "quick checks" of
|
|
|
hard to get to X servers. Use something like "-wait 150" to cut down
|
|
|
on the polling rate. You may also need [299]-flipbyteorder if the
|
|
|
colors get messed up due to endian byte order differences.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-22: How do I get my X permissions (MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE file) correct
|
|
|
for a Unix/Linux machine acting as an Xterminal?
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the X display machine is a traditional Xterminal (where the X
|
|
|
server process runs on the Xterminal box, but all of the X client
|
|
|
applications (mozilla, etc) run on a central server (aka "terminal
|
|
|
server")), you will need to log into the Xterminal machine (i.e. get a
|
|
|
shell running there) and then start the x11vnc program. If the
|
|
|
Xterminal Linux/Unix machine is stripped down (e.g. no users besides
|
|
|
root) that may be difficult.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The next problem is the login Display Manager (e.g. gdm, kdm), and
|
|
|
hence the MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE auth files, are on the central server and
|
|
|
not on the Xterminal box where the X server and x11vnc processes are.
|
|
|
|
|
|
So unless X permissions are completely turned off (e.g. "xhost +"), to
|
|
|
run the x11vnc process on the Xterminal box the MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE auth
|
|
|
file data (XAUTHORITY or $HOME/.Xauthority) must be accessible by or
|
|
|
copied to the Xterminal. If $HOME/.Xauthority is exported via NFS
|
|
|
(this is insecure of course, but has been going on for decades), then
|
|
|
x11vnc can simply pick it up via NFS (you may need to use the
|
|
|
[300]-auth option to point to the correct file). Other options include
|
|
|
copying the auth file using scp, or something like:
|
|
|
central-server> xauth nextract - xterm123:0 | ssh xterm123 xauth nmerge -
|
|
|
|
|
|
and then, say, ssh from central-server to xterm123 to start x11vnc.
|
|
|
Here "xterm123" refers to the computer acting as the Xterminal and
|
|
|
"central-server" is the terminal server. You can use "xauth -f
|
|
|
/path/to/cookie-file list" to examine the contents of the cookie(s) in
|
|
|
a file "/path/to/cookie-file". See the xauth(1) manpage for more
|
|
|
details.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the display name in the cookie file needs to be changed between the
|
|
|
two hosts, see [301]this note on the "xauth add ..." command.
|
|
|
|
|
|
A less secure option is to run something like "xhost +127.0.0.1" while
|
|
|
sitting at the Xterminal box to allow cookie-free local access for
|
|
|
x11vnc. You can run "xhost -127.0.0.1" after x11vnc connects if you
|
|
|
want to go back to the original permissions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the Xterminal is really stripped down and doesn't have any user
|
|
|
accounts, NFS, etc. you'll need to contact your system administrator
|
|
|
to set something up. It can be done!!! Some Xterminal projects have
|
|
|
actually enabled "run locally" facilities for the running of an
|
|
|
occasional app more efficiently locally on the Xterminal box (e.g.
|
|
|
realplayer).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Not recommended, but as a last resort, you could have x11vnc [302]poll
|
|
|
the Xterminal Display over the network. For this you would run a
|
|
|
"x11vnc -noshm ..." process on the central-server (and hope the
|
|
|
network admin doesn't get angry...)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: use of Display Manager (gdm, kdm, ...) auth cookie files (i.e.
|
|
|
from /var/..., /tmp/..., or elsewhere) may require modification via
|
|
|
xauth(1) to correctly include the display x11vnc refers to (e.g.
|
|
|
"xauth -f cookie-file add :0 . 45be51ae2ce9dfbacd882ab3ef8e96b1",
|
|
|
where the "45be51..." cookie value was found from an "xauth -f
|
|
|
/path/to/original/cookie-file list") or other reasons. See xauth(1)
|
|
|
manpage for full details on how to transfer an MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE
|
|
|
between machines and displays.
|
|
|
|
|
|
VNCviewer performance on Xterminals: This isn't related to x11vnc on
|
|
|
Xterminals, but we mention it here anyway because of the similar
|
|
|
issues. If you are on an Xterminal and want to use vncviewer to
|
|
|
connect to a VNC server somewhere, then performance would be best if
|
|
|
you ran the viewer on the Xterminal box. Otherwise, (i.e. running the
|
|
|
viewer process on the central-server) all of the vncviewer screen
|
|
|
drawing is done more inefficiently over the network. Something to
|
|
|
consider, especially on a busy network. (BTW, this has all of the
|
|
|
above permission, etc, problems: both vncviewer and x11vnc are X
|
|
|
client apps desired to be run on the Xterminal box).
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Sun Rays]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-23: I'm having trouble using x11vnc with my Sun Ray session.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The [303]Sun Ray technology is a bit like "VNC done in hardware" (the
|
|
|
Sun Ray terminal device, DTU, playing the role of the vncviewer).
|
|
|
Completely independent of that, the SunRay user's session is still an
|
|
|
X server that speaks the X11 protocol and so x11vnc simply talks to
|
|
|
the X server part to export the SunRay desktop to any place in the
|
|
|
world (i.e. not only to a Sun Ray terminal device), creating a sort of
|
|
|
"Soft Ray". Please see [304]this discussion of Sun Ray issues for
|
|
|
solutions to problems.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Remote Control]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-24: How do I stop x11vnc once it is running in the background?
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Dec/2004 there is a remote control feature. It can change a huge
|
|
|
amount of things on the fly: see the [305]-remote and [306]-query
|
|
|
options. To shut down the running x11vnc server just type "x11vnc -R
|
|
|
stop". To disconnect all clients do "x11vnc -R disconnect:all", etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the [307]-forever option has not been supplied, x11vnc will
|
|
|
automatically exit after the first client disconnects. In general if
|
|
|
you cannot use the remote control, then you will have to kill the
|
|
|
x11vnc process This can be done via: "kill NNNNN" (where NNNNN is the
|
|
|
x11vnc process id number found from ps(1)), or "pkill x11vnc", or
|
|
|
"killall x11vnc" (Linux only).
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you have not put x11vnc in the background via the [308]-bg option
|
|
|
or shell & operator, then simply press Ctrl-C in the shell where
|
|
|
x11vnc is running to stop it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Potential Gotcha: If somehow your Keypress of Ctrl-C went through
|
|
|
x11vnc to the Xserver that then delivered it to x11vnc it is possible
|
|
|
one or both of the Ctrl or C keys will be left stuck in the pressed
|
|
|
down state in the Xserver. Tapping the stuck key (either via a new
|
|
|
x11vnc or at the physical console) will release it from the stuck
|
|
|
state. If the keyboard seems to be acting strangely it is often fixed
|
|
|
by tapping Ctrl, Shift, and Alt. Alternatively, the [309]-clear_mods
|
|
|
option and [310]-clear_keys option can be used to release pressed keys
|
|
|
at startup and exit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-25: Can I change settings in x11vnc without having to restart it?
|
|
|
Can I remote control it?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Look at the [311]-remote (same as -R) and [312]-query (same as -Q)
|
|
|
options added in Dec/2004. They allow nearly everything to be changed
|
|
|
dynamically and settings to be queried. Examples: "x11vnc -R shared",
|
|
|
"x11vnc -R forever", "x11vnc -R scale:3/4", "x11vnc -Q modtweak",
|
|
|
"x11vnc -R stop", "x11vnc -R disconnect:all", etc.. These commands do
|
|
|
not start a x11vnc server, but rather communicate with one that is
|
|
|
already running. The X display (X11VNC_REMOTE property) is used as the
|
|
|
communication channel, so the X permissions and DISPLAY must be set up
|
|
|
correctly for communication to be possible.
|
|
|
|
|
|
There is also a simple Tcl/Tk gui based on this remote control
|
|
|
mechanism. See the [313]-gui option for more info. You will need to
|
|
|
have Tcl/Tk (i.e. /usr/bin/wish) installed for it to work. It can also
|
|
|
run in the system tray: "-gui tray" or as a standalone icon window:
|
|
|
"-gui icon".
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Security and Permissions]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-26: How do I create a VNC password for use with x11vnc?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You may already have one in $HOME/.vnc/passwd if you have used, say,
|
|
|
the vncserver program from the regular RealVNC or TightVNC packages
|
|
|
(i.e. launching the Xvnc server). Otherwise, you could use the
|
|
|
vncpasswd(1) program from those packages.
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Jun/2004 x11vnc supports the -storepasswd "pass" "file"
|
|
|
[314]option, which is the same functionality of storepasswd. Be sure
|
|
|
to quote the "pass" if it contains shell meta characters, spaces, etc.
|
|
|
Example:
|
|
|
x11vnc -storepasswd 'sword*fish' $HOME/myvncpasswd
|
|
|
|
|
|
You then use the password via the x11vnc option: "[315]-rfbauth
|
|
|
$HOME/myvncpasswd"
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Jan/2006 if you do not supply any arguments:
|
|
|
x11vnc -storepasswd
|
|
|
|
|
|
you will be prompted for a password to save to ~/.vnc/passwd (your
|
|
|
keystrokes when entering the password will not be echoed to the
|
|
|
screen). If you supply one argument, e.g. "x11vnc -storepasswd
|
|
|
~/.mypass", the password you are prompted for will be stored in that
|
|
|
file.
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc also has the [316]-passwdfile and -passwd/-viewpasswd plain
|
|
|
text (i.e. not obscured like the -rfbauth VNC passwords) password
|
|
|
options.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can use the [317]-usepw option to automatically use any password
|
|
|
file you have in ~/.vnc/passwd or ~/.vnc/passwdfile (the latter is
|
|
|
used with the -passwdfile option).
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc -usepw -display :0 ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
If neither file exists you are prompted to store a password in
|
|
|
~/.vnc/passwd. If a password file cannot be found or created x11vnc
|
|
|
exits immediately. An admin may want to set it up this way for users
|
|
|
who do not know better.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-27: Can I make it so -storepasswd doesn't show my password on the
|
|
|
screen?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can use the vncpasswd program from RealVNC or TightVNC mentioned
|
|
|
above. As of Jan/2006 the -storepasswd option without any arguments
|
|
|
will not echo your password as you type it and save the file to
|
|
|
~/.vnc/passwd:
|
|
|
# x11vnc -storepasswd
|
|
|
Enter VNC password:
|
|
|
Verify password:
|
|
|
Write password to /home/myname/.vnc/passwd? [y]/n
|
|
|
Password written to: /home/myname/.vnc/passwd
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can also give it an alternate filename, e.g. "x11vnc -storepasswd
|
|
|
~/.mypass"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-28: Can I have two passwords for VNC viewers, one for full access
|
|
|
and the other for view-only access to the display?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, as of May/2004 there is the [318]-viewpasswd option to supply the
|
|
|
view-only password. Note the full-access password option [319]-passwd
|
|
|
must be supplied at the same time. E.g.: -passwd sword -viewpasswd
|
|
|
fish.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To avoid specifying the passwords on the command line (where they
|
|
|
could be observed via the ps(1) command by any user) you can use the
|
|
|
[320]-passwdfile option to specify a file containing plain text
|
|
|
passwords. Presumably this file is readable only by you, and ideally
|
|
|
it is located on the machine x11vnc is run on (to avoid being snooped
|
|
|
on over the network). The first line of this file is the full-access
|
|
|
password. If there is a second line in the file and it is non-blank,
|
|
|
it is taken as the view-only password. (use "__EMPTY__" to supply an
|
|
|
empty one).
|
|
|
|
|
|
View-only passwords currently do not work for the [321]-rfbauth
|
|
|
password option (standard VNC password storing mechanism). FWIW, note
|
|
|
that although the output (usually placed in $HOME/.vnc/passwd) by the
|
|
|
vncpasswd or storepasswd programs (or from x11vnc -storepasswd) looks
|
|
|
encrypted they are really just obscured to avoid "casual" password
|
|
|
stealing. It takes almost no skill to figure out how to extract the
|
|
|
plain text passwords from $HOME/.vnc/passwd since it is very
|
|
|
straight-forward to work out what to do from the VNC source code.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-29: Can I have as many full-access and view-only passwords as I
|
|
|
like?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, as of Jan/2006 in the libvncserver CVS the [322]-passwdfile
|
|
|
option has been extended to handle as many passwords as you like. You
|
|
|
put the view-only passwords after a line __BEGIN_VIEWONLY__.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can also easily annotate and comment out passwords in the file.
|
|
|
You can have x11vnc re-read the file dynamically when it is modified.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-30: Does x11vnc support Unix usernames and passwords? Can I further
|
|
|
limit the set of Unix usernames who can connect to the VNC desktop?
|
|
|
Update: as of Feb/2006 x11vnc has the [323]-unixpw option that does
|
|
|
this outside of the VNC protocol and libvncserver. The standard su(1)
|
|
|
program is used to validate the user's password. A familiar "login:"
|
|
|
and "Password:" dialog is presented to the user on a black screen
|
|
|
inside the vncviewer. The connection is dropped if the user fails to
|
|
|
supply the correct password in 3 tries or does not send one before a
|
|
|
25 second timeout. Existing clients are view-only during this period.
|
|
|
A list of allowed Unix usernames may also be supplied along with
|
|
|
per-user settings.
|
|
|
|
|
|
There is also the [324]-unixpw_nis option for non-shadow-password
|
|
|
(typically NIS environments, hence the name) systems where the
|
|
|
traditional getpwnam() and crypt() functions are used instead of
|
|
|
su(1). The encrypted user passwords must be accessible to the user
|
|
|
running x11vnc in -unixpw_nis mode, otherwise the logins will always
|
|
|
fail even when the correct password is supplied. See ypcat(1) and
|
|
|
shadow(5).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Two settings are enforced in the -unixpw and -unixpw_nis modes to
|
|
|
provide extra security: the 1) [325]-localhost and 2) [326]-stunnel or
|
|
|
[327]-ssl options. Without these one might send the Unix username and
|
|
|
password data in clear text over the network which is a very bad idea.
|
|
|
They can be relaxed if you want to provide encryption other than
|
|
|
stunnel or [328]-ssl (the constraint is automatically relaxed if
|
|
|
SSH_CONNECTION is set and indicates you have ssh-ed in, however the
|
|
|
-localhost requirement is still enforced).
|
|
|
|
|
|
The two -unixpw modes have been tested on Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X,
|
|
|
HP-UX, Tru64, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD. Additional testing is
|
|
|
appreciated. For the last 4 it appears that su(1) will not prompt for
|
|
|
a password if su-ing to oneself. Since x11vnc requires a password
|
|
|
prompt from su, those logins will fail even when the correct password
|
|
|
is supplied. On *BSD it appears this can be corrected by commenting
|
|
|
out the pam_self.so entry in /etc/pam.d/su.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Previous discussion (prior to -unixpw option):
|
|
|
|
|
|
Until the VNC protocol and libvncserver support this things will be
|
|
|
approximate at best.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One approximate method involves starting x11vnc with the
|
|
|
[329]-localhost option. This basically requires the viewer user to log
|
|
|
into the workstation where x11vnc is running via their Unix username
|
|
|
and password, and then somehow set up a port redirection of his
|
|
|
vncviewer connection to make it appear to emanate from the local
|
|
|
machine. As discussed above, ssh is useful for this: "ssh -L
|
|
|
5900:localhost:5900 user@hostname ..." See the ssh wrapper scripts
|
|
|
mentioned [330]elsewhere on this page. [331]stunnel does this as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Of course a malicious user could allow other users to get in through
|
|
|
his channel, but that is a problem with every method. Another thing to
|
|
|
watch out for is a malicious user on the viewer side (where ssh is
|
|
|
running) trying to sneak in through the ssh port redirection there.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Regarding limiting the set of Unix usernames who can connect, the
|
|
|
traditional way would be to further require a VNC password to supplied
|
|
|
(-rfbauth, -passwd, etc) and only tell the people allowed in what the
|
|
|
VNC password is. A scheme that avoids a second password involves using
|
|
|
the [332]-accept option that runs a program to examine the connection
|
|
|
information to determine which user is connecting from the local
|
|
|
machine. That may be difficult to do, but, for example, the program
|
|
|
could use the ident service on the local machine (normally ident
|
|
|
should not be trusted over the network, but on the local machine it
|
|
|
should be accurate: otherwise root has been compromised and so there
|
|
|
are more serious problems! Unfortunately recent Linux distros seem to
|
|
|
provide a random string (MD5 hash?) instead of the username). An
|
|
|
example script passed in via -accept scriptname that deduces the Unix
|
|
|
username and limits who can be accepted might look something like
|
|
|
this:
|
|
|
#!/bin/sh
|
|
|
if [ "$RFB_CLIENT_IP" != "127.0.0.1" -o "$RFB_SERVER_IP" != "127.0.0.1" ]; then
|
|
|
exit 1 # something fishy... reject it.
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
user=`echo "$RFB_CLIENT_PORT, $RFB_SERVER_PORT" | nc -w 1 $RFB_CLIENT_IP 113 \
|
|
|
| grep 'USERID.*UNIX' | head -1 | sed -e 's/[\r ]//g' | awk -F: '{print
|
|
|
$4}'`
|
|
|
|
|
|
for okuser in fred barney wilma betty
|
|
|
do
|
|
|
if [ "X$user" = "X$okuser" ]; then
|
|
|
exit 0 # accept it
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
done
|
|
|
exit 1 # reject it
|
|
|
|
|
|
For this to work with ssh port redirection, the ssh option
|
|
|
UsePrivilegeSeparation must be enabled otherwise the userid will
|
|
|
always be "root".
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-31: Why does x11vnc exit as soon as the VNC viewer disconnects? And
|
|
|
why doesn't it allow more than one VNC viewer to connect at the same
|
|
|
time?
|
|
|
|
|
|
These defaults are simple safety measures to avoid someone unknowingly
|
|
|
leaving his X11 desktop exposed (to the internet, say) for long
|
|
|
periods of time. Use the [333]-forever option (aka -many) to have
|
|
|
x11vnc wait for more connections after the first client disconnects.
|
|
|
Use the [334]-shared option to have x11vnc allow multiple clients to
|
|
|
connect simultaneously.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recommended additional safety measures include using ssh ([335]see
|
|
|
above), stunnel, [336]-ssl, or a VPN to authenticate and encrypt the
|
|
|
viewer connections or to at least use the -rfbauth passwd-file
|
|
|
[337]option to use VNC password protection (or [338]-passwdfile) It is
|
|
|
up to YOU to apply these security measures, they will not be done for
|
|
|
you automatically.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-32: Can I limit which machines incoming VNC clients can connect
|
|
|
from?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, look at the [339]-allow and [340]-localhost options to limit
|
|
|
connections by hostname or IP address. E.g.
|
|
|
x11vnc -allow 192.168.0.1,192.168.0.2
|
|
|
|
|
|
for those two hosts or
|
|
|
x11vnc -allow 192.168.0.
|
|
|
|
|
|
for a subnet. For individual hosts you can use the hostname instead of
|
|
|
the IP number, e.g.: "-allow snoopy", and "-allow darkstar,wombat".
|
|
|
Note that -localhost achieves the same thing as "-allow 127.0.0.1"
|
|
|
|
|
|
For more control, build libvncserver with libwrap support
|
|
|
[341](tcp_wrappers) and then use /etc/hosts.allow See hosts_access(5)
|
|
|
for complete details.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-33: How do I build x11vnc/libvncserver with libwrap (tcp_wrappers)
|
|
|
support?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here is one way to pass this information to the configure script:
|
|
|
env CPPFLAGS=-DUSE_LIBWRAP LDFLAGS=-lwrap ./configure
|
|
|
|
|
|
then run make as usual. This requires libwrap and its development
|
|
|
package (tcpd.h) to be installed on the build machine. If additional
|
|
|
CPPFLAGS or LDFLAGS options are needed supply them as well using
|
|
|
quotes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The resulting x11vnc then uses libwrap/tcp_wrappers for connections.
|
|
|
The service name you will use in /etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny
|
|
|
is "vnc", e.g.:
|
|
|
vnc: 192.168.100.3 .example.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that if you run x11vnc out of [342]inetd you do not need to build
|
|
|
x11vnc with libwrap support because the /usr/sbin/tcpd reference in
|
|
|
/etc/inetd.conf handles the tcp_wrappers stuff.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-34: Can I have x11vnc only listen on one network interface (e.g.
|
|
|
internal LAN) rather than having it listen on all network interfaces
|
|
|
and relying on -allow to filter unwanted connections out?
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Mar/2005 there is the "[343]-listen ipaddr" option that enables
|
|
|
this. For ipaddr either supply the desired network interface's IP
|
|
|
address (or use a hostname that resolves to it) or use the string
|
|
|
"localhost". For additional filtering simultaneously use the
|
|
|
"[344]-allow host1,..." option to allow only specific hosts in.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This option is useful if you want to insure that no one can even begin
|
|
|
a dialog with x11vnc from untrusted network interfaces (e.g. ppp0).
|
|
|
The option [345]-localhost now implies "-listen localhost" since that
|
|
|
is what most people expect it to do.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-35: Now that -localhost implies listening only on the loopback
|
|
|
interface, how I can occasionally allow in a non-localhost via the -R
|
|
|
allowonce remote control command?
|
|
|
|
|
|
To do this specify "[346]-allow localhost". Unlike [347]-localhost
|
|
|
this will leave x11vnc listening on all interfaces (but of course only
|
|
|
allowing in local connections, e.g. ssh redirs). Then you can later
|
|
|
run "x11vnc -R allowonce:somehost" or use to gui to permit a one-shot
|
|
|
connection from a remote host.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-36: Can I fine tune what types of user input are allowed? E.g. have
|
|
|
some users just be able to move the mouse, but not click or type
|
|
|
anything?
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Feb/2005, the [348]-input option allows you to do this. "K",
|
|
|
"M", "B", and "C" stand for Keystroke, Mouse-motion, Button-clicks,
|
|
|
and Clipboard, respectively. The setting: "-input M" makes attached
|
|
|
viewers only able to move the mouse. "-input KMBC,M" lets normal
|
|
|
clients do everything and enables view-only clients to move the mouse.
|
|
|
|
|
|
These settings can also be applied on a per-viewer basis via the
|
|
|
remote control mechanism or the GUI. E.g. x11vnc -R input:hostname:M
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-37: Can I prompt the user at the local X display whether the
|
|
|
incoming VNC client should be accepted or not? Can I decide to make
|
|
|
some clients view-only? How about running an arbitrary program to make
|
|
|
the decisions?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, look at the "[349]-accept command" option, it allows you to
|
|
|
specify an external command that is run for each new client. (use
|
|
|
quotes around the command if it contains spaces, etc.). If the
|
|
|
external command returns 0 the client is accepted, otherwise the
|
|
|
client is rejected. See below how to also accept clients view-only.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The external command will have the RFB_CLIENT_IP environment variable
|
|
|
set to the client's numerical IP address, RFB_CLIENT_PORT its port
|
|
|
number. Similarly for RFB_SERVER_IP and RFB_SERVER_PORT to allow
|
|
|
identification of the tcp virtual circuit. DISPLAY will be set to that
|
|
|
of the X11 display being polled. Also, RFB_X11VNC_PID is set to the
|
|
|
x11vnc process id (e.g. in case you decided to kill it), RFB_CLIENT_ID
|
|
|
will be an id number, and RFB_CLIENT_COUNT the number of other clients
|
|
|
currently connected. RFB_MODE will be "accept".
|
|
|
|
|
|
As a special case, "-accept popup" will instruct x11vnc to create its
|
|
|
own simple popup window. To accept the client press "y" or click mouse
|
|
|
on the "Yes" button. To reject the client press "n" or click mouse on
|
|
|
the "No" button. To accept the client View-only, press "v" or click
|
|
|
mouse on the "View" button. If the [350]-viewonly option has been
|
|
|
supplied, the "View" action will not be present: the whole display is
|
|
|
view only in that case.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The popup window times out after 120 seconds, to change this behavior
|
|
|
use "-accept popup:N" where N is the number of seconds (use 0 for no
|
|
|
timeout). More tricks: "-accept popupmouse" will only take mouse click
|
|
|
responses, while "-accept popupkey" will only take keystroke responses
|
|
|
(popup takes both). After any of the 3 popup keywords you can supply a
|
|
|
position of the window: +N+M, (the default is to center the window)
|
|
|
e.g. -accept popupmouse+10+10.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also as a special case "-accept xmessage" will run the xmessage(1)
|
|
|
program to prompt the user whether the client should be accepted or
|
|
|
not. This requires that you have xmessage installed and available via
|
|
|
PATH. In case it is not already on your system, the xmessage program
|
|
|
is available at [351]ftp://ftp.x.org/
|
|
|
|
|
|
To include view-only decisions for the external commands, prefix the
|
|
|
command something like this: "yes:0,no:*,view:3 mycommand ..." This
|
|
|
associates the three actions: yes(accept), no(reject), and
|
|
|
view(accept-view-only), with the numerical return codes. Use "*"
|
|
|
instead of a number to set the default action (e.g. in case the
|
|
|
external command returns an unexpected return code).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here is an example -accept script called accept_or_lock. It uses
|
|
|
xmessage and xlock (replace with your screen lock command, maybe it is
|
|
|
"xscreensaver-command -lock", or kdesktop_lock, or "dtaction
|
|
|
LockDisplay"). It will prompt the user at the X display whether to
|
|
|
accept, reject, or accept view-only the client, but if the prompt
|
|
|
times out after 60 seconds the screen is locked and the VNC client is
|
|
|
accepted. This allows the remote access when no one is at the display.
|
|
|
#!/bin/sh
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
# accept_or_lock: prompt user at X display whether to accept an incoming
|
|
|
# VNC connection. If timeout expires, screen is locked
|
|
|
# and the VNC viewer is accepted (allows remote access
|
|
|
# when no one is sitting at the display).
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
# usage: x11vnc ... -forever -accept 'yes:0,no:*,view:4 accept_or_lock'
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
xmessage -buttons yes:2,no:3,view-only:4 -center \
|
|
|
-timeout 60 "x11vnc: accept connection from $RFB_CLIENT_IP?"
|
|
|
rc=$?
|
|
|
if [ $rc = 0 ]; then
|
|
|
xlock &
|
|
|
sleep 5
|
|
|
exit 0
|
|
|
elif [ $rc = 2 ]; then
|
|
|
exit 0
|
|
|
elif [ $rc = 4 ]; then
|
|
|
exit 4
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
exit 1
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stefan Radman has written a nice dtksh script [352]dtVncPopup for use
|
|
|
in CDE environments to do the same sort of thing. Information on how
|
|
|
to use it is found at the top of the file. He encourages you to
|
|
|
provide feedback to him to help improve the script.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that in all cases x11vnc will block while the external command or
|
|
|
popup is being run, so attached clients will not receive screen
|
|
|
updates, etc during this period.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To run a command when a client disconnects, use the "[353]-gone
|
|
|
command" option. This is for the user's convenience only: the return
|
|
|
code of the command is not interpreted by x11vnc. The same environment
|
|
|
variables are set as in "-accept command" (except that RFB_MODE will
|
|
|
be "gone").
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Jan/2006 the "[354]-afteraccept command" option will run the
|
|
|
command only after the VNC client has been accepted and authenticated.
|
|
|
Like -gone the return code is not interprted. RFB_MODE will be
|
|
|
"afteraccept").
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-38: I start x11vnc as root because it is launched via inetd(8) or a
|
|
|
display manager like gdm(1). Can I have x11vnc later switch to a
|
|
|
different user?
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Feb/2005 x11vnc has the [355]-users option that allows things
|
|
|
like this. Please read the documentation on it (also in the x11vnc
|
|
|
-help output) carefully for features and caveats. It's use can often
|
|
|
decrease security unless care is taken.
|
|
|
|
|
|
BTW, a nice use of it is "-users +nobody" that switches to the Unix
|
|
|
user nobody right after connections to the X display are established.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In any event, while running x11vnc as root, remember it comes with no
|
|
|
warranty ;-).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-39: I use a screen-lock when I leave my workstation (e.g.
|
|
|
xscreensaver or xlock). When I remotely access my workstation desktop
|
|
|
via x11vnc I can unlock the desktop fine, but I am worried people will
|
|
|
see my activities on the physical monitor. What can I do to prevent
|
|
|
this, or at least make it more difficult?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Probably most work environments would respect your privacy if you
|
|
|
powered off the monitor. Also remember if people have physical access
|
|
|
to your workstation they basically can do anything they want with it
|
|
|
(e.g. install a backdoor for later use, etc).
|
|
|
|
|
|
In any event, as of Jun/2004 there is an experimental utility to make
|
|
|
it more difficult for nosey people to see your x11vnc activities. The
|
|
|
source for it is [356]blockdpy.c The idea behind it is simple (but
|
|
|
obviously not bulletproof): when a VNC client attaches to x11vnc put
|
|
|
the display monitor in the DPMS "off" state, if the DPMS state ever
|
|
|
changes immediately start up the screen-lock program. The x11vnc user
|
|
|
will notice something is happening and think about what to do next
|
|
|
(while the screen is in a locked state).
|
|
|
|
|
|
This works (or at least has a chance of working) because if the
|
|
|
intruder moves the mouse or presses a key on the keyboard, the monitor
|
|
|
wakes up out of the DPMS off state, and this induces the screen lock
|
|
|
program to activate as soon as possible. Of course there are cracks in
|
|
|
this, the eavesdropper could detach your monitor and insert a non-DPMS
|
|
|
one, and there are race conditions. As mentioned above this is not
|
|
|
bulletproof. A really robust solution would likely require X server
|
|
|
and perhaps even video hardware support.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The blockdpy utility is launched by the [357]-accept option and told
|
|
|
to exit via the [358]-gone option (the vnc client user should
|
|
|
obviously re-lock the screen before disconnecting!). Instructions can
|
|
|
be found in the source code for the utility at the above link.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-40: Can I have x11vnc automatically lock the screen when I
|
|
|
disconnect the VNC viewer?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, a user mentions he uses the [359]-gone option under CDE to run a
|
|
|
screen lock program:
|
|
|
x11vnc -display :0 -forever -gone 'dtaction LockDisplay'
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other possibilities are:
|
|
|
x11vnc -display :0 -forever -gone 'xscreensaver-command -lock'
|
|
|
x11vnc -display :0 -forever -gone 'kdesktop_lock'
|
|
|
x11vnc -display :0 -forever -gone 'xlock &'
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here is a scheme using the [360]-afteraccept option (in version 0.7.3)
|
|
|
to unlock the screen after the first valid VNC login and to lock the
|
|
|
screen after the last valid VNC login disconnects:
|
|
|
x11vnc -display :0 -forever -shared -afteraccept ./myxlocker -gone ./myxlocke
|
|
|
r
|
|
|
|
|
|
Where the script ./myxlocker is:
|
|
|
#!/bin/sh
|
|
|
|
|
|
#/usr/bin/env | grep RFB_ | sort # for viewing RFB_* settings.
|
|
|
|
|
|
if [ "X$RFB_MODE" = "Xafteraccept" ]; then
|
|
|
if [ "X$RFB_STATE" = "XNORMAL" ]; then # require valid login
|
|
|
if [ "X$RFB_CLIENT_COUNT" = "X1" ]; then
|
|
|
killall xlock # Linux only.
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
elif [ "X$RFB_MODE" = "Xgone" ]; then
|
|
|
if [ "X$RFB_STATE" = "XNORMAL" ]; then # require valid login
|
|
|
if [ "X$RFB_CLIENT_COUNT" = "X0" ]; then
|
|
|
xlock -mode blank &
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-41: Help! x11vnc and my KDE screensaver keep switching each other on
|
|
|
and off every few seconds.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is a new (Jul/2006) problem seen, say, on the version of KDE that
|
|
|
is shipped with SuSE 10.1. It is not yet clear what is causing this...
|
|
|
If you move the mouse through x11vnc the screensaver shuts off like it
|
|
|
should but then a second or two after you stop moving the mouse the
|
|
|
screensaver snaps back on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This may be a bug in kdesktop_lock. For now the only workaround is to
|
|
|
disable the screensaver. You can try using another one such as
|
|
|
straight xscreensaver (see the instructions [361]here for how to
|
|
|
disable kdesktop_lock). If you have more info on this or see it
|
|
|
outside of KDE please let us know.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Encrypted Connections]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-42: How can I tunnel my connection to x11vnc via an encrypted SSH
|
|
|
channel between two Unix machines?
|
|
|
|
|
|
See the description earlier on this page on [362]how to tunnel VNC via
|
|
|
SSH from Unix to Unix. A number of ways are described along with some
|
|
|
issues you may encounter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other secure encrypted methods exists, e.g. stunnel, IPSEC, various
|
|
|
VPNs, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
See also the [363]Enhanced TightVNC Viewer page where much of this is
|
|
|
now automated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-43: How can I tunnel my connection to x11vnc via an encrypted SSH
|
|
|
channel from Windows using an SSH client like Putty?
|
|
|
|
|
|
[364]Above we described how to tunnel VNC via SSH from Unix to Unix,
|
|
|
you may want to review it. To do this from Windows using Putty it
|
|
|
would go something like this:
|
|
|
* In the Putty dialog window under 'Session' enter the hostname or
|
|
|
IP number of the Unix machine with display to be viewed.
|
|
|
* Make sure the SSH protocol is selected and the server port is
|
|
|
correct.
|
|
|
* Under 'Connections/SSH/Tunnels' Add a Local connection with
|
|
|
'Source port: 5900' and 'Destination: localhost:5900'
|
|
|
* Log into the remote machine by pressing 'Open' and supplying
|
|
|
username, password, etc.
|
|
|
* In that SSH shell, start up x11vnc by typing the command: x11vnc
|
|
|
-display :0 plus any other desired options (e.g. -localhost).
|
|
|
* Finally, start up your VNC Viewer in Windows and enter
|
|
|
'localhost:0' as the VNC server.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can keep all of the settings in a Putty 'Saved Session'. Also,
|
|
|
once everything is working, you can consider putting x11vnc -display
|
|
|
:0 (plus other cmdline options) in the 'Remote command' Putty setting
|
|
|
under 'Connections/SSH'.
|
|
|
|
|
|
See also the [365]Enhanced TightVNC Viewer page where much of this is
|
|
|
now automated via the Putty plink utility.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For extra protection feel free to run x11vnc with the [366]-localhost
|
|
|
and [367]-rfbauth/[368]-passwdfile options.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the machine you SSH into via Putty is not the same machine with the
|
|
|
X display you wish to view (e.g. your company provides incoming SSH
|
|
|
access to a gateway machine), then you need to change the above Putty
|
|
|
dialog setting to: 'Destination: otherhost:5900', Once logged in,
|
|
|
you'll need to do a second login (ssh or rsh) to the workstation
|
|
|
machine 'otherhost' and then start up x11vnc on it. This can also be
|
|
|
automated by [369]chaining ssh's.
|
|
|
|
|
|
As discussed [370]above another option is to first start the VNC
|
|
|
viewer in "listen" mode, and then launch x11vnc with the
|
|
|
"[371]-connect localhost" option to establish the reverse connection.
|
|
|
In this case a Remote port redirection (not Local) is needed for port
|
|
|
5500 instead of 5900 (i.e. 'Source port: 5500' and
|
|
|
'Destination: localhost:5500' for a Remote connection).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-44: How can I tunnel my connection to x11vnc via an encrypted SSL
|
|
|
channel using an external tool like stunnel?
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is possible to use a "lighter weight" encryption setup than SSH or
|
|
|
IPSEC. SSL tunnels such as [372]stunnel provide an encrypted channel
|
|
|
without the need for Unix users, passwords, and key passphrases
|
|
|
required for ssh (and at the other extreme SSL can also provide a
|
|
|
complete signed certificate chain of trust). OTOH, since SSH is
|
|
|
usually installed everywhere and firewalls often let its port through,
|
|
|
ssh is frequently the path of least resistance (it also nicely manages
|
|
|
public keys for you).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Update: As of Feb/2006 x11vnc has the options [373]-ssl,
|
|
|
[374]-stunnel, and [375]-sslverify to provide integrated SSL schemes.
|
|
|
They are discussed [376]in the Next FAQ (you may want to skip to it
|
|
|
now).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here are some basic examples using [377]stunnel but the general idea
|
|
|
for any SSL tunnel utility is the same:
|
|
|
* Start up x11vnc and constrain it to listen on localhost.
|
|
|
* Then start up the SSL tunnel running on the same machine to
|
|
|
forward incoming connections to that x11vnc.
|
|
|
* Set up and run a similar SSL tunnel for the outgoing connection on
|
|
|
the VNC viewer machine pointing it to the SSL/x11vnc server.
|
|
|
* Optionally, set up server (or even client) public/private keys for
|
|
|
use in authenticating one side to the other.
|
|
|
* Finally, start the VNC Viewer and tell it to connect to the local
|
|
|
port (e.g. a vnc display localhost:0) where its outgoing SSL
|
|
|
tunnel is listening.
|
|
|
|
|
|
We'll first use the stunnel version 3 syntax since it is the most
|
|
|
concise and Unixy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Start up x11vnc listening on port 5900:
|
|
|
x11vnc -display :0 -rfbport 5900 -localhost -bg -passwdfile ~/mypass
|
|
|
|
|
|
Then start stunnel (version 3) with this command:
|
|
|
stunnel -d 5901 -r 5900 -p /path/to/stunnel.pem
|
|
|
|
|
|
The above two commands are run on host "far-away.east". The
|
|
|
stunnel.pem is the self-signed PEM file certificate created when
|
|
|
stunnel is built. One can also create certificates [378]signed by
|
|
|
Certificate Authorities or self-signed if desired using the x11vnc
|
|
|
utilities described there.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Next, on the VNC viewer side we need an SSL tunnel to encrypt the
|
|
|
outgoing connection. The nice thing is any SSL tunnel can be used
|
|
|
because the protocol is a standard. For this example we'll also use
|
|
|
stunnel on the viewer side on Unix. First start up the client-side
|
|
|
stunnel:
|
|
|
stunnel -c -d localhost:5902 -r far-away.east:5901
|
|
|
|
|
|
Then point the viewer to the local tunnel on port 5902:
|
|
|
vncviewer -encodings "copyrect tight zrle hextile" localhost:2
|
|
|
|
|
|
That's it. (note that the [379]ssl_vncviewer script can automate
|
|
|
this.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Be sure to use a VNC password because unlike ssh by default the
|
|
|
encrypted SSL channel provides no authentication (only privacy). With
|
|
|
some extra configuration one could also set up certificates to provide
|
|
|
authentication of either or both sides as well (and hence avoid
|
|
|
man-in-the-middle attacks). See the stunnel and openssl documentation
|
|
|
and also [380]the key management section for details.
|
|
|
|
|
|
stunnel has also been ported to Windows, and there are likely others
|
|
|
to choose from for that OS. Much info for using it on Windows can be
|
|
|
found at the stunnel site and in this [381]article The article also
|
|
|
shows the detailed steps to set up all the authentication
|
|
|
certificates. (for both server and clients, see also the [382]x11vnc
|
|
|
utilities that do this). The default Windows client setup (no certs)
|
|
|
is simpler and only 4 files are needed in a folder: stunnel.exe,
|
|
|
stunnel.conf, libssl32.dll, libeay32.dll. We used an stunnel.conf
|
|
|
containing:
|
|
|
# stunnel.conf:
|
|
|
client = yes
|
|
|
options = ALL
|
|
|
[myvncssl]
|
|
|
accept = localhost:5902
|
|
|
connect = far-away.east:5901
|
|
|
|
|
|
then double click on the stunnel.exe icon to launch it (followed by
|
|
|
pointing the VNC viewer to localhost:2).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
stunnel inetd-like mode:
|
|
|
|
|
|
As an aside, if you don't like the little "gap" of unencrypted TCP
|
|
|
traffic (and a localhost listening socket) on the local machine
|
|
|
between stunnel and x11vnc it can actually be closed by having stunnel
|
|
|
start up x11vnc in [383]-inetd mode:
|
|
|
stunnel -p /path/to/stunnel.pem -P none -d 5900 -l ./x11vnc_sh
|
|
|
|
|
|
Where the script x11vnc_sh starts up x11vnc:
|
|
|
#!/bin/sh
|
|
|
x11vnc -q -inetd -display :0 -passwdfile ~/mypass
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that this creates a separate x11vnc process for each incoming
|
|
|
connection (as any inetd x11vnc usage would), but for the case of
|
|
|
normally just one viewer at a time it should not be a big problem.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
stunnel 4 syntax:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Somewhat sadly, the stunnel version 4 syntax is not so amenable to the
|
|
|
command line or scripts. You need to create a config file with the
|
|
|
parameters. E.g.:
|
|
|
stunnel x11vnc.cfg
|
|
|
|
|
|
Where the file x11vnc.cfg contains:
|
|
|
foreground = yes
|
|
|
pid =
|
|
|
cert = /path/to/stunnel.pem
|
|
|
[x11vnc_stunnel]
|
|
|
accept = 5901
|
|
|
connect = 5900
|
|
|
|
|
|
One nice thing about version 4 is often the PEM file does not need to
|
|
|
be specified because stunnel finds it in its installed area. One other
|
|
|
gotcha the PEM file is usually only readable by root (it has the
|
|
|
private key afterall), so you'll need to relax the permissions or make
|
|
|
a copy that the user running x11vnc/stunnel can read.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SSL VNC Viewers:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Regarding VNC viewers that "natively" do SSL unfortunately there do
|
|
|
not seem to be many. UltraVNC has an encryption plugin, but we have
|
|
|
not tried it (it does not seem to be SSL). Commercial versions of VNC
|
|
|
seem to have some SSL built in, but we haven't tried those either and
|
|
|
they probably wouldn't work since the SSL negotiation is likely
|
|
|
embedded in the VNC protocol unlike our case where it is external.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: as of Mar/2006 libvncserver/x11vnc provides a [384]SSL-enabled
|
|
|
Java applet that can be served up via the [385]-httpdir or [386]-http
|
|
|
options when [387]-ssl is enabled. It will also be served via HTTPS
|
|
|
via either the VNC port (e.g. https://host:5900/) or a 2nd port via
|
|
|
the [388]-https option.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In general current SSL VNC solutions are not particularly "seemless".
|
|
|
But it can be done, and with a wrapper script on the viewer side and
|
|
|
the [389]-stunnel or [390]-ssl option on the server side it works well
|
|
|
and is convenient. Here is a simple script [391]ssl_vncviewer that
|
|
|
automates running stunnel on the VNC viewer side on Unix a little more
|
|
|
carefully than the commands printed above. (One could probably do a
|
|
|
similar thing with a .BAT file on Windows in the stunnel folder.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Update Jul/2006: we now provide an [392]Enhanced TightVNC Viewer
|
|
|
package that starts up STUNNEL automatically along with some other
|
|
|
features. All binaries are provided in the package.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-45: Does x11vnc have built-in SSL tunneling?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can read about non-built-in methods [393]in the Previous FAQ
|
|
|
|
|
|
SSL tunnels provide an encrypted channel without the need for Unix
|
|
|
users, passwords, and key passphrases required for ssh (and at the
|
|
|
other extreme SSL can also provide a complete signed certificate chain
|
|
|
of trust). OTOH, since SSH is usually installed everywhere and
|
|
|
firewalls often let its port through, ssh is frequently the path of
|
|
|
least resistance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Built-in SSL x11vnc options:
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Feb/2006 the x11vnc [394]-ssl and [395]-stunnel options automate
|
|
|
the SSL tunnel creation on the x11vnc server side. An [396]SSL-enabled
|
|
|
Java Viewer applet is also provided that can be served via HTTP or
|
|
|
HTTPS to automate SSL on the client side.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The [397]-ssl mode uses the [398]www.openssl.org library if available
|
|
|
at build time. The [399]-stunnel mode requires the
|
|
|
[400]www.stunnel.org command stunnel(8) to be installed on the system.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Both modes require an SSL certificate and key (i.e. .pem file). These
|
|
|
are usually created via the openssl(1) (in fact in for options "-ssl"
|
|
|
or "-stunnel SAVE" it will run openssl for you automatically). So the
|
|
|
SSL is not completely "built-in" since these external tools need to be
|
|
|
installed, but at least x11vnc runs them for you automatically.
|
|
|
|
|
|
An -stunnel example:
|
|
|
x11vnc -display :0 -stunnel /path/to/stunnel.pem -passwdfile ~/mypass
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get output like this:
|
|
|
The VNC desktop is: localhost:50
|
|
|
The SSL VNC desktop is: far-away.east:0
|
|
|
PORT=5950
|
|
|
SSLPORT=5900
|
|
|
|
|
|
That indicates stunnel is listening on port 5900 for incoming
|
|
|
SSL-wrapped VNC connections from viewers. x11vnc is listening for
|
|
|
local connections on port 5950 in this case (remote viewers cannot
|
|
|
connect to it directly). For -stunnel to work the stunnel command must
|
|
|
be installed on the machine and available in PATH (note stunnel is
|
|
|
often installed in sbin directories rather than bin).
|
|
|
|
|
|
An -ssl example:
|
|
|
x11vnc -display :0 -ssl -passwdfile ~/mypass
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get output like this:
|
|
|
09/04/2006 19:27:35 Creating a temporary, self-signed PEM certificate...
|
|
|
09/04/2006 19:27:35
|
|
|
...
|
|
|
|
|
|
The SSL VNC desktop is: far-away.east:0
|
|
|
PORT=5900
|
|
|
SSLPORT=5900
|
|
|
|
|
|
In this case openssl(1) was used to create a temporary PEM
|
|
|
automatically.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As seen above, the PEM (privacy enhanced mail) file does not need to
|
|
|
be supplied if the openssl(1) command is available in PATH, in that
|
|
|
case a self-signed, temporary certificate good only for the single
|
|
|
x11vnc session is created (this may take a while on very slow
|
|
|
machines).
|
|
|
|
|
|
In general, the PEM file contains both the Certificate (i.e. public
|
|
|
key) and the Private Key. Because of the latter, the file should be
|
|
|
protected from being read by untrusted users. The best way to do this
|
|
|
is to encrypt the key with a passphrase (note however this requires
|
|
|
supplying the passphrase each time x11vnc is started up).
|
|
|
|
|
|
See the discussion on [401]x11vnc Key Management for some utilities
|
|
|
provided for creating and managing certificates and keys and even for
|
|
|
creating your own Certificate Authority (CA) for signing VNC server
|
|
|
and client certificates. This may be done by importing the certificate
|
|
|
into Web Browser or Java plugin keystores, or pointing stunnel to it.
|
|
|
The wrapper script [402]ssl_vncviewer provides an example on unix
|
|
|
(-verify option).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here are some notes on the simpler default (non-CA) operation. To have
|
|
|
x11vnc save the generated certificate and key, use the "SAVE" keyword
|
|
|
like this:
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl SAVE -display :0 ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc -stunnel SAVE -display :0 ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
This way it will be saved in the default directory ~/.vnc/certs/ as
|
|
|
server.crt (the certificate only) and server.pem (both certificate and
|
|
|
private key). This opens up the possibility of copying the server.crt
|
|
|
to machines where the VNC Viewer will be run to enable authenticating
|
|
|
the x11vnc SSL VNC server to the clients. When authentication takes
|
|
|
place this way (or via the more sophisticated CA signing described
|
|
|
[403]here), then Man-In-The-Middle-Attacks are prevented. Otherwise,
|
|
|
the SSL encryption only provides protection against passive network
|
|
|
traffic "sniffing". Nowadays, most people seem mostly concerned about
|
|
|
only the latter (and the default x11vnc SSL modes protect against it.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
One can test to some degree that SSL is working after starting x11vnc
|
|
|
with the -stunnel or -ssl option. From another machine one can use the
|
|
|
openssl command something like this:
|
|
|
openssl s_client -debug -msg -showcerts -connect far-away.east:5900
|
|
|
|
|
|
After all of the debugging output and informational messages you'll
|
|
|
see the string "RFB 003.007" that came from x11vnc. Pointing a web
|
|
|
browser connecting to: https://far-away.east:5900/ and then viewing
|
|
|
the SSL certificate information about the connection in the panels
|
|
|
will also work.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: If you serve up the SSL enabled Java VNC Viewer via something
|
|
|
like:
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl -httpdir /usr/local/share/x11vnc/classes/ssl
|
|
|
|
|
|
(or just the -http option), you can test it out completely using that,
|
|
|
including using https to download it into the browser and connect to
|
|
|
x11vnc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
See the [404]next FAQ for SSL enabled VNC Viewers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-46: How do I use VNC Viewers with built-in SSL tunneling?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes on the SSL enabled Java VNC Viewer provided in
|
|
|
classes/ssl/VncViewer.jar:
|
|
|
|
|
|
The SSL enabled Java VNC Viewer (VncViewer.jar) in the x11vnc package
|
|
|
supports only SSL based connections by default (set the applet
|
|
|
parameter disableSSL=yes in index.vnc to override). As mentioned above
|
|
|
the [405]-httpdir can be used to specify the path to .../classes/ssl.
|
|
|
A typical location might be /usr/local/share/x11vnc/classes/ssl. Or
|
|
|
[406]-http can be used to try to have it find the directory
|
|
|
automatically.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Java viewer uses SSL to communicate securely with x11vnc. Note
|
|
|
that the applet can optionally also be downloaded into your web
|
|
|
browser via HTTPS (i.e. HTTP over SSL). This way the HTML page and the
|
|
|
Java applet itself are delivered securely (as opposed to only the VNC
|
|
|
traffic being encrypted).
|
|
|
|
|
|
For this case the output will be something like this:
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl -http
|
|
|
...
|
|
|
The SSL VNC desktop is: far-away.east:0
|
|
|
Java SSL viewer URL: https://far-away.east:5900/
|
|
|
Java SSL viewer URL: http://far-away.east:5800/
|
|
|
PORT=5900
|
|
|
SSLPORT=5900
|
|
|
|
|
|
Indicating the two URLs (the first one encrypted, the second not) one
|
|
|
could point the web browser at to get the VNC viewer applet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The https service provided thru the actual VNC port (5900 in the above
|
|
|
example) can occasionally be slow or unreliable (it has to read some
|
|
|
input and try to guess if the connection is VNC or HTTP). If it is
|
|
|
unreliable and you still want to serve the Java applet via https, use
|
|
|
the [407]-https option to get an additional port dedicated to https
|
|
|
(its URL will also be printed in the output).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Another possibility is to add the GET applet parameter:
|
|
|
https://far-away.east:5900/?GET=1
|
|
|
|
|
|
This will have the VNC Viewer send a special HTTP GET string "GET
|
|
|
/request.https.vnc.connection HTTP/1.0 that x11vnc will more quickly
|
|
|
notice is a request for a VNC connection. Otherwise it must wait for a
|
|
|
timeout to expire before it assumes a VNC connection.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You may also use "?GET=somestring" to have /somestring prepended to
|
|
|
/request.https.vnc.connection". Perhaps you are using a web server
|
|
|
[408]proxy scheme to enter a firewall or otherwise have rules applied
|
|
|
to the URL. If you need to have any slashes "/" in "somestring" use
|
|
|
"_2F_" (a deficiency in libvncserver prevents using the more natural
|
|
|
"%2F".)
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you do serve the SSL enabled Java viewer via https be prepared for
|
|
|
quite a number of "are you sure you trust this site?" dialogs:
|
|
|
* First from the Web browser that cannot verify the self-signed
|
|
|
certificate when it downloads index.vnc.
|
|
|
* From the Web browser noting that the common name on the
|
|
|
certificate does not match the hostname of the remote machine.
|
|
|
* Next from the Java VM that cannot verify the self-signed
|
|
|
certificate when it downloads VncViewer.jar.
|
|
|
* And also from the Java VM noting that the common name on the
|
|
|
certificate does not match the hostname of the remote machine.
|
|
|
* Finally from the Java VncViewer applet itself saying it cannot
|
|
|
verify the certificate! (or a popup asking you if you want to see
|
|
|
the certificate.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that sometimes if you pause too long at one of the above dialogs
|
|
|
then x11vnc may exceed a timeout and assume the current socket
|
|
|
connection is VNC instead of the HTTPS it actually is (but since you
|
|
|
have paused too long at the dialog the GET request comes too late).
|
|
|
Often hitting Reload and going through the dialogs more quickly will
|
|
|
let you connect. Use the [409]-https option if you want a dedicated
|
|
|
port for HTTPS connections instead of sharing the VNC port.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes on the VNC Viewer ssl_vncviewer wrapper script:
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you want to use a native VNC Viewer with the SSL enabled x11vnc you
|
|
|
will need to run an external SSL tunnel on the Viewer side. There do
|
|
|
not seem to be any native SSL VNC Viewers outside of the x11vnc
|
|
|
package. The basic ideas of doing this were discussed [410]for
|
|
|
external tunnel utilities here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The [411]ssl_vncviewer script provided with x11vnc can set up the
|
|
|
stunnel tunnel automatically on unix as long as the stunnel command is
|
|
|
installed on the Viewer machine and available in PATH (and vncviewer
|
|
|
too of course). Note that on Debian based system you will need to
|
|
|
install the package stunnel4 not stunnel. You can set the environment
|
|
|
variables STUNNEL and VNCVIEWERCMD to point to the correct programs if
|
|
|
you want to override the defaults.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here are some examples:
|
|
|
1) ssl_vncviewer far-away.east:0
|
|
|
|
|
|
2) ssl_vncviewer far-away.east:0 -encodings "copyrect tight zrle hextile"
|
|
|
|
|
|
3) ssl_vncviewer -verify ./server.crt far-away.east:0
|
|
|
|
|
|
4) ssl_vncviewer -mycert ./client.pem far-away.east:0
|
|
|
|
|
|
5) ssl_vncviewer -proxy far-away.east:8080 myworkstation:0
|
|
|
|
|
|
The first one is the default mode and accepts the x11vnc certificate
|
|
|
without question. The second one is as the first, but adds the
|
|
|
-encodings options to the vncviewer command line.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The third one requires that the x11vnc server authenticate itself
|
|
|
against the certificate in the file ./server.crt (e.g. one created by
|
|
|
"x11vnc -ssl SAVE" and safely copied to the VNC viewer machine). The
|
|
|
fourth one is for VNC Viewer authentication, it uses ./client.pem to
|
|
|
authenticate itself to x11vnc. One can supply both -verify and -mycert
|
|
|
simultaneously.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The fifth one shows that Web proxies can be used if that is the only
|
|
|
way to get out of the firewall. If the "double proxy" situation arises
|
|
|
separate the two by commas. See [412]this page for more information on
|
|
|
how Web proxies come into play.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If one uses a Certificate Authority (CA) scheme described [413]here,
|
|
|
the wrapper script would use the CA cert instead of the server cert:
|
|
|
3') ssl_vncviewer -verify ./cacert.crt far-away.east:0
|
|
|
|
|
|
Update Jul/2006: we now provide an [414]Enhanced TightVNC Viewer
|
|
|
package that starts up STUNNEL automatically along with some other
|
|
|
features. All binaries are provided in the package.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-47: How do I use VNC Viewers with built-in SSL tunneling when going
|
|
|
through a Web Proxy?
|
|
|
The SSL enabled Java VNC Viewer and firewall Proxies:
|
|
|
|
|
|
SSL/https aside, there is a general problem with Firewall Proxies and
|
|
|
Java Applets that open sockets. The applet is downloaded successfully
|
|
|
(through the browser) using http and the proxy, but when the applet
|
|
|
tries to reconnect to the originating host (the only one allowed by
|
|
|
security) it does not use the proxy channel. So it cannot reconnect to
|
|
|
the server the applet came from!
|
|
|
|
|
|
We have found a convenient workaround: in the directory where
|
|
|
VncViewer.jar resides there is a digitally signed version of the same
|
|
|
applet called SignedVncViewer.jar. Since the applet is digitally
|
|
|
signed, there will be an additional dialog from the Java VM plugin
|
|
|
asking you if you want to trust the applet fully.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You should say "Yes". If you do, the applet will be run in a mode
|
|
|
where it can try to determine the firewall proxy host name and port
|
|
|
(it will ask you for them if it cannot find them). This way it can
|
|
|
connect directly to the Proxy and then request the CONNECT method to
|
|
|
be redirected to the originating host (the x11vnc VNC Server). SSL is
|
|
|
then layered over this socket.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To do this you should use the proxy.vnc HTML file like via this URL in
|
|
|
your browser:
|
|
|
https://yourmachine.com:5900/proxy.vnc
|
|
|
|
|
|
(instead of the unsigned one in https://yourmachine.com:5900/ that
|
|
|
gives the default index.vnc)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that the [415]ssl_vncviewer stunnel wrapper script can use Web
|
|
|
proxies as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Proxies that limit CONNECT to ports 443 and 563:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Things become trickier if the proxy restricts which CONNECT ports can
|
|
|
be redirected to. For security, some (most?) proxies only allow port
|
|
|
443 (HTTPS) and 563 (SNEWS) by default. In this case, the only thing
|
|
|
to do is run x11vnc on that low port, e.g. "-rfbport 443", (or use a
|
|
|
port redirection on, say, a firewall or router port 443 to the
|
|
|
internal machine).
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you do such a redirection to an internal machine and x11vnc is not
|
|
|
listening on port 443, you will probably need to edit proxy.vnc.
|
|
|
Suppose the SSL x11vnc server was listening on port 5901. You should
|
|
|
change the line in proxy.vnc from:
|
|
|
<param name=PORT value=$PORT>
|
|
|
|
|
|
to:
|
|
|
<param name=PORT value=443>
|
|
|
|
|
|
Since otherwise $PORT will be expanded to 5901 by x11vnc and the
|
|
|
viewer applet will fail to connect to that port.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Another way to acheive the same thing is to use the applet PORT
|
|
|
parameter:
|
|
|
https://yourmachine.com/proxy.vnc?PORT=443
|
|
|
|
|
|
this is cleaner because it avoids editing the file, but requires more
|
|
|
parameters in the URL. To use the GET [416]trick discussed above, do:
|
|
|
https://yourmachine.com/proxy.vnc?PORT=443&GET=1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-48: Can Apache web server act as a gateway for users to connect via
|
|
|
SSL from the Internet with a Web browser to x11vnc running on their
|
|
|
workstations behind a firewall?
|
|
|
Yes. You will need to configure apache to forward these connections.
|
|
|
It is discussed [417]here. This provides a clean alternative to the
|
|
|
traditional method where the user uses SSH to log in through the
|
|
|
gateway to create the encrypted port redirection to x11vnc running on
|
|
|
her desktop.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-49: Can I create and use my own SSL Certificate Authority (CA) with
|
|
|
x11vnc?
|
|
|
Yes, see [418]this page for how to do this and the utility commands
|
|
|
x11vnc provides to create and manage many types of certificates and
|
|
|
private keys.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Display Managers and Services]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-50: How can I run x11vnc as a "service" that is always available?
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are a number of ways to do this. The primary thing you need to
|
|
|
decide is whether you want x11vnc to connect to the X session on the
|
|
|
machine 1) regardless of who (or if anyone) has the X session, or 2)
|
|
|
only if a certain user has the X session. Because X sessions are
|
|
|
protected by X permissions (MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE files XAUTHORITY and
|
|
|
$HOME/.Xauthority) the automatically started x11vnc will of course
|
|
|
need to have sufficient permissions to connect to the X display.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here are some ideas:
|
|
|
* Use the description under "Continuously" in the [419]FAQ on x11vnc
|
|
|
and Display Managers
|
|
|
* Use the description in the [420]FAQ on x11vnc and inetd(8)
|
|
|
* Use the description in the [421]FAQ on Unix user logins and
|
|
|
inetd(8)
|
|
|
* Start x11vnc from your $HOME/.xsession (or $HOME/.xinitrc)
|
|
|
* Although less reliable, see the [422]x11vnc_loop rc.local hack
|
|
|
below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The display manager scheme will not be specific to which user has the
|
|
|
X session unless a test is specifically put into the display startup
|
|
|
script (often named Xsetup). The inetd(8) scheme may or may not be
|
|
|
specific to which user has the X session (and it may not be able to do
|
|
|
all users via the XAUTHORITY permission issues).
|
|
|
|
|
|
The $HOME/.xsession scheme is obviously is specific to a particular
|
|
|
user. If you do not know what a $HOME/.xsession script is or how to
|
|
|
use one, perhaps your desktop has a "session startup commands"
|
|
|
configuration option. The command to be run in the .xsession or
|
|
|
.xinitrc file may look like this:
|
|
|
x11vnc -logfile $HOME/.x11vnc.log -rfbauth $HOME/.vnc/passwd -forever -bg
|
|
|
|
|
|
plus any other options you desire.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-51: How can I use x11vnc to connect to an X login screen like xdm,
|
|
|
GNOME gdm, KDE kdm, or CDE dtlogin? (i.e. nobody is logged into an X
|
|
|
session yet).
|
|
|
|
|
|
One time only. If the X login screen is running and you just want to
|
|
|
connect to it once (i.e. a one-shot):
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is usually possible to do this by just adjusting the XAUTHORITY
|
|
|
environment variable to point to the correct MIT-COOKIE auth file
|
|
|
while running x11vnc as root, e.g. for the gnome display manager, gdm:
|
|
|
x11vnc -auth /var/gdm/:0.Xauth -display :0
|
|
|
|
|
|
(the [423]-auth option sets the XAUTHORITY variable for you).
|
|
|
|
|
|
There will be a similar thing for xdm using however a different auth
|
|
|
directory path (perhaps something like
|
|
|
/var/lib/xdm/authdir/authfiles/A:0-XQvaJk for xdm or
|
|
|
/var/lib/kdm/A:0-crWk72 for kdm, where the random characters in
|
|
|
basename will vary a bit). Read your system docs to find out where the
|
|
|
display manager cookie files are kept.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trick: sometimes ps(1) can reveal the X server process -auth argument
|
|
|
(e.g. "ps wwwwaux | grep auth").
|
|
|
|
|
|
You next connect to x11vnc with a VNC viewer, give your username and
|
|
|
password to the X login prompt to start your session.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: gdm seems to have an annoying setting that causes x11vnc (and
|
|
|
any other X clients) to be killed after the user logs in. Setting
|
|
|
KillInitClients=false in the [daemon] section of /etc/X11/gdm/gdm.conf
|
|
|
avoids this. Otherwise, just restart x11vnc and then reconnect your
|
|
|
viewer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: For dtlogin in addition to the above sort of trick (BTW, the
|
|
|
auth file should be in /var/dt), you'll also need to add something
|
|
|
like Dtlogin*grabServer:False to the Xconfig file
|
|
|
(/etc/dt/config/Xconfig or /usr/dt/config/Xconfig on Solaris, see
|
|
|
[424]the example at the end of this FAQ). Then restart dtlogin, e.g.:
|
|
|
/etc/init.d/dtlogin stop; /etc/init.d/dtlogin start or reboot.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Continuously. Have x11vnc reattach each time the X server is
|
|
|
restarted (i.e. after each logout):
|
|
|
|
|
|
To make x11vnc always attached to the X server including the login
|
|
|
screen you will need to add a command to a display manager startup
|
|
|
script.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Please consider the security implications of this! Besides having the
|
|
|
VNC display for the X session always available, there are other
|
|
|
issues: .e.g. if you run the tkx11vnc gui (via say -gui or -gui tray),
|
|
|
then the gui controls (insecure) are available on the physical X
|
|
|
display before anyone has logged in (maybe doing "-gui
|
|
|
tray,geom=+4000+4000" is a good idea...)
|
|
|
|
|
|
The name of the display manager startup script file depends on desktop
|
|
|
used and seem to be:
|
|
|
GNOME /etc/X11/gdm/Init/Default (or Init/:0)
|
|
|
KDE /etc/kde*/kdm/Xsetup
|
|
|
XDM /etc/X11/xdm/Xsetup (or xdm/Xsetup_0)
|
|
|
CDE /etc/dt/config/Xsetup
|
|
|
|
|
|
although the exact location can depend on operating system and
|
|
|
distribution. See the documentation for your display manager: gdm(1),
|
|
|
kdm(1), xdm(1), dtlogin(1) for additional details. There may also be
|
|
|
display number specific scripts: e.g. Xsetup_0 vs. Xsetup, you need to
|
|
|
watch out for.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: The above gdm setting of KillInitClients=false in
|
|
|
/etc/X11/gdm/gdm.conf is needed here as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: The above Dtlogin*grabServer:False step will be needed for
|
|
|
dtlogin here as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In any event, the line you will add to the display manager script will
|
|
|
look something like:
|
|
|
/usr/local/bin/x11vnc -rfbauth /path/to/the/vnc/passwd -o /var/log/x11vnc.log
|
|
|
-forever -bg
|
|
|
|
|
|
where you should customize the exact command to your needs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Happy, happy, joy, joy: Note that we do not need to specify -display
|
|
|
or -auth because happily they are already set for us in the DISPLAY
|
|
|
and XAUTHORITY environment variables for the Xsetup script!!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You may also want to force the VNC port with something like "-rfbport
|
|
|
5900" to avoid autoselecting one if 5900 is already taken.
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fedora/gdm: Here is an example of what we did on a vanilla install of
|
|
|
Fedora-C3 (seems to use gdm by default). Add a line like this to
|
|
|
/etc/X11/gdm/Init/:0
|
|
|
/usr/local/bin/x11vnc -rfbauth /etc/x11vnc.passwd -forever -bg -o /var/log/x1
|
|
|
1vnc.log
|
|
|
|
|
|
And then add this line to /etc/X11/gdm/gdm.conf in the [daemon]
|
|
|
section:
|
|
|
KillInitClients=false
|
|
|
|
|
|
Then restart: /usr/sbin/gdm-restart (or reboot). The
|
|
|
KillInitClients=false setting is important: without it x11vnc will be
|
|
|
killed immediately after the user logs in. Here are [425]full details
|
|
|
on how to configure gdm
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
|
|
Solaris/dtlogin: Here is an example of what we did on a vanilla
|
|
|
install of Solaris:
|
|
|
Make the directory /etc/dt/config:
|
|
|
mkdir -p /etc/dt/config
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copy over the Xconfig file for customization:
|
|
|
cp /usr/dt/config/Xconfig /etc/dt/config/Xconfig
|
|
|
|
|
|
Edit /etc/dt/config/Xconfig and uncomment the line:
|
|
|
Dtlogin*grabServer: False
|
|
|
|
|
|
Next, copy over Xsetup for customization:
|
|
|
cp /usr/dt/config/Xsetup /etc/dt/config/Xsetup
|
|
|
|
|
|
Edit /etc/dt/config/Xsetup and at the bottom put a line like:
|
|
|
/usr/local/bin/x11vnc -forever -o /var/log/x11vnc.log -bg
|
|
|
|
|
|
(tweaked to your local setup and preferences, a password via -rfbauth,
|
|
|
etc. would be a very good idea).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Restart the X server and dtlogin:
|
|
|
/etc/init.d/dtlogin stop
|
|
|
/etc/init.d/dtlogin start
|
|
|
|
|
|
(or reboot or maybe just restart the X session).
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
|
|
KDM: One user running the kdm display manager reports putting this
|
|
|
line:
|
|
|
x11vnc -forever -rfbauth /home/xyz/.vnc/passwd -bg -o /var/log/x11vnc.log
|
|
|
|
|
|
in /etc/kde/kdm/Xsetup. After rebooting the system it all seemed to
|
|
|
work fine.
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you do not want to deal with any display manager startup scripts,
|
|
|
here is a kludgey script that can be run manually or out of a boot
|
|
|
file like rc.local: [426]x11vnc_loop It will need some local
|
|
|
customization before running. Because the XAUTHORITY auth file must be
|
|
|
guessed by this script, use of the display manager script method
|
|
|
described above is greatly preferred. There is also the [427]-loop
|
|
|
option that does something similar.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the machine is a traditional Xterminal you may want to read
|
|
|
[428]this FAQ.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-52: Can I run x11vnc out of inetd(8)? How about xinetd(8)?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, perhaps a line something like this in /etc/inetd.conf will do it
|
|
|
for you:
|
|
|
|
|
|
5900 stream tcp nowait root /usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/local/bin/x11vnc_sh
|
|
|
|
|
|
where the shell script /usr/local/bin/x11vnc_sh uses the [429]-inetd
|
|
|
option and looks something like (you'll need to customize to your
|
|
|
settings).
|
|
|
#!/bin/sh
|
|
|
/usr/local/bin/x11vnc -inetd -display :0 -auth /home/fred/.Xauthority \
|
|
|
-rfbauth /home/fred/.vnc/passwd -o /var/log/x11vnc_sh.log
|
|
|
|
|
|
Important: Note that you must redirect the standard error output to a
|
|
|
log file (e.g. -o logfile) or "2>/dev/null" for proper operation via
|
|
|
inetd (otherwise the standard error also goes to the VNC vncviewer,
|
|
|
and that confuses it greatly, causing it to abort). If you do not use
|
|
|
a wrapper script as above but rather call x11vnc directly in
|
|
|
/etc/inetd.conf and do not redirect stderr to a file, then you must
|
|
|
specify the -q (aka [430]-quiet) option: "/usr/local/bin/x11vnc -q
|
|
|
-inetd ...". When you supply both -q and -inet and no "-o logfile"
|
|
|
then stderr will automatically be closed (to prevent, e.g. library
|
|
|
stderr messages leaking out to the viewer). The recommended practice
|
|
|
is to use "-o logfile" to collect the output in a file or wrapper
|
|
|
script with "2>logfile" redirection because the errors and warnings
|
|
|
printed out are very useful in troubleshooting problems.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note also the need to set XAUTHORITY via [431]-auth to point to the
|
|
|
MIT-COOKIE auth file to get permission to connect to the X display
|
|
|
(setting and exporting the XAUTHORITY variable accomplishes the same
|
|
|
thing). See the x11vnc_loop file in the previous question for more
|
|
|
ideas on what that auth file may be, etc. The scheme described in the
|
|
|
[432]FAQ on Unix user logins and inetd(8) works around the XAUTHORITY
|
|
|
issue nicely.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: On Solaris you cannot have the bare number 5900 in
|
|
|
/etc/inetd.conf, you'll need to replace it with a word like x11vnc an
|
|
|
then put something like "x11vnc 5900/tcp" in /etc/services.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Since the process runs as root, it might be a bad idea to have the
|
|
|
logfile in a world-writable area like /tmp if there are untrustworthy
|
|
|
users on the machine. Perhaps /var/log is a better place. Also, while
|
|
|
running x11vnc as root, remember it comes with no warranty ;-).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Be sure to look at your /etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny settings
|
|
|
to limit the machines that can connect to this service (your
|
|
|
desktop!). For the above example with /etc/hosts.allow:
|
|
|
x11vnc_sh : 123.45.67.89
|
|
|
|
|
|
A really safe way to do things is to limit the above inetd to
|
|
|
localhost only (via /etc/hosts.allow) and use ssh to tunnel the
|
|
|
incoming connection. Using inetd for this prevents there being a tiny
|
|
|
window of opportunity between x11vnc starting up and your vncviewer
|
|
|
connecting to it. Always use a VNC password to further protect against
|
|
|
unwanted access.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For xinetd(8), one user reports he created the file
|
|
|
/etc/xinetd.d/x11vncservice containing the following:
|
|
|
# default: off
|
|
|
# description:
|
|
|
service x11vncservice
|
|
|
{
|
|
|
flags = REUSE NAMEINARGS
|
|
|
port = 5900
|
|
|
type = UNLISTED
|
|
|
socket_type = stream
|
|
|
protocol = tcp
|
|
|
wait = no
|
|
|
user = root
|
|
|
server = /usr/sbin/tcpd
|
|
|
server_args = /usr/local/bin/x11vnc_sh
|
|
|
disable = no
|
|
|
}
|
|
|
|
|
|
With the contents of /usr/local/bin/x11vnc_sh similar to the example
|
|
|
given above. One user reports this works with avoiding the wrapper
|
|
|
script:
|
|
|
service x11vncservice
|
|
|
{
|
|
|
port = 5900
|
|
|
type = UNLISTED
|
|
|
socket_type = stream
|
|
|
protocol = tcp
|
|
|
wait = no
|
|
|
user = root
|
|
|
server = /usr/local/bin/x11vnc
|
|
|
server_args = -inetd -q -display :0 -auth /var/gdm/:0.Xauth
|
|
|
disable = no
|
|
|
}
|
|
|
|
|
|
(or one can replace the -q with say "-o /var/log/x11vnc.log" to
|
|
|
capture a log)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-53: Can I have x11vnc allow a user to log in with her UNIX password
|
|
|
and then have it find her X display on that machine and connect to it?
|
|
|
|
|
|
The easiest way to do this is via [433]inetd(8) using the [434]-unixpw
|
|
|
and [435]-display WAIT options. The reason inetd(8) makes this easier
|
|
|
is that it starts a new x11vnc process for each new user connection.
|
|
|
Otherwise a wrapper would have to listen for connections and spawn new
|
|
|
x11vnc's (see [436]this example).
|
|
|
|
|
|
The [437]-display WAIT option makes x11vnc wait until a VNC viewer is
|
|
|
connected before attaching to the X display. Additionally it can be
|
|
|
used to run an external command that returns the DISPLAY and
|
|
|
XAUTHORITY data. So one could supply "-display
|
|
|
WAIT:cmd=/path/to/find_display" where the script find_display might
|
|
|
look something like:
|
|
|
#!/bin/sh
|
|
|
|
|
|
PATH=$PATH:/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin:/usr/bin/X11:/usr/openwin/bin
|
|
|
export PATH
|
|
|
|
|
|
if [ "X$user" = "X" ]; then
|
|
|
user=$USER
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
if [ "X$user" = "X" ]; then
|
|
|
user=$LOGNAME
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
if [ "X$user" = "X" ]; then
|
|
|
echo ""
|
|
|
exit 1
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
|
|
|
display=`who | grep "^${user}[ ][ ]*:[0-9]" | head -1 | awk '{print $2}'`
|
|
|
if [ "X$display" = "X" ]; then
|
|
|
display=`who | grep "^${user}[ ]" | awk '{print $NF}' | grep '(:[0-9]'
|
|
|
| sed -e 's/[()]//g' | head -1`
|
|
|
if [ "X$display" = "X" ]; then
|
|
|
echo ""
|
|
|
exit 1
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
|
|
|
echo "DISPLAY=$display"
|
|
|
xauth extract - "$display" 2>/dev/null
|
|
|
|
|
|
exit 0
|
|
|
|
|
|
A default script similar to the above is used under "-display
|
|
|
WAIT:cmd=FINDDISPLAY" (use "WAIT:cmd=FINDDISPLAY-print" to print it
|
|
|
out). The format for any such script is that it returns DISPLAY=:disp
|
|
|
as the first line and any remaining lines are either XAUTHORITY=file
|
|
|
or raw xauth data (the above example does the latter).
|
|
|
|
|
|
The [438]-unixpw option allows [439]UNIX password logins. Here are a
|
|
|
couple /etc/inetd.conf examples for this:
|
|
|
5900 stream tcp nowait nobody /usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/local/bin/x11vnc -inetd
|
|
|
-unixpw \
|
|
|
-display WAIT:cmd=FINDDISPLAY -o /var/log/x11vnc.log -ssl SAVE -ssldir /u
|
|
|
sr/local/certs
|
|
|
5900 stream tcp nowait root /usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/local/bin/x11vnc -inetd
|
|
|
-unixpw \
|
|
|
-display WAIT:cmd=FINDDISPLAY -o /var/log/x11vnc.log -ssl SAVE -users uni
|
|
|
xpw=
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note the very long lines have been split. An alternative is to use a
|
|
|
wrapper script, e.g. /usr/local/bin/x11vnc.sh that has all of the
|
|
|
options.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In the first one x11vnc is run as user "nobody" and stays user nobody
|
|
|
during the whole session. The permissions of the log files and certs
|
|
|
directory will need to be set up to allow "nobody" to use them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In the second one x11vnc is run as root and switches to the user that
|
|
|
logs in due to the "[440]-users unixpw=" option.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that [441]SSL is required for this mode because otherwise the
|
|
|
unix password would be passed in clear text over the network. In
|
|
|
general -unixpw is not required for this sort of scheme, but it is
|
|
|
convenient because it determines exactly who the user is whose display
|
|
|
should be sought. Otherwise the find_display script would have to use
|
|
|
some method to work out DISPLAY, XAUTHORITY, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-54: Can I have x11vnc restart itself after it terminates?
|
|
|
|
|
|
One could do this in a shell script, but now there is an option
|
|
|
[442]-loop that makes it easier. Of course when x11vnc restarts it
|
|
|
needs to have permissions to connect to the (potentially new) X
|
|
|
display. This mode could be useful if the X server restarts often. Use
|
|
|
e.g. "-loop5000" to sleep 5000 ms between restarts. Also "-loop2000,5"
|
|
|
to sleep 2000 ms and only restart 5 times.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-55: How do I make x11vnc work with the Java VNC viewer applet in a
|
|
|
web browser?
|
|
|
|
|
|
To have x11vnc serve up a Java VNC viewer applet to any web browsers
|
|
|
that connect to it, run x11vnc with this [443]option:
|
|
|
-httpdir /path/to/the/java/classes/dir
|
|
|
|
|
|
(this directory will contain the files index.vnc and, for example,
|
|
|
VncViewer.jar) Note that libvncserver contains the TightVNC Java
|
|
|
classes jar file for your convenience. (it is the file
|
|
|
classes/VncViewer.jar in the source tree).
|
|
|
|
|
|
You will see output something like this:
|
|
|
14/05/2004 11:13:56 Autoprobing selected port 5900
|
|
|
14/05/2004 11:13:56 Listening for HTTP connections on TCP port 5800
|
|
|
14/05/2004 11:13:56 URL http://walnut:5800
|
|
|
14/05/2004 11:13:56 screen setup finished.
|
|
|
14/05/2004 11:13:56 The VNC desktop is walnut:0
|
|
|
PORT=5900
|
|
|
|
|
|
then you can connect to that URL with any Java enabled browser. Feel
|
|
|
free to customize the default index.vnc file in the classes directory.
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of May/2005 the [444]-http option will try to guess where the Java
|
|
|
classes jar file is by looking in expected locations and ones relative
|
|
|
to the x11vnc binary.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also note that if you wanted to, you could also start the Java viewer
|
|
|
entirely from the viewer-side by having the jar file there and using
|
|
|
either the java or appletviewer commands to run the program.
|
|
|
java -cp ./VncViewer.jar VncViewer HOST far-away.east PORT 5900
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-56: Are reverse connections (i.e. the VNC server connecting to the
|
|
|
VNC viewer) using "vncviewer -listen" and vncconnect(1) supported?
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Mar/2004 x11vnc supports reverse connections. On Unix one starts
|
|
|
the VNC viewer in listen mode: vncviewer -listen (see your
|
|
|
documentation for Windows, etc), and then starts up x11vnc with the
|
|
|
[445]-connect option. To connect immediately at x11vnc startup time
|
|
|
use the "-connect host:port" option (use commas for a list of hosts to
|
|
|
connect to). The ":port" is optional (default is 5500).
|
|
|
|
|
|
If a file is specified instead: -connect /path/to/some/file then that
|
|
|
file is checked periodically (about once a second) for new hosts to
|
|
|
connect to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The [446]-remote control option (aka -R) can also be used to do this
|
|
|
during an active x11vnc session, e.g.:
|
|
|
x11vnc -display :0 -R connect:hostname.domain
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that as of Mar/2006 x11vnc requires password authentication for
|
|
|
reverse connections as well as for forward ones (assuming password
|
|
|
auth has been enabled, e.g. via -rfbauth, -passwdfile, etc). Many VNC
|
|
|
servers do not require any password for reverse connections. To regain
|
|
|
the old behavior set: X11VNC_REVERSE_CONNECTION_NO_AUTH=1 before
|
|
|
starting x11vnc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To use the vncconnect(1) program (from the core VNC package at
|
|
|
www.realvnc.com) specify the [447]-vncconnect option to x11vnc (Note:
|
|
|
as of Dec/2004 -vncconnect is now the default). vncconnect(1) must be
|
|
|
pointed to the same X11 DISPLAY as x11vnc (since it uses X properties
|
|
|
to communicate with x11vnc). If you do not have or do not want to get
|
|
|
the vncconnect(1) program, the following script (named "Vncconnect")
|
|
|
may work if your xprop(1) supports the -set option:
|
|
|
#!/bin/sh
|
|
|
# usage: Vncconnect <host>
|
|
|
# Vncconnect <host:port>
|
|
|
# note: not all xprop(1) support -set.
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
xprop -root -f VNC_CONNECT 8s -set VNC_CONNECT "$1"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-57: Can I use x11vnc as a replacement for Xvnc? (i.e. not for a real
|
|
|
display, but for a virtual one I keep around).
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can, but you would not be doing this for performance reasons (for
|
|
|
virtual X sessions via VNC, Xvnc will give the fastest response). You
|
|
|
may want to do this because Xvnc does not support an X server
|
|
|
extension you desire, or you want to take advantage of one of x11vnc's
|
|
|
unending number of options and features.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One way to acheive this is to have a Xvfb(1) virtual framebuffer X
|
|
|
server running in the background and have x11vnc attached to it.
|
|
|
Another method, faster and more accurate is to use the "dummy" Device
|
|
|
Driver in XFree86/Xorg (see below). One could view this desktop both
|
|
|
remotely and also locally using vncviewer. Make sure vncviewer's
|
|
|
"-encodings raw" is in effect for local viewing (compression seems to
|
|
|
slow things down locally). For local viewing you set up a "bare"
|
|
|
window manager that just starts up vncviewer and nothing else.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here is one way to start up Xvfb:
|
|
|
xinit -- /usr/X11R6/bin/Xvfb :1 -screen 0 1024x768x16
|
|
|
|
|
|
This starts up a 16bpp virtual display. To export it via VNC use
|
|
|
"x11vnc -display :1 ...".
|
|
|
|
|
|
One good thing about Xvfb is that the virtual framebuffer exists in
|
|
|
main memory (rather than in the video hardware), and so x11vnc can
|
|
|
"screen scrape" it efficiently (more than, say, 100X faster than
|
|
|
normal video hardware).
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are some annoyances WRT Xvfb though. The default keyboard
|
|
|
mapping seems to be very poor. One should run x11vnc with
|
|
|
[448]-add_keysyms option to have keysyms added automatically. Also, to
|
|
|
add the Shift_R and Control_R modifiers something like this is needed:
|
|
|
#!/bin/sh
|
|
|
xmodmap -e "keycode any = Shift_R"
|
|
|
xmodmap -e "add Shift = Shift_L Shift_R"
|
|
|
xmodmap -e "keycode any = Control_R"
|
|
|
xmodmap -e "add Control = Control_L Control_R"
|
|
|
|
|
|
Perhaps the Xvfb options -xkbdb or -xkbmap could be used to get a
|
|
|
better default keyboard mapping.
|
|
|
|
|
|
A user points out a faster and more accurate method is to use the
|
|
|
"dummy" Device Driver of XFree86/Xorg instead of Xvfb. He uses this to
|
|
|
create a persistent and resizable desktop accessible from anywhere. In
|
|
|
the Device Section of the config file set Driver "dummy". You may also
|
|
|
need to set VideoRam NNN to be large enough to hold the framebuffer.
|
|
|
The framebuffer is kept in main memory like Xvfb except that the
|
|
|
server code is closely correlated with the real XFree86/Xorg Xserver
|
|
|
unlike Xvfb.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The main drawback to this method (besides requiring extra
|
|
|
configuration and possibly root permission) is that it also does the
|
|
|
Linux Virtual Console/Terminal (VC/VT) [449]switching even though it
|
|
|
does not need to (since it doesn't use a real framebuffer). There are
|
|
|
some "dual headed" (actually multi-headed/multi-user) patches to the X
|
|
|
server that turn off the VT usage in the X server. Update: As of
|
|
|
Jul/2005 we have an LD_PRELOAD script [450]Xdummy that allows you to
|
|
|
use a stock (i.e. unpatched) Xorg or XFree86 server with the "dummy"
|
|
|
driver and not have any VT switching problems! Currently Xdummy needs
|
|
|
to be run as root, but with some luck that may be relaxed in the
|
|
|
future.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The standard way to start the "dummy" driver would be:
|
|
|
startx -- :1 -config /etc/X11/xorg.conf.dummy
|
|
|
|
|
|
where the file /etc/X11/xorg.conf.dummy has its Device Section
|
|
|
modified as described above. To use the LD_PRELOAD wrapper script:
|
|
|
startx -- /path/to/Xdummy :1
|
|
|
|
|
|
An xdm(1) example is also provided.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In general, one can use these sorts of schemes to use x11vnc to export
|
|
|
other virtual X sessions, say Xnest or even Xvnc itself (useful for
|
|
|
testing x11vnc).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-58: How can I use x11vnc on "headless" machines? Why might I want
|
|
|
to?
|
|
|
|
|
|
An interesting application of x11vnc is to let it export displays of
|
|
|
"headless" machines. For example, you may have some lab or server
|
|
|
machines with no keyboard, mouse, or monitor, but each one still has a
|
|
|
video card. One can use x11vnc to provide a simple "desktop service"
|
|
|
from these server machines.
|
|
|
|
|
|
An X server can be started on the headless machine (sometimes this
|
|
|
requires configuring the X server to not fail if it cannot detect a
|
|
|
keyboard or mouse, see the next paragraph). Then you can export that X
|
|
|
display via x11vnc (e.g. see [451]this FAQ) and access it from
|
|
|
anywhere on the network via a VNC viewer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some tips on getting X servers to start on machines without keyboard
|
|
|
or mouse: For XFree86/Xorg the Option "AllowMouseOpenFail" "true"
|
|
|
"ServerFlags" config file option is useful. On Solaris Xsun the
|
|
|
+nkeyboard and +nmouse options are useful (put them in the server
|
|
|
command line args in /etc/dt/config/Xservers). See Xserver(1) for more
|
|
|
info.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Although this usage may sound strange it can be quite useful for a GUI
|
|
|
(or other) testing or QA setups: the engineers do not need to walk to
|
|
|
lab machines running different hardware, OS's, versions, etc (or have
|
|
|
many different machines in their office). They just connect to the
|
|
|
various test machines over the network via VNC. The advantage to
|
|
|
testing this way instead of using Xvnc or even Xvfb is that the test
|
|
|
is done using the real X server, fonts, video hardware, etc. that will
|
|
|
be used in the field.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One can imagine a single server machine crammed with as many video
|
|
|
cards as it can hold to provide multiple simultaneous access or
|
|
|
testing on different kinds of video hardware.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Resource Usage and Performance]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-59: I have lots of memory, but why does x11vnc fail with shmget:
|
|
|
No space left on device or Minor opcode of failed request: 1
|
|
|
(X_ShmAttach)?
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is not a matter of free memory, but rather free shared memory (shm)
|
|
|
slots, also known as shm segments. This often occurs on a public
|
|
|
Solaris machine using the default of only 100 slots. You (or the owner
|
|
|
or root) can clean them out with ipcrm(1). x11vnc tries hard to
|
|
|
release its slots, but it, and other programs, are not always able to
|
|
|
(e.g. if kill -9'd).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sometimes x11vnc will notice the problem with shm segments and tries
|
|
|
to get by with fewer, only giving a warning like this:
|
|
|
19/03/2004 10:10:58 shmat(tile_row) failed.
|
|
|
shmat: Too many open files
|
|
|
19/03/2004 10:10:58 error creating tile-row shm for len=4
|
|
|
19/03/2004 10:10:58 reverting to single_copytile mode
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here is a shell script [452]shm_clear to list and prompt for removal
|
|
|
of your unattached shm segments (attached ones are skipped). I use it
|
|
|
while debugging x11vnc (I use "shm_clear -y" to assume "yes" for each
|
|
|
prompt). If x11vnc is regularly not cleaning up its shm segments,
|
|
|
please contact me so we can work to improve the situation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Longer term, on Solaris you can put something like this in
|
|
|
/etc/system:
|
|
|
set shmsys:shminfo_shmmax = 0x2000000
|
|
|
set shmsys:shminfo_shmmni = 0x1000
|
|
|
|
|
|
to sweep the problem under the rug (4096 slots). On Linux, examine
|
|
|
/proc/sys/kernel/shmmni; you can modify the value by writing to that
|
|
|
file.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Things are even more tight on Solaris 8 and earlier, there is a
|
|
|
default maximum number of shm segments per process of 6. The error is
|
|
|
the X server (not x11vnc) being unable to attach to the segments, and
|
|
|
looks something like this:
|
|
|
30/04/2004 14:04:26 Got connection from client 192.168.1.23
|
|
|
30/04/2004 14:04:26 other clients:
|
|
|
X Error of failed request: BadAccess (attempt to access private resource den
|
|
|
ied)
|
|
|
Major opcode of failed request: 131 (MIT-SHM)
|
|
|
Minor opcode of failed request: 1 (X_ShmAttach)
|
|
|
Serial number of failed request: 14
|
|
|
Current serial number in output stream: 17
|
|
|
|
|
|
This tight limit on Solaris 8 can be increased via:
|
|
|
set shmsys:shminfo_shmseg = 100
|
|
|
|
|
|
in /etc/system. See the next paragraph for more workarounds.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To minimize the number of shm segments used by x11vnc try using the
|
|
|
[453]-onetile option (corresponds to only 3 shm segments used, and
|
|
|
adding -fs 1.0 knocks it down to 2). If you are having much trouble
|
|
|
with shm segments, consider disabling shm completely via the
|
|
|
[454]-noshm option. Performance will be somewhat degraded but when
|
|
|
done over local machine sockets it should be acceptable (see an
|
|
|
[455]earlier question discussing -noshm).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-60: How can I make x11vnc use less system resources?
|
|
|
|
|
|
The [456]-nap (now on by default) and "[457]-wait n" (where n is the
|
|
|
sleep between polls in milliseconds, the default is 30 or so) option
|
|
|
are good places to start. Something like "[458]-sb 15" will cause
|
|
|
x11vnc to go into a deep-sleep mode after 15 seconds of no activity
|
|
|
(instead of the default 60).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reducing the X server bits per pixel depth (e.g. to 16bpp or even
|
|
|
8bpp) will further decrease memory I/O and network I/O. The ShadowFB
|
|
|
will make x11vnc's screen polling less severe. Using the [459]-onetile
|
|
|
option will use less memory and use fewer shared memory slots (add
|
|
|
[460]-fs 1.0 for one less slot).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-61: How can I make x11vnc use MORE system resources?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can try [461]-threads and dial down the wait time (e.g. -wait 1)
|
|
|
and possibly dial down [462]-defer as well. Note that if you try to
|
|
|
increase the "frame rate" too much you can bog down the server end
|
|
|
with the extra work it needs to do compressing the framebuffer data,
|
|
|
etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
That said, it is possible to "stream" video via x11vnc if the video
|
|
|
window is small enough. E.g. a 256x192 xawtv TV capture window (using
|
|
|
the x11vnc [463]-id option) can be streamed over a LAN or wireless at
|
|
|
a reasonable frame rate.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-62: I use x11vnc over a slow link with high latency (e.g. dialup
|
|
|
modem), is there anything I can do to speed things up?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some things you might want to experiment with (many of which will help
|
|
|
performance on faster links as well):
|
|
|
|
|
|
X server/session parameters:
|
|
|
* Configure the X server bits per pixel to be 16bpp or even 8bpp.
|
|
|
(reduces amount of data needed to be polled, compressed, and sent)
|
|
|
* Use a smaller desktop size (e.g. 1024x768 instead of 1280x1024)
|
|
|
* Make sure the desktop background is a solid color (the background
|
|
|
is resent every time it is re-exposed). Consider using the
|
|
|
[464]-solid [color] option to try to do this automatically.
|
|
|
* Configure your window manager or desktop "theme" to not use fancy
|
|
|
images, shading, and gradients for the window decorations, etc.
|
|
|
Disable window animations, etc. Maybe your desktop has a "low
|
|
|
bandwidth" theme you can easily switch into and out of. Also in
|
|
|
Firefox disable eye-candy, e.g.: Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced
|
|
|
-> Use Smooth Scrolling (deselect it).
|
|
|
* Avoid small scrolls of large windows using the Arrow keys or
|
|
|
scrollbar. Try to use PageUp/PageDown instead. (not so much of a
|
|
|
problem in x11vnc 0.7.2 if [465]-scrollcopyrect is active and
|
|
|
detecting scrolls for the application).
|
|
|
* If the [466]-wireframe option is not available (earlier than
|
|
|
x11vnc 0.7.2 or you have disabled it via -nowireframe) then
|
|
|
Disable Opaque Moves and Resizes in the window manager/desktop.
|
|
|
* However if -wireframe is active (on by default in x11vnc 0.7.2)
|
|
|
then you should Enable Opaque Moves and Resizes in the window
|
|
|
manager! This seems counter-intuitive, but because x11vnc detects
|
|
|
the move/resize events early there is a huge speedup over a slow
|
|
|
link when Opaque Moves and Resizes are enabled. (e.g. CopyRect
|
|
|
encoding will be used).
|
|
|
* Turn off Anti-aliased fonts on your system, web browser, terminal
|
|
|
windows, etc. AA fonts do not compress as well as traditional
|
|
|
fonts (sometimes 10X less).
|
|
|
* On XFree86 turn on the Shadow Framebuffer to speed up reading.
|
|
|
(Option "ShadowFB" "true" in the Device section of
|
|
|
/etc/X11/XF86Config) This disables 2D acceleration on the physical
|
|
|
display and so may not be worth it, but could be of use in some
|
|
|
situations. If the link is very slow, this speedup may not be
|
|
|
noticed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
VNC viewer parameters:
|
|
|
* Use a [467]TightVNC enabled viewer! (Actually, RealVNC 4.x viewer
|
|
|
with ZRLE encoding is not too bad either; some claim it is
|
|
|
faster).
|
|
|
* Make sure the tight (or zrle) encoding is being used (look at
|
|
|
vncviewer and x11vnc outputs)
|
|
|
* Request 8 bits per pixel using -bgr233 (up to 4X speedup over
|
|
|
depth 24 TrueColor (32bpp), but colors will be off)
|
|
|
* RealVNC 4.x viewer has some extremely low color modes (only 64 and
|
|
|
even 8 colors). The colors are poor, but it is usually noticeably
|
|
|
faster than bgr233 (256 colors).
|
|
|
* Try increasing the TightVNC -compresslevel (compresses more on
|
|
|
server side before sending, but uses more CPU)
|
|
|
* Try reducing the TightVNC -quality (increases JPEG compression,
|
|
|
but is lossy with painting artifacts)
|
|
|
* Try other VNC encodings via -encodings (tight may be the fastest,
|
|
|
but you should compare it to zrle and maybe some of the others)
|
|
|
* On the machine where vncviewer is run, make sure Backing Store is
|
|
|
enabled (XFree86/Xorg disables it by default causing re-exposures
|
|
|
of vncviewer to be very slow) Option "backingstore" in config
|
|
|
file.
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc parameters:
|
|
|
* Make sure the [468]-wireframe option is active (it should be on by
|
|
|
default) and you have Opaque Moves/Resizes Enabled in the window
|
|
|
manager.
|
|
|
* Make sure the [469]-scrollcopyrect option is active (it should be
|
|
|
on by default). This detects scrolls in many (but not all)
|
|
|
applications an applies the CopyRect encoding for a big speedup.
|
|
|
* Enforce a solid background when VNC viewers are connected via
|
|
|
[470]-solid
|
|
|
* Specify [471]-speeds modem to force the wireframe and
|
|
|
scrollcopyrect heuristic parameters (and any future ones) to those
|
|
|
of a dialup modem connection (or supply the rd,bw,lat numerical
|
|
|
values that characterize your link).
|
|
|
* If wireframe and scrollcopyrect aren't working, try using the more
|
|
|
drastic [472]-nodragging (no screen updates when dragging mouse,
|
|
|
but sometimes you miss visual feedback)
|
|
|
* Set [473]-fs 1.0 (disables fullscreen updates)
|
|
|
* Try increasing [474]-wait or [475]-defer (reduces the maximum
|
|
|
"frame rate", but won't help much for large screen changes)
|
|
|
* Try the [476]-progressive pixelheight mode with the block
|
|
|
pixelheight 100 or so (delays sending vertical blocks since they
|
|
|
may change while viewer is receiving earlier ones)
|
|
|
* If you just want to watch one (simple) window use [477]-id (cuts
|
|
|
down extraneous polling and updates, but can be buggy or
|
|
|
insufficient)
|
|
|
* Set [478]-nosel (disables all clipboard selection exchange)
|
|
|
* Use [479]-nocursor and [480]-nocursorpos (repainting the remote
|
|
|
cursor position and shape takes resources and round trips)
|
|
|
* On very slow links (e.g. <= 28.8) you may need to increase the
|
|
|
[481]-readtimeout n setting if it sometimes takes more than 20sec
|
|
|
to paint the full screen, etc.
|
|
|
* Do not use [482]-fixscreen to automatically refresh the whole
|
|
|
screen, tap three Alt_L's then the screen has painting errors
|
|
|
(rare problem).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-63: Does x11vnc support the X DAMAGE Xserver extension to find
|
|
|
modified regions of the screen quickly and efficiently?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, as of Mar/2005 x11vnc will use the X DAMAGE extension by default
|
|
|
if it is available on the display. This requires libXdamage to be
|
|
|
available in the build environment as well (recent Linux distros and
|
|
|
Solaris 10 have it).
|
|
|
|
|
|
The DAMAGE extension enables the X server to report changed regions of
|
|
|
the screen back to x11vnc. So x11vnc doesn't have to guess where the
|
|
|
changes are (by polling every pixel of the entire screen every 2-4
|
|
|
seconds). The use of X DAMAGE dramatically reduces the load when the
|
|
|
screen is not changing very much (i.e. most of the time). It also
|
|
|
noticeably improves updates, especially for very small changed areas
|
|
|
(e.g. clock ticking, cursor flashing, typing, etc).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that the DAMAGE extension does not speed up the actual reading of
|
|
|
pixels from the video card framebuffer memory, by, say, mirroring them
|
|
|
in main memory. So reading the fb is still painfully [483]slow (e.g.
|
|
|
5MB/sec), and so even using X DAMAGE when large changes occur on the
|
|
|
screen the bulk of the time is still spent retrieving them. Not ideal,
|
|
|
but use of the ShadowFB XFree86/Xorg option speeds up the reading
|
|
|
considerably (at the cost of h/w acceleration).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unfortunately the current Xorg DAMAGE extension implementation can at
|
|
|
times be overly conservative and report very large rectangles as
|
|
|
"damaged" even though only a small portion of the pixels have actually
|
|
|
been modified. This behavior is often the fault of the window manager
|
|
|
(e.g. it redraws the entire, unseen, frame window underneath the
|
|
|
application window when it gains focus), or the application itself
|
|
|
(e.g. does large, unnecessary repaints).
|
|
|
|
|
|
To work around this deficiency, x11vnc currently only trusts small
|
|
|
DAMAGE rectangles to contain real damage. The larger rectangles are
|
|
|
only used as hints to focus the traditional scanline polling (i.e. if
|
|
|
a scanline doesn't intersect a recent DAMAGE rectangle, the scan is
|
|
|
skipped). You can use the "[484]-xd_area A" option to adjust the size
|
|
|
of the trusted DAMAGE rectangles. The default is 20000 pixels (e.g. a
|
|
|
140x140 square, etc). Use "-xd_area 0" to disable the cutoff and trust
|
|
|
all DAMAGE rectangles.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The option "[485]-xd_mem f" may also be of use in tuning the
|
|
|
algorithm. To disable using DAMAGE entirely use "[486]-noxdamage".
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-64: When I drag windows around with the mouse or scroll up and down
|
|
|
things really bog down (unless I do the drag in a single, quick
|
|
|
motion). Is there anything to do to improve things?
|
|
|
|
|
|
This problem is primarily due to [487]slow hardware read rates from
|
|
|
video cards: as you scroll or move a large window around the screen
|
|
|
changes are much too rapid for x11vnc to keep up them (it can usually
|
|
|
only read the video card at about 5-10 MB/sec, so it can take a good
|
|
|
fraction of a second to read the changes induce from moving a large
|
|
|
window, if this to be done a number of times in succession the window
|
|
|
or scroll appears to "lurch" forward). See the description in the
|
|
|
[488]-pointer_mode option for more info. The next bottleneck is
|
|
|
compressing all of these changes and sending them out to connected
|
|
|
viewers, however the VNC protocol is pretty much self-adapting with
|
|
|
respect to that (updates are only packaged and sent when viewers ask
|
|
|
for them).
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Jan/2004 there are some improvements to libvncserver. The
|
|
|
default should now be much better than before and dragging small
|
|
|
windows around should no longer be a huge pain. If for some reason
|
|
|
these changes make matters worse, you can go back to the old way via
|
|
|
the "[489]-pointer_mode 1" option.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also added was the [490]-nodragging option that disables all screen
|
|
|
updates while dragging with the mouse (i.e. mouse motion with a button
|
|
|
held down). This gives the snappiest response, but might be undesired
|
|
|
in some circumstances when you want to see the visual feedback while
|
|
|
dragging (e.g. menu traversal or text selection).
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Dec/2004 the [491]-pointer_mode n option was introduced. n=1 is
|
|
|
the original mode, n=2 an improvement, etc.. See the -pointer_mode n
|
|
|
help for more info.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also, in some circumstances the [492]-threads option can improve
|
|
|
response considerably. Be forewarned that if more than one vncviewer
|
|
|
is connected at the same time then libvncserver may not be thread safe
|
|
|
(try to get the viewers to use different VNC encodings, e.g. tight and
|
|
|
ZRLE).
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Apr/2005 two new options (see the [493]wireframe FAQ and
|
|
|
[494]scrollcopyrect FAQ below) provide schemes to sweep this problem
|
|
|
under the rug for window moves or resizes and for some (but not all)
|
|
|
window scrolls. These are the preferred way of avoiding the "lurching"
|
|
|
problem, contact me if they are not working. (Note on SuSE the RECORD
|
|
|
X extension used by scrollcopyrect is not enabled by default, turn it
|
|
|
on in xorg.conf)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-65: Why not do something like wireframe animations to avoid the
|
|
|
windows "lurching" when being moved or resized?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nice idea for a hack! As of Apr/2005 x11vnc by default will apply
|
|
|
heuristics to try to guess if a window is being (opaquely) moved or
|
|
|
resized. If such a change is detected framebuffer polling and updates
|
|
|
will be suspended and only an animated "wireframe" (a rectangle
|
|
|
outline drawn where the moved/resized window would be) is shown. When
|
|
|
the window move/resize stops, it returns to normal processing: you
|
|
|
should only see the window appear in the new position. This spares you
|
|
|
from interacting with a "lurching" window between all of the
|
|
|
intermediate steps. BTW the lurching is due to [495]slow video card
|
|
|
read rates (see [496]here too). A displacement, even a small one, of a
|
|
|
large window requires a non-negligible amount of time, a good fraction
|
|
|
of a second, to read in from the hardware framebuffer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that Opaque Moves/Resizes must be Enabled by your window manager
|
|
|
for -wireframe to do any good.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The mode is currently on by default because most people are afflicted
|
|
|
with the problem. It can be disabled with the [497]-nowireframe option
|
|
|
(aka -nowf). Why might one want to turn off the wireframing? Since
|
|
|
x11vnc is merely guessing when windows are being moved/resized, it may
|
|
|
guess poorly for your window-manager or desktop, or even for the way
|
|
|
you move the pointer. If your window-manager or desktop already does
|
|
|
its own wireframing then this mode is a waste of time and could do the
|
|
|
wrong thing occasionally. There may be other reasons the new mode
|
|
|
feels unnatural. If you have very expensive video hardware (SGI) or
|
|
|
are using an in-RAM video framebuffer (SunRay, ShadowFB, Xvfb), the
|
|
|
read rate from that framebuffer may be very fast (100's of MB/sec) and
|
|
|
so you don't really see much lurching: opaque moves look smooth in
|
|
|
x11vnc. Note: ShadowFB is often turned on when you are using the
|
|
|
vesafb or fbdev XFree86 video driver instead of a native one so you
|
|
|
might be using it already and not know.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The heuristics used to guess window motion or resizing are simple, but
|
|
|
are not fool proof: x11vnc is sometimes tricked and so you'll
|
|
|
occasionally see the lurching opaque move and rarely something even
|
|
|
worse.
|
|
|
|
|
|
First it assumes that the move/resize will occur with a mouse button
|
|
|
pressed, held down and dragged (of course this is only mostly true).
|
|
|
Next it will only consider a window for wireframing if the mouse
|
|
|
pointer is initially "close enough" to the edges of the window frame,
|
|
|
e.g. you have grabbed the title bar or a resizer edge (this
|
|
|
requirement can be disabled and it also not applied if a modifier key,
|
|
|
e.g. Alt, is pressed). If these are true, it will wait an amount of
|
|
|
time to see if the window starts moving or resizing. If it does, it
|
|
|
starts drawing the wireframe "outline" of where the window would be.
|
|
|
When the mouse button is released, or a timeout occurs, it goes back
|
|
|
to the standard mode to allow the actual framebuffer changes to
|
|
|
propagate to the viewers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
These parameters can be tweaked:
|
|
|
* Color/Shade of the wireframe.
|
|
|
* Linewidth of the outline frame.
|
|
|
* Cutoff size of windows to not apply wireframing to.
|
|
|
* Cutoffs for closeness to Top, Bottom, Left, and Right edges of
|
|
|
window.
|
|
|
* Modifier keys to enable interior window grabbing.
|
|
|
* Maximum time to wait for dragging pointer events.
|
|
|
* Maximum time to wait for the window to start moving/resizing.
|
|
|
* Maximum time to show a wireframe animation.
|
|
|
* Minimum time between sending wireframe outlines.
|
|
|
|
|
|
See the [498]"-wireframe tweaks" option for more details. On a slow
|
|
|
link, e.g. dialup modem, the parameters may be automatically adjusted
|
|
|
for better response.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CopyRect encoding: In addition to the above there is the
|
|
|
[499]"-wirecopyrect mode" option. It is also on by default. This
|
|
|
instructs x11vnc to not only show the wireframe animation, but to also
|
|
|
instruct all connected VNC viewers to locally translate the window
|
|
|
image data from the original position to the new position on the
|
|
|
screen when the animation is done. This speedup is the VNC CopyRect
|
|
|
encoding: the framebuffer update doesn't need to send the actual new
|
|
|
image data. This is nice in general, and very convenient over a slow
|
|
|
link, but since it is based on heuristics you may need to disable it
|
|
|
with the -nowirecopyrect option (aka -nowcr) if it works incorrectly
|
|
|
or unnaturally for you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The -wirecopyrect modes are: "never" (same as -nowirecopyrect); "top",
|
|
|
only apply the CopyRect if the window is appears to be on the top of
|
|
|
the window stack and is not obstructed by other windows; and "always"
|
|
|
to always try to apply the CopyRect (obstructed regions are usually
|
|
|
clipped off and not translated).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that some desktops (KDE and xfce) appear to mess with the window
|
|
|
stacking in ways that are not yet clear. In these cases x11vnc works
|
|
|
around the problem by applying the CopyRect even if obscuring windows'
|
|
|
data is translated! Use -nowirecopyrect if this yields undesirable
|
|
|
effects for your desktop.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also, the CopyRect encoding may give incorrect results under -scale
|
|
|
(depending on the scale factor the CopyRect operation is often only
|
|
|
approximate: the correctly scaled framebuffer will be slightly
|
|
|
different from the translated one). x11vnc will try to push a
|
|
|
"cleanup" update after the CopyRect if -scale is in effect. Use
|
|
|
-nowirecopyrect if this or other painting errors are unacceptable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-66: Can x11vnc try to apply heuristics to detect when a window is
|
|
|
scrolling its contents and use the CopyRect encoding for a speedup?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Another nice idea for a hack! As of May/2005 x11vnc will by default
|
|
|
apply heuristics to try to detect if the window that has the input
|
|
|
focus is scrolling its contents (but only when x11vnc is feeding user
|
|
|
input, keystroke or pointer, to the X server). So, when detected,
|
|
|
scrolls induced by dragging on a scrollbar or by typing (e.g. Up or
|
|
|
Down arrows, hitting Return in a terminal window, etc), will show up
|
|
|
much more quickly than via the standard x11vnc screen polling update
|
|
|
mechanism.
|
|
|
|
|
|
There will be a speedup for both slow and fast links to viewers. For
|
|
|
slow links the speedup is mostly due to the CopyRect encoding not
|
|
|
requiring the image data to be transmitted over the network. For fast
|
|
|
links the speedup is primarily due to x11vnc not having to read the
|
|
|
scrolled framebuffer data from the X server (recall that reading from
|
|
|
the hardware framebuffer is [500]slow).
|
|
|
|
|
|
To do this x11vnc uses the RECORD X extension to snoop the X11
|
|
|
protocol between the X client with the focus window and the X server.
|
|
|
This extension is usually present on most X servers (but SuSE disables
|
|
|
it for some reason). On XFree86/Xorg it can be enabled via Load
|
|
|
"record" in the Module section of the config file if it isn't already.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Currently the RECORD extension is used as little as possible so as to
|
|
|
not slow down regular use. Only simple heuristics are applied to
|
|
|
detect XCopyArea and XConfigureWindow calls from the application.
|
|
|
These catch a lot of scrolls, e.g. in mozilla/firefox and in terminal
|
|
|
windows like gnome-terminal and xterm. Unfortunately the toolkits KDE
|
|
|
applications use make scroll detection less effective (only rarely are
|
|
|
they detected: i.e. Konqueror and Konsole don't work). An interesting
|
|
|
project, that may be the direction x11vnc takes, is to record all of
|
|
|
the X11 protocol from all clients and try to "tee" the stream into a
|
|
|
modified Xvfb watching for CopyRect and other VNC speedups. A
|
|
|
potential issue is the RECORD stream is delayed from actual view on
|
|
|
the X server display: if one falls too far behind it could become a
|
|
|
mess...
|
|
|
|
|
|
The initial implementation of [501]-scrollcopyrect option is useful in
|
|
|
that it detects many scrolls and thus gives a much nicer working
|
|
|
environment (especially when combined with the [502]-wireframe
|
|
|
[503]-wirecopyrect [504]options, which are also on by default; and if
|
|
|
you are willing to enable the ShadowFB things are very fast). The fact
|
|
|
that there aren't long delays or lurches during scrolling is the
|
|
|
primary improvement.
|
|
|
|
|
|
But there are some drawbacks:
|
|
|
* Not all scrolls are detected. Some apps scroll windows in ways
|
|
|
that cannot currently be detected, and other times x11vnc "misses"
|
|
|
the scroll due to timeouts, etc. Sometimes it is more distracting
|
|
|
that a speedup occasionally doesn't work as opposed to being
|
|
|
consistently slow!
|
|
|
* For rapid scrolling (i.e. sequence of many scrolls over a short
|
|
|
period) there can be painting errors (tearing, bunching up, etc.)
|
|
|
during the scroll. These will repair themselves after the scroll
|
|
|
is over, but when they are severe it can be distracting. Try to
|
|
|
think of the approximate window contents as a quicker and more
|
|
|
useful "animation" compared to the slower polling scheme...
|
|
|
* Scrolling inside shells in terminal windows (gnome-terminal,
|
|
|
xterm), can lead to odd painting errors. This is because x11vnc
|
|
|
did not have time to detect a screen change just before the scroll
|
|
|
(most common is the terminal undraws the block cursor before
|
|
|
scrolling the text up: in the viewer you temporarily see multiple
|
|
|
block cursors). Another issue is with things like more(1): scroll
|
|
|
detection for 5-6 lines happens nicely, but then it can't keep up
|
|
|
and so there is a long pause for the standard polling method to
|
|
|
deliver the remaining updates.
|
|
|
* More rarely sometimes painting errors are not repaired after the
|
|
|
scroll is over. This may be a bug in x11vnc or libvncserver, or it
|
|
|
may be an inescapable fact of the CopyRect encoding and the delay
|
|
|
between RECORD callbacks and what is actually on the X display.
|
|
|
One can tap the Alt_L key (Left "Alt" key) 3 times in a row to
|
|
|
signal x11vnc to refresh the screen to all viewers. Your
|
|
|
VNC-viewer may have its own screen refresh hot-key or button. See
|
|
|
also: [505]-fixscreen
|
|
|
* Some applications, notably OpenOffice, do XCopyArea scrolls in
|
|
|
weird ways that assume ancestor window clipping is taking place.
|
|
|
See the [506]-scr_skip option for ways to tweak this on a
|
|
|
per-application basis.
|
|
|
* Selecting text while dragging the mouse may be slower, especially
|
|
|
if the Button-down event happens near the window's edge. This is
|
|
|
because the scrollcopyrect scheme is watching for scrolls via
|
|
|
RECORD and has to wait for a timeout to occur before it does the
|
|
|
update.
|
|
|
* For reasons not yet understood the RECORD extension can stop
|
|
|
responding (and hence scrolls are missed). As a workaround x11vnc
|
|
|
attempts to reset the RECORD connection every 60 seconds or so.
|
|
|
Another workaround is to type 4 Super_L (Left Super/Windows-Flag
|
|
|
key) in a row to reset RECORD. Work is in progress to try to fix
|
|
|
this bug.
|
|
|
* Sometimes you need to "retrain" x11vnc for a certain window
|
|
|
because it fails to detect scrolls in it. Sometimes clicking
|
|
|
inside the application window or selecting some text in it to
|
|
|
force the focus helps.
|
|
|
* When using the [507]-scale option there will be a quick CopyRect
|
|
|
scroll, but it needs to be followed by a slower "cleanup" update.
|
|
|
This is because for a fixed finite screen resolution (e.g. 75 dpi)
|
|
|
scaling and copyrect-ing are not exactly independent. Scaling
|
|
|
involves a blending of nearby pixels and if you translate a pixel
|
|
|
the neighbor pixel weighting may be different. So you have to wait
|
|
|
a bit for the cleanup update to finish. On slow links x11vnc may
|
|
|
automatically decide to not detect scrolls when -scale is in
|
|
|
effect. In general it will also try to defer the cleanup update if
|
|
|
possible.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you find the -scrollcopyrect behavior too approximate or
|
|
|
distracting you can go back to the standard polling-only update method
|
|
|
with the [508]-noscrollcopyrect (or -noscr for short). If you find
|
|
|
some extremely bad and repeatable behavior for -scrollcopyrect please
|
|
|
report a bug.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Alternatively, as with -wireframe, there are many tuning parameters to
|
|
|
try to improve the situation. You can also access these parameters
|
|
|
inside the gui under "Tuning". These parameters can be tweaked:
|
|
|
* The minimum pixel area of a rectangle to be watched for scrolls.
|
|
|
* A list if application names to skip scroll detection.
|
|
|
* Which keystrokes should trigger scroll detection.
|
|
|
* Which applications should have a "terminal" tweak applied to them.
|
|
|
* When repeating keys (e.g. Up arrow) should be discarded to
|
|
|
preserve a scroll.
|
|
|
* Cutoffs for closeness to Top, Bottom, Left, and Right edges of
|
|
|
window for mouse induced scrolls.
|
|
|
* Set timeout parameters for keystroke induced scrolls.
|
|
|
* Set timeout parameters for mouse pointer induced scrolls.
|
|
|
* Have the full screen be periodically refreshed to fix painting
|
|
|
errors.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Mouse Cursor Shapes]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-67: Why isn't the mouse cursor shape (the little icon shape where
|
|
|
the mouse pointer is) correct as I move from window to window?
|
|
|
|
|
|
On X servers supporting XFIXES or Solaris/IRIX Overlay extensions it
|
|
|
is possible for x11vnc to do this correctly. See a few paragraphs down
|
|
|
for the answer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Historically, the X11 mouse cursor shape (i.e. little picture: an
|
|
|
arrow, X, I-beam, resizer, etc) is one of the few WRITE-only objects
|
|
|
in X11. That is, an application can tell the X server what the cursor
|
|
|
shape should be when the pointer is in a given window, but a program
|
|
|
(like x11vnc) unfortunately cannot read this information. I believe
|
|
|
this is because the cursor shape is often downloaded to the graphics
|
|
|
hardware (video card), but I could be mistaken.
|
|
|
|
|
|
A simple kludge is provided by the "[509]-cursor X" option that
|
|
|
changes the cursor when the mouse is on the root background (or any
|
|
|
window has the same cursor as the root background). Note that desktops
|
|
|
like GNOME or KDE often cover up the root background, so this won't
|
|
|
work for those cases. Also see the "[510]-cursor some" option for
|
|
|
additional kludges.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that as of Aug/2004 on Solaris using the SUN_OVL overlay
|
|
|
extension and IRIX, x11vnc can show the correct mouse cursor when the
|
|
|
[511]-overlay option is supplied. See [512]this FAQ for more info.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also as of Dec/2004 XFIXES X extension support has been added to allow
|
|
|
exact extraction of the mouse cursor shape. XFIXES fixes the problem
|
|
|
of the cursor-shape being write-only: x11vnc can now query the X
|
|
|
server for the current shape and send it back to the connected
|
|
|
viewers. XFIXES is available on recent Linux Xorg based distros and
|
|
|
[513]Solaris 10.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The only XFIXES issue is the handling of alpha channel transparency in
|
|
|
cursors. If a cursor has any translucency then in general it must be
|
|
|
approximated to opaque RGB values for use in VNC. There are some
|
|
|
situations where the cursor transparency can also handled exactly:
|
|
|
when the VNC Viewer requires the cursor shape be drawn into the VNC
|
|
|
framebuffer or if you apply a patch to your VNC Viewer to extract
|
|
|
hidden alpha channel data under 32bpp. [514]Details can be found here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-68: When using XFIXES cursorshape mode, some of the cursors look
|
|
|
really bad with extra black borders around the cursor and other cruft.
|
|
|
How can I improve their appearance?
|
|
|
|
|
|
This happens for cursors with transparency ("alpha channel"); regular
|
|
|
X cursors (bitmaps) should be correct. Unfortunately x11vnc 0.7 was
|
|
|
released with a very poor algorithm for approximating the
|
|
|
transparency, which led to the ugly black borders.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The problem is as follows: XFIXES allows x11vnc to retrieve the
|
|
|
current X server cursor shape, including the alpha channel for
|
|
|
transparency. For traditional bitmap cursors the alpha value will be 0
|
|
|
for completely transparent pixels and 255 for completely opaque
|
|
|
pixels; whereas for modern, eye-candy cursors an alpha value between 0
|
|
|
and 255 means to blend in the background colors to that degree with
|
|
|
the cursor colors. The pixel color blending formula is something like
|
|
|
this: Red = Red_cursor * a + Red_background * (1 - a), (where here 0
|
|
|
=< a =< 1), with similar for Green and Blue. The VNC protocol does not
|
|
|
currently support an alpha channel in cursors: it only supports
|
|
|
regular X bitmap cursors and Rich Cursors that have RGB (Red, Green,
|
|
|
Blue) color data, but no "A" = alpha data. So in general x11vnc has to
|
|
|
approximate a cursor with transparency to create a Rich Cursor. This
|
|
|
is easier said than done: some cursor themes have cursors with
|
|
|
complicated drop shadows and other forms of translucency.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, for the x11vnc 0.7.1 release the algorithm for approximating
|
|
|
transparency is much improved and hopefully gives decent cursor shapes
|
|
|
for most cursor themes and you don't have to worry about it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In case it still looks bad for your cursor theme, there are (of
|
|
|
course!) some tunable parameters. The "[515]-alphacut n" option lets
|
|
|
you set the threshold "n" (between 0 and 255): cursor pixels with
|
|
|
alpha values below n will be considered completely transparent while
|
|
|
values equal to or above n will be completely opaque. The default is
|
|
|
240. The "[516]-alphafrac f" option tries to correct individual
|
|
|
cursors that did not fare well with the default -alphacut value: if a
|
|
|
cursor has less than fraction f (between 0.0 and 1.0) of its pixels
|
|
|
selected by the default -alphacut, the threshold is lowered until f of
|
|
|
its pixels are selected. The default fraction is 0.33.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Finally, there is an option [517]-alpharemove that is useful for
|
|
|
themes where many cursors are light colored (e.g. "whiteglass").
|
|
|
XFIXES returns the cursor data with the RGB values pre-multiplied by
|
|
|
the alpha value. If the white cursors look too grey, specify
|
|
|
-alpharemove to brighten them by having x11vnc divide out the alpha
|
|
|
value.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One user played with these parameters and reported back:
|
|
|
Of the cursor themes present on my system:
|
|
|
|
|
|
gentoo and gentoo-blue: alphacut:192 - noalpharemove
|
|
|
|
|
|
gentoo-silver: alphacut:127 and alpharemove
|
|
|
|
|
|
whiteglass and redglass (presumably also handhelds, which is based
|
|
|
heavily on redglass) look fine with the apparent default of alphacut:255.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-69: In XFIXES mode, are there any hacks to handle cursor
|
|
|
transparency ("alpha channel") exactly?
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Jan/2005 libvncserver has been modified to allow an alpha
|
|
|
channel (i.e. RGBA data) for Rich Cursors. So x11vnc can now send the
|
|
|
alpha channel data to libvncserver. However, this data will only be
|
|
|
used for VNC clients that do not support the CursorShapeUpdates VNC
|
|
|
extension (or have disabled it). It can be disabled for all clients
|
|
|
with the [518]-nocursorshape x11vnc option. In this case the cursor is
|
|
|
drawn, correctly blended with the background, into the VNC framebuffer
|
|
|
before being sent out to the client. So the alpha blending is done on
|
|
|
the x11vnc side. Use the [519]-noalphablend option to disable this
|
|
|
behavior (always approximate transparent cursors with opaque RGB
|
|
|
values).
|
|
|
|
|
|
The CursorShapeUpdates VNC extension complicates matters because the
|
|
|
cursor shape is sent to the VNC viewers supporting it, and the viewers
|
|
|
draw the cursor locally. This improves response over slow links. Alpha
|
|
|
channel data for these locally drawn cursors is not supported by the
|
|
|
VNC protocol.
|
|
|
|
|
|
However, in the libvncserver CVS there is a patch to the TightVNC
|
|
|
viewer to make this work for CursorShapeUpdates under some
|
|
|
circumstances. This hack is outside of the VNC protocol. It requires
|
|
|
the screens on both sides to be depth 24 at 32bpp (it uses the extra 8
|
|
|
bits to secretly hide the cursor alpha channel data). Not only does it
|
|
|
require depth 24 at 32bpp, but it also currently requires the client
|
|
|
and server to be of the same endianness (otherwise the hidden alpha
|
|
|
data gets reset to zero by a libvncserver translation function; we can
|
|
|
fix this at some point if there is interest). The patch is for the
|
|
|
TightVNC 1.3dev5 Unix vncviewer and it enables the TightVNC viewer to
|
|
|
do the cursor alpha blending locally. The patch code should give an
|
|
|
example on how to change the Windows TightVNC viewer to achieve the
|
|
|
same thing (send me the patch if you get that working).
|
|
|
|
|
|
This patch is applied to the [520]Enhanced TightVNC Viewer package we
|
|
|
provide.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Mouse Pointer]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-70: Why does the mouse arrow just stay in one corner in my
|
|
|
vncviewer, whereas my cursor (that does move) is just a dot?
|
|
|
|
|
|
This default takes advantage of a [521]tightvnc extension
|
|
|
(CursorShapeUpdates) that allows specifying a cursor image shape for
|
|
|
the local VNC viewer. You may disable it with the [522]-nocursor
|
|
|
option to x11vnc if your viewer does not have this extension.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: as of Aug/2004 this should be fixed: the default for
|
|
|
non-tightvnc viewers (or ones that do not support CursorShapeUpdates)
|
|
|
will be to draw the moving cursor into the x11vnc framebuffer. This
|
|
|
can also be disabled via -nocursor.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-71: Can I take advantage of the TightVNC extension to the VNC
|
|
|
protocol where Cursor Positions Updates are sent back to all connected
|
|
|
clients (i.e. passive viewers can see the mouse cursor being moved
|
|
|
around by another viewer)?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use the [523]-cursorpos option when starting x11vnc. A VNC viewer must
|
|
|
support the Cursor Positions Updates for the user to see the mouse
|
|
|
motions (the TightVNC viewers support this). As of Aug/2004 -cursorpos
|
|
|
is the default. See also [524]-nocursorpos and [525]-nocursorshape.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-72: Is it possible to swap the mouse buttons (e.g. left-handed
|
|
|
operation), or arbitrarily remap them? How about mapping button clicks
|
|
|
to keystrokes, e.g. to partially emulate Mouse wheel scrolling?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can remap the mouse buttons via something like: [526]-buttonmap
|
|
|
13-31 (or perhaps 12-21). Also, note that xmodmap(1) lets you directly
|
|
|
adjust the X server's button mappings, but in some circumstances it
|
|
|
might be more desirable to have x11vnc do it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One user had an X server with only one mouse button(!) and was able to
|
|
|
map all of the VNC client mouse buttons to it via: -buttonmap 123-111.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that the [527]-debug_pointer option prints out much info for
|
|
|
every mouse/pointer event and is handy in solving problems.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To map mouse button clicks to keystrokes you can use the alternate
|
|
|
format where the keystrokes are enclosed between colons like this
|
|
|
:<KeySym>: in place of the mouse button digit. For a sequence of
|
|
|
keysyms separate them with "+" signs. Look in the include file
|
|
|
<X11/keysymdef.h>, or use xev(1), or -debug_keyboard to fine the
|
|
|
keysym names. Button clicks can also be included in the sequence via
|
|
|
the fake keysyms Button1, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
As an example, suppose the VNC viewer machine has a mouse wheel (these
|
|
|
generate button 4 and 5 events), but the machine that x11vnc is run on
|
|
|
only has the 3 regular buttons. In normal operation x11vnc will
|
|
|
discard the button 4 and 5 events. However, either of the following
|
|
|
button maps could possibly be of use emulating the mouse wheel events
|
|
|
in this case:
|
|
|
-buttonmap 12345-123:Prior::Next:
|
|
|
-buttonmap 12345-123:Up+Up+Up::Down+Down+Down:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exactly what keystroke "scrolling" events they should be bound to
|
|
|
depends on one's taste. If this method is too approximate, one could
|
|
|
consider not using [528]-buttonmap but rather configuring the X server
|
|
|
to think it has a mouse with 5 buttons even though the physical mouse
|
|
|
does not. (e.g. 'Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"').
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that when a keysym-mapped mouse button is clicked down this
|
|
|
immediately generates the key-press and key-release events (for each
|
|
|
keysym in turn if the mapping has a sequence of keysyms). When the
|
|
|
mouse button goes back up nothing is generated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you include modifier keys like Shift_L instead of key-press
|
|
|
immediately followed by key-release the state of the modifier key is
|
|
|
toggled (however the initial state of the modifier key is ignored). So
|
|
|
to map the right button to type my name 'Karl Runge' I could use this:
|
|
|
-buttonmap 3-:Shift_L+k+Shift_L+a+r+l+space+Shift_L+r+Shift_L+u+n+g+e:
|
|
|
|
|
|
(yes, this is getting a little silly).
|
|
|
|
|
|
BTW, Coming the other way around, if the machine you are sitting at
|
|
|
does not have a mouse wheel, but the remote machine does (or at least
|
|
|
has 5 buttons configured), this key remapping can be useful:
|
|
|
-remap Super_R-Button4,Menu-Button5
|
|
|
|
|
|
you just tap those two keys to get the mouse wheel scrolls (this is
|
|
|
more useful than the Up and Down arrow keys because a mouse wheel
|
|
|
"click" usually gives a multi-line scroll).
|
|
|
[Keyboard Issues]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-73: How can I get my AltGr and Shift modifiers to work between
|
|
|
keyboards for different languages?
|
|
|
|
|
|
The option [529]-modtweak should help here. It is a mode that monitors
|
|
|
the state of the Shift and AltGr Modifiers and tries to deduce the
|
|
|
correct keycode to send, possibly by sending fake modifier key presses
|
|
|
and releases in addition to the actual keystroke.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Update: As of Jul/2004 -modtweak is now the default (use -nomodtweak
|
|
|
to get the old behavior). This was done because it was noticed on
|
|
|
newer XFree86 setups even on bland "us" keyboards like "pc104 us"
|
|
|
XFree86 included a "ghost" key with both "<" and ">" it. This key does
|
|
|
not exist on the keyboard (see [530]this FAQ for more info). Without
|
|
|
-modtweak there was then an ambiguity in the reverse map keysym =>
|
|
|
keycode, making it so the "<" symbol could not be typed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also see the [531]FAQ about the -xkb option for a more powerful method
|
|
|
of modifier tweaking for use on X servers with the XKEYBOARD
|
|
|
extension.
|
|
|
|
|
|
When trying to resolve keyboard mapping problems, note that the
|
|
|
[532]-debug_keyboard option prints out much info for every keystroke
|
|
|
and so can be useful debugging things.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-74: When I try to type a "<" (i.e. less than) instead I get ">"
|
|
|
(i.e. greater than)! Strangely, typing ">" works OK!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Does your keyboard have a single key with both "<" and ">" on it? Even
|
|
|
if it doesn't, your X server may think your keyboard has such a key
|
|
|
(e.g. pc105 in the XF86Config file when it should be something else,
|
|
|
say pc104).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Short Cut: Try the [533]-xkb or [534]-sloppy_keys options and see if
|
|
|
that helps the situation. The discussion below is a bit outdated (e.g.
|
|
|
[535]-modtweak is now the default) but it is useful reference for
|
|
|
various tricks and so is kept.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The problem here is that on the Xserver where x11vnc is run there are
|
|
|
two keycodes that correspond to the "<" keysym. Run something like
|
|
|
this to see:
|
|
|
|
|
|
xmodmap -pk | egrep -i 'KeyCode|less|greater'
|
|
|
There are 4 KeySyms per KeyCode; KeyCodes range from 8 to 255.
|
|
|
KeyCode Keysym (Keysym) ...
|
|
|
59 0x002c (comma) 0x003c (less)
|
|
|
60 0x002e (period) 0x003e (greater)
|
|
|
94 0x003c (less) 0x003e (greater)
|
|
|
|
|
|
That keycode 94 is the special key with both "<" and ">". When x11vnc
|
|
|
receives the "<" keysym over the wire from the remote VNC client, it
|
|
|
unfortunately maps it to keycode 94 instead of 59, and sends 94 to the
|
|
|
X server. Since Shift is down (i.e. you are Shifting the comma key),
|
|
|
the X server interprets this as Shifted-94, which is ">".
|
|
|
|
|
|
A workaround in the X server configuration is to "deaden" that special
|
|
|
key:
|
|
|
|
|
|
xmodmap -e "keycode 94 = "
|
|
|
|
|
|
However, one user said he had to do this:
|
|
|
|
|
|
xmodmap -e "keycode 94 = 0x002c 0x003c"
|
|
|
|
|
|
(If the numerical values are different for your setup, substitute the
|
|
|
ones that correspond to your display. The above xmodmap scheme can
|
|
|
often be used to work around other ambiguous keysym to keycode
|
|
|
mappings).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Alternatively, here are some x11vnc options to try to work around the
|
|
|
problem:
|
|
|
-modtweak
|
|
|
|
|
|
and
|
|
|
-remap less-comma
|
|
|
|
|
|
These are convenient in that they do not modify the actual X server
|
|
|
settings. The former ([536]-modtweak) is a mode that monitors the
|
|
|
state of the Shift and AltGr modifiers and tries to deduce the correct
|
|
|
keycode sequence to send. Since Jul/2004 -modtweak is now the default.
|
|
|
The latter ([537]-remap less-comma) is an immediate remapping of the
|
|
|
keysym less to the keysym comma when it comes in from a client (so
|
|
|
when Shift is down the comma press will yield "<").
|
|
|
|
|
|
See also the [538]FAQ about the -xkb option as a possible workaround
|
|
|
using the XKEYBOARD extension.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that the [539]-debug_keyboard option prints out much info for
|
|
|
every keystroke to aid debugging keyboard problems.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-75: When I try to type a "<" (i.e. less than) instead I get "<,"
|
|
|
(i.e. an extra comma).
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is likely because you press "Shift" then "<" but then released
|
|
|
the Shift key before releasing the "<". Because of a [540]keymapping
|
|
|
ambiguity the last event "< up" is interpreted as "," because that key
|
|
|
unshifted is the comma.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This should not happen in [541]-xkb mode, because it works hard to
|
|
|
resolve the ambiguities. If you do not want to use -xkb, try the
|
|
|
option [542]-sloppy_keys to attempt a similar type of algorithm.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-76: I'm using an "international" keyboard (e.g. German "de", or
|
|
|
Danish "dk") and the -modtweak mode works well if the VNC viewer is
|
|
|
run on a Unix/Linux machine with a similar keyboard. But if I run
|
|
|
the VNC viewer on Unix/Linux with a different keyboard (e.g. "us") or
|
|
|
Windows with any keyboard, I can't type some keys like: "@", "$",
|
|
|
"<", ">", etc. How can I fix this?
|
|
|
|
|
|
The problem with Windows is it does not seem to handle AltGr well. It
|
|
|
seems to fake it up by sending Control_L+Alt_R to applications. The
|
|
|
Windows VNC viewer sends those two down keystrokes out on the wire to
|
|
|
the VNC server, but when the user types the next key to get, e.g., "@"
|
|
|
the Windows VNC viewer sends events bringing the up the
|
|
|
Control_L+Alt_R keys, and then sends the "@" keysym by itself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Unix/Linux VNC viewer on a "us" keyboard does a similar thing
|
|
|
since "@" is the Shift of the "2" key. The keysyms Shift and "@" are
|
|
|
sent to the VNC server.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In both cases no AltGr is sent to the VNC server, but we know AltGr is
|
|
|
needed on the physical international keyboard to type a "@".
|
|
|
|
|
|
This all worked fine with x11vnc running with the [543]-modtweak
|
|
|
option (it figures out how to adjust the Modifier keys (Shift or
|
|
|
AltGr) to get the "@"). However it fails under recent versions of
|
|
|
XFree86 (and the X.org fork). These run the XKEYBOARD extension by
|
|
|
default and make heavy use of it to handle international keyboards.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To make a long story short, on these newer XFree86 setups the
|
|
|
traditional X keymap lookup x11vnc uses is no longer accurate. x11vnc
|
|
|
can't find the keysym "@" anywhere in the keymapping! (even though it
|
|
|
is in the XKEYBOARD extended keymapping).
|
|
|
|
|
|
How to Solve: As of Jul/2004 x11vnc has two changes:
|
|
|
* -modtweak (tweak Modifier keys) is now the default (use
|
|
|
-nomodtweak to go back to the old way)
|
|
|
* there is a new option -xkb to use the XKEYBOARD extension API to
|
|
|
do the Modifier key tweaking.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The [544]-xkb option seems to fix all of the missing keys: "@", "<",
|
|
|
">", etc.: it is recommended that you try it if you have this sort of
|
|
|
problem. Let us know if there are any remaining problems (see the next
|
|
|
paragraph for some known problems). If you specify the -debug_keyboard
|
|
|
(aka -dk) option twice you will get a huge amount of keystroke
|
|
|
debugging output (send it along with any problems you report).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Update: as of Jun/2005 x11vnc will try to automatically enable
|
|
|
[545]-xkb if it appears that would be beneficial (e.g. if it sees any
|
|
|
of "@", "<", ">", "[" and similar keys are mapped in a way that needs
|
|
|
the -xkb to access them). To disable this automatic check use -noxkb.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Known problems:
|
|
|
* One user had to disable a "ghost" Mode_switch key that was causing
|
|
|
problems under -xkb. His physical AltGr key was bound to
|
|
|
ISO_Level3_Shift (which seems to be the XKEYBOARD way of doing
|
|
|
things), while there was a ghost key Mode_switch (which seems to
|
|
|
be obsolete) in the mapping as well. Both of these keysyms were
|
|
|
bound to Mod5 and x11vnc was unfortunately choosing Mode_switch.
|
|
|
From the x11vnc -xkb -dk -dk output it was noted that Mode_switch
|
|
|
was attached to keycode 93 (no physical key generates this
|
|
|
keycode) while ISO_Level3_Shift was attached to keycode 113. The
|
|
|
keycode skipping option was used to disable the ghost key:
|
|
|
[546]-skip_keycodes 93
|
|
|
* In implementing -xkb we noticed that some characters were still
|
|
|
not getting through, e.g. "~" and "^". This is not really an
|
|
|
XKEYBOARD problem. What was happening was the VNC viewer was
|
|
|
sending the keysyms asciitilde and asciicircum to x11vnc, but on
|
|
|
the X server with the international keyboard those keysyms were
|
|
|
not mapped to any keys. So x11vnc had to skip them (Note: as of
|
|
|
May/2005 they are added by default see -add_keysyms below).
|
|
|
The way these characters are typically entered on international
|
|
|
keyboards is by "dead" (aka "mute") keys. E.g. to enter "~" at the
|
|
|
physical display the keysym dead_tilde is pressed and released
|
|
|
(this usually involves holding AltGr down while another key is
|
|
|
pressed) and then space is pressed. (this can also be used get
|
|
|
characters with the "~" symbol on top, e.g. "<22>" by typing "a"
|
|
|
instead of space).
|
|
|
What to do? In general the VNC protocol has not really solved this
|
|
|
problem: what should be done if the VNC viewer sends a keysym not
|
|
|
recognized by the VNC server side? Workarounds can possibly be
|
|
|
created using the [547]-remap x11vnc option:
|
|
|
-remap asciitilde-dead_tilde,asciicircum-dead_circumflex
|
|
|
etc. Use -remap filename if the list is long. Please send us your
|
|
|
workarounds for this problem on your keyboard. Perhaps we can have
|
|
|
x11vnc adjust automatically at some point. Also see the
|
|
|
[548]-add_keysyms option in the next paragraph.
|
|
|
Update: for convenience "[549]-remap DEAD" does many of these
|
|
|
mappings at once.
|
|
|
* To complement the above workaround using the [550]-remap, an
|
|
|
option [551]-add_keysyms was added. This option instructs x11vnc
|
|
|
to bind any unknown Keysyms coming in from VNC viewers to unused
|
|
|
Keycodes in the X server. This modifies the global state of the X
|
|
|
server. When x11vnc exits it removes the extra keymappings it
|
|
|
created. Note that the -remap mappings are applied first, right
|
|
|
when the Keysym is received from a VNC viewer, and only after that
|
|
|
would -add_keysyms, or anything else, come into play.
|
|
|
Update: -add_keysyms is now on by default. Use -noadd_keysyms to
|
|
|
disable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-77: When typing I sometimes get double, triple, or more of my
|
|
|
keystrokes repeated. I'm sure I only typed them once, what can I do?
|
|
|
|
|
|
This may be due to an interplay between your X server's key autorepeat
|
|
|
delay and the extra time delays caused by x11vnc processing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Short answer: disable key autorepeating by running the command "xset r
|
|
|
off" on the Xserver where x11vnc is run (restore via "xset r on") or
|
|
|
use the new (Jul/2004) [552]-norepeat x11vnc option. You will still
|
|
|
have autorepeating because that is taken care of on your VNC viewer
|
|
|
side.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Update: as of Dec/2004 -norepeat is now the default. Use -repeat to
|
|
|
disable it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Details: suppose you press a key DOWN and it generates changes in
|
|
|
large regions of the screen. The CPU and I/O work x11vnc does for the
|
|
|
large screen change could be longer than your X server's key
|
|
|
autorepeat delay. x11vnc may not get to processing the key UP event
|
|
|
until after the screen work is completed. The X server believes the
|
|
|
key has been held down all this time, and applies its autorepeat
|
|
|
rules.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Even without inducing changes in large regions of the screen, this
|
|
|
problem could arise when accessing x11vnc via a dialup modem or
|
|
|
otherwise high latency link (e.g. > 250 ms latency).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Look at the output of "xset q" for the "auto repeat delay" setting. Is
|
|
|
it low (e.g. < 300 ms)? If you turn off autorepeat completely: "xset r
|
|
|
off", does the problem go away?
|
|
|
|
|
|
The workaround is to manually apply "xset r off" and "xset r on" as
|
|
|
needed, or to use the [553]-norepeat (which has since Dec/2004 been
|
|
|
made the default). Note that with X server autorepeat turned off the
|
|
|
VNC viewer side of the connection will (nearly always) do its own
|
|
|
autorepeating so there is no big loss here, unless someone is also
|
|
|
working at the physical display and misses his autorepeating.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-78: The x11vnc -norepeat mode is in effect, but I still get repeated
|
|
|
keystrokes!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Are you using x11vnc to log in to an X session via display manager?
|
|
|
(as described in [554]this FAQ) If so, x11vnc is starting before your
|
|
|
session and it disables autorepeat when you connect, but then after
|
|
|
you log in your session startup (GNOME, KDE, ...) could be resetting
|
|
|
the autorepeat to be on. Or it could be something inside your desktop
|
|
|
trying to be helpful that decides to turn it back on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc in -norepeat mode will by default reset autorepeat to off 2
|
|
|
times (to help get thru the session startup problem), but it will not
|
|
|
continue to battle with things turning autorepeat back on. It will
|
|
|
also turn autorepeat off whenever it goes from a state of zero clients
|
|
|
to one client. You can adjust the number of resets via "-norepeat N",
|
|
|
or use "-norepeat -1" to have it keep resetting it whenever autorepeat
|
|
|
gets turned back on when clients are connected.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In general you can manually turn autorepeating off by typing "xset r
|
|
|
off", or a using desktop utility/menu, or "x11vnc -R norepeat". If
|
|
|
something in your desktop is automatically turning it back on you
|
|
|
should figure out how to disable that somehow.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-79: The machine where I run x11vnc has an AltGr key, but the local
|
|
|
machine where I run the VNC viewer does not. Is there a way I can map
|
|
|
a local unused key to send an AltGr? How about a Compose key as well?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Something like "[555]-remap Super_R-Mode_switch" x11vnc option may
|
|
|
work. Note that Super_R is the "Right Windoze(tm) Flaggie" key; you
|
|
|
may want to choose another. The -debug_keyboard option comes in handy
|
|
|
in finding keysym names (so does xev(1)).
|
|
|
|
|
|
For Compose how about "-remap Menu-Multi_key" (note that Multi_key is
|
|
|
the official name for Compose). To do both at the same time: "-remap
|
|
|
Super_R-Mode_switch,Menu-Multi_key" or use "-remap filename" to
|
|
|
specify remappings from a file.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-80: I have a Sun machine I run x11vnc on. Its Sun keyboard has just
|
|
|
one Alt key labelled "Alt" and two Meta keys labelled with little
|
|
|
diamonds. The machine where I run the VNC viewer only has Alt keys.
|
|
|
How can I send a Meta keypress? (e.g. emacs needs this)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here are a couple ideas. The first one is to simply use xmodmap(1) to
|
|
|
adjust the Sun X server. Perhaps xmodmap -e "keysym Alt_L = Meta_L
|
|
|
Alt_L" will do the trick. (there are other ways to do it, one user
|
|
|
used: xmodmap -e "keycode 26 = Meta_L" for his setup).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Since xmodmap(1) modifies the X server mappings you may not want to do
|
|
|
this (because it affects local work on that machine). Something like
|
|
|
the [556]-remap Alt_L-Meta_L to x11vnc may be sufficient for ones
|
|
|
needs, and does not modify the X server environment. Note that you
|
|
|
cannot send Alt_L in this case, maybe -remap Super_L-Meta_L would be a
|
|
|
better choice if the Super_L key is typically unused in Unix.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-81: Can I map a keystroke to a mouse button click on the remote
|
|
|
machine?
|
|
|
|
|
|
This can be done directly in some X servers using AccessX and
|
|
|
Pointer_EnableKeys, but is a bit awkward. It may be more convenient to
|
|
|
have x11vnc do the remapping. This can be done via the [557]-remap
|
|
|
option using the fake "keysyms" Button1, Button2, etc. as the "to"
|
|
|
keys (i.e. the ones after the "-")
|
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|
|
|
|
As an example, consider a laptop where the VNC viewer is run that has
|
|
|
a touchpad with only two buttons. It is difficult to do a middle
|
|
|
button "paste" because (using XFree86/Xorg Emulate3Buttons) you have
|
|
|
to click both buttons on the touch pad at the same time. This
|
|
|
remapping:
|
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|
[558]-remap Super_R-Button2
|
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|
|
|
|
maps the Super_R "flag" key press to the Button2 click, thereby making
|
|
|
X pasting a bit easier.
|
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|
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|
Note that once the key goes down, the button down and button up events
|
|
|
are generated immediately on the x11vnc side. When the key is released
|
|
|
(i.e. goes up) no events are generated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-82: How can I get Caps_Lock to work between my VNC viewer and
|
|
|
x11vnc?
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is a little tricky because it is possible to get the Caps_Lock
|
|
|
state out of sync between your viewer-side machine and the x11vnc-side
|
|
|
X server. For best results, we recommend not ever letting the
|
|
|
Caps_Lock keypresses be processed by x11vnc. That way when you press
|
|
|
Caps_Lock in the viewer your local machine goes into the Caps_Lock on
|
|
|
state and sends keysym "A" say when you press "a". x11vnc will then
|
|
|
fake things up so that Shift is held down to generate "A". The
|
|
|
[559]-skip_lockkeys option should help to accomplish this. For finer
|
|
|
grain control use something like: "[560]-remap Caps_Lock-None".
|
|
|
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|
|
Also try the [561]-nomodtweak and [562]-capslock options.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Screen Related Issues and Features]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-83: The remote display is larger (in number of pixels) than the
|
|
|
local display I am running the vncviewer on. I don't like the
|
|
|
vncviewer scrollbars, what I can do?
|
|
|
|
|
|
vncviewer has a option (usually accessible via F8 key or -fullscreen
|
|
|
option) for vncviewer to run in full screen, where it will
|
|
|
automatically scroll when the mouse is near the edge of the current
|
|
|
view. For quick scrolling, also make sure Backing Store is enabled on
|
|
|
the machine vncviewer is run on. (XFree86/Xorg disables it by default
|
|
|
for some reason, add Option "backingstore" to XF86Config on the
|
|
|
vncviewer side).
|
|
|
|
|
|
BTW, contact me if you are having problems with vncviewer in
|
|
|
fullscreen mode with your window manager (i.e. no keyboard response).
|
|
|
I have a workaround for vncviewer using XGrabServer().
|
|
|
|
|
|
There may also be scaling viewers out there (e.g. TightVNC or UltraVNC
|
|
|
on Windows) that automatically shrink or expand the remote framebuffer
|
|
|
to fit the local display. Especially for hand-held devices. See also
|
|
|
[563]this FAQ on x11vnc scaling.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-84: Does x11vnc support server-side framebuffer scaling? (E.g. to
|
|
|
make the desktop smaller).
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Jun/2004 x11vnc provides basic server-side scaling. It is a
|
|
|
global scaling of the desktop, not a per-client setting. To enable it
|
|
|
use the "[564]-scale fraction" option. "fraction" can either be a
|
|
|
floating point number (e.g. -scale 0.5) or the alternative m/n
|
|
|
fraction notation (e.g. -scale 3/4). Note that if fraction is greater
|
|
|
than one the display is magnified.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Extra resources (CPU, memory I/O, and memory) are required to do the
|
|
|
scaling. If the machine is slow where x11vnc is run with scaling
|
|
|
enabled, the interactive response can be unacceptable. OTOH, if run
|
|
|
with scaling on a fast machine the performance degradation is usually
|
|
|
not a big issue or even noticeable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also, if you just want a quick, rough "thumbnail" of the display you
|
|
|
can append ":nb" to the fraction to turn on "no blending" mode. E.g.:
|
|
|
"-scale 1/3:nb" Fonts will be difficult to read, but the larger
|
|
|
features will be recognizable. BTW, "no blending" mode is forced on
|
|
|
when scaling 8bpp PseudoColor displays (because blending an indexed
|
|
|
colormap is a bad idea and leads to random colors, use :fb to force it
|
|
|
on).
|
|
|
|
|
|
One can also use the ":nb" with an integer scale factor (say "-scale
|
|
|
2:nb") to use x11vnc as a screen magnifier for vision impaired
|
|
|
[565]applications. Since with integer scale factors the framebuffers
|
|
|
become huge and scaling operations time consuming, be sure to use
|
|
|
":nb" for the fastest response.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In general for a scaled display if you are using a TightVNC viewer you
|
|
|
may want to turn off jpeg encoding (e.g. vncviewer -nojpeg host:0).
|
|
|
There appears to be a noise enhancement effect, especially for regions
|
|
|
containing font/text: the scaling can introduce some pixel artifacts
|
|
|
that evidently causes the tight encoding algorithm to incorrectly
|
|
|
detect the regions as image data and thereby introduce additional
|
|
|
pixel artifacts due to the lossiness of the jpeg compression
|
|
|
algorithm. Experiment to see if -nojpeg vncviewer option improves the
|
|
|
readability of text when using -scale to shrink the display size. Also
|
|
|
note that scaling may actually slow down the transfer of text regions
|
|
|
because after being scaled they do not compress as well. (this can
|
|
|
often be a significant slowdown, e.g. 10X).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Another issue is that it appears VNC viewers require the screen width
|
|
|
to be a multiple of 4. When scaling x11vnc will round the width to the
|
|
|
nearest multiple of 4. To disable this use the ":n4" sub option (like
|
|
|
":nb" in the previous paragraph; to specify both use a comma:
|
|
|
":nb,n4", etc.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
If one desires per-client scaling for something like 1:1 from a
|
|
|
workstation and 1:2 from a smaller device (e.g. handheld), currently
|
|
|
the only option is to run two (or more) x11vnc processes with
|
|
|
different scalings listening on separate ports ([566]-rfbport option,
|
|
|
etc.).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Update: As of May/2006 x11vnc also supports the UltraVNC server-side
|
|
|
scaling. This is a per-client scaling by factors 1/2, 1/3, ... and so
|
|
|
may be useful for PDA's ("-scale 1/2", etc. will give similar results
|
|
|
except that it applies to all clients). You may need to supply
|
|
|
"-rfbversion 3.6" for this to be recognized by UltraVNC viewers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
BTW, whenever you run two or more x11vnc's on the same X display and
|
|
|
use the [567]GUI, then to avoid all of the x11vnc's simultaneously
|
|
|
answering the gui you will need to use something like [568]"-connect
|
|
|
file1 -gui ..." with different connect files for each x11vnc you want
|
|
|
to control via the gui (or remote-control). The "-connect file1" usage
|
|
|
gives separate communication channels between a x11vnc proces and the
|
|
|
gui process. Otherwise they all share the same X property channels:
|
|
|
VNC_CONNECT and X11VNC_REMOTE.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Update: As of Mar/2005 x11vnc now scales the mouse cursor with the
|
|
|
same scale factor as the screen. If you don't want that, use the
|
|
|
[569]"-scale_cursor frac" option to set the cursor scaling to a
|
|
|
different factor (e.g. use "-scale_cursor 1" to keep the cursor at its
|
|
|
natural unscaled size).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-85: Does x11vnc work with Xinerama? (i.e. multiple monitors joined
|
|
|
together to form one big, single screen).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, it should generally work because it simply polls the big
|
|
|
effective screen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the viewing-end monitor is not as big as the remote Xinerama
|
|
|
display, then the vncviewer scrollbars, etc, will have to be used to
|
|
|
pan across the large area. However one user started two x11vnc's, one
|
|
|
with "-clip 1280x1024+0+0" and the other with "-clip 1280x1024+1280+0"
|
|
|
to split the big screen into two and used two VNC viewers to access
|
|
|
them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are a couple potential issues with Xinerama however. If the
|
|
|
screen is not rectangular (e.g. 1280x1024 and 1024x768 monitors joined
|
|
|
together), then there will be "non-existent" areas on the screen. The
|
|
|
X server will return "garbage" image data for these areas and so they
|
|
|
may be distracting to the viewer. The [570]-blackout x11vnc option
|
|
|
allows you to blacken-out rectangles by manually specifying their
|
|
|
WxH+X+Y geometries. If your system has the libXinerama library, the
|
|
|
[571]-xinerama x11vnc option can be used to have it automatically
|
|
|
determine the rectangles to be blackened out. (Note on 8bpp
|
|
|
PseudoColor displays the fill color may not be black). Update:
|
|
|
[572]-xinerama is now on by default.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some users have reported that the mouse does not behave properly for
|
|
|
their Xinerama display: i.e. the mouse cannot be moved to all regions
|
|
|
of the large display. If this happens try using the [573]-xwarppointer
|
|
|
option. This instructs x11vnc to fake mouse pointer motions using the
|
|
|
XWarpPointer function instead of the XTestFakeMotionEvent XTEST
|
|
|
function. (This may be due to a bug in the X server for XTEST when
|
|
|
Xinerama is enabled).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-86: Can I use x11vnc on a multi-headed display that is not Xinerama
|
|
|
(i.e. separate screens :0.0, :0.1, ... for each monitor)?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can, but it is a little bit awkward: you must start separate
|
|
|
x11vnc processes for each screen, and on the viewing end start up
|
|
|
separate VNC viewer processes connecting to them. e.g. on the remote
|
|
|
end:
|
|
|
x11vnc -display :0.0 -bg -q -rfbport 5900
|
|
|
x11vnc -display :0.1 -bg -q -rfbport 5901
|
|
|
|
|
|
(this could be automated in the display manager Xsetup for example)
|
|
|
and then on the local machine where you are sitting:
|
|
|
vncviewer somehost:0 &
|
|
|
vncviewer somehost:1 &
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: if you are running on Solaris 8 or earlier you can easily hit up
|
|
|
against the maximum of 6 shm segments per process (for Xsun in this
|
|
|
case) from running multiple x11vnc processes. You should modify
|
|
|
/etc/system as mentioned in another [574]FAQ to increase the limit. It
|
|
|
is probably also a good idea to run with the [575]-onetile option in
|
|
|
this case (to limit each x11vnc to 3 shm segments), or even
|
|
|
[576]-noshm to use no shm segments.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-87: Can x11vnc show only a portion of the display? (E.g. for a
|
|
|
special purpose rfb application).
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Mar/2005 x11vnc has the "[577]-clip WxH+X+Y" option to select a
|
|
|
rectangle of width W, height H and offset (X, Y). Thus the VNC screen
|
|
|
will be the clipped sub-region of the display and be only WxH in size.
|
|
|
One user used -clip to split up a large [578]Xinerama screen into two
|
|
|
more managable smaller screens.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This also works to view a sub-region of a single application window if
|
|
|
the [579]-id or [580]-sid options are used. The offset is measured
|
|
|
from the upper left corner of the selected window.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-88: Does x11vnc support the XRANDR (X Resize, Rotate and Reflection)
|
|
|
extension? Whenever I rotate or resize the screen x11vnc just seems to
|
|
|
crash.
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Dec/2004 x11vnc supports XRANDR. You enable it with the
|
|
|
[581]-xrandr option to make x11vnc monitor XRANDR events and also trap
|
|
|
X server errors if the screen change occurred in the middle of an X
|
|
|
call like XGetImage. Once it traps the screen change it will create a
|
|
|
new framebuffer using the new screen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the connected vnc viewers support the NewFBSize VNC extension
|
|
|
(Windows TightVNC viewer and RealVNC 4.0 windows and Unix viewers do)
|
|
|
then the viewer will automatically resize. Otherwise, the new
|
|
|
framebuffer is fit as best as possible into the original viewer size
|
|
|
(portions of the screen may be clipped, unused, etc). For these
|
|
|
viewers you can try the [582]-padgeom option to make the region big
|
|
|
enough to hold all resizes and rotations. We have fixed this problem
|
|
|
for the TightVNC Viewer on Unix: [583]enhanced_tightvnc_viewer
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you specify "-xrandr newfbsize" then vnc viewers that do not
|
|
|
support NewFBSize will be disconnected before the resize. If you
|
|
|
specify "-xrandr exit" then all will be disconnected and x11vnc will
|
|
|
terminate.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-89: Independent of any XRANDR, can I have x11vnc rotate and/or
|
|
|
reflect the screen that the VNC viewers see? (e.g. for a handheld
|
|
|
whose screen is rotated 90 degrees).
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Jul/2006 there is the [584]-rotate option allow this. E.g's:
|
|
|
"-rotate +90", "-rotate -90", "-rotate x", etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-90: Why is the view in my VNC viewer completely black? Or why is
|
|
|
everything flashing around randomly?
|
|
|
|
|
|
See the next FAQ for a possible explanation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-91: I use Linux Virtual Consoles (VC's) to implement 'Fast User
|
|
|
Switching' between users' sessions (e.g. Betty is on Ctrl-Alt-F7,
|
|
|
Bobby is on Ctrl-Alt-F8, and Sid is on Ctrl-Alt-F1: they use those
|
|
|
keystrokes to switch between their sessions). How come the view in a
|
|
|
VNC viewer connecting to x11vnc is either completely black or
|
|
|
otherwise all messed up unless the X session x11vnc is attached to is
|
|
|
in the active VC?
|
|
|
|
|
|
This seems to have to do with how applications (the X server processes
|
|
|
in this case) must "play nicely" if they are not on the active VC
|
|
|
(sometimes called VT for virtual terminal). That is, they should not
|
|
|
read from the keyboard or mouse or manage the video display unless
|
|
|
they have the active VC. Given that it appears the XGetImage() call
|
|
|
must ultimately retrieve the framebuffer data from the video hardware
|
|
|
itself, it would make sense x11vnc's polling wouldn't work unless the
|
|
|
X session had active control of the VC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
There does not seem to be an easy way to work around this. Even xwd(1)
|
|
|
doesn't work in this case (try it). Something would need to be done at
|
|
|
a lower level, say in the XFree86 X server. Also, using the XFree86
|
|
|
Shadow Framebuffer (a copy of the video framebuffer is kept in main
|
|
|
memory) does not appear to fix the problem.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If no one is sitting at the workstation and you just want to remotely
|
|
|
switch the VC over to the one associated with your X session (so
|
|
|
x11vnc can poll it correctly), one can use the chvt(1) command, e.g.
|
|
|
"chvt 7" for VC #7.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-92: I am using x11vnc where my local machine has "popup/hidden
|
|
|
taskbars" (e.g. GNOME or MacOS X) and the remote display where x11vnc
|
|
|
runs also has "popup/hidden taskbars" (e.g. GNOME). When I move the
|
|
|
mouse to the edge of the screen where the popups happen, the taskbars
|
|
|
interfere and fight with each other in strange ways. What can I do?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Is there a way to temporarily disable one or both of these magic
|
|
|
desktop taskbars?
|
|
|
|
|
|
One x11vnc user suggests: it should be straightforward to right mouse
|
|
|
click on the task bar panel, and uncheck "enable auto-hide" from the
|
|
|
panel properties dialog box. This will make the panel always visible.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-93: Can I use x11vnc to view my VMWare session remotely?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, since VMWare usually runs as an X application you can view it via
|
|
|
x11vnc in the normal way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that VMWare has several viewing modes:
|
|
|
* Normal X application window (with window manager frame)
|
|
|
* Quick-Switch mode (with no window manager frame)
|
|
|
* Fullscreen mode
|
|
|
|
|
|
The way VMWare does Fullscreen mode on Linux is to display the Guest
|
|
|
desktop in a separate Virtual Console (e.g. VC 8) (see [585]this FAQ
|
|
|
on VC's for background). Unfortunately, this Fullscreen VC is not an X
|
|
|
server. So x11vnc cannot access it (however, [586]see this discussion
|
|
|
of -rawfb for a possible workaround). x11vnc works fine with "Normal X
|
|
|
application window" and "Quick-Switch mode" because these use X.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Update: It appears the in VMWare 5.x the Fullscreen mode is X, so
|
|
|
x11vnc access does work.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One user reports he left his machine with VMWare in the Fullscreen
|
|
|
mode, and even though his X session wasn't in the active VC, he could
|
|
|
still connect x11vnc to the X session and pass the keystrokes Ctrl-Alt
|
|
|
(typing "blind") to the VMWare X app. This induced VMWare to switch
|
|
|
out of Fullscreen into Normal X mode and he could continue working in
|
|
|
the Guest desktop remotely.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aside: Sometimes it is convenient (for performance, etc.) to start
|
|
|
VMWare in its own X session using startx(1). This can be used to have
|
|
|
a minimal window manger (e.g. twm or even no window manager), to
|
|
|
improve response. One can also cut the display depth (e.g. to 16bpp)
|
|
|
in this 2nd X session to improve video performance. This 2nd X session
|
|
|
emulates Fullscreen mode to some degree and can be viewed via x11vnc
|
|
|
as long as the VMWare X session [587]is in the active VC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also note that with a little bit of playing with "xwininfo -all
|
|
|
-children" output one can extract the (non-toplevel) windowid of the
|
|
|
of the Guest desktop only when VMWare is running as a normal X
|
|
|
application. Then one can export just the guest desktop (i.e. without
|
|
|
the VMWare menu buttons) by use of the [588]-id windowid option. The
|
|
|
caveats are the X session VMWare is in must be in the active VC and
|
|
|
the window must be fully visible, so this mode is not terribly
|
|
|
convenient, but could be useful in some circumstances (e.g. running
|
|
|
VMWare on a very powerful server machine in a server room that happens
|
|
|
to have a video card, (but need not have a monitor, Keyboard or
|
|
|
mouse)).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-94: Can non-X devices (e.g. a raw framebuffer) be viewed (and even
|
|
|
controlled) via VNC with x11vnc?
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Apr/2005 there is support for this. Two options were added:
|
|
|
"[589]-rawfb string" (to indicate the raw framembuffer device, file,
|
|
|
etc. and its parameters) and "[590]-pipeinput command" (to provide an
|
|
|
external program that will inject or otherwise process mouse and
|
|
|
keystroke input). Some useful [591]-pipeinput schemes, VID, CONSOLE,
|
|
|
and UINPUT, have since been built into x11vnc for convenience.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This non-X mode for x11vnc is somewhat experimental because it is so
|
|
|
removed in scope from the intended usage of the tool. Incomplete
|
|
|
attempt is made to make all of the other options consistent with non-X
|
|
|
framebuffer polling. So all of the X-related options (e.g.
|
|
|
-add_keysyms, -xkb) are just ignored or may cause an error if used. Be
|
|
|
careful applying such an option via remote control.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The format for the -rawfb string is:
|
|
|
-rawfb <type>:<object>@<W>x<H>x<bpp>[:<R>/<G>/<B>][+<offset>]
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are also some useful aliases (e.g. "console"). Some examples:
|
|
|
-rawfb shm:210337933@800x600x32:ff/ff00/ff0000
|
|
|
|
|
|
-rawfb map:/dev/fb0@1024x768x16
|
|
|
|
|
|
-rawfb map:/tmp/Xvfb_screen0@640x480x8+3232
|
|
|
|
|
|
-rawfb file:/tmp/my.pnm@250x200x24+37
|
|
|
|
|
|
-rawfb file:/dev/urandom@128x128x8
|
|
|
|
|
|
-rawfb snap:/dev/video0@320x240x24 -24to32
|
|
|
|
|
|
-rawfb console
|
|
|
|
|
|
-rawfb video
|
|
|
|
|
|
-rawfb setup:mycmd.sh
|
|
|
|
|
|
So the type can be "shm" for shared memory objects, and "map" or
|
|
|
"file" for file objects. "map" uses mmap(2) to map the file into
|
|
|
memory and is preferred over "file" (that uses the slower lseek(2)
|
|
|
access method). Only use file if map isn't working. BTW, "mmap" is an
|
|
|
alias for "map" and if you do not supply a type and the file exists,
|
|
|
map is assumed (see the -help output and below for some exceptions to
|
|
|
this). The "snap:" setting applies the [592]-snapfb option with
|
|
|
"file:" type reading (this is useful for exporting webcams or TV tuner
|
|
|
video; see [593]the next FAQ for more info).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also, if the string is of the form "setup:cmd" then cmd is run and the
|
|
|
first line of its output retrieved and used as the rawfb string. This
|
|
|
allows initializing the device, determining WxHxB, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The object will be the numerical shared memory id for the case of shm.
|
|
|
The idea here is some other program has created this shared memory
|
|
|
segment and periodically updates it with new framebuffer data. x11vnc
|
|
|
polls the area for changes. See shmat(2) and ipcs(8) for more info.
|
|
|
The ipcs command will list current shared memory segments on the
|
|
|
system. Sometimes you can snoop on a program's framebuffer it did not
|
|
|
expect you would be polling!
|
|
|
|
|
|
The object will be the path to the regular or character special file
|
|
|
for the cases of map and file. The idea here is that in the case of a
|
|
|
regular file some other program is writing/updating framebuffer image
|
|
|
data to it. In the case of a character special (e.g. /dev/fb0) it is
|
|
|
the kernel that is "updating" the framebuffer data.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In most cases x11vnc needs to be told the width, height, and number of
|
|
|
bits per pixel (bpp) of the framebuffer. This is the @WxHxB field. For
|
|
|
the case of the Linux framebuffer device, /dev/fb0, the fbset(8) may
|
|
|
be of use (but may not always be accurate for what is currently
|
|
|
viewable). In general some guessing may be required, especially for
|
|
|
the bpp. Update: in "-rawfb console" mode x11vnc will use the linuxfb
|
|
|
API to try to guess (it is still not always accurate).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Based on the bpp x11vnc will try to guess the red, green, and blue
|
|
|
masks (these indicate which bits correspond to each color). It if gets
|
|
|
it wrong you can specify them manually via the optional ":R/G/B"
|
|
|
field. E.g. ":0xff0000/0x00ff00/0x0000ff" (this is the default for
|
|
|
32bpp).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Finally, the framebuffer may not begin at the beginning of the memory
|
|
|
object, so use the optional "+offset" parameter to indicate where the
|
|
|
framebuffer information starts. So as an example, the Xvfb virtual
|
|
|
framebuffer has options -shmem and -fbdir for exporting its virtual
|
|
|
screen to either shm or a mapped file. The format of these is XWD and
|
|
|
so the initial header should be skipped. BTW, since XWD is not
|
|
|
strictly RGB the view will only be approximate, but usable. Of course
|
|
|
for the case of Xvfb x11vnc can poll it much better via the [594]X
|
|
|
API, but you get the idea.
|
|
|
|
|
|
By default in -rawfb mode x11vnc will actually close any X display it
|
|
|
happened to open. This is basically to shake out bugs (e.g it will
|
|
|
crash rather than mysteriously interacting with the X display). If you
|
|
|
want x11vnc to keep the X display open while polling the raw
|
|
|
framebuffer prefix a "+" sign at the beginning of the string (e.g.
|
|
|
+file:/dev/urandom@64x64x8) This could be convenient for keeping the
|
|
|
remote control channel active (it uses X properties). The "-connect
|
|
|
/path/to/file" mechanism could also be used for remote control to
|
|
|
avoid the X property channel. Rare usage, but if you also supply
|
|
|
-noviewonly in this "+" mode then the mouse and keyboard input are
|
|
|
still sent to the X display, presumably for doing something amusing
|
|
|
with /dev/fb...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interesting Devices:. Here are some aliases for interesting device
|
|
|
files that can be polled via -rawfb:
|
|
|
-rawfb console /dev/fb0 Linux Console
|
|
|
-rawfb video /dev/video0 Video4Linux Capture device
|
|
|
-rawfb rand /dev/urandom Random Bytes
|
|
|
-rawfb null /dev/zero Zero Bytes (black screen)
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Linux console, /dev/fb0, etc needs to have its driver enabled in
|
|
|
the kernel. Some of the drivers are video card specific and
|
|
|
accelerated. The console is either the Text consoles (usually
|
|
|
tty1-tty6), or X graphical display (usually starting at tty7). In
|
|
|
addition to the text console other graphical ones may be viewed and
|
|
|
interacted with as well, e.g. DirectFB or SVGAlib apps, VMWare non-X
|
|
|
fullscreen, or [595]Qt-embedded apps (PDAs/Handhelds). By default the
|
|
|
pipeinput mechanisms UINPUT and CONSOLE (keystrokes only) are
|
|
|
automatically attempted in this mode under "-rawfb console".
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Video4Linux Capture device, /dev/video0, etc is either a Webcam or
|
|
|
a TV capture device and needs to have its driver enabled in the
|
|
|
kernel. See [596]this FAQ for details. If specified via "-rawfb Video"
|
|
|
then the pipeinput method "VID" is applied (it lets you change video
|
|
|
parameters dynamically via keystrokes).
|
|
|
|
|
|
The last two, /dev/urandom and /dev/zero are just for fun, but are
|
|
|
also useful in testing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All of the above [597]-rawfb options are just for viewing the raw
|
|
|
framebuffer (although some of the aliases do imply keystroke and mouse
|
|
|
pipeinput methods). That may be enough for certain applications of
|
|
|
this feature (e.g. suppose a [598]video camera mapped its framebuffer
|
|
|
into memory and you just wanted to look at it via VNC).
|
|
|
To handle the pointer and keyboard input from the viewer users the
|
|
|
"-pipeinput cmd" option was added to indicate a helper program to
|
|
|
process the user input. The input is streamed to it and looks
|
|
|
something like this:
|
|
|
Pointer 1 205 257 0 None
|
|
|
Pointer 1 198 253 0 None
|
|
|
Pointer 1 198 253 1 ButtonPress-1
|
|
|
Pointer 1 198 253 0 ButtonRelease-1
|
|
|
Pointer 1 198 252 0 None
|
|
|
Keysym 1 1 119 w KeyPress
|
|
|
Keysym 1 0 119 w KeyRelease
|
|
|
Keysym 1 1 65288 BackSpace KeyPress
|
|
|
Keysym 1 0 65288 BackSpace KeyRelease
|
|
|
Keysym 1 1 112 p KeyPress
|
|
|
Keysym 1 0 112 p KeyRelease
|
|
|
|
|
|
Run "-pipeinput tee:/bin/cat" to get a description of the format. Note
|
|
|
that the -pipeinput option is independent of -rawfb mode and so may
|
|
|
have some other interesting uses. The "tee:" prefix means x11vnc will
|
|
|
both process the user input and pipe it to the command. The default is
|
|
|
to just pipe it to the -pipeinput command.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note the -pipeinput helper program could actually control the raw
|
|
|
framebuffer. In the libvncserver CVS a simple example program
|
|
|
x11vnc/misc/slide.pl is provided that demonstrates a simple jpeg
|
|
|
"slideshow" application. Also the builtin "-pipeinput VID" mode does
|
|
|
this for webcams and TV capture devices (/dev/video0).
|
|
|
|
|
|
The -pipeinput program is run with these environment variables set:
|
|
|
X11VNC_PID, X11VNC_PROG, X11VNC_CMDLINE, X11VNC_RAWFB_STR to aid its
|
|
|
knowing what is up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Another example provided in libvncserver CVS is a script to inject
|
|
|
keystrokes into the Linux console (e.g. the virtual consoles:
|
|
|
/dev/tty1, /dev/tty2, etc) in x11vnc/misc/vcinject.pl. It is based on
|
|
|
the vncterm/LinuxVNC.c program also in the libvncserver CVS. So to
|
|
|
view and interact with VC #2 (assuming it is the [599]active VC) one
|
|
|
can run something like:
|
|
|
x11vnc -rawfb map:/dev/fb0@1024x768x16 -pipeinput './vcinject.pl 2'
|
|
|
|
|
|
This assumes your Linux framebuffer device (/dev/fb0) is properly
|
|
|
configured. See fbset(8) and other documentation. Try
|
|
|
"file:/dev/fb0@WxHxB" as a last resort. Starting with x11vnc 0.8.1,
|
|
|
the above vc injection is built in, as well as WxHxB determination.
|
|
|
Just use something like:
|
|
|
x11vnc -rawfb console
|
|
|
|
|
|
this will try to guess the active virtual console (via /dev/tty0) and
|
|
|
also the /dev/fb0 WxHxB and rgb masks automatically. Use, e.g.,
|
|
|
"-rawfb console3" to force the VT number. This input method can be
|
|
|
used generally via "-pipeinput CONSOLE". Also starting with x11vnc
|
|
|
0.8.2 the "-pipeinput UINPUT" mode is tried first (it does both
|
|
|
keyboard and mouse input) and then falls back to CONSOLE mode if it is
|
|
|
not available. Here is the -help output for this mode:
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the rawfb string begins with "console" the framebuffer device
|
|
|
/dev/fb0 is opened (this requires the appropriate kernel modules to
|
|
|
be installed) and so is /dev/tty0. The latter is used to inject
|
|
|
keystrokes (not all are supported, but the basic ones are). You
|
|
|
will need to be root to inject keystrokes. /dev/tty0 refers to the
|
|
|
active VT, to indicate one explicitly, use "console2", etc. using
|
|
|
the VT number.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the Linux version seems to be 2.6 or later and the "uinput"
|
|
|
module appears to be present, then the uinput method will be used
|
|
|
instead of /dev/ttyN. uinput allows insertion of BOTH keystrokes
|
|
|
and mouse input and so it preferred when accessing graphical (e.g.
|
|
|
Qt-embedded) linux console apps. See -pipeinput UINPUT below for
|
|
|
more information on this mode (you may want to also use the
|
|
|
-nodragging and -cursor none options). Use "console0", etc or
|
|
|
-pipeinput CONSOLE to force the /dev/ttyN method.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note you can change VT remotely using the chvt(1) command.
|
|
|
Sometimes switching out and back corrects the framebuffer state.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To skip input injecting entirely use "consolex".
|
|
|
|
|
|
The string "/dev/fb0" (1, etc) can be used instead of "console".
|
|
|
This can be used to specify a different framebuffer device, e.g.
|
|
|
/dev/fb1. As a shortcut the "/dev/" can be dropped. If the name is
|
|
|
something nonstandard, use "console:/dev/foofb"
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you do not want x11vnc to guess the framebuffer's WxHxB and
|
|
|
masks automatically (sometimes the kernel gives inaccurate
|
|
|
information), specify them with a @WxHxB at the end of the string.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The above is just an example of what can be done. Note that if you
|
|
|
really want to view and interact with the Linux Text console it is
|
|
|
better to use the more accurate and faster LinuxVNC program. The
|
|
|
advantage x11vnc -rawfb might have is that it can allow interaction
|
|
|
with a non-text application, e.g. one based on SVGAlib or
|
|
|
[600]Qt-embedded Also, for example the [601]VMWare Fullscreen mode is
|
|
|
actually viewable under -rawfb and can be interacted with if uinput is
|
|
|
enabled.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the Linux uinput driver is available then full keystroke and mouse
|
|
|
input into the Linux console can be performed. You may be able to
|
|
|
enable uinput via commands like these:
|
|
|
modprobe uinput
|
|
|
mknod /dev/input/uinput c 10 223
|
|
|
|
|
|
The -rawfb and -pipeinput features are intended to help one creatively
|
|
|
"get out of a jam" (say on a legacy or embedded device) where X is
|
|
|
absent or doesn't work properly. Feedback and bug reports are welcome.
|
|
|
For more control and less overhead use libvncserver in your own C
|
|
|
program that passes the framebuffer to libvncserver.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-95: Can I export via VNC a Webcam or TV tuner framebuffer using
|
|
|
x11vnc?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, this is possible to some degree with the [602]-rawfb option.
|
|
|
There is no X11 involved: snapshots from the video capture device are
|
|
|
used for the screen image data. See the [603]previous FAQ on -rawfb
|
|
|
for background. For best results, use x11vnc version 0.8.1 or later.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Roughly, one would do something like this:
|
|
|
x11vnc -rawfb snap:/dev/video@320x240x32
|
|
|
|
|
|
This requires that the system allows simple read(2) access to the
|
|
|
video device. This is true for video4Linux on Linux kernel 2.6 and
|
|
|
later (it won't work for 2.4, you'll need a separate program to
|
|
|
snapshot to a file that you point -rawfb to; ask me if it is not clear
|
|
|
what to do).
|
|
|
|
|
|
The "snap:" enforces [604]-snapfb mode which appears to be necessary.
|
|
|
The read pointer for video capture devices cannot be repositioned
|
|
|
(which would be needed for scanline polling), but you can read a full
|
|
|
frame of data from the device.
|
|
|
|
|
|
On Linux, if the Video4Linux API is present or the v4l-info(1) program
|
|
|
(related to xawtv) exists in in PATH, then x11vnc can be instructed to
|
|
|
try it to determine the -rawfb WxHxB parameters for you automatically.
|
|
|
In this case one would just type:
|
|
|
x11vnc -rawfb video
|
|
|
|
|
|
or "-rawfb video1" for the 2nd video device, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc has also been extended to use the Video4Linux API over v4l-info
|
|
|
if it is available at build time. This enables setting parameters
|
|
|
(e.g. size and brightness) via x11vnc. See the description below.
|
|
|
Without Video4Linux you will need to initialize the settings of the
|
|
|
video device using something like xawtv or spcaview (and then hope the
|
|
|
settings persist until x11vnc reopens the device).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Many video4linux drivers tend to set the framebuffer to be 24bpp (as
|
|
|
opposed to 32bpp). Since this can cause problems with VNC viewers,
|
|
|
etc, the [605]-24to32 option will be automatically imposed when in
|
|
|
24bpp.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that by its very nature, video capture involves rapid change in
|
|
|
the framebuffer. This is especially true for cameras where slight
|
|
|
wavering in brightness is always happening. This can lead to much
|
|
|
network bandwidth consumption for the VNC traffic and also local CPU
|
|
|
and I/O resource usage. You may want to experiment with "dialing down"
|
|
|
the framerate via the [606]-wait, [607]-slow_fb, or [608]-defer
|
|
|
options. Decreasing the window size and bpp also helps.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Setting Camera/Tuner parameters via x11vnc:
|
|
|
|
|
|
There is also some support for setting parameters of the capture
|
|
|
device. This is done via "-rawfb video:<settings>". This could be
|
|
|
useful for unattended startup at boottime, etc. Here is the -help
|
|
|
description:
|
|
|
|
|
|
A more sophisticated video device scheme allows initializing the
|
|
|
device's settings using:
|
|
|
|
|
|
-rawfb video:<settings>
|
|
|
|
|
|
The prefix could also be, as above, e.g. "video1:" to specify the
|
|
|
device file. The v4l API must be available for this to work.
|
|
|
Otherwise, you will need to try to initialize the device with an
|
|
|
external program, e.g. xawtv, spcaview, and hope they persist when
|
|
|
x11vnc re-opens the device.
|
|
|
|
|
|
<settings> is a comma separated list of key=value pairs. The
|
|
|
device's brightness, color, contrast, and hue can be set to
|
|
|
percentages, e.g. br=80,co=50,cn=44,hu=60.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The device filename can be set too if needed (if it does not start
|
|
|
with "video"), e.g. fn=/dev/qcam.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The width, height and bpp of the framebuffer can be set via, e.g.,
|
|
|
w=160,h=120,bpp=16.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related to the bpp above, the pixel format can be set via the
|
|
|
fmt=XXX, where XXX can be one of: GREY, HI240, RGB555, RGB565,
|
|
|
RGB24, and RGB32 (with bpp 8, 8, 16, 16, 24, and 32 respectively).
|
|
|
See http://www.linuxtv.org for more info (V4L api).
|
|
|
|
|
|
For TV/rf tuner cards one can set the tuning mode via tun=XXX where
|
|
|
XXX can be one of PAL, NTSC, SECAM, or AUTO.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One can switch the input channel by the inp=XXX setting, where XXX
|
|
|
is the name of the input channel (Television, Composite1, S-Video,
|
|
|
etc). Use the name that is in the information about the device that
|
|
|
is printed at startup.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For input channels with tuners (e.g. Television) one can change
|
|
|
which station is selected by the sta=XXX setting. XXX is the
|
|
|
station number. Currently only the ntsc-cable-us (US cable)
|
|
|
channels are built into x11vnc. See the -freqtab option below to
|
|
|
supply one from xawtv. If XXX is greater than 500, then it is
|
|
|
interpreted as a raw frequency in KHz.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Example:
|
|
|
|
|
|
-rawfb video:br=80,w=320,h=240,fmt=RGB32,tun=NTSC,sta=47
|
|
|
|
|
|
one might need to add inp=Television too for the input channel to
|
|
|
be TV if the card doesn't come up by default in that one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that not all video capture devices will support all of the
|
|
|
above settings.
|
|
|
|
|
|
See the -pipeinput VID option below for a way to control the
|
|
|
settings through the VNC Viewer via keystrokes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
As above, if you specify a "@WxHxB..." after the <settings> string
|
|
|
they are used verbatim: the device is not queried for the current
|
|
|
values. Otherwise the device will be queried.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also, if you supply the "-pipeinput VID" (or use "-rawfb Video")
|
|
|
option you can control the settings to some degree via keystroke
|
|
|
mappings, e.g. B to increase the brightness or Up arrow to change the
|
|
|
TV station:
|
|
|
|
|
|
For "-pipeinput VID" and you are using the -rawfb for a video
|
|
|
capture device, then an internal list of keyboard mappings is used
|
|
|
to set parameters of the video. The mappings are:
|
|
|
|
|
|
"B" and "b" adjust the brightness up and down.
|
|
|
"H" and "h" adjust the hue.
|
|
|
"C" and "c" adjust the colour.
|
|
|
"N" and "n" adjust the contrast.
|
|
|
"S" and "s" adjust the size of the capture screen.
|
|
|
"I" and "i" cycle through input channels.
|
|
|
Up and Down arrows adjust the station (if a tuner)
|
|
|
F1, F2, ..., F6 will switch the video capture pixel
|
|
|
format to HI240, RGB565, RGB24, RGB32, RGB555, and
|
|
|
GREY respectively. See -rawfb video for details.
|
|
|
|
|
|
See also the [609]-freqtab option to supply your own xawtv channel to
|
|
|
frequency mappings for your country (only ntsc-cable-us is built into
|
|
|
x11vnc).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-96: Can I connect via VNC to a Qt-embedded/Qtopia application
|
|
|
running on my handheld or PC using the Linux console framebuffer (i.e.
|
|
|
not X11)?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, the basic method for this is the [610]-rawfb scheme where the
|
|
|
Linux console framebuffer (usually /dev/fb0) is polled and the uinput
|
|
|
driver is used to inject keystrokes and mouse input. Often you will
|
|
|
just have to type:
|
|
|
x11vnc -rawfb console
|
|
|
|
|
|
(you may need to enable the uinput driver on the system via "modprobe
|
|
|
uinput; mknod /dev/input/uinput c 10 223") If this does not find the
|
|
|
correct frame buffer properties figure them out or guess them and use
|
|
|
something like:
|
|
|
x11vnc -rawfb /dev/fb0@640x480x16
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also, to force usage of the uinput injection method use "-pipeinput
|
|
|
UINPUT". See the [611]-pipeinput description for tunable parameters,
|
|
|
etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One problem with the x11vnc uinput scheme is that it cannot guess the
|
|
|
mouse motion "acceleration" used by the windowing application (e.g.
|
|
|
QWS or X11). For X11 and Qt-embedded the acceleration is usually 2
|
|
|
(i.e. a dx of 1 from the mouse yields a 2 pixel displacement of the
|
|
|
mouse cursor). The default x11vnc uses is 2, since that is often used.
|
|
|
However for one Qt-embedded system we needed to do:
|
|
|
x11vnc -rawfb console -pipeinput UINPUT:accel=4.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
to get reasonable positioning of the mouse.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Even with the correct acceleration setting there is stil some drift
|
|
|
(probably because of the mouse threshold where the acceleration kicks
|
|
|
in) and so x11vnc needs to reposition the cursor from 0,0 about 5
|
|
|
times a second. See the [612]-pipeinput UINPUT option for tuning
|
|
|
parameters that can be set (there are some experimental thresh=N
|
|
|
tuning parameters as well)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Currently, one can expect mouse input to be a little flakey. All in
|
|
|
all, the Linux framebuffer input mechanism for Qt-embedded framebuffer
|
|
|
apps is not perfect, but it is usable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you need to create a smaller x11vnc binary for a handheld
|
|
|
environment be sure to run strip(1) on it and also consider
|
|
|
configuring with, e.g. "env CPPFLAGS='-DSMALL_FOOTPRINT=1' ./configure
|
|
|
..." to remove rarely used features and large texts (use 2 or 3
|
|
|
instead of 1 to remove more). Currently (Jul/2006) this can lower the
|
|
|
size of the x11vnc from 1.1MB to 0.6-0.7MB.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The x11vnc uinput method applies to nearly anything on the Linux
|
|
|
framebuffer console, not just Qt-embedded/Qtopia. DirectFB, SDL using
|
|
|
fbcon driver, SVGAlib applications can also be viewed and interacted
|
|
|
with. Even a Linux X session can be viewed and interacted with without
|
|
|
using X11 (and x11vnc does not have to terminate when the X server
|
|
|
restarts!). The Linux Text consoles (F1-F6) also work.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that Qt-embedded supplies its own VNC graphics driver, but it
|
|
|
cannot do both the Linux console framebuffer and VNC at the same time,
|
|
|
which is often what is desired from VNC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Update: We are finding some setups like Qtopia the IPAQ do not allow
|
|
|
mouse input via uinput. Please help us debug this problem by trying
|
|
|
x11vnc on your device and letting us know what does and does not work.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-97: Now that non-X11 devices can be exported via VNC using x11vnc,
|
|
|
can I build it with no dependencies on X11 header files and libraries?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, as of Jul/2006 x11vnc enables building for [613]-rawfb only
|
|
|
support. Just do something like when building:
|
|
|
./configure --without-x (plus any other flags)
|
|
|
make
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can then test via "ldd x11vnc" that the binary does not depend on
|
|
|
libX11.so, etc. See the previous FAQ's for non-X11 framebuffer usage.
|
|
|
If you use this for an interesting non-X11 application please let us
|
|
|
know what you did.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-98: Can I use x11vnc to record a Shock Wave Flash (or other format)
|
|
|
video of my desktop, e.g. to record a tutorial or demo?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, it is possible with a number of tools that record VNC and
|
|
|
transform it to swf format or others. One such popular tool is
|
|
|
[614]pyvnc2swf. There are a number of [615]tutorials on how to do
|
|
|
this. Another option is to use the vnc2mpg that comes in the
|
|
|
LibVNCServer package.
|
|
|
An important thing to remember when doing this is that tuning
|
|
|
parameters should be applied to x11vnc to speed up its polling for
|
|
|
this sort of application, e.g. "-wait 10 -defer 10".
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[Misc: Clipboard, File Transfer/Sharing, Printing, Sound, Beeps,
|
|
|
Thanks, etc.]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-99: Does the Clipboard/Selection get transferred between the
|
|
|
vncviewer and the X display?
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Jan/2004 x11vnc supports the "CutText" part of the rfb protocol.
|
|
|
Furthermore, x11vnc is able to hold the PRIMARY and CLIPBOARD
|
|
|
selection (Xvnc does not seem to do this). If you don't want the
|
|
|
Clipboard/Selection exchanged use the [616]-nosel option. If you don't
|
|
|
want the PRIMARY selection to be polled for changes use the
|
|
|
[617]-noprimary option. (with a similar thing for CLIPBOARD). You can
|
|
|
also fine-tune it a bit with the [618]-seldir dir option and also
|
|
|
[619]-input.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You may need to watch out for desktop utilities such as KDE's
|
|
|
"Klipper" that do odd things with the selection, clipboard, and
|
|
|
cutbuffers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-100: Can I transfer files back and forth with x11vnc?
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of Oct/2005 and May/2006 x11vnc enables, respectively, the TightVNC
|
|
|
and UltraVNC file transfer implementations that were added to
|
|
|
libvncserver. This currently works with TightVNC and UltraVNC viewers
|
|
|
(and Windows viewers only support filetransfer it appears).
|
|
|
|
|
|
TightVNC file transfer is on by default, if you want to disable it use
|
|
|
the [620]-nofilexfer option. UltraVNC file transfer is currently off
|
|
|
by default, to enable it use something like "-rfbversion 3.6
|
|
|
-permitfiletransfer"
|
|
|
options (UltraVNC incorrectly uses the RFB protocol version to
|
|
|
determine if its features are available, so x11vnc has to pretend to
|
|
|
be version 3.6).
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you find any bugs or performance issues with the file transfer,
|
|
|
please report them to the [621]LibVNCServer team.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-101: Can I (temporarily) mount my local (viewer-side) Windows/Samba
|
|
|
File share on the machine where x11vnc is running?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You will have to use an external network redirection for this.
|
|
|
Filesystem mounting is not part of the VNC protocol.
|
|
|
|
|
|
We show a simple [622]Samba example here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
First you will need a tunnel to redirect the SMB requests from the
|
|
|
remote machine to the one you sitting at. We use an ssh tunnel:
|
|
|
sitting-here> ssh -C -R 1139:localhost:139 far-away.east
|
|
|
|
|
|
Or one could combine this with the VNC tunnel at the same time, e.g.:
|
|
|
sitting-here> ssh -C -R 1139:localhost:139 -t -L 5900:localhost:5900 far-away
|
|
|
.east 'x11vnc -localhost -display :0'
|
|
|
|
|
|
Port 139 is the Windows Service port. For Windows systems instead of
|
|
|
Samba, you may need to use the actual IP address of the Window machine
|
|
|
instead of "localhost" in the -R option (since the Windows service
|
|
|
does not listen on localhost by default).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that we use 1139 instead of 139 on the remote side because 139
|
|
|
would require root permission to listen on (and you may have a samba
|
|
|
server running on it already).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Depending on the remote system side configuration, it may or may not
|
|
|
be possible to mount the SMB share as a non-root user. Try it first as
|
|
|
a non-root user and if that fails you will have to become root.
|
|
|
|
|
|
We will assume the user name is "fred" and we will try to mount the
|
|
|
viewer-side Windows SMB share "//haystack/pub" in
|
|
|
/home/fred/smb-haystack-pub.
|
|
|
far-away> mkdir -p /home/fred/smb-haystack-pub
|
|
|
far-away> smbmount //haystack/pub /home/fred/smb-haystack-pub -o username=fre
|
|
|
d,ip=127.0.0.1,port=1139
|
|
|
|
|
|
(The 2nd command may need to be run as root). Then run "df" or "ls -l
|
|
|
/home/fred/smb-haystack-pub" to see if it is mounted properly. Consult
|
|
|
the smbmount(8) and related documentation (it may require some
|
|
|
fiddling to get write permissions correct, etc.). To unmount:
|
|
|
far-away> smbumount /home/fred/smb-haystack-pub
|
|
|
|
|
|
At some point we hope to fold some automation for SMB ssh redir setup
|
|
|
into the [623]Enhanced TightVNC Viewer package we provide (as of Sep
|
|
|
2006 it is there for testing).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-102: Can I redirect CUPS print jobs from the remote desktop where
|
|
|
x11vnc is running to a printer on my local (viewer-side) machine?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You will have to use an external network redirection for this.
|
|
|
Printing is not part of the VNC protocol.
|
|
|
|
|
|
We show a simple Unix to Unix [624]CUPS example here. Non-CUPS port
|
|
|
redirections (e.g. LPD) should also be possible, but may be a bit more
|
|
|
tricky. If you are viewing on Windows SMB and don't have a local cups
|
|
|
server it may be trickier still (see below).
|
|
|
|
|
|
First you will need a tunnel to redirect the print requests from the
|
|
|
remote machine to the one you sitting at. We use an ssh tunnel:
|
|
|
sitting-here> ssh -C -R 6631:localhost:631 far-away.east
|
|
|
|
|
|
Or one could combine this with the VNC tunnel at the same time, e.g.:
|
|
|
sitting-here> ssh -C -R 6631:localhost:631 -t -L 5900:localhost:5900 far-away
|
|
|
.east 'x11vnc -localhost -display :0'
|
|
|
|
|
|
Port 631 is the default CUPS port. The above assumes you have a Cups
|
|
|
server running on your viewer machine (localhost:631), if not, use
|
|
|
something like my-cups-srv:631 (the viewer-side Cups server) in the -R
|
|
|
instead.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that we use 6631 instead of 631 on the remote side because 631
|
|
|
would require root permission to listen on (and you likely have a cups
|
|
|
server running on it already).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Now the tricky part: to get applications to notice your cups
|
|
|
server/printer on localhost:6631.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you have administrative privilege (i.e. root password) on the
|
|
|
x11vnc side where the desktop is running, it should be easy to add the
|
|
|
printer through some configuration utility (e.g. in KDE: Utilities ->
|
|
|
Printing -> Printing Manager, and then supply admin password, and then
|
|
|
Add Printer/Class, and then fill in the inquisitive wizard. Most
|
|
|
important is the "Remote IPP server" panel where you put in localhost
|
|
|
for Host and 6631 for Port). The main setting you want to convey is
|
|
|
the host is localhost and the port is non-standard (e.g. 6631). Some
|
|
|
configuration utilities will take an Internet Printing Protocol (IPP)
|
|
|
URI, e.g. http://localhost:6631/ipp/,
|
|
|
http://localhost:6631/ipp/printer-name,
|
|
|
ipp://localhost:6631/ipp/printer-name, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you do not have root privileges, but are running a very recent
|
|
|
(version 1.2 or greater) of the Cups client software, then an easy way
|
|
|
to temporarily switch Cups servers is to create: $HOME/.cupsrc on the
|
|
|
remote side with a line like:
|
|
|
ServerName localhost:6631
|
|
|
|
|
|
When not using x11vnc for remote access you can comment the above line
|
|
|
out with a '#' (or rename the cupsrc file), to have normal cups
|
|
|
operation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sadly, most Cups client software is older (1.1) and does not support
|
|
|
appending the port number, and for newer ones there is a bug
|
|
|
preventing it from always working (fixed in 1.2.3). Kludges like these
|
|
|
at the command line will work:
|
|
|
far-away> env CUPS_SERVER=localhost IPP_PORT=6631 lpstat -p -d
|
|
|
far-away> env CUPS_SERVER=localhost IPP_PORT=6631 lpr -P myprinter file.ps
|
|
|
far-away> env CUPS_SERVER=localhost IPP_PORT=6631 firefox
|
|
|
|
|
|
but are somewhat awkward since you have to retroactively set the env.
|
|
|
var IPP_PORT. Its value cannot be broadcast to already running apps
|
|
|
(like the $HOME/.cupsrc trick does). A common workaround for an
|
|
|
already running app is to somehow get it to "Print To File", e.g.
|
|
|
file.ps and then use something like the lpr example above. Also, the
|
|
|
option "-h host:port" works with CUPS lp(1) and lpr(1).
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can also print to Windows shares printers in principle. You may do
|
|
|
this with the smbspool(8) command, or configure the remote CUPS via
|
|
|
lpadmin(8), etc, to use a printer URI something like
|
|
|
smb://machine:port/printer (this may have some name resolution
|
|
|
problems WRT localhost). Also, as with SMB mounting, the port redir
|
|
|
(-R) to the Windows machine must use the actual IP address instead of
|
|
|
"localhost".
|
|
|
|
|
|
At some point we hope to fold some automation for CUPS ssh redir setup
|
|
|
into the [625]Enhanced TightVNC Viewer package we provide (as of Sep
|
|
|
2006 it is there for testing).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q-103: How can I hear the sound (audio) from the remote applications
|
|
|
on the desktop I am viewing via x11vnc?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You will have to use an external network audio mechanism for this.
|
|
|
Audio is not part of the VNC protocol.
|
|
|
|
|
|
We show a simple Unix to Unix esd example here (artsd should be
|
|
|
possible too, and perhaps even one or both of these have been ported
|
|
|
to Windows so you can redirect the sound there).
|
|
|
|
|
|
First you will need a tunnel to redirect the audio from the remote
|
|
|
machine to the one you sitting at. We use an ssh tunnel:
|
|
|
sitting-here> ssh -C -R 16001:localhost:16001 far-away.east
|
|
|
|
|
|
Or one could combine this with the VNC tunnel at the same time, e.g.:
|
|
|
sitting-here> ssh -C -R 16001:localhost:16001 -t -L 5900:localhost:5900 far-a
|
|
|
way.east 'x11vnc -localhost -display :0'
|
|
|
|
|
|
Port 16001 is the default ESD uses. So when an application on the
|
|
|
remote desktop makes a sound it will connect to this tunnel and be
|
|
|
redirected to port 16001 on the local machine (sitting-here in this
|
|
|
example). The -C option is an attempt to compress the audio a little
|
|
|
bit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
So we next need a local (sitting-here) esd daemon running that will
|
|
|
receive those requests and play them on the local sound device:
|
|
|
sitting-here> esd -promiscuous -port 16001 -tcp -bind 127.0.0.1
|
|
|
|
|
|
See the esd(1) man page for the meaning of the options (the above are
|
|
|
not very secure).
|
|
|
|
|
|
To test this sound tunnel, we use the esdplay program to play a simple
|
|
|
.wav file:
|
|
|
far-away> esdplay -s localhost:16001 im_so_happy.wav
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you hear the sound (Captain Kirk in this example), that means you
|
|
|
are in great shape.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To run individual audio applications you can use the esddsp(1)
|
|
|
command:
|
|
|
far-away> esddsp -s localhost:16001 xmms
|
|
|
|
|
|
Then you could try playing some sounds inside xmms. You could also set
|
|
|
the environment variable ESPEAKER=localhost:16001 to not need to
|
|
|
supply the -s option all the time. (for reasons not clear, sometimes
|
|
|
esddsp can figure it out on its own). All the script esddsp does is to
|
|
|
set ESPEAKER and LD_PRELOAD for you so that when the application opens
|
|
|
the sound device (usually /dev/dsp) its interactions with the device
|
|
|
will be intercepted and sent to the esd daemon running on sitting-here
|
|
|
(that in turn writes them to the real, local /dev/dsp.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Redirecting All sound:
|
|
|
|
|
|
It does not seem to be possible to switch all of the sound of the
|
|
|
remote machine from its sound device to the above esd+ssh tunnel
|
|
|
without some preparation. But it can be done reasonably well if you
|
|
|
prepare (i.e. restart) the desktop with this in mind.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here is one way to redirect all sound. The idea is we run the entire
|
|
|
desktop with sound directed to localhost:16001. When we are sitting at
|
|
|
far-away.east we run "esd -promiscuous -port 16001 -tcp -bind
|
|
|
127.0.0.1" on far-away.east (to be able to hear the sound). However,
|
|
|
when we are sitting at sitting-here.west we kill that esd process and
|
|
|
run that same esd command on sitting-here.west and start up the above
|
|
|
ssh tunnel. This is a little awkward, but with some scripts one would
|
|
|
probably kill and restart the esd processes automatically when x11vnc
|
|
|
is used.
|
|
|
|
|
|
So next we have to run the whole desktop pointing toward our esd. Here
|
|
|
is a simple way to test. Log in to the machine via the "FailSafe"
|
|
|
desktop. Then in the lone terminal type something like:
|
|
|
esddsp -s localhost:16001 gnome-session
|
|
|
or:
|
|
|
esddsp -s localhost:16001 startkde
|
|
|
|
|
|
where the last part is whatever command starts your desktop (even
|
|
|
fvwm2). This causes the environment variables ESPEAKER and LD_PRELOAD
|
|
|
to be set appropriately and every application (processes with the
|
|
|
desktop as an ancestor) will use them. If this scheme works well you
|
|
|
can make it less klunky by adding the command to your ~/.xsession,
|
|
|
etc. file that starts your default desktop. Or you may be able to
|
|
|
configure your desktop to use localhost:16001, or whatever is needed,
|
|
|
via a gui configuration panel. Some Notes:
|
|
|
* Not all audio applications are compatible with the esd and artsd
|
|
|
mechanisms, but many are.
|
|
|
* The audio is not compressed so you probably need a broadband or
|
|
|
faster connection. Listening to music may not be very pleasant...
|
|
|
(Although we found streaming music from across the US over cable
|
|
|
modem worked OK, but took 200 KB/sec, to use less bandwidth
|
|
|
consider something like "ssh far-away.east 'cat favorite.mp3' |
|
|
|
mpg123 -b 4000 -")
|
|
|
* Linux does not seem to have the concept of LD_PRELOAD_64 so if you
|
|
|
run on a mixed 64- and 32-bit ABI system (e.g. AMD x86_64) some of
|
|
|
the applications will fail to run because LD_PRELOAD will point to
|
|
|
libraries of the wrong wordsize.
|
|
|
* At some point we hope to fold some automation for esd or artsd ssh
|
|
|
redir setup into the [626]Enhanced TightVNC Viewer package we
|
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|
provide (as of Sep 2006 it is there for testing).
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Q-104: Why don't I hear the "Beeps" in my X session (e.g. when typing
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tput bel in an xterm)?
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As of Dec/2003 "Beep" XBell events are tracked by default. The X
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server must support the XKEYBOARD extension (this is not on by default
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in Solaris, see Xserver(1) for how to turn it on via +kb), and so you
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won't hear them if the extension is not present.
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If you don't want to hear the beeps use the [627]-nobell option. If
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you want to hear the audio from the remote applications, consider
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trying a [628]redirector such as esd.
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Contributions:
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Q-105: Thanks for your program and for your help! Can I make a
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donation?
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Please do (any amount is appreciated) and thank you for your support!
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Click on the PayPal button below for more info.
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[PayPal]
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References
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1. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq
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2. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#downloading
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3. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#building
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4. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#beta-test
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5. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-thanks
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6. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-thanks
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7. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-int
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8. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-userlogin
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9. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-scaling
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10. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-viewers
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11. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-filexfer
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12. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-video
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13. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-qt-embedded
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14. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq
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15. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/disclaimer.html
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16. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#contact
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17. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
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18. http://www.realvnc.com/
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19. http://www.tightvnc.com/
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20. http://www.ultravnc.com/
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21. http://www.redstonesoftware.com/vnc.html
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22. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#downloading
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23. http://www.tightvnc.com/download.html
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24. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
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25. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-auth
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26. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xperms
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27. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xperms
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28. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-viewer-download
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29. http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/freeware/
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30. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-forever
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31. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-forever
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32. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-service
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33. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-passwd
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34. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#vnc_password_file
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35. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-connect
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36. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#vnc_password_file
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37. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-inetd
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38. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#tightvnc_via
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39. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/chainingssh.html
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40. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-bg
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41. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
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42. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-connect
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43. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-inetd
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44. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-rfbauth
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45. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-passwd
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46. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-passwdfile
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47. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-passwdfile
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48. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-usepw
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49. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssl
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50. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
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51. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-allow-opt
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52. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-tcp_wrappers
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53. http://www.stunnel.org/
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54. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssl
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55. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-int
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56. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
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57. http://sourceforge.net/projects/libvncserver/
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58. http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=32584&package_id=119006&release_id=431725
|
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59. http://sourceforge.net/project/shownotes.php?release_id=431725&group_id=32584
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60. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc-0.8.3.tar.gz
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61. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-binaries
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62. http://www.tightvnc.com/download.html
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63. http://www.realvnc.com/download-free.html
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64. http://sourceforge.net/projects/cotvnc/
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65. http://www.ultravnc.com/
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66. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
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67. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/rx11vnc
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68. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/rx11vnc.pl
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69. http://www.sunfreeware.com/
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70. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/bins
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71. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#solarisbuilding
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72. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/miscbuild.html
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73. ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/jpeg/
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74. http://www.gzip.org/zlib/
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75. http://www.sunfreeware.com/
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76. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-solaris251build
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77. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc-0.8.3.tar.gz
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|
78. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/bins
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79. mailto:x11vnc-beta@karlrunge.com
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80. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-int
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81. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#ssl_vncviewer
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82. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-ext
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83. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
|
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84. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-rawfb
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85. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-pipeinput
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86. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-display_WAIT
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87. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-display
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88. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-userlogin
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89. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-grabkdb
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90. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-grabptr
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91. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-allowedcmds
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92. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-nocmds
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93. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-env
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94. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-allinput
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95. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-rawfb
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96. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-license
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97. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssl
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98. http://www.openssl.org/
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99. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-stunnel
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100. http://www.stunnel.org/
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101. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sslverify
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102. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-https
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103. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#ssl_vncviewer
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104. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-unixpw
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105. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-unixpw_nis
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106. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssl
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107. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-localhost
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108. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-stunnel
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109. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-userlogin
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110. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-rotate
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111. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/prevrels.html
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112. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-solid
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113. http://www.tightvnc.com/
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114. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-rfbport
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115. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html
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116. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-passwd
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117. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/recurse_x11vnc.jpg
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118. http://wwws.sun.com/sunray/index.html
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119. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/sunray.html
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120. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-scrollcopyrect
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121. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-wireframe
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122. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xvfb
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123. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-cursor
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124. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-overlay
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125. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-sound
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126. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-scrollcopyrect
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127. mailto:xvml@karlrunge.com
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128. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-thanks
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129. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xperms
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130. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-build
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131. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-missing-xtest
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132. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-solaris251build
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133. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-binaries
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134. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-viewer-download
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135. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-cmdline-opts
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136. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-config-file
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137. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-gui-tray
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138. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-change-port
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139. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-quiet-bg
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140. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-sigpipe
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141. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-build-customizations
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142. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-win2vnc
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143. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-win2vnc-8bpp
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144. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-8bpp
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145. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-overlays
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146. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-windowid
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147. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-transients-id
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148. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-24bpp
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149. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-noshm
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150. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xterminal-xauth
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151. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-sunrays
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152. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-stop-bg
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153. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-remote_control
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154. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-passwd
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155. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-passwd-noecho
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156. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-passwdfile
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157. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-multipasswd
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158. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-unix-passwords
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159. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-forever-shared
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160. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-allow-opt
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161. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-tcp_wrappers
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162. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-listen-interface
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163. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-listen-localhost
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164. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-input-opt
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165. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-accept-opt
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166. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-users-opt
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167. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-blockdpy
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168. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-gone-lock
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169. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-kde-screensaver
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170. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssh-unix
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171. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssh-putty
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172. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-ext
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173. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-int
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174. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-viewers
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175. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-java-viewer-proxy
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176. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-portal
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177. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-ca
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178. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-service
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179. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-display-manager
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180. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-inetd
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181. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-userlogin
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182. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-loop
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183. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-java-http
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184. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-reverse-connect
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185. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xvfb
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186. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-headless
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187. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-solshm
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188. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-less-resource
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189. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-more-resource
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190. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-slow-link
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191. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xdamage
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192. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-pointer-mode
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193. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-wireframe
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194. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-scrollcopyrect
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195. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-cursor-shape
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196. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xfixes-alpha
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197. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xfixes-alpha-hacks
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198. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-cursor-arrow
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199. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-cursor-positions
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200. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-buttonmap-opt
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201. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-altgr
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202. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-greaterless
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203. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-greaterless-sloppy
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204. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xkbmodtweak
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205. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-repeated-keys
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206. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-repeated-keys-still
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207. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-remap-opt
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208. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-sun-alt-meta
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209. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-remap-button-click
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210. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-remap-capslock
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211. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-scrollbars
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212. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-scaling
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213. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xinerama
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214. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-multi-screen
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215. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-clip-screen
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216. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xrandr
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217. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-rotate
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218. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-black-screen
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219. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-linuxvc
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220. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-hidden-taskbars
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221. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-vmware
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222. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-rawfb
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223. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-video
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224. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-qt-embedded
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225. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-no-x11
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226. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-record-swf
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227. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-clipboard
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228. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-filexfer
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229. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-smb-shares
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230. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-cups
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231. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-sound
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232. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-beeps
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233. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-thanks
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234. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-display
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235. http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Remote-X-Apps.html
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236. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-auth
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237. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-display-manager
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238. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-users
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239. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#solarisbuilding
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240. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_sunos4.html
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241. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#building
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242. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-build
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243. http://packages.debian.org/x11vnc
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244. http://www.linuxpackages.net/search_view.php?by=name&name=x11vnc
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245. http://dag.wieers.com/packages/x11vnc/
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246. http://dries.ulyssis.org/rpm/packages/x11vnc/info.html
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247. http://linux01.gwdg.de/~pbleser/rpm-navigation.php?cat=Network/x11vnc/
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248. http://www.sunfreeware.com/
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251. http://www.openbsd.org/3.9_packages/i386/x11vnc-0.6.2.tgz-long.html
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255. http://www.focv.com/ipkg/
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256. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/bins
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257. http://www.tightvnc.com/download.html
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258. http://www.realvnc.com/download-free.html
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259. http://sourceforge.net/projects/cotvnc/
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260. http://www.ultravnc.com/
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261. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
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262. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html
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263. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-gui
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264. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-gui-tray
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265. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-q
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266. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-bg
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267. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-o
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268. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#solarisbuilding
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269. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-nofb
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270. http://fredrik.hubbe.net/x2vnc.html
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271. http://www.hubbe.net/~hubbe/win2vnc.html
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279. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-flashcmap
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280. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-8to24
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281. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-notruecolor
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282. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-8bpp
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283. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-overlay
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284. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-8to24
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285. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-overlay
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286. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-8to24
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287. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-flashcmap
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288. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-fixscreen
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289. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-8to24
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290. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-id
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291. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-8to24
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292. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-overlay
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293. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-overlays
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294. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-id
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295. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sid
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296. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-24to32
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297. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-display
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298. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-noshm
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299. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-flipbyteorder
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300. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-auth
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301. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#xauth_pain
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302. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-noshm
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303. http://wwws.sun.com/sunray/index.html
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304. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/sunray.html
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305. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-remote
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306. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-query
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307. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-forever
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308. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-bg
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309. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-clear_mods
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310. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-clear_keys
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311. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-remote
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312. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-query
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313. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-gui
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314. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-storepasswd
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315. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-rfbauth
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316. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-passwdfile
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317. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-usepw
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318. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-viewpasswd
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319. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-passwd
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320. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-passwdfile
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321. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-rfbauth
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322. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-passwdfile
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323. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-unixpw
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324. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-unixpw_nis
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325. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-localhost
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326. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-stunnel
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327. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssl
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328. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssl
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329. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-localhost
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330. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#tunnelling
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331. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel
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332. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-accept
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333. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-forever
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334. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-shared
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335. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#tunnelling
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336. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssl
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337. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-passwd
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338. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-passwdfile
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339. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-allow
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340. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-localhost
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341. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-tcp_wrappers
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342. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-inetd
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343. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-listen
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344. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-allow
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345. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-localhost
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346. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-allow
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347. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-localhost
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348. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-input
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349. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-accept
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350. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-viewonly
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351. ftp://ftp.x.org/
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352. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/dtVncPopup
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353. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-gone
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354. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-afteraccept
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355. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-users
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356. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/blockdpy.c
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357. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-accept
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358. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-gone
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359. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-gone
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360. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-afteraccept
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361. http://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/man1.html
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362. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#tunnelling
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363. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
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364. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#tunnelling
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365. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
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366. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-localhost
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367. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-rfbauth
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368. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-passwdfile
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369. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#gateway_double_ssh
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370. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#tunnelling
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371. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-connect
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372. http://www.stunnel.org/
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373. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssl
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374. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-stunnel
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375. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sslverify
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376. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-int
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377. http://www.stunnel.org/
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378. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl.html
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379. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#ssl_vncviewer
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380. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl.html
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381. http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1677
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382. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl.html
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383. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-inetd
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384. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-viewers
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385. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-httpdir
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386. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-http
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387. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssl
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388. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-https
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389. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-stunnel
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390. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssl
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391. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#ssl_vncviewer
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392. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
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393. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-ext
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394. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssl
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395. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-stunnel
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396. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-viewers
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397. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssl
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398. http://www.openssl.org/
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399. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-stunnel
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400. http://www.stunnel.org/
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401. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl.html
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402. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#ssl_vncviewer
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403. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl.html
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404. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-viewers
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405. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-httpdir
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406. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-http
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407. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-https
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408. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-portal
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409. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-https
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410. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-ext
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411. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl_vncviewer
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412. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl-portal.html
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413. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl.html
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414. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
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415. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#ssl_vncviewer
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416. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-viewers
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417. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl-portal.html
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418. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl.html
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419. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#display-manager-continuously
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420. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-inetd
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421. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-userlogin
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422. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#x11vnc_loop
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423. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-auth
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424. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#dtlogin_solaris
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425. http://www.jirka.org/gdm-documentation/x241.html
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426. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_loop
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427. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-loop
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428. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xterminal-xauth
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429. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-inetd
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430. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-q
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431. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-auth
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432. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-userlogin
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433. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-inetd
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434. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-unixpw
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435. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-display_WAIT
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436. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#stunnel-inetd
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437. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-display_WAIT
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438. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-unixpw
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439. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-unix-passwords
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440. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-users
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441. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-int
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442. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-loop
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443. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-httpdir
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444. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-http
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445. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-connect
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446. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-remote
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447. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-vncconnect
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448. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-add_keysyms
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449. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-linuxvc
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450. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/Xdummy
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451. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#display-manager-continuously
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452. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/shm_clear
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453. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-onetile
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454. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-noshm
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455. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-noshm
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456. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-nap
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457. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-wait
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458. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sb
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459. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-onetile
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460. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-fs
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461. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-threads
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462. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-defer
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463. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-id
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464. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-solid
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465. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-scrollcopyrect
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466. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-wireframe
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467. http://www.tightvnc.com/
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468. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-wireframe
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469. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-scrollcopyrect
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470. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-solid
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471. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-speeds
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472. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-nodragging
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473. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-fs
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474. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-wait
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475. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-defer
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476. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-progressive
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477. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-id
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478. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-nosel
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479. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-nocursor
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480. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-nocursorpos
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481. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-readtimeout
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482. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-fixscreen
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483. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#fb_read_slow
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484. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-xd_area
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485. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-xd_mem
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486. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-noxdamage
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487. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#fb_read_slow
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488. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-pointer_mode
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489. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-pointer_mode
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490. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-nodragging
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491. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-pointer_mode
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492. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-threads
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493. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-wireframe
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494. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-scrollcopyrect
|
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495. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-pointer-mode
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496. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#fb_read_slow
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497. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-wireframe
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498. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-wireframe
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499. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-wireframe
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500. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#fb_read_slow
|
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501. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-scrollcopyrect
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502. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-wireframe
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503. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-wirecopyrect
|
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504. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-wireframe
|
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505. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-fixscreen
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506. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-scr_skip
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507. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-scale
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508. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-scrollcopyrect
|
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509. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-cursor
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510. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-cursor
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511. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-overlay
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|
512. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#the-overlay-mode
|
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513. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#solaris10-build
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514. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xfixes-alpha-hacks
|
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515. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-alphacut
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516. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-alphafrac
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517. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-alpharemove
|
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518. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-nocursorshape
|
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519. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-noalphablend
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520. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
|
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521. http://www.tightvnc.com/
|
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522. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-nocursor
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523. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-cursorpos
|
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524. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-nocursorpos
|
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525. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-nocursorshape
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526. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-buttonmap
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527. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-debug_pointer
|
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528. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-buttonmap
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529. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-modtweak
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530. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-greaterless
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531. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xkbmodtweak
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532. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-debug_keyboard
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533. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-xkb
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534. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sloppy_keys
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535. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-modtweak
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536. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-modtweak
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537. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-remap
|
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538. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xkbmodtweak
|
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539. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-debug_keyboard
|
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540. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-greaterless
|
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541. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-xkb
|
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542. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sloppy_keys
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543. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-modtweak
|
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544. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-xkb
|
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545. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-xkb
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546. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-skip_keycodes
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547. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-remap
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|
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548. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-add_keysyms
|
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549. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-remap
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550. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-remap
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551. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-add_keysyms
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552. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-norepeat
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553. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-norepeat
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554. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-display-manager
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555. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-remap
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556. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-remap
|
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557. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-remap
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558. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-remap
|
|
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559. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-skip_lockkeys
|
|
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560. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-remap
|
|
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561. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-nomodtweak
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562. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-capslock
|
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563. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-scaling
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564. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-scale
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565. http://www.cus.cam.ac.uk/~ssb22/source/vnc-magnification.html
|
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566. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-rfbport
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567. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-gui
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568. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-connect
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569. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-scale_cursor
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570. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-blackout
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571. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-xinerama
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572. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-xinerama
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573. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-xwarppointer
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574. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-solshm
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575. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-onetile
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|
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576. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-noshm
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577. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-clip
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578. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xinerama
|
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579. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-id
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|
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580. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-id
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|
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581. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-xrandr
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582. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-padgeom
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583. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
|
|
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584. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-rotate
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|
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585. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-linuxvc
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586. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-rawfb
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587. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-linuxvc
|
|
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588. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-id
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|
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589. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-rawfb
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590. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-pipeinput
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591. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-pipeinput
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592. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-snapfb
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593. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-video
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594. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xvfb
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595. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-qt-embedded
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596. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-video
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|
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597. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-rawfb
|
|
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598. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-video
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599. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-linuxvc
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600. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-qt-embedded
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601. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-vmware
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602. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-rawfb
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603. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-rawfb
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604. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-snapfb
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605. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-24to32
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606. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-wait
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607. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-slow_fb
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608. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-defer
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609. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-freqtab
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610. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-rawfb
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611. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-pipeinput
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612. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-pipeinput
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613. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-rawfb
|
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614. http://www.unixuser.org/~euske/vnc2swf/
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615. http://wolphination.com/linux/2006/06/30/how-to-record-videos-of-your-desktop/
|
|
|
616. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-nosel
|
|
|
617. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-noprimary
|
|
|
618. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-seldir
|
|
|
619. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-input
|
|
|
620. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-nofilexfer
|
|
|
621. http://sourceforge.net/projects/libvncserver
|
|
|
622. http://www.samba.org/
|
|
|
623. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
|
|
|
624. http://www.cups.org/
|
|
|
625. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
|
|
|
626. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html
|
|
|
627. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-nobell
|
|
|
628. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-sound
|
|
|
|
|
|
=======================================================================
|
|
|
http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/chainingssh.html:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chaining ssh's: Note that for use of a ssh gateway and -L redirection
|
|
|
to an internal host (e.g. "-L 5900:otherhost:5900") the VNC traffic
|
|
|
inside the firewall is not encrypted and you have to manually log into
|
|
|
otherhost to start x11vnc. Kyle Amon shows a method where you chain
|
|
|
two ssh's together that encrypts all network traffic and also
|
|
|
automatically starts up x11vnc on the internal workstation:
|
|
|
#!/bin/sh
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
gateway="example.com" # or "user@example.com"
|
|
|
host="labyrinth" # or "user@hostname"
|
|
|
user="kyle"
|
|
|
|
|
|
# Need to sleep long enough for all of the passwords and x11vnc to start up.
|
|
|
# The </dev/null below makes the vncviewer prompt for passwd via popup window.
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
(sleep 10; vncviewer -encodings "copyrect tight zrle zlib hextile" \
|
|
|
localhost:0 </dev/null >/dev/null) &
|
|
|
|
|
|
# Chain the vnc connection thru 2 ssh's, and connect x11vnc to user's display:
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
exec /usr/bin/ssh -t -L 5900:localhost:5900 $gateway \
|
|
|
/usr/bin/ssh -t -L 5900:localhost:5900 $host \
|
|
|
sudo /usr/bin/x11vnc -localhost -auth /home/$user/.Xauthority \
|
|
|
-rfbauth .vnc/passwd -display :0
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also note the use of sudo(1) to switch to root so that the different
|
|
|
user's .Xauthority file can be accessed. See the visudo(8) manpage for
|
|
|
details on how to set this up (remove the sudo if you do not want to
|
|
|
do this). One can also chain together ssh's for reverse connections
|
|
|
with vncviewers using the -listen option. For this case -R would
|
|
|
replace the -L (and 5500 the 5900, see the #2 example script above).
|
|
|
If the gateway machine's sshd is configured with GatewayPorts=no (the
|
|
|
default) then the double chaining of "ssh -R ..." will be required for
|
|
|
reverse connections to work.
|
|
|
|
|
|
=======================================================================
|
|
|
http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/miscbuild.html:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
|
|
Misc. Build problems: We collect here rare build problems some users
|
|
|
have reported and the corresponding workarounds. See also the [1]FAQ's
|
|
|
on building.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One user had a problem where the build script below was failing
|
|
|
because his work environment had the ENV variable set to a script that
|
|
|
was resetting his PATH so that gcc could no longer be found. Make sure
|
|
|
you do not have any ENV or BASH_ENV in your environment doing things
|
|
|
like that. Typing "unset ENV", etc. before configuring and building
|
|
|
should clear it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One user had his bash shell compiled with --enable-xpg-echo-default
|
|
|
that causes some strange behavior with things like echo "\\1 ..." the
|
|
|
configure script executes. In particular instead of getting "\1" the
|
|
|
non-printable character "^A" is produced, and causes failures at
|
|
|
compile time like:
|
|
|
../rfb/rfbconfig.h:9:22: warning: extra tokens at end of #ifndef directive
|
|
|
|
|
|
The workaround is to configure like this:
|
|
|
env CONFIG_SHELL=/bin/sh /bin/sh ./configure
|
|
|
|
|
|
i.e. avoid using the bash with the misbehavior. A bug has been filed
|
|
|
against autoconf to guard against this.
|
|
|
|
|
|
AIX: one user had to add the "X11.adt" package to AIX to get build
|
|
|
header files like XShm.h, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
References
|
|
|
|
|
|
1. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/miscbuild.html#faq-build
|
|
|
|
|
|
=======================================================================
|
|
|
http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/sunray.html:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sun Ray Notes:
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can run x11vnc on your (connected or disconnected) [1]SunRay
|
|
|
session (Please remember to use settings like [2]-wait 200, [3]-sb 15,
|
|
|
and not running a screensaver animation (blank instead) to avoid being
|
|
|
a resource hog! x11vnc does induce a lot of memory I/O from polling
|
|
|
the X server. It also helps to have a solid background color, e.g.
|
|
|
[4]-solid).
|
|
|
|
|
|
You have to know the name of the machine your SunRay session X server
|
|
|
is running on (so you can ssh into it and start x11vnc). You also need
|
|
|
to know the X11 DISPLAY number for the session: on a SunRay it could
|
|
|
be a large number, e.g. :137, since there are many people with X
|
|
|
sessions (Xsun processes) on the same machine. If you don't know it,
|
|
|
you can get it by running who(1) in a shell on the SunRay server and
|
|
|
looking for the dtlocal entry with your username (and if you don't
|
|
|
even know which server machine has your session, you could login to
|
|
|
all possible ones looking at the who output for your username...).
|
|
|
|
|
|
I put some code in my ~/.dtprofile script that stores $DISPLAY in my
|
|
|
~/.sunray_current file at session startup and deletes it when the
|
|
|
session ends to make it easy to get at the hostname and X11 display
|
|
|
number info for my current X sessions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
SunRay Gotcha #1: Note that even though your SunRay X11 DISPLAY is
|
|
|
something like :137, x11vnc still tries for port 5900 as its listening
|
|
|
port if it can get it, in which case the VNC display (i.e. the
|
|
|
information you supply to the VNC viewer) is something like
|
|
|
sunray-server:0 (note the :0 corresponding to port 5900, it is not
|
|
|
:137). If it cannot get 5900, it tries for 5901, and so on. You can
|
|
|
also try to force the port (and thereby the VNC display) using the
|
|
|
[5]-rfbport NNNN option.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Especially on a busy Sun Ray server it is often difficult to find free
|
|
|
ports for both VNC and the HTTP Java applet server to listen on. This
|
|
|
script, [6]vnc_findports may be of use for doing this automatically.
|
|
|
It suggests x11vnc command line options based on netstat output that
|
|
|
lists the occupied ports. It is even more difficult to start
|
|
|
vncserver/Xvnc on a busy Sun Ray because then 3 ports (HTTP, VNC, and
|
|
|
X11), all separated by 100 are needed! This script, [7]findvncports
|
|
|
may be helpful as well. Both scripts start at VNC display :10 and work
|
|
|
their way up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
SunRay Gotcha #2: If you get an error like:
|
|
|
shmget(tile) failed.
|
|
|
shmget: No space left on device
|
|
|
|
|
|
when starting up x11vnc that most likely means all the shared memory
|
|
|
(shm) slots are filled up on your machine. The Solaris default is only
|
|
|
100, and that can get filled up in a week or so on a SunRay server
|
|
|
with lots of users. If the shm slot is orphaned (e.g. creator process
|
|
|
dies) the slot is not reclaimed. You can view the shm slots with the
|
|
|
"ipcs -mA" command. If there are about 100 then you've probably hit
|
|
|
this problem. They can be cleaned out (by the owner or by root) using
|
|
|
the ipcrm command. I wrote a script [8]shm_clear that finds the
|
|
|
orphans and lists or removes them. Longer term, have your SunRay
|
|
|
sysadmin add something like this to /etc/system:
|
|
|
set shmsys:shminfo_shmmax = 0x2000000
|
|
|
set shmsys:shminfo_shmmni = 0x1000
|
|
|
|
|
|
SunRay Gotcha #3: Some SunRay installations have implemented
|
|
|
suspending certain applications when a SunRay session is in a
|
|
|
disconnected state (e.g. Java Badge pulled out, utdetach, etc). This
|
|
|
is a good thing because it limits hoggy or runaway apps from wasting
|
|
|
the shared CPU resource. Think how much CPU and memory I/O is wasted
|
|
|
by a bunch of Firefox windows running worthless Flash animations while
|
|
|
your session is disconnected!
|
|
|
|
|
|
So some sites have implemented scripts to suspend (e.g. kill -STOP)
|
|
|
certain apps when your badge is removed from the SunRay terminal. When
|
|
|
you reattach, it kill -CONT them. This causes problems for viewing the
|
|
|
detached SunRay session via x11vnc: those suspended apps will not
|
|
|
respond (their windows will be blank or otherwise inactive).
|
|
|
|
|
|
What to do? Well, since you are going to be using the application you
|
|
|
might as well unfreeze it rather than starting up a 2nd instance. Here
|
|
|
is one way to do it using the kill -CONT mechanism:
|
|
|
kill -CONT `ps -ealf | grep ' T ' | grep $LOGNAME | awk '{print $4}'`
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you want to be a good citizen and re-freeze them before you exit
|
|
|
x11vnc this script could be of use:
|
|
|
#!/bin/sh
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
# kill -STOP/-CONT script for x11vnc (or other) SunRay usage ("freezes"
|
|
|
# certain apps from hogging resources when disconnected).
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
# Put here a pattern that matches the apps that are frozen:
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
appmatch="java_vm|jre|netscape-bin|firefox-bin|realplay|acroread|mozilla-bin"
|
|
|
|
|
|
if [ "X$1" = "Xfreeze" ]; then
|
|
|
pkill -STOP -U $LOGNAME "$appmatch"
|
|
|
elif [ "X$1" = "Xthaw" ]; then
|
|
|
pkill -CONT -U $LOGNAME "$appmatch"
|
|
|
|
|
|
elif [ "$RFB_MODE" = "afteraccept" -a "$RFB_STATE" = "NORMAL" ]; then
|
|
|
# a valid x11vnc login.
|
|
|
if [ "$RFB_CLIENT_COUNT" = "1" ]; then
|
|
|
# only one client present.
|
|
|
pkill -CONT -U $LOGNAME "$appmatch"
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
elif [ "$RFB_MODE" = "gone" -a "$RFB_STATE" = "NORMAL" ]; then
|
|
|
# a valid x11vnc login.
|
|
|
if [ "$RFB_CLIENT_COUNT" = "0" ]; then
|
|
|
# last client present has just left.
|
|
|
pkill -STOP -U $LOGNAME "$appmatch"
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
exit 0
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you called the script "goodcitizen" you could type "goodcitizen
|
|
|
thaw" to unfreeze them, and then "goodcitizen freeze" to refreeze
|
|
|
them. One could also use these x11vnc options "-afteraccept
|
|
|
goodcitizen -gone goodcitizen" to do it automatically.
|
|
|
|
|
|
SunRay Gotcha #4: Recent versions of the Sun Ray Server Software
|
|
|
SRSS (seems to be version 3.0 or 3.1) have a "misfeature" that when
|
|
|
the session is disconnected (i.e. badge/smartcard out) the screen
|
|
|
locker (xscreensaver) will freeze the X server just when the "Enter
|
|
|
Password" dialog box appears. So you cannot unlock the screen remotely
|
|
|
via x11vnc!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here "freeze" means "stop other X clients from inserting keyboard and
|
|
|
mouse input and from viewing the current contents of the screen". Or
|
|
|
something like that; the upshot is x11vnc can't do its normal thing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are several workarounds for this.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1) The easiest one by far is to put these lines in your
|
|
|
$HOME/.dtprofile file:
|
|
|
SUN_SUNRAY_UTXLOCK_PREF="/usr/openwin/bin/xlock -mode blank"
|
|
|
export SUN_SUNRAY_UTXLOCK_PREF
|
|
|
|
|
|
One might argue that xlock isn't particularly "pretty". (Just IMHO,
|
|
|
but if something like this not being pretty actually gets in the way
|
|
|
of your work I think some introspection may be in order. :-)
|
|
|
|
|
|
2) The problem has been traced to the pam_sunray.so PAM module.
|
|
|
Evidently xscreensaver invokes this pam module and it communicates
|
|
|
with utsessiond who in turn instructs the Xsun server to not process
|
|
|
any synthetic mouse/keyboard input or to update the screen
|
|
|
framebuffer. It is not clear if this is by design (security?) or
|
|
|
something else.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In any event, the problem can be avoided by commenting out the
|
|
|
corresponding line in /etc/pam.conf:
|
|
|
#xscreensaver auth sufficient /opt/SUNWut/lib/pam_sunray.so syncondisplay
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leave the other xscreensaver pam authentication lines unchanged. The
|
|
|
dtsession-SunRay line may also need to be commented out to avoid the
|
|
|
problem for CDE sessions. N.B. it is possible the application of a
|
|
|
SSRS patch, etc, may re-enable that /etc/pam.conf line.
|
|
|
|
|
|
3) A more drastic way is to kill the xscreensaver process from a shell
|
|
|
prompt whenever you connect via x11vnc and the screen is in a locked
|
|
|
state:
|
|
|
pkill -U $LOGNAME '^xscreensaver$'
|
|
|
|
|
|
And then after you are in be sure to restart it by typing something
|
|
|
like:
|
|
|
xscreensaver &
|
|
|
|
|
|
You may want to avoid restarting it until you are about to disconnect
|
|
|
your VNC viewer (since if it locks the screen while you are working
|
|
|
you'll be stuck again).
|
|
|
|
|
|
3') The above idea can be done a bit more cleanly by having x11vnc do
|
|
|
it. Suppose we called the following script xss_killer:
|
|
|
#!/bin/sh
|
|
|
#
|
|
|
# xss_killer: kill xscreensaver after a valid x11vnc client logs in.
|
|
|
# Restart xscreensaver and lock it when the last client
|
|
|
# disconnects.
|
|
|
|
|
|
PATH=/usr/openwin/bin:/usr/bin:$PATH
|
|
|
export PATH
|
|
|
|
|
|
if [ "$RFB_MODE" = "afteraccept" -a "$RFB_STATE" = "NORMAL" ]; then
|
|
|
# a valid x11vnc login.
|
|
|
if [ "$RFB_CLIENT_COUNT" = "1" ]; then
|
|
|
# only one client present.
|
|
|
pkill -U $LOGNAME '^xscreensaver$'
|
|
|
pkill -KILL -U $LOGNAME -f xscreensaver/hacks
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
elif [ "$RFB_MODE" = "gone" -a "$RFB_STATE" = "NORMAL" ]; then
|
|
|
# a valid x11vnc login.
|
|
|
if [ "$RFB_CLIENT_COUNT" = "0" ]; then
|
|
|
# last client present has just left.
|
|
|
xscreensaver -nosplash &
|
|
|
sleep 1
|
|
|
xscreensaver-command -lock &
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
fi
|
|
|
|
|
|
Then we would run x11vnc with these options: "-afteraccept xss_killer
|
|
|
-gone xss_killer". The [9]-afteraccept option (introduced in version
|
|
|
0.8) is used to run a command after a vncviewer has successfully
|
|
|
logged in (note that this is a VNC login, not a Unix login, so you may
|
|
|
not want to do this if you are really paranoid...)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note if you use the above script and also plan to Ctrl-C (SIGINT)
|
|
|
x11vnc you have to run the xscreensaver in a new process group to
|
|
|
avoid killing it as well. One way to do this is via this kludge:
|
|
|
perl -e 'setpgrp(0,0); exec "xscreensaver -nosplash &"'
|
|
|
|
|
|
in the above script.
|
|
|
|
|
|
4) There appears to be a bug in pam_sunray.so in that it doesn't seem
|
|
|
to honor the convention that, say, DISPLAY=unix:3 means to use Unix
|
|
|
sockets to connect to display 3 on the local machine (this is a bit
|
|
|
faster than TCP sockets). Rather, it thinks the display is a non-local
|
|
|
one to a machine named "unix" (that usually does not resolve to an IP
|
|
|
address).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amusingly, this can be used to bypass the pam_sunray.so blocking of
|
|
|
Xsun that prevents one from unlocking the screen remotely via x11vnc.
|
|
|
One could put something like this in $HOME/.dtprofile to kill any
|
|
|
existing xscreensavers and then start up a fresh xscreensaver using
|
|
|
DISPLAY=unix:N
|
|
|
# stop/kill any running xscreensavers (probably not running yet, but to be sure
|
|
|
)
|
|
|
xscreensaver-command -exit
|
|
|
pkill -U $LOGNAME '^xscreensaver$'
|
|
|
env DISPLAY=`echo $DISPLAY | sed -e 's/^.*:/unix:/'` xscreensaver &
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that all of the above workarounds side-step the pam_sunray.so PAM
|
|
|
module in one way or another. You'll need to see if that is
|
|
|
appropriate for your site's SunRay / smartcard usage. Also, these
|
|
|
hacks may break other things and so you may want to test various
|
|
|
scenarios carefully. E.g. check corner cases like XDMCP/dtremote,
|
|
|
NSCM, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
References
|
|
|
|
|
|
1. http://wwws.sun.com/sunray/index.html
|
|
|
2. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-wait
|
|
|
3. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sb
|
|
|
4. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-solid
|
|
|
5. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-rfbport
|
|
|
6. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/vnc_findports
|
|
|
7. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/findvncports
|
|
|
8. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/shm_clear
|
|
|
9. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-afteraccept
|
|
|
|
|
|
=======================================================================
|
|
|
http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl.html:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes on x11vnc SSL Certificates and Key Management:
|
|
|
|
|
|
The simplest scheme ("x11vnc -ssl") is where x11vnc generates a
|
|
|
temporary, self-signed certificate each time (automatically using
|
|
|
openssl(1)) and the VNC viewer client accepts the certificate without
|
|
|
question (e.g. user clicks "Yes" in a dialog box. Perhaps the dialog
|
|
|
allows them to view the certificate too). Also note stunnel's default
|
|
|
is to quietly accept all certificates.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The encryption this provides protects against all passive sniffing of
|
|
|
the VNC traffic and passwords on the network and so it is quite good,
|
|
|
but it does not prevent a Man-In-The-Middle attack: e.g. an attacker
|
|
|
intercepts the VNC client stream and sends it his own Public key for
|
|
|
SSL negotiation (pretending to be the server). Then it makes a
|
|
|
connection to SSL x11vnc itself and forwards the data back and forth.
|
|
|
He can see all the traffic and modify it as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Most people don't seem to worry about Man-In-The-Middle attacks these
|
|
|
days; they are more concerned about passive sniffing. Perhaps someday
|
|
|
that will change if attack tools are created that make it simpler to
|
|
|
perform the attack.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you are not worried about Man-In-The-Middle attacks you do not have
|
|
|
to read the techniques described in the rest of this section.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To prevent Man-In-The-Middle attacks, certificates must somehow be
|
|
|
verified. This requires the VNC client side have some piece of
|
|
|
information that can be used to verify the SSL x11vnc server.
|
|
|
Alternatively, although rarely done, x11vnc could verify VNC Clients'
|
|
|
certificates, see the [1]-sslverify option that is discussed briefly
|
|
|
below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are a number of ways to have the client authenticate x11vnc. The
|
|
|
quickest way perhaps would be to copy (safely) the certificate x11vnc
|
|
|
prints out:
|
|
|
26/03/2006 21:12:00 Creating a temporary, self-signed PEM certificate...
|
|
|
...
|
|
|
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
|
|
|
MIIC4TCCAkqgAwIBAgIJAMnwCaOjvEKaMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBBAUAMIGmMQswCQYD
|
|
|
VQQGEwJBVTEOMAwGA1UEBxMFTGludXgxITAfBgNVBAsTGGFuZ2VsYS0xMTQzNDI1
|
|
|
NTIwLjQxMTE2OTEPMA0GA1UEChMGeDExdm5jMS4wLAYDVQQDEyV4MTF2bmMtU0VM
|
|
|
(more lines) ...
|
|
|
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
|
|
|
|
|
|
to the client machine(s) and have the client's SSL machinery (e.g.
|
|
|
stunnel, Web Browser, or Java plugin) import the certificate. That way
|
|
|
when the connection to x11vnc is made the client can verify that is it
|
|
|
the desired server on the other side of the SSL connection.
|
|
|
|
|
|
So, for example suppose the user is using the SSL enabled Java VNC
|
|
|
Viewer and has incorporated the x11vnc certificate into his Web
|
|
|
browser on the viewing side. If he gets a dialog that the certificate
|
|
|
is not verified he knows something is wrong. It may be a
|
|
|
Man-In-The-Middle attack, but more likely x11vnc certificate has
|
|
|
changed or expired or his browser was reinstalled and lost the
|
|
|
certificate, etc, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
As another example, if the user was using [2]stunnel with his VNC
|
|
|
viewer (this is mentioned [3]in this FAQ), e.g. STUNNEL.EXE on
|
|
|
Windows, then he would have to set the "CAfile = path-to-the-cert" and
|
|
|
"verify = 2" options in the stunnel.conf file before starting up the
|
|
|
tunnel. If a x11vnc certificate cannot be verified, stunnel will drop
|
|
|
the connection (and print a failure message in its log file).
|
|
|
|
|
|
A third example, using the VNC viewer on Unix with stunnel the wrapper
|
|
|
script can be used this way: "[4]ssl_vncviewer -verify ./x11vnc.crt
|
|
|
far-away.east:0" where ./x11vnc.crt is the copied certificate x11vnc
|
|
|
printed out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that in principle the copying of the certificate to the client
|
|
|
machine(s) itself could be altered in a Man-In-The-Middle attack! You
|
|
|
can't win. It is unlikely the attacker could predict how you were
|
|
|
going to send it unless you had, say, done it many times before the
|
|
|
same way. SSH is a very good way to send it (but of course it too
|
|
|
depends on public keys being sent unaltered between the two
|
|
|
machines!). If you are really paranoid, I'm sure you'll figure out a
|
|
|
really good way to transport the certificates. See the Certificate
|
|
|
Authority scheme below for a way to make this easier (you just have to
|
|
|
do it once).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Saving SSL certificates and keys:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Now, it would be very inconvenient to copy the new temporary
|
|
|
certificate every time x11vnc is run in SSL mode. So for convenience
|
|
|
there is the "SAVE" keyword to instruct x11vnc to save the certificate
|
|
|
it creates:
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl SAVE -display :0 ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
This way it will save the certificate and private key in these files:
|
|
|
~/.vnc/certs/server.crt
|
|
|
~/.vnc/certs/server.pem
|
|
|
|
|
|
The ".crt" file contains only the certificate and should be copied to
|
|
|
the VNC Viewer machine(s) that will be authenticating the x11vnc
|
|
|
server. The ".pem" file contains both the certificate and the private
|
|
|
key and should be kept secret. (If you don't like the default location
|
|
|
~/.vnc/certs, e.g. it is on an NFS share and you are worried about
|
|
|
local network sniffing, use the [5]-ssldir dir option to point to a
|
|
|
different directory.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
So the next time you run "x11vnc -ssl SAVE ..." it will read the
|
|
|
server.pem file directly instead of creating a new one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can manage multiple SSL x11vnc server keys in this simple way by
|
|
|
using:
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl SAVE-key2 -display :0 ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
etc, where you put whatever name you choose for the key after "SAVE-".
|
|
|
E.g. "-ssl SAVE-fred".
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also, if you want to be prompted to possibly change the made up names,
|
|
|
etc. that x11vnc creates (e.g. "x11vnc-SELF-SIGNED-CERT-7762" for the
|
|
|
CommonName) for the certificates distinguished name (DN), then use
|
|
|
"x11vnc -ssl SAVE_PROMPT ...", "x11vnc -ssl SAVE_PROMPT-fred ..." etc.
|
|
|
when you create the key the first time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tip: when prompting, if you choose the CommonName entry to be the full
|
|
|
internet hostname of the machine the clients will be connecting to
|
|
|
then that will avoid an annoying dialog box in their Web browsers that
|
|
|
warn that the CommonName doesn't match the hostname.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Passphrases for server keys:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, since now with the "SAVE" keyword the certificate and key will
|
|
|
be longer lived, one can next worry about somebody stealing the
|
|
|
private key and pretending to be the x11vnc server! How to guard
|
|
|
against this?
|
|
|
|
|
|
The first is that the file is created with perms 600 (i.e. -rw-------)
|
|
|
to make it harder for an untrusted user to copy the file. A better way
|
|
|
is to also encrypt the private key with a passphrase. You are prompted
|
|
|
whether you want to do this or not when the key is first created under
|
|
|
"-ssl SAVE" mode ("Protect key with a passphrase? [y]/n"). It is
|
|
|
suggested that you use a passphrase. The inconvenience is every time
|
|
|
you run "x11vnc -ssl SAVE ..." you will need to supply the passphrase
|
|
|
to access the private key:
|
|
|
06/04/2006 11:39:11 using PEM /home/runge/.vnc/certs/server.pem 0.000s
|
|
|
|
|
|
A passphrase is needed to unlock an OpenSSL private key (PEM file).
|
|
|
Enter passphrase>
|
|
|
|
|
|
before x11vnc can continue.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Being your own Certificate Authority:
|
|
|
|
|
|
A very sophisticated way that scales well if the number of users is
|
|
|
large is to use a Certificate Authority (CA) whose public certificate
|
|
|
is available to all of the VNC clients and whose private key has been
|
|
|
used to digitally sign the x11vnc server certificate(s).
|
|
|
|
|
|
The idea is as follows:
|
|
|
* A special CA cert and key is generated.
|
|
|
* Its private key is always protected by a good passphrase since it
|
|
|
is only used for signing.
|
|
|
* The CA cert is (safely) distributed to all machines where VNC
|
|
|
clients will run.
|
|
|
* One or more x11vnc server certs and keys are generated.
|
|
|
* The x11vnc server cert is signed with the CA private key.
|
|
|
* x11vnc is run using the server key. (e.g. "[6]-ssl SAVE")
|
|
|
* VNC clients (viewers) can now authenticate the x11vnc server
|
|
|
because they have the CA certificate.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The advantage is the CA cert only needs to be distributed once to the
|
|
|
various machines, that can be done even before x11vnc server certs are
|
|
|
generated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
As above, it is important the CA private key and the x11vnc server key
|
|
|
are kept secret, otherwise someone could steal them and pretend to be
|
|
|
the CA or the x11vnc server if they copied the key. It is recommended
|
|
|
that the x11vnc server keys are also protected via a passphrase (see
|
|
|
the previous section).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Optionally, VNC viewer certs and keys could also be generated to
|
|
|
enable the x11vnc server to authenticate each client. This is not
|
|
|
normally done (usually a simple viewer password scheme is used), but
|
|
|
this can be useful in some situations. These optional steps go like
|
|
|
this:
|
|
|
* One or more VNC client certs and keys are generated.
|
|
|
* These VNC client certs are signed with the CA private key.
|
|
|
* The VNC client certs+keys are safely distributed to the
|
|
|
corresponding client machines.
|
|
|
* x11vnc is told to verify clients by using the CA cert. (e.g.
|
|
|
"[7]-sslverify CA")
|
|
|
* When VNC clients (viewers) connect, they must authenticate
|
|
|
themselves to x11vnc by using their client key.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Again, it is a good idea if the client private keys are protected with
|
|
|
a passphrase, otherwise if stolen they could be used to gain access to
|
|
|
the x11vnc server. Once distributed to the client machines, there is
|
|
|
no need to keep the client key on the CA machine that generated and
|
|
|
signed it. You can keep the client certs if you like because they are
|
|
|
public, and they could also be used let in only a subset of all the
|
|
|
clients. (see [8]-sslverify)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
How to do the above CA steps with x11vnc:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some utility commands are provided to ease the cert+key creation,
|
|
|
signing, and management: [9]-sslGenCA, [10]-sslGenCert,
|
|
|
[11]-sslDelCert, [12]-sslEncKey, [13]-sslCertInfo. They basically run
|
|
|
the openssl(1) command for you to manage the certs/keys. It is
|
|
|
required that openssl(1) is installed on the machine and available in
|
|
|
PATH. All commands can be pointed to an alternate toplevel certificate
|
|
|
directory via the [14]-ssldir option if you don't want to use the
|
|
|
default ~/.vnc/certs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1) To generate your Certificate Authority (CA) cert and key run this:
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslGenCA
|
|
|
|
|
|
Follow the prompts, you can modify any information strings you care
|
|
|
to. You will also be required to encrypt the CA private key with a
|
|
|
passphrase. This generates these files:
|
|
|
~/.vnc/certs/CA/cacert.pem (the CA public certificate)
|
|
|
~/.vnc/certs/CA/private/cakey.pem (the CA private key)
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you want to use a different directory use [15]-ssldir It must
|
|
|
supplied with all subsequent SSL utility options to point them to the
|
|
|
correct directory.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2) To generate a signed x11vnc server cert and key run this:
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslGenCert server
|
|
|
|
|
|
As with the CA generation, follow the prompts and you can modify any
|
|
|
information strings you care to. This will create the files:
|
|
|
~/.vnc/certs/server.crt (the server public certificate)
|
|
|
~/.vnc/certs/server.pem (the server private key + public cert)
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is recommended to protect the server private key with a passphrase
|
|
|
(you will be prompted whether you want to). You will need to provide
|
|
|
it whenever you start x11vnc using this key.
|
|
|
|
|
|
3) Start up x11vnc using this server key:
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl SAVE -display :0 ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
(SAVE corresponds to server.pem, see [16]-sslGenCert server somename
|
|
|
info on creating additional server keys, server-somename.crt ...)
|
|
|
|
|
|
4) Next, safely copy the CA certificate to the VNC viewer (client)
|
|
|
machine(s). Perhaps:
|
|
|
scp ~/.vnc/CA/cacert.pem clientmachine:.
|
|
|
|
|
|
5) Then the tricky part, make it so the SSL VNC Viewer uses this
|
|
|
certificate. There are a number of ways this might be done, it depends
|
|
|
on what your client and/or SSL tunnel is. Some examples:
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the SSL Java VNC viewer supplied with x11vnc in
|
|
|
classes/ssl/VncViewer.jar or classes/ssl/SignedVncViewer.jar:
|
|
|
* Import the cacert.pem cert into your Web Browser (e.g. Edit ->
|
|
|
Preferences -> Privacy & Security -> Manage Certificates ->
|
|
|
WebSites -> Import)
|
|
|
* Or Import the cacert.pem cert into your Java Plugin (e.g. run
|
|
|
ControlPanel, then Security -> Certificates -> Secure Site ->
|
|
|
Import)
|
|
|
|
|
|
When importing, one would give the browser/java-plugin the path to the
|
|
|
copied cacert.pem file in some dialog. Note that the Web browser or
|
|
|
Java plugin is used for the server authentication. If the user gets a
|
|
|
"Site not verified" message while connecting he should investigate
|
|
|
further.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the use of stunnel (e.g. on Windows) one would add this to the
|
|
|
stunnel.conf:
|
|
|
# stunnel.conf:
|
|
|
client = yes
|
|
|
options = ALL
|
|
|
CAfile = /path/to/cacert.pem # or maybe C:\path\to\cacert.pem
|
|
|
[myvncssl]
|
|
|
accept = 5901
|
|
|
connect = far-away.east:5900
|
|
|
|
|
|
(then point the VNC viewer to localhost:1).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here is an example for the Unix stunnel wrapper script
|
|
|
[17]ssl_vncviewer:
|
|
|
ssl_vncviewer -verify ./cacert.pem far-away.east:0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tricks for server keys:
|
|
|
|
|
|
To create additional x11vnc server keys do something like this:
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslGenCert server myotherkey
|
|
|
|
|
|
and use it this way:
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl SAVE-myotherkey ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
The files will be ~/.vnc/certs/server-myotherkey.{crt,pem}
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can also create a self-signed server key:
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslGenCert server self:third_key
|
|
|
|
|
|
and use it this way:
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl SAVE-self:third_key ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
This key is not signed by your CA. This can be handy to have a key set
|
|
|
separate from your CA when you do not want to create a 2nd CA
|
|
|
cert+key.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Using external CA's:
|
|
|
|
|
|
You don't have to use your own CA cert+key you can use a third
|
|
|
party's. Perhaps you have a company-wide CA or you can even have your
|
|
|
x11vnc certificate signed by a professional CA (e.g. www.thawte.com or
|
|
|
www.verisign.com).
|
|
|
|
|
|
The advantage to doing this is that the VNC client machines will
|
|
|
already have the CA certificates installed and you don't have to
|
|
|
install it on each machine.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To generate an x11vnc server cert+key this way you should generate a
|
|
|
"request" for a certicate signing something like this:
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslGenCert server req:external
|
|
|
|
|
|
This will create the request file:
|
|
|
~/.vnc/certs/server-req:external.req
|
|
|
|
|
|
Which you should send to the external CA. When you get the signed
|
|
|
certificate back from them, save it in the file:
|
|
|
~/.vnc/certs/server-req:external.crt
|
|
|
|
|
|
and create the .pem this way:
|
|
|
mv ~/.vnc/certs/server-req:external.key ~/.vnc/certs/server-req:external.
|
|
|
pem
|
|
|
chmod 600 ~/.vnc/certs/server-req:external.pem
|
|
|
cat ~/.vnc/certs/server-req:external.crt >> ~/.vnc/certs/server-req:external.
|
|
|
pem
|
|
|
|
|
|
You also rename the two files (.crt and .pem) to have a shorter
|
|
|
basename if you like.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Using Client Keys for Authentication:
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can optionally create certs+keys for your VNC client machines as
|
|
|
well. After distributing them to the client machines you can have
|
|
|
x11vnc verify the clients using SSL. Here is how to do this:
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslGenCert client dilbert
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslGenCert client wally
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslGenCert client alice
|
|
|
...
|
|
|
|
|
|
As usual, follow the prompts if you want to change any of the info
|
|
|
field values. As always, it is a good idea to protect the private keys
|
|
|
with a passphrase. These files are created:
|
|
|
~/.vnc/certs/clients/dilbert.crt
|
|
|
~/.vnc/certs/clients/dilbert.pem
|
|
|
...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that these are kept in a clients subdirectory.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Next, safely copy the .pem files to each corresponding client machine
|
|
|
and incorporate them into the VNC viewer / SSL software (see the ideas
|
|
|
mentioned above for the CA and server keys). The only difference is
|
|
|
these certificates might be referred to as "My Certificates" or
|
|
|
"Client Certificates". They are used for client authentication (which
|
|
|
is relatively rare for SSL).
|
|
|
|
|
|
After copying them you can delete the clients/*.pem files for extra
|
|
|
safety because the private keys are not needed by the x11vnc server.
|
|
|
You don't really need the clients/*.crt files either (because they
|
|
|
have been signed by the CA). But they could come in handy if you
|
|
|
wanted to let in just one client.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Now start up x11vnc and instruct it to verify connecting clients via
|
|
|
SSL and the CA cert:
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl SAVE -sslverify CA
|
|
|
|
|
|
Finally, connect with your VNC viewer using the key. For the Java
|
|
|
Applet viewer (TBD...). Here is an example for the Unix stunnel
|
|
|
wrapper script [18]ssl_vncviewer: using client authentication (and the
|
|
|
standard server authentication with the CA cert):
|
|
|
ssl_vncviewer -mycert ./dilbert.pem -verify ./cacert.pem far-away.east:0
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is also possible to use [19]-sslverify on a per-client key basis,
|
|
|
and also using self-signed client keys (x11vnc -sslGenCert client
|
|
|
self:dilbert)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Additional utlities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can get information about your keys via [20]-sslCertInfo. These
|
|
|
lists all your keys:
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslCertInfo list
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslCertInfo ll
|
|
|
|
|
|
(the latter is long format).
|
|
|
|
|
|
These print long output, including the public certificate, for
|
|
|
individual keys:
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslCertInfo server
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslCertInfo dilbert
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslCertInfo all (every key, very long)
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you want to add a protecting passphrase to a key originally created
|
|
|
without one:
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslEncKey SAVE
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslEncKey SAVE-fred
|
|
|
|
|
|
To delete a cert+key:
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslDelCert SAVE
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslDelCert SAVE-fred
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslDelCert wally
|
|
|
|
|
|
(but rm(1) will be just as effective).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
More info:
|
|
|
|
|
|
See also this [21]article for some some general info and examples
|
|
|
using stunnel and openssl on Windows with VNC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
References
|
|
|
|
|
|
1. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sslverify
|
|
|
2. http://www.stunnel.org/
|
|
|
3. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-ext
|
|
|
4. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl_vncviewer
|
|
|
5. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssldir
|
|
|
6. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssl
|
|
|
7. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sslverify
|
|
|
8. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sslverify
|
|
|
9. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sslGenCA
|
|
|
10. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sslGenCert
|
|
|
11. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sslDelCert
|
|
|
12. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sslEncKey
|
|
|
13. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sslCertInfo
|
|
|
14. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssldir
|
|
|
15. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssldir
|
|
|
16. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-ssldir
|
|
|
17. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl_vncviewer
|
|
|
18. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl_vncviewer
|
|
|
19. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sslverify
|
|
|
20. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sslCertInfo
|
|
|
21. http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1677
|
|
|
|
|
|
=======================================================================
|
|
|
http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl-portal.html:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Using Apache as an SSL Gateway to x11vnc servers inside a firewall:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Background:
|
|
|
|
|
|
The standard way to allow access to x11vnc running on workstations
|
|
|
inside a firewall is via SSH. The user somewhere out on the Internet
|
|
|
logs in to the SSH gateway machine and uses port forwarding (e.g. ssh
|
|
|
-t -L 5900:myworkstation:5900 user@gateway) to set up the encrypted
|
|
|
channel that VNC is then tunneled through. Next he starts up the VNC
|
|
|
viewer on the machine where he is sitting directed to the local tunnel
|
|
|
port.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The SSH scheme is nice because it is a common and well tested login
|
|
|
technique for users connecting to machines inside their company or
|
|
|
home firewall. It is a bit awkward, however, because SSH needs to be
|
|
|
installed on the Viewer machine and the user usually has to rig up his
|
|
|
own port redirection plumbing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
With the SSL support in x11vnc and the SSL enabled Java VNC viewer
|
|
|
applet, a convenient and secure alternative exists that uses the
|
|
|
Apache webserver. The idea is that the company or home internet
|
|
|
connection is already running apache as a web server (either SSL or
|
|
|
non-SSL) and we add to it the ability to act as a gateway for SSL VNC
|
|
|
connections. The only thing needed on the Viewer side is a Java
|
|
|
enabled Web Browser. The stunnel VNC viewer wrapper script provided
|
|
|
(ssl_vncviewer) can also take advantage of the method described here.
|
|
|
The apache solution may be overkill for you (e.g. home system) see
|
|
|
[1]below for some simpler setups.
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are numerous ways to do this. We present the simplest one here.
|
|
|
Important: these schemes allow incoming connections from anywhere on
|
|
|
the Internet to specific ports on machines inside the firewall. Care
|
|
|
must be taken to implement and test thoroughly. If one is paranoid one
|
|
|
can (and should) add extra layers of protection. (e.g. extra
|
|
|
passwords, packet filtering, SSL certificate verification, etc).
|
|
|
|
|
|
The scheme described here sets up apache on the firewall/gateway as a
|
|
|
regular Web proxy into the intranet and allows connections to a fixed
|
|
|
port on a limited set of machines.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Example:
|
|
|
|
|
|
In this example suppose the gateway machine running apache is named
|
|
|
"www.gateway.east" (e.g. it may also provide normal web service). We
|
|
|
also choose the Internet-facing port for this VNC service to be port
|
|
|
563. One could choose any port, including the default HTTP port 80.
|
|
|
|
|
|
We choose 563 because it is the rarely used SNEWS port that is usually
|
|
|
allowed by Web proxies for the CONNECT method. The idea is the user
|
|
|
may be coming out of another firewall using a proxy (not the one we
|
|
|
describe here, that is, the case when two proxies are involved; the
|
|
|
"double proxy" problem) and using port 563 simplifies things because
|
|
|
CONNECT's to it are usually allowed by default.
|
|
|
|
|
|
We also assume all of the x11vnc servers on the internal machines are
|
|
|
all listening on port 5915 ("-rfbport 5915") instead of the default
|
|
|
5900. This is to limit any unintended proxy redirections to a lesser
|
|
|
used port, and also to stay out of the way of normal VNC servers on
|
|
|
the same machines. One could obviously implement a scheme that handles
|
|
|
different ports, but we just discuss this simplest setup here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
So we assume x11vnc has been started this way on all of the
|
|
|
workstations to be granted VNC access:
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl -http -display :0 -forever -rfbauth ~/.vnc/passwd -rfbport 5915
|
|
|
|
|
|
i.e. we force SSL VNC connections, port 5915, serve the Java VNC
|
|
|
viewer applet, and require a VNC password (another option would be
|
|
|
[2]-unixpw). The above command could also be run out of [3]inetd(8),
|
|
|
that can also be used to autodetect the user's display and Xauthority
|
|
|
data.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
These sections are added to the httpd.conf apache configuration file
|
|
|
on www.gateway.east:
|
|
|
Listen 563
|
|
|
|
|
|
<VirtualHost localhost:563>
|
|
|
# this is a "bounce" failure from the ProxyRemoteMatch below.
|
|
|
ProxyRequests Off
|
|
|
</VirtualHost>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<VirtualHost *:563>
|
|
|
# for convenience, a rewrite to avoid having ...?CONNECT=..&PORT=... in the
|
|
|
URL.
|
|
|
RewriteEngine On
|
|
|
RewriteRule /vnc/([^/]*)$ /vnc/$1/index.vnc?CONNECT=$1+5915&PORT=
|
|
|
563 [R,NE]
|
|
|
RewriteRule /vnc/proxy/([^/]*)$ /vnc/$1/proxy.vnc?CONNECT=$1+5915&PORT=
|
|
|
563 [R,NE]
|
|
|
|
|
|
# allow incoming proxy CONNECT requests to port 5915 *only*
|
|
|
ProxyRequests On
|
|
|
AllowCONNECT 5915
|
|
|
|
|
|
# this will fetch the jar file from port 5815 via http (not https)
|
|
|
# (list all allowed x11vnc servers here)
|
|
|
ProxyPass /vnc/mach1/ http://mach1:5815/
|
|
|
ProxyPass /vnc/mach2/ http://mach2:5815/
|
|
|
ProxyPass /vnc/mach3/ http://mach3:5815/
|
|
|
ProxyPass /vnc/mach4/ http://mach4:5815/
|
|
|
# ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
# force a reject for any CONNECT not to the known list of x11vnc servers:
|
|
|
# (list all allowed x11vnc servers here)
|
|
|
ProxyRemoteMatch ^(?!(http://|mach1:|mach2:|mach3:|mach4:)) http://localhos
|
|
|
t:563/
|
|
|
|
|
|
</VirtualHost>
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that the listing of allowed internal workstations (mach1, mach2,
|
|
|
...) is done in two places. The above setup requires mod_rewrite
|
|
|
(optional) and mod_proxy (required) be enabled in the apache web
|
|
|
server.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The user at the Java enabled Web browser would simply enter this URL
|
|
|
into the browser:
|
|
|
http://www.gateway.east:563/vnc/mach2
|
|
|
|
|
|
to connect to internal workstation mach2, etc. There will be a number
|
|
|
of SSL certificate, etc, dialogs he will have to respond to in
|
|
|
addition to any passwords he is required to provide (this depends on
|
|
|
how you set up user authentication for x11vnc).
|
|
|
|
|
|
If a second Web proxy is involved (i.e. the user's browser is inside
|
|
|
another firewall that requires proxying) then use this URL:
|
|
|
http://www.gateway.east:563/vnc/proxy/mach2
|
|
|
|
|
|
See [4]this FAQ for more info on how this works.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Let's go through the httpd.conf additions in detail.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The VirtualHost localhost:563 section is used as a bounce if anyone
|
|
|
tries to connect to a workstation machine not listed in httpd.conf.
|
|
|
See ProxyRemoteMatch below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The RewriteRule's are for convenience only so that the URL entered
|
|
|
into the Web browser does not need the various extra parameters, e.g.:
|
|
|
http://www.gateway.east:563/vnc/mach2/index.vnc?CONNECT=mach2+5915&PORT=563
|
|
|
|
|
|
(or otherwise make direct edits to index.vnc to set these parameters).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Next, the "ProxyRequests On" and "AllowCONNECT 5915" enable the web
|
|
|
server to forward proxy requests to port 5915 (and only this port)
|
|
|
INSIDE the firewall. Test this carefully.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The "ProxyPass /vnc/mach1/ ..." lines forward the initial page (e.g.
|
|
|
index.vnc) and Java applet JAR file (e.g. VncViewer.jar) requests to
|
|
|
port 5815 on the x11vnc server machines.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that these index.vnc and VncViewer.jar downloads are not
|
|
|
encrypted via SSL. The subsequent VNC connections are encrypted
|
|
|
however. See below for how to have these initial downloads encrypted
|
|
|
as well (if the apache web server has SSL, i.e. https, enabled and
|
|
|
configured).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Finally, the ProxyRemoteMatch redirects any request that is not a
|
|
|
http: URL or a CONNECT to a valid machine (mach1, ... etc) to
|
|
|
localhost:563 which has proxying disabled ("ProxyRequests Off") and so
|
|
|
effectively drops the connection.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some Ideas for adding extra authentication, etc. for the paranoid:
|
|
|
* VNC passwords: [5]-rfbauth, [6]-passwdfile, or [7]-usepw. Even
|
|
|
adding a company-wide VNC password helps block unwanted access.
|
|
|
* Unix passwords: [8]-unixpw
|
|
|
* SSL Client certificates: [9]-sslverify
|
|
|
* Apache AuthUserFile directive: .htaccess, etc.
|
|
|
* Add proxy password authentication (requires Viewer changes?)
|
|
|
* Run a separate instance of Apache that provides this VNC service
|
|
|
so it can be brought up and down independently of the normal web
|
|
|
server.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Using non-Java viewers with this scheme:
|
|
|
|
|
|
The [10]ssl_vncviewer stunnel wrapper script for VNC viewers has the
|
|
|
-proxy option that can take advantage of this method. For the case of
|
|
|
the "double proxy" situation (see below) supply both separated by a
|
|
|
comma.
|
|
|
ssl_vncviewer -proxy www.gateway.east:563 mach1:15
|
|
|
ssl_vncviewer -proxy proxy1.foobar.com:8080,www.gateway.east:563 mach1:15
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Downloading the Java applet via HTTPS:
|
|
|
|
|
|
To have the Java applet downloaded to the user's Web Browswer via an
|
|
|
encrypted (and evidently safer) SSL connection the Apache webserver
|
|
|
should be configured for SSL via [11]mod_ssl (this is probably not
|
|
|
absolutely necessary; show us how you did it).
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is actually possible to use the x11vnc [12]Key Management utility
|
|
|
"[13]-sslGenCert" to generate your Apache/SSL .crt and .key files. (In
|
|
|
brief, run something like "x11vnc -sslGenCert server self:apache" then
|
|
|
copy the resulting self:apache.crt file to conf/ssl.crt/server.crt and
|
|
|
extract the private key part from self:apache.pem and paste it into
|
|
|
conf/ssl.key/server.key). Or you can use the standard methods
|
|
|
described in the Apache mod_ssl documentation. Setting the env var
|
|
|
REQ_ARGS='-days 730' will bump up the expiration date (2 years in this
|
|
|
case).
|
|
|
|
|
|
In addition to the above sections in httpd.conf one should add the
|
|
|
following to ssl.conf:
|
|
|
SSLProxyEngine On
|
|
|
|
|
|
# for convenience, a rewrite to avoid having ...?CONNECT=... in URL.
|
|
|
RewriteEngine On
|
|
|
RewriteRule /vnc/([^/]*)$ /vnc/$1/index.vnc?CONNECT=$1+5915&PORT=
|
|
|
563 [R,NE]
|
|
|
RewriteRule /vnc/proxy/([^/]*)$ /vnc/$1/proxy.vnc?CONNECT=$1+5915&PORT=
|
|
|
563 [R,NE]
|
|
|
|
|
|
# these "vncs" are for https applet downloading:
|
|
|
RewriteRule /vncs/([^/]*)$ /vncs/$1/index.vnc?CONNECT=$1+5915&PORT=
|
|
|
563 [R,NE]
|
|
|
RewriteRule /vncs/proxy/([^/]*)$ /vncs/$1/proxy.vnc?CONNECT=$1+5915&PORT=
|
|
|
563 [R,NE]
|
|
|
|
|
|
# fetch the jar file from port 5815 via http or port 5915 via https
|
|
|
# inside the firewall
|
|
|
# (list all allowed x11vnc servers here)
|
|
|
ProxyPass /vnc/mach1/ http://mach1:5815/
|
|
|
ProxyPass /vnc/mach2/ http://mach2:5815/
|
|
|
ProxyPass /vnc/mach3/ http://mach3:5815/
|
|
|
ProxyPass /vnc/mach4/ http://mach4:5815/
|
|
|
ProxyPass /vncs/mach1/ https://mach1:5915/
|
|
|
ProxyPass /vncs/mach2/ https://mach2:5915/
|
|
|
ProxyPass /vncs/mach3/ https://mach3:5915/
|
|
|
ProxyPass /vncs/mach4/ https://mach4:5915/
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is all in the "<VirtualHost _default_:443>" section of ssl.conf.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The user could then point the Web Browser to:
|
|
|
https://www.gateway.east/vnc/mach2
|
|
|
|
|
|
or
|
|
|
https://www.gateway.east/vnc/proxy/mach2
|
|
|
|
|
|
for the "double proxy" case.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that inside the firewall the Java applet download traffic is not
|
|
|
encrypted (only over the Internet is SSL used) for these cases:
|
|
|
https://www.gateway.east/vnc/mach2
|
|
|
https://www.gateway.east/vnc/proxy/mach2
|
|
|
|
|
|
However for the special "vncs" rules above:
|
|
|
https://www.gateway.east/vncs/mach2
|
|
|
|
|
|
the Java applet download is encrypted via SSL for both legs. Note that
|
|
|
the two legs are two separate SSL sessions. So the data is uncrypted
|
|
|
inside an apache process and reencrypted for the 2nd SSL session
|
|
|
inside the same apache process (a very small gap one might overlook).
|
|
|
|
|
|
In all of the above cases the VNC traffic from Viewer to x11vnc is
|
|
|
encrypted end-to-end in a single SSL session, even for the "double
|
|
|
proxy" case. This is the important part to have encrypted.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that the Certificate dialogs the user has in his web browser will
|
|
|
be for the Apache Certificate, while for the Java applet it will be
|
|
|
the x11vnc certificate.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note also that you can have Apache serve up the Jar file VncViewer.jar
|
|
|
instead of each x11vnc if you want to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
INETD automation:
|
|
|
|
|
|
The "single-port" (i.e. 5915) HTTPS applet download and VNC connection
|
|
|
aspect shown here is convenient and also enables having x11vnc run out
|
|
|
of inetd. That way x11vnc is run on demand instead of being run all
|
|
|
the time (the user does not have to remember to start it). The first
|
|
|
connections to inetd download index.vnc and the Jar file (via https)
|
|
|
and the the last connection to inetd establishes the SSL VNC
|
|
|
connection. Since x11vnc is restarted for each connection, this will
|
|
|
be a bit slower than the normal process.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For example, the /etc/inetd.conf line could be:
|
|
|
5915 stream tcp nowait root /usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/local/bin/x11vnc_ssl.sh
|
|
|
|
|
|
where the script x11vnc_ssl.sh looks something like this:
|
|
|
#!/bin/sh
|
|
|
|
|
|
/usr/local/bin/x11vnc -inetd -oa /var/log/x11vnc-15.log \
|
|
|
-ssl SAVE -http -unixpw -localhost \
|
|
|
-display :0 -auth /home/THE_USER/.Xauthority
|
|
|
|
|
|
where, as usual, the inetd launching needs to know which user is
|
|
|
typically using the display on that machine. One could imagine giving
|
|
|
different users different ports, 5915, 5916, etc. to distinguish (then
|
|
|
the script would need to be passed the username). mod_rewrite could be
|
|
|
used to automatically map username in the URL to his port number.
|
|
|
|
|
|
A better way is to use the "-display WAIT:cmd=FINDDISPLAY" feature to
|
|
|
autodetect the user and Xauthority data:
|
|
|
#!/bin/sh
|
|
|
|
|
|
/usr/local/bin/x11vnc -inetd -oa /var/log/x11vnc-15.log \
|
|
|
-ssl SAVE -http -unixpw -localhost -users unixpw= \
|
|
|
-display WAIT:cmd=FINDDISPLAY
|
|
|
|
|
|
this way the user must supply his Unix username and password and then
|
|
|
his display and Xauthority data on that machine will be located and
|
|
|
returned to x11vnc to allow it to attach. If he doesn't have a display
|
|
|
running on that machine or he fails to log in correctly, the
|
|
|
connection will be dropped.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To enable inetd operation for the non-HTTPS Java viewer download (port
|
|
|
5815 in the above httpd.conf example) you will need to run x11vnc in
|
|
|
HTTPONCE mode on port 5815: For example, the /etc/inetd.conf line
|
|
|
could be:
|
|
|
5815 stream tcp nowait root /usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/local/bin/x11vnc \
|
|
|
-inetd -oa /var/log/x11vnc-15.log -http_ssl -display WAIT:cmd=HTTPONCE
|
|
|
|
|
|
where the long inetd.conf line has been split. Note how the
|
|
|
[14]-http_ssl tries to automatically find the .../classes/ssl
|
|
|
subdirectory.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also note the use of "-ssl SAVE" above. This way a saved server.pem is
|
|
|
used for each inetd invocation (rather generating a new one each
|
|
|
time). Note that it cannot have a protecting passphrase because inetd
|
|
|
will not be able to supply it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other Ideas:
|
|
|
|
|
|
- The above schemes work, but they are a bit complicated with all of
|
|
|
the rigging. There should be better ways to configure Apache to do
|
|
|
these, but we have not found them (please let us know if you discover
|
|
|
something nice). However, once this scheme has been set up and is
|
|
|
working it is easy to maintain and add workstations, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
- In general Apache is not required, but it makes things convenient.
|
|
|
The firewall itself could do the port redirection via its firewall
|
|
|
rules. Evidently different Internet-facing ports would be required for
|
|
|
each workstation. This could be set up using iptables rules for
|
|
|
example. If there were just one or two machines this would be the
|
|
|
easiest method. For example:
|
|
|
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp -d 24.35.46.57 --dport 5901 -j DNAT --to
|
|
|
-destination 192.168.1.2:5915
|
|
|
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp -d 24.35.46.57 --dport 5902 -j DNAT --to
|
|
|
-destination 192.168.1.3:5915
|
|
|
|
|
|
Where 24.35.46.57 is the internet IP address of the gateway. In this
|
|
|
example 24.35.46.57:5901 is redirected to the internal machine
|
|
|
192.168.1.2:5915 and 24.35.46.57:5902 is redirected to another
|
|
|
internal machine 192.168.1.3:5915, both running x11vnc -ssl ... in SSL
|
|
|
mode. For this example, the user would point the web browser to, e.g.:
|
|
|
https://24.35.46.57:5901/?PORT=5901
|
|
|
|
|
|
or using the stunnel wrapper script:
|
|
|
ssl_vncviewer 24.35.46.57:1
|
|
|
|
|
|
One can acheive similar things with dedicated firewall/routers (e.g.
|
|
|
Linksys) using the device's web or other interface to configure the
|
|
|
firewall.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the user may be coming out of a firewall using a proxy it may be
|
|
|
better to redirect ports 443 and 563 (instead of 5901 and 5902) to the
|
|
|
internal machines so that the user's proxy will allow CONNECTing to
|
|
|
them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
- The redirection could also be done at the application level using a
|
|
|
TCP redirect program (e.g. ip_relay or fancier ones). Evidently more
|
|
|
careful internal hostname checking, etc., could be performed by the
|
|
|
special purpose application to add security.
|
|
|
|
|
|
- One might imagine the ProxyPass could be done for the VNC traffic as
|
|
|
well (for the ssl.conf case) to avoid the CONNECT proxying completely
|
|
|
(which would be nice to avoid). Unfortunately we were not able to get
|
|
|
this to work. Since HTTP is a request-response protocol (as opposed to
|
|
|
a full bidirectional link required by VNC) this makes it difficult to
|
|
|
do. It may be possible, but we haven't found out how yet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
References
|
|
|
|
|
|
1. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl-portal.html#no-apache
|
|
|
2. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-unixpw
|
|
|
3. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl-portal.html#inetd
|
|
|
4. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-java-viewer-proxy
|
|
|
5. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-rfbauth
|
|
|
6. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-passwdfile
|
|
|
7. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-usepw
|
|
|
8. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-unixpw
|
|
|
9. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sslverify
|
|
|
10. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#ssl_vncviewer
|
|
|
11. http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.0/mod/mod_ssl.html
|
|
|
12. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssl.html
|
|
|
13. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-sslGenCert
|
|
|
14. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html#opt-http_ssl
|
|
|
|
|
|
=======================================================================
|
|
|
http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer.html:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
|
|
Enhanced TightVNC Viewer
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Enhanced TightVNC Viewer package is a project to add some patches
|
|
|
to the long neglected Unix TightVNC Viewer. It also adds a GUI for
|
|
|
Windows and Unix that automatically starts up a STUNNEL SSL tunnel for
|
|
|
SSL connections to [1]x11vnc (or any other VNC Server also running an
|
|
|
SSL tunnel, such as STUNNEL, at their end), and then launches the
|
|
|
TightVNC Viewer. The front-end program can also be used to set up SSH
|
|
|
tunnelled connections instead.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Patches were created for the TightVNC 1.3dev7 vnc_unixsrc tree (and
|
|
|
various wrappers written) to add these features:
|
|
|
* SSL support for connections using the co-bundled stunnel program.
|
|
|
* Automatic SSH connections from the GUI (system ssh is used on
|
|
|
Unix; co-bundled plink is used on Windows)
|
|
|
* rfbNewFBSize VNC support on Unix (screen resizing)
|
|
|
* cursor alphablending with x11vnc at 32bpp (-alpha option, Unix
|
|
|
only)
|
|
|
* xgrabserver support for fullscreen mode, for old window managers
|
|
|
(-grab option, Unix only).
|
|
|
* Automatic Service tunnelling via SSH for CUPS and SMB Printing,
|
|
|
ESD/ARTSD Audio, and SMB (Windows/Samba) filesystem mounting.
|
|
|
* Port Knocking for "closed port" SSH/SSL connections. In addition
|
|
|
to a simple fixed port sequence and one-time-pad implementation, a
|
|
|
hook is also provided to run any port knocking client before
|
|
|
connecting.
|
|
|
* You can also use your own, e.g. UltraVNC or RealVNC, VNC Viewer
|
|
|
with the front-end if you like.
|
|
|
* Sets up any additional SSH port redirections that you want.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Viewer SSL support is done via a wrapper script
|
|
|
(bin/ssl_tightvncviewer) that starts up the STUNNEL tunnel first and
|
|
|
then starts the TightVNC viewer pointed at that tunnel. The
|
|
|
bin/ssl_vnc_gui program is a GUI front-end to that script. See [2]this
|
|
|
FAQ for more details on SSL tunnelling.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The rfbNewFBSize support allows the enhanced TightVNC Unix viewer to
|
|
|
resize when the server does (e.g. "x11vnc -R scale=3/4" remote control
|
|
|
command).
|
|
|
|
|
|
The cursor alphablending is [3]described here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For Windows, SSL Viewer support is provided by a GUI
|
|
|
Windows/ssl_tightvncviewer.exe that prompts for the VNC display and
|
|
|
then starts up STUNNEL followed by the Stock TightVNC Windows Viewer.
|
|
|
The GUI has other useful features. When the connection is finished,
|
|
|
you will be asked if you want to terminate the STUNNEL program. For
|
|
|
SSH connections from Windows the GUI will use PLINK instead of
|
|
|
STUNNEL.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hopefully these binaries will make it convenient for people to help
|
|
|
test and use the [4]built-in SSL support in x11vnc. Extra testing of
|
|
|
this feature is much appreciated!! Thanks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the heck of it, the wrapper scripts and GUI interface were also
|
|
|
modified to be able to automatically set up an SSH tunnel instead of
|
|
|
STUNNEL SSL. This works on Unix and Windows (and more smoothly on Unix
|
|
|
of course).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Please help test the newly added feature: "Automatic Service
|
|
|
tunnelling via SSH for CUPS and SMB Printing, ESD/ARTSD Audio, and SMB
|
|
|
(Windows/Samba) filesystem mounting." This allows you to print from
|
|
|
the remote (VNC Server) machine to local printers, listen to sounds
|
|
|
(with some limitations) from the remote VNC Server machine, and to
|
|
|
mount your local Windows or Samba shares on the remote VNC Server
|
|
|
machine. Basically these new features try to automate the tricks
|
|
|
described here:
|
|
|
[5]http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/#faq-smb-shares
|
|
|
[6]http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/#faq-cups
|
|
|
[7]http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/#faq-sound
|
|
|
|
|
|
(and there should be kinks to work out).
|
|
|
|
|
|
This package can be downloaded here:
|
|
|
[8]enhanced_tightvnc_viewer-1.0.3.zip All Unix and Windows
|
|
|
binaries and source. (~6MB)
|
|
|
[9]enhanced_tightvnc_viewer-1.0.3.tar.gz All Unix and Windows
|
|
|
binaries and source. (~6MB)
|
|
|
[10]enhanced_tightvnc_viewer_all-1.0.3.zip All Unix and Windows
|
|
|
binaries and source and full archives in zip dir. (~9MB)
|
|
|
[11]enhanced_tightvnc_viewer_windows_only-1.0.3.zip Only the Windows bin
|
|
|
aries. (~4MB)
|
|
|
[12]enhanced_tightvnc_viewer_no_windows-1.0.3.tar.gz No Windows binaries.
|
|
|
(~2MB)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sorry for the inconvenience of lumping all the Unix binaries and
|
|
|
source together in one archive. They will be split up if there is
|
|
|
sufficient interest.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current Unix binaries in the above archives:
|
|
|
FreeBSD.i386
|
|
|
Linux.alpha
|
|
|
Linux.i686
|
|
|
Linux.ppc64
|
|
|
Linux.x86_64
|
|
|
NetBSD.i386
|
|
|
OpenBSD.i386
|
|
|
SunOS.sun4u
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can also run the included build.unix script to try to
|
|
|
automatically build the binaries if your OS is not in the above list
|
|
|
or the included binary does not run properly on your system. Let me
|
|
|
know how that goes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
IMPORTANT: there may be restrictions for you to download, use, or
|
|
|
redistribute the above because of cryptographic software they contain.
|
|
|
Please check out your situation and information at the following and
|
|
|
related sites:
|
|
|
[13]http://www.tightvnc.com
|
|
|
[14]http://www.realvnc.com
|
|
|
[15]http://www.stunnel.org
|
|
|
[16]http://www.openssl.org
|
|
|
[17]http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is my belief (but I cannot be absolutely sure) that the bundle
|
|
|
enhanced_tightvnc_viewer_no_windows-1.0.3.tar.gz contains no
|
|
|
cryptographic software (again, if your situation warrants, you will
|
|
|
need to check). This "no_windows" tarball only contains software (from
|
|
|
the above URL's and elsewhere) that will use cryptographic software
|
|
|
(libraries) already installed on your system. See the section on this
|
|
|
in the README below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here is the toplevel README from the package:
|
|
|
Enhanced TightVNC Viewer package
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright (c) Karl J. Runge
|
|
|
All rights reserved.
|
|
|
|
|
|
These packages provide 1) An enhanced TightVNC Viewer on Unix, 2) Binaries
|
|
|
for many Operating Systems (including Windows) for your convenience,
|
|
|
3) Wrapper scripts and etc. for gluing them all together.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One can straight-forwardly download all of the components and get them
|
|
|
to work together by oneself: this package is mostly for your convenience
|
|
|
to combine and wrap together the freely available software.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bundled software co-shipped in this package is copyright and licensed
|
|
|
by others. See these sites and related ones for more information:
|
|
|
|
|
|
http://www.tightvnc.com
|
|
|
http://www.realvnc.com
|
|
|
http://www.stunnel.org
|
|
|
http://www.openssl.org
|
|
|
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: Some of the Windows binaries included contain cryptographic software
|
|
|
that you may not be allowed to download, use, or redistribute. Please
|
|
|
check your situation first before downloading any of these packages.
|
|
|
See the survey http://rechten.uvt.nl/koops/cryptolaw/index.htm for useful
|
|
|
information. The Unix programs do not contain cryptographic software, but
|
|
|
rather will make use of cryptographic libraries that are installed on your
|
|
|
Unix system. Depending on your circumstances you may still need to check.
|
|
|
|
|
|
All work by Karl J. Runge in this package is Copyright (c) Karl J. Runge
|
|
|
and is licensed under the GPL as described in the file COPYING in this
|
|
|
directory.
|
|
|
|
|
|
All the files and information in this package are provided "AS IS"
|
|
|
without any warranty of any kind. Use them at your own risk.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
=============================================================================
|
|
|
|
|
|
This package contains a convenient collection of enhanced TightVNC viewers
|
|
|
and stunnel binaries for different flavors of Unix and wrapper scripts,
|
|
|
etc to glue them together. SSL and SSH encryption tunnelling is provided.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also, a Windows SSL wrapper for the co-bundled TightVNC binary and other
|
|
|
utilities are provided. (Launch ssl_tightvncviewer.exe in the
|
|
|
Windows subdirectory).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Features:
|
|
|
--------
|
|
|
|
|
|
The enhanced TightVNC viewer features are:
|
|
|
|
|
|
- SSL support for connections using the co-bundled stunnel program.
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Automatic SSH connections from the GUI (ssh must already be
|
|
|
installed on Unix; co-bundled plink is used on Windows)
|
|
|
|
|
|
- rfbNewFBSize VNC support on Unix (screen resizing)
|
|
|
|
|
|
- cursor alphablending with x11vnc at 32bpp (-alpha option, Unix only)
|
|
|
|
|
|
- xgrabserver support for fullscreen mode, for old window
|
|
|
managers (-grab option, Unix only).
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Automatic Service tunnelling via SSH for CUPS and SMB Printing,
|
|
|
ESD/ARTSD Audio, and SMB (Windows/Samba) filesystem mounting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Port Knocking for "closed port" SSH/SSL connections. In addition
|
|
|
to a simple fixed port sequence implementation and one-time-pad,
|
|
|
a hook is also provided to run any port knocking client before a
|
|
|
connecting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Your package should have included binaries for many OS's: Linux, Solaris,
|
|
|
FreeBSD, etc. See the subdirectories of
|
|
|
|
|
|
./bin
|
|
|
|
|
|
for the ones that were shipped in this package, e.g. ./bin/Linux.i686
|
|
|
Run "uname -sm" to see your OS+arch combination. (See the
|
|
|
./bin/tightvncviewer -h output for how to override platform autodection
|
|
|
via the UNAME env. var).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you need to Build:
|
|
|
--------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
If your OS/arch is not included, the script "build.unix" may be able to
|
|
|
successfully build on for you and deposit the binaries down in ./bin/...
|
|
|
using the included source code.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You must run the build.unix script from this directory (that this toplevel
|
|
|
README is in) and like this:
|
|
|
|
|
|
./build.unix
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The programs:
|
|
|
------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
The wrapper scripts:
|
|
|
|
|
|
./bin/ssl_tightvncviewer
|
|
|
./bin/tightvncviewer
|
|
|
|
|
|
are the main programs you will run and will try to autodetect your OS+arch
|
|
|
combination and if binaries are present for it automatically use them.
|
|
|
(if not found try the running the build.unix script).
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you prefer a GUI to prompt for parameters and then start ssl_tightvncviewer
|
|
|
you can run this instead:
|
|
|
|
|
|
./bin/ssl_vnc_gui
|
|
|
|
|
|
this is essentially the same GUI that is run on Windows (the
|
|
|
ssl_tightvncviewer.exe).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Using the GUI is it impossible to initiate a VNC connection that is not
|
|
|
encrypted with either SSL or SSH. Unencrypted VNC connections can only
|
|
|
be started by manually running the ./bin/tightvncviewer script.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For convenience, you can make symlinks from a directory in your PATH to
|
|
|
any of the 3 programs above you wish to run. That is all you usually
|
|
|
need to do for it to pick up all of the binaries, utils, etc. E.g.
|
|
|
assuming $HOME/bin is in your $PATH:
|
|
|
|
|
|
cd $HOME/bin
|
|
|
ln -s /path/to/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer/bin/{s,t}* .
|
|
|
|
|
|
(note the "." at the end). The above commands is basically the way to
|
|
|
"install" this package on Unix.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On Windows run:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Windows/ssl_tightvncviewer.exe
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Examples:
|
|
|
--------
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use enhanced TightVNC unix viewer to connect to x11vnc via SSL:
|
|
|
|
|
|
./bin/ssl_tightvncviewer far-away.east:0
|
|
|
|
|
|
./bin/tightvncviewer -ssl far-away.east:0 (same)
|
|
|
|
|
|
./bin/ssl_vnc_gui (start GUI launcher)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use enhanced TightVNC unix viewer without SSL:
|
|
|
|
|
|
./bin/tightvncviewer far-away.east:0
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use SSL to connect to a x11vnc server, and also verify the server's
|
|
|
identity using the SSL Certificate in the file ./x11vnc.pem:
|
|
|
|
|
|
./bin/ssl_tightvncviewer -alpha -verify ./x11vnc.pem far-away.east:0
|
|
|
|
|
|
(also turns on the viewer-side cursor alphablending hack).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Brief description of the subdirectories:
|
|
|
---------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
./bin/util some utility scripts, e.g. ssl_vncviewer
|
|
|
and ssl_tightvncviewer.tcl
|
|
|
|
|
|
./src source code and patches.
|
|
|
./src/zips zip files of source code and binaries.
|
|
|
|
|
|
./src/vnc_unixsrc unpacked tightvnc source code tree.
|
|
|
./src/stunnel-4.14 unpacked stunnel source code tree.
|
|
|
./src/patches patches to TightVNC viewer for the new
|
|
|
features on Unix (used by build.unix).
|
|
|
./src/tmp temporary build dir for build.unix
|
|
|
(the last four are used by build.unix)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
./man man pages for TightVNC viewer and stunnel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
./Windows Stock TightVNC viewer and Stunnel, Openssl
|
|
|
etc Windows binaries. ssl_tightvncviewer.exe
|
|
|
is the program to run.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Since they are large, depending on which package you use not all of the
|
|
|
above may be present in your package.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help and Info:
|
|
|
-------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
For more help on other options and usage patterns run these:
|
|
|
|
|
|
./bin/ssl_tightvncviewer -h
|
|
|
./bin/tightvncviewer -h
|
|
|
./bin/util/ssl_vncviewer -h
|
|
|
|
|
|
See also:
|
|
|
|
|
|
http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc
|
|
|
http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/#faq
|
|
|
x11vnc -h | more
|
|
|
|
|
|
http://www.stunnel.org
|
|
|
http://www.openssl.org
|
|
|
http://www.tightvnc.com
|
|
|
http://www.realvnc.com
|
|
|
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Windows:
|
|
|
-------
|
|
|
|
|
|
A wrapper to create a STUNNEL tunnel and then launch the
|
|
|
Windows TightVNC viewer is provided in:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Windows/ssl_tightvncviewer.exe
|
|
|
|
|
|
Just launch it and fill in the remote VNC display.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click the Help buttons for more info. There is also a
|
|
|
Windows/README.txt file.
|
|
|
|
|
|
On Windows you may need to terminate the STUNNEL process
|
|
|
from the System Tray if the tool cannot terminate it
|
|
|
by itself. Just right-click on the STUNNEL icon.
|
|
|
|
|
|
References
|
|
|
|
|
|
1. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html
|
|
|
2. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-ext
|
|
|
3. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-xfixes-alpha-hacks
|
|
|
4. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-ssl-tunnel-int
|
|
|
5. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-smb-shares
|
|
|
6. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-cups
|
|
|
7. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/index.html#faq-sound
|
|
|
8. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer-1.0.3.zip
|
|
|
9. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer-1.0.3.tar.gz
|
|
|
10. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer_all-1.0.3.zip
|
|
|
11. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer_windows_only-1.0.3.zip
|
|
|
12. http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/enhanced_tightvnc_viewer_no_windows-1.0.3.tar.gz
|
|
|
13. http://www.tightvnc.com/
|
|
|
14. http://www.realvnc.com/
|
|
|
15. http://www.stunnel.org/
|
|
|
16. http://www.openssl.org/
|
|
|
17. http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/
|
|
|
|
|
|
=======================================================================
|
|
|
http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/x11vnc_opts.html:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc: a VNC server for real X displays
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here are all of x11vnc command line options:
|
|
|
% x11vnc -opts (see below for -help long descriptions)
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc: allow VNC connections to real X11 displays. 0.8.3 lastmod: 2006-09-15
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc options:
|
|
|
-display disp -auth file -id windowid
|
|
|
-sid windowid -clip WxH+X+Y -flashcmap
|
|
|
-shiftcmap n -notruecolor -visual n
|
|
|
-overlay -overlay_nocursor -8to24 [opts]
|
|
|
-24to32 -scale fraction -scale_cursor frac
|
|
|
-viewonly -shared -once
|
|
|
-forever -loop -timeout n
|
|
|
-inetd -nofilexfer -http
|
|
|
-http_ssl -connect string -vncconnect
|
|
|
-novncconnect -allow host1[,host2..] -localhost
|
|
|
-nolookup -input string -grabkbd
|
|
|
-grabptr -viewpasswd string -passwdfile filename
|
|
|
-unixpw [list] -unixpw_nis [list] -display WAIT:...
|
|
|
-ssl [pem] -ssltimeout n -ssldir [dir]
|
|
|
-sslverify [path] -sslGenCA [dir] -sslGenCert type name
|
|
|
-sslEncKey [pem] -sslCertInfo [pem] -sslDelCert [pem]
|
|
|
-stunnel [pem] -stunnel3 [pem] -https [port]
|
|
|
-usepw -storepasswd pass file -nopw
|
|
|
-accept string -afteraccept string -gone string
|
|
|
-users list -noshm -flipbyteorder
|
|
|
-onetile -solid [color] -blackout string
|
|
|
-xinerama -noxinerama -xtrap
|
|
|
-xrandr [mode] -rotate string -padgeom WxH
|
|
|
-o logfile -flag file -rc filename
|
|
|
-norc -env VAR=VALUE -h, -help
|
|
|
-?, -opts -V, -version -license
|
|
|
-dbg -q -bg
|
|
|
-modtweak -nomodtweak -xkb
|
|
|
-noxkb -capslock -skip_lockkeys
|
|
|
-skip_keycodes string -sloppy_keys -skip_dups
|
|
|
-noskip_dups -add_keysyms -noadd_keysyms
|
|
|
-clear_mods -clear_keys -remap string
|
|
|
-norepeat -repeat -nofb
|
|
|
-nobell -nosel -noprimary
|
|
|
-nosetprimary -noclipboard -nosetclipboard
|
|
|
-seldir string -cursor [mode] -nocursor
|
|
|
-arrow n -noxfixes -alphacut n
|
|
|
-alphafrac fraction -alpharemove -noalphablend
|
|
|
-nocursorshape -cursorpos -nocursorpos
|
|
|
-xwarppointer -buttonmap string -nodragging
|
|
|
-wireframe [str] -nowireframe -wirecopyrect mode
|
|
|
-nowirecopyrect -debug_wireframe -scrollcopyrect mode
|
|
|
-noscrollcopyrect -scr_area n -scr_skip list
|
|
|
-scr_inc list -scr_keys list -scr_term list
|
|
|
-scr_keyrepeat lo-hi -scr_parms string -fixscreen string
|
|
|
-debug_scroll -noxrecord -grab_buster
|
|
|
-nograb_buster -debug_grabs -debug_sel
|
|
|
-pointer_mode n -input_skip n -allinput
|
|
|
-speeds rd,bw,lat -wmdt string -debug_pointer
|
|
|
-debug_keyboard -defer time -wait time
|
|
|
-wait_ui factor -nowait_bog -slow_fb time
|
|
|
-readtimeout n -nap -nonap
|
|
|
-sb time -nofbpm -fbpm
|
|
|
-noxdamage -xd_area A -xd_mem f
|
|
|
-sigpipe string -threads -nothreads
|
|
|
-fs f -gaps n -grow n
|
|
|
-fuzz n -debug_tiles -snapfb
|
|
|
-rawfb string -freqtab file -pipeinput cmd
|
|
|
-gui [gui-opts] -remote command -query variable
|
|
|
-QD variable -sync -noremote
|
|
|
-yesremote -unsafe -safer
|
|
|
-privremote -nocmds -allowedcmds list
|
|
|
-deny_all
|
|
|
|
|
|
libvncserver options:
|
|
|
-rfbport port TCP port for RFB protocol
|
|
|
-rfbwait time max time in ms to wait for RFB client
|
|
|
-rfbauth passwd-file use authentication on RFB protocol
|
|
|
(use 'storepasswd' to create a password file)
|
|
|
-rfbversion 3.x Set the version of the RFB we choose to advertise
|
|
|
-permitfiletransfer permit file transfer support
|
|
|
-passwd plain-password use authentication
|
|
|
(use plain-password as password, USE AT YOUR RISK)
|
|
|
-deferupdate time time in ms to defer updates (default 40)
|
|
|
-deferptrupdate time time in ms to defer pointer updates (default none)
|
|
|
-desktop name VNC desktop name (default "LibVNCServer")
|
|
|
-alwaysshared always treat new clients as shared
|
|
|
-nevershared never treat new clients as shared
|
|
|
-dontdisconnect don't disconnect existing clients when a new non-shared
|
|
|
connection comes in (refuse new connection instead)
|
|
|
-httpdir dir-path enable http server using dir-path home
|
|
|
-httpport portnum use portnum for http connection
|
|
|
-enablehttpproxy enable http proxy support
|
|
|
-progressive height enable progressive updating for slow links
|
|
|
-listen ipaddr listen for connections only on network interface with
|
|
|
addr ipaddr. '-listen localhost' and hostname work too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
libvncserver-tight-extension options:
|
|
|
-disablefiletransfer disable file transfer
|
|
|
-ftproot string set ftp root
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
% x11vnc -help
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc: allow VNC connections to real X11 displays. 0.8.3 lastmod: 2006-09-15
|
|
|
|
|
|
(type "x11vnc -opts" to just list the options.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Typical usage is:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Run this command in a shell on the remote machine "far-host"
|
|
|
with X session you wish to view:
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc -display :0
|
|
|
|
|
|
Then run this in another window on the machine you are sitting at:
|
|
|
|
|
|
vncviewer far-host:0
|
|
|
|
|
|
Once x11vnc establishes connections with the X11 server and starts listening
|
|
|
as a VNC server it will print out a string: PORT=XXXX where XXXX is typically
|
|
|
5900 (the default VNC server port). One would next run something like
|
|
|
this on the local machine: "vncviewer hostname:N" where "hostname" is
|
|
|
the name of the machine running x11vnc and N is XXXX - 5900, i.e. usually
|
|
|
"vncviewer hostname:0".
|
|
|
|
|
|
By default x11vnc will not allow the screen to be shared and it will exit
|
|
|
as soon as the client disconnects. See -shared and -forever below to override
|
|
|
these protections. See the FAQ for details how to tunnel the VNC connection
|
|
|
through an encrypted channel such as ssh(1). In brief:
|
|
|
|
|
|
ssh -t -L 5900:localhost:5900 far-host 'x11vnc -localhost -display :0'
|
|
|
|
|
|
vncviewer -encodings 'copyrect tight zrle hextile' localhost:0
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also, use of a VNC password (-rfbauth or -passwdfile) is strongly recommended.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For additional info see: http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/
|
|
|
and http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/#faq
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rudimentary config file support: if the file $HOME/.x11vncrc exists then each
|
|
|
line in it is treated as a single command line option. Disable with -norc.
|
|
|
For each option name, the leading character "-" is not required. E.g. a
|
|
|
line that is either "forever" or "-forever" may be used and are equivalent.
|
|
|
Likewise "wait 100" or "-wait 100" are acceptable and equivalent lines.
|
|
|
The "#" character comments out to the end of the line in the usual way
|
|
|
(backslash it for a literal). Leading and trailing whitespace is trimmed off.
|
|
|
Lines may be continued with a "\" as the last character of a line (it
|
|
|
becomes a space character).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options:
|
|
|
|
|
|
-display disp X11 server display to connect to, usually :0. The X
|
|
|
server process must be running on same machine and
|
|
|
support MIT-SHM. Equivalent to setting the DISPLAY
|
|
|
environment variable to "disp". See the description
|
|
|
below of the "-display WAIT:..." extensions.
|
|
|
-auth file Set the X authority file to be "file", equivalent to
|
|
|
setting the XAUTHORITY environment variable to "file"
|
|
|
before startup. Same as -xauth file. See Xsecurity(7),
|
|
|
xauth(1) man pages for more info.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-id windowid Show the window corresponding to "windowid" not
|
|
|
the entire display. New windows like popup menus,
|
|
|
transient toplevels, etc, may not be seen or may be
|
|
|
clipped. Disabling SaveUnders or BackingStore in the
|
|
|
X server may help show them. x11vnc may crash if the
|
|
|
window is initially partially obscured, changes size,
|
|
|
is iconified, etc. Some steps are taken to avoid this
|
|
|
and the -xrandr mechanism is used to track resizes. Use
|
|
|
xwininfo(1) to get the window id, or use "-id pick"
|
|
|
to have x11vnc run xwininfo(1) for you and extract
|
|
|
the id. The -id option is useful for exporting very
|
|
|
simple applications (e.g. the current view on a webcam).
|
|
|
-sid windowid As -id, but instead of using the window directly it
|
|
|
shifts a root view to it: this shows SaveUnders menus,
|
|
|
etc, although they will be clipped if they extend beyond
|
|
|
the window.
|
|
|
-clip WxH+X+Y Only show the sub-region of the full display that
|
|
|
corresponds to the rectangle with size WxH and offset
|
|
|
+X+Y. The VNC display has size WxH (i.e. smaller than
|
|
|
the full display). This also works for -id/-sid mode
|
|
|
where the offset is relative to the upper left corner
|
|
|
of the selected window.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-flashcmap In 8bpp indexed color, let the installed colormap flash
|
|
|
as the pointer moves from window to window (slow).
|
|
|
Also try the -8to24 option to avoid flash altogether.
|
|
|
-shiftcmap n Rare problem, but some 8bpp displays use less than 256
|
|
|
colorcells (e.g. 16-color grayscale, perhaps the other
|
|
|
bits are used for double buffering) *and* also need to
|
|
|
shift the pixels values away from 0, .., ncells. "n"
|
|
|
indicates the shift to be applied to the pixel values.
|
|
|
To see the pixel values set DEBUG_CMAP=1 to print out
|
|
|
a colormap histogram. Example: -shiftcmap 240
|
|
|
-notruecolor For 8bpp displays, force indexed color (i.e. a colormap)
|
|
|
even if it looks like 8bpp TrueColor (rare problem).
|
|
|
-visual n This option probably does not do what you think.
|
|
|
It simply *forces* the visual used for the framebuffer;
|
|
|
this may be a bad thing... (e.g. messes up colors or
|
|
|
cause a crash). It is useful for testing and for some
|
|
|
workarounds. n may be a decimal number, or 0x hex.
|
|
|
Run xdpyinfo(1) for the values. One may also use
|
|
|
"TrueColor", etc. see <X11/X.h> for a list. If the
|
|
|
string ends in ":m" then for better or for worse the
|
|
|
visual depth is forced to be m.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-overlay Handle multiple depth visuals on one screen, e.g. 8+24
|
|
|
and 24+8 overlay visuals (the 32 bits per pixel are
|
|
|
packed with 8 for PseudoColor and 24 for TrueColor).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Currently -overlay only works on Solaris via
|
|
|
XReadScreen(3X11) and IRIX using XReadDisplay(3).
|
|
|
On Solaris there is a problem with image "bleeding"
|
|
|
around transient popup menus (but not for the menu
|
|
|
itself): a workaround is to disable SaveUnders
|
|
|
by passing the "-su" argument to Xsun (in
|
|
|
/etc/dt/config/Xservers).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use -overlay as a workaround for situations like these:
|
|
|
Some legacy applications require the default visual to
|
|
|
be 8bpp (8+24), or they will use 8bpp PseudoColor even
|
|
|
when the default visual is depth 24 TrueColor (24+8).
|
|
|
In these cases colors in some windows will be incorrect
|
|
|
in x11vnc unless -overlay is used. Another use of
|
|
|
-overlay is to enable showing the exact mouse cursor
|
|
|
shape (details below).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Under -overlay, performance will be somewhat slower
|
|
|
due to the extra image transformations required.
|
|
|
For optimal performance do not use -overlay, but rather
|
|
|
configure the X server so that the default visual is
|
|
|
depth 24 TrueColor and try to have all apps use that
|
|
|
visual (e.g. some apps have -use24 or -visual options).
|
|
|
-overlay_nocursor Sets -overlay, but does not try to draw the exact mouse
|
|
|
cursor shape using the overlay mechanism.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-8to24 [opts] Try this option if -overlay is not supported on your
|
|
|
OS, and you have a legacy 8bpp app that you want to
|
|
|
view on a multi-depth display with default depth 24
|
|
|
(and is 32 bpp) OR have a default depth 8 display with
|
|
|
depth 24 overlay windows for some apps. This option
|
|
|
may not work on all X servers and hardware (tested
|
|
|
on XFree86/Xorg mga driver and Xsun). The "opts"
|
|
|
string is not required and is described below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This mode enables a hack where x11vnc monitors windows
|
|
|
within 3 levels from the root window. If it finds
|
|
|
any that are 8bpp it extracts the indexed color
|
|
|
pixel values using XGetImage() and then applies a
|
|
|
transformation using the colormap(s) to create TrueColor
|
|
|
RGB values that it in turn inserts into bits 1-24 of
|
|
|
the framebuffer. This creates a depth 24 "view"
|
|
|
of the display that is then exported via VNC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Conversely, for default depth 8 displays, the depth
|
|
|
24 regions are read by XGetImage() and everything is
|
|
|
transformed and inserted into a depth 24 TrueColor
|
|
|
framebuffer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that even if there are *no* depth 24 visuals or
|
|
|
windows (i.e. pure 8bpp), this mode is potentially
|
|
|
an improvement over -flashcmap because it avoids the
|
|
|
flashing and shows each window in the correct color.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This method appear to work, but may still have bugs
|
|
|
and it does hog resources. If there are multiple 8bpp
|
|
|
windows using different colormaps, one may have to
|
|
|
iconify all but one for the colors to be correct.
|
|
|
|
|
|
There may be painting errors for clipping and switching
|
|
|
between windows of depths 8 and 24. Heuristics are
|
|
|
applied to try to minimize the painting errors. One can
|
|
|
also press 3 Alt_L's in a row to refresh the screen
|
|
|
if the error does not repair itself. Also the option
|
|
|
-fixscreen 8=3.0 or -fixscreen V=3.0 may be used to
|
|
|
periodically refresh the screen at the cost of bandwidth
|
|
|
(every 3 sec for this example).
|
|
|
|
|
|
The [opts] string can contain the following settings.
|
|
|
Multiple settings are separated by commas.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For for some X servers with default depth 24 a
|
|
|
speedup may be achieved via the option "nogetimage".
|
|
|
This enables a scheme were XGetImage() is not used
|
|
|
to retrieve the 8bpp data. Instead, it assumes that
|
|
|
the 8bpp data is in bits 25-32 of the 32bit X pixels.
|
|
|
There is no requirement that the X server should put
|
|
|
the data there for our poll requests, but some do and
|
|
|
so the extra steps to retrieve it can be skipped.
|
|
|
Tested with mga driver with XFree86/Xorg. For the
|
|
|
default depth 8 case this option is ignored.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To adjust how often XGetImage() is used to poll the
|
|
|
non-default visual regions for changes, use the option
|
|
|
"poll=t" where "t" is a floating point time.
|
|
|
(default: 0.05)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Setting the option "level2" will limit the search
|
|
|
for non-default visual windows to two levels from the
|
|
|
root window. Do this on slow machines where you know
|
|
|
the window manager only imposes one extra window between
|
|
|
the app window and the root window.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also for very slow machines use "cachewin=t"
|
|
|
where t is a floating point amount of time to cache
|
|
|
XGetWindowAttributes results. E.g. cachewin=5.0.
|
|
|
This may lead to the windows being unnoticed for this
|
|
|
amount of time when deiconifying, painting errors, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
While testing on a very old SS20 these options gave
|
|
|
tolerable response: -8to24 poll=0.2,cachewin=5.0. For
|
|
|
this machine -overlay is supported and gives better
|
|
|
response.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Debugging for this mode can be enabled by setting
|
|
|
"dbg=1", "dbg=2", or "dbg=3".
|
|
|
|
|
|
-24to32 Very rare problem: if the framebuffer (X display
|
|
|
or -rawfb) is 24bpp instead of the usual 32bpp, then
|
|
|
dynamically transform the pixels to 32bpp. This will be
|
|
|
slower, but can be used to work around problems where
|
|
|
VNC viewers cannot handle 24bpp (e.g. "main: setPF:
|
|
|
not 8, 16 or 32 bpp?"). See the FAQ for more info.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In the case of -rawfb mode, the pixels are directly
|
|
|
modified by inserting a 0 byte to pad them out to 32bpp.
|
|
|
For X displays, a kludge is done that is equivalent to
|
|
|
"-noshm -visual TrueColor:32". (If better performance
|
|
|
is needed for the latter, feel free to ask).
|
|
|
|
|
|
-scale fraction Scale the framebuffer by factor "fraction". Values
|
|
|
less than 1 shrink the fb, larger ones expand it. Note:
|
|
|
image may not be sharp and response may be slower.
|
|
|
If "fraction" contains a decimal point "." it
|
|
|
is taken as a floating point number, alternatively
|
|
|
the notation "m/n" may be used to denote fractions
|
|
|
exactly, e.g. -scale 2/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
Scaling Options: can be added after "fraction" via
|
|
|
":", to supply multiple ":" options use commas.
|
|
|
If you just want a quick, rough scaling without
|
|
|
blending, append ":nb" to "fraction" (e.g. -scale
|
|
|
1/3:nb). No blending is the default for 8bpp indexed
|
|
|
color, to force blending for this case use ":fb".
|
|
|
|
|
|
To disable -scrollcopyrect and -wirecopyrect under
|
|
|
-scale use ":nocr". If you need to to enable them use
|
|
|
":cr" or specify them explicitly on the command line.
|
|
|
If a slow link is detected, ":nocr" may be applied
|
|
|
automatically. Default: :cr
|
|
|
|
|
|
More esoteric options: for compatibility with vncviewers
|
|
|
the scaled width is adjusted to be a multiple of 4:
|
|
|
to disable this use ":n4". ":in" use interpolation
|
|
|
scheme even when shrinking, ":pad" pad scaled width
|
|
|
and height to be multiples of scaling denominator
|
|
|
(e.g. 3 for 2/3).
|
|
|
|
|
|
-scale_cursor frac By default if -scale is supplied the cursor shape is
|
|
|
scaled by the same factor. Depending on your usage,
|
|
|
you may want to scale the cursor independently of the
|
|
|
screen or not at all. If you specify -scale_cursor
|
|
|
the cursor will be scaled by that factor. When using
|
|
|
-scale mode to keep the cursor at its "natural" size
|
|
|
use "-scale_cursor 1". Most of the ":" scaling
|
|
|
options apply here as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-viewonly All VNC clients can only watch (default off).
|
|
|
-shared VNC display is shared, i.e. more than one viewer can
|
|
|
connect at the same time (default off).
|
|
|
-once Exit after the first successfully connected viewer
|
|
|
disconnects, opposite of -forever. This is the Default.
|
|
|
-forever Keep listening for more connections rather than exiting
|
|
|
as soon as the first client(s) disconnect. Same as -many
|
|
|
-loop Create an outer loop restarting the x11vnc process
|
|
|
whenever it terminates. -bg and -inetd are ignored in
|
|
|
this mode. Useful for continuing even if the X server
|
|
|
terminates and restarts (you will need permission to
|
|
|
reconnect of course). Use, e.g., -loop100 to sleep
|
|
|
100 millisecs between restarts, etc. Default is 2000ms
|
|
|
(i.e. 2 secs) Use, e.g. -loop300,5 to sleep 300 ms
|
|
|
and only loop 5 times.
|
|
|
-timeout n Exit unless a client connects within the first n seconds
|
|
|
after startup.
|
|
|
-inetd Launched by inetd(8): stdio instead of listening socket.
|
|
|
Note: if you are not redirecting stderr to a log file
|
|
|
(via shell 2> or -o option) you MUST also specify the -q
|
|
|
option, otherwise the stderr goes to the viewer which
|
|
|
will cause it to abort. Specifying both -inetd and -q
|
|
|
and no -o will automatically close the stderr.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-nofilexfer Disable the TightVNC file transfer extension. (same as
|
|
|
-disablefiletransfer). Note that when the -viewonly
|
|
|
option is supplied all file transfers are disabled.
|
|
|
Also clients that log in viewonly cannot transfer files.
|
|
|
However, if the remote control mechanism is used to
|
|
|
change the global or per-client viewonly state the
|
|
|
filetransfer permissions will NOT change.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note, to *enable* UltraVNC filetransfer (currently
|
|
|
disabled by default, this may change...) and to get it
|
|
|
to work you probably need to supply these libvncserver
|
|
|
options: "-rfbversion 3.6 -permitfiletransfer"
|
|
|
|
|
|
-http Instead of using -httpdir (see below) to specify
|
|
|
where the Java vncviewer applet is, have x11vnc try
|
|
|
to *guess* where the directory is by looking relative
|
|
|
to the program location and in standard locations
|
|
|
(/usr/local/share/x11vnc/classes, etc). Under -ssl or
|
|
|
-stunnel the ssl classes subdirectory is sought.
|
|
|
-http_ssl As -http, but force lookup for ssl classes subdir.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-connect string For use with "vncviewer -listen" reverse connections.
|
|
|
If "string" has the form "host" or "host:port"
|
|
|
the connection is made once at startup. Use commas
|
|
|
for a list of host's and host:port's.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that unlike most vnc servers, x11vnc will require a
|
|
|
password for reverse as well as for forward connections.
|
|
|
(provided password auth has been enabled, -rfbauth, etc)
|
|
|
If you do not want to require a password for reverse
|
|
|
connections set X11VNC_REVERSE_CONNECTION_NO_AUTH=1 in
|
|
|
your environment before starting x11vnc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If "string" contains "/" it is instead interpreted
|
|
|
as a file to periodically check for new hosts.
|
|
|
The first line is read and then the file is truncated.
|
|
|
Be careful for this usage mode if x11vnc is running as
|
|
|
root (e.g. via gdm(1), etc).
|
|
|
|
|
|
-vncconnect Monitor the VNC_CONNECT X property set by the standard
|
|
|
-novncconnect VNC program vncconnect(1). When the property is
|
|
|
set to "host" or "host:port" establish a reverse
|
|
|
connection. Using xprop(1) instead of vncconnect may
|
|
|
work (see the FAQ). The -remote control mechanism uses
|
|
|
X11VNC_REMOTE channel, and this option disables/enables
|
|
|
it as well. Default: -vncconnect
|
|
|
|
|
|
-allow host1[,host2..] Only allow client connections from hosts matching
|
|
|
the comma separated list of hostnames or IP addresses.
|
|
|
Can also be a numerical IP prefix, e.g. "192.168.100."
|
|
|
to match a simple subnet, for more control build
|
|
|
libvncserver with libwrap support (See the FAQ). If the
|
|
|
list contains a "/" it instead is a interpreted as a
|
|
|
file containing addresses or prefixes that is re-read
|
|
|
each time a new client connects. Lines can be commented
|
|
|
out with the "#" character in the usual way.
|
|
|
-localhost Basically the same as "-allow 127.0.0.1".
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: if you want to restrict which network interface
|
|
|
x11vnc listens on, see the -listen option below.
|
|
|
E.g. "-listen localhost" or "-listen 192.168.3.21".
|
|
|
As a special case, the option "-localhost" implies
|
|
|
"-listen localhost".
|
|
|
|
|
|
A rare case, but for non-localhost -listen usage, if
|
|
|
you use the remote control mechanism (-R) to change
|
|
|
the -listen interface you may need to manually adjust
|
|
|
the -allow list (and vice versa) to avoid situations
|
|
|
where no connections (or too many) are allowed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-nolookup Do not use gethostbyname() or gethostbyaddr() to look up
|
|
|
host names or IP numbers. Use this if name resolution
|
|
|
is incorrectly set up and leads to long pauses as name
|
|
|
lookups time out, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-input string Fine tuning of allowed user input. If "string" does
|
|
|
not contain a comma "," the tuning applies only to
|
|
|
normal clients. Otherwise the part before "," is for
|
|
|
normal clients and the part after for view-only clients.
|
|
|
"K" is for Keystroke input, "M" for Mouse-motion
|
|
|
input, "B" for Button-click input, and "C" is for
|
|
|
Clipboard input. Their presence in the string enables
|
|
|
that type of input. E.g. "-input M" means normal
|
|
|
users can only move the mouse and "-input KMBC,M"
|
|
|
lets normal users do anything and enables view-only
|
|
|
users to move the mouse. This option is ignored when
|
|
|
a global -viewonly is in effect (all input is discarded
|
|
|
in that case).
|
|
|
|
|
|
-grabkbd When VNC viewers are connected, attempt to the grab
|
|
|
the keyboard so a (non-malicious) user sitting at the
|
|
|
physical display is not able to enter keystrokes.
|
|
|
This method uses XGrabKeyboard(3X11) and so it is
|
|
|
not secure and does not rule out the person at the
|
|
|
physical display injecting keystrokes by flooding the
|
|
|
server with them, grabbing the keyboard himself, etc.
|
|
|
Some degree of cooperation from the person at the
|
|
|
display is assumed. This is intended for remote
|
|
|
help-desk or educational usage modes.
|
|
|
-grabptr As -grabkbd, but for the mouse pointer using
|
|
|
XGrabPointer(3X11). Unfortunately due to the way the X
|
|
|
server works, the mouse can still be moved around by the
|
|
|
user at the physical display, but he will not be able to
|
|
|
change window focus with it. Also some window managers
|
|
|
that call XGrabServer(3X11) for resizes, etc, will
|
|
|
act on the local user's input. Again, some degree of
|
|
|
cooperation from the person at the display is assumed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-viewpasswd string Supply a 2nd password for view-only logins. The -passwd
|
|
|
(full-access) password must also be supplied.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-passwdfile filename Specify the libvncserver password via the first line
|
|
|
of the file "filename" (instead of via -passwd on
|
|
|
the command line where others might see it via ps(1)).
|
|
|
See below for how to supply multiple passwords.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the filename is prefixed with "rm:" it will be
|
|
|
removed after being read. Perhaps this is useful in
|
|
|
limiting the readability of the file. In general,
|
|
|
the password file should not be readable by untrusted
|
|
|
users (BTW: neither should the VNC -rfbauth file:
|
|
|
it is NOT encrypted, only obscured).
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the filename is prefixed with "read:" it will
|
|
|
periodically be checked for changes and reread.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that only the first 8 characters of a password
|
|
|
are used.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If multiple non-blank lines exist in the file they are
|
|
|
all taken as valid passwords. Blank lines are ignored.
|
|
|
Password lines may be "commented out" (ignored) if
|
|
|
they begin with the charactor "#" or the line contains
|
|
|
the string "__SKIP__". Lines may be annotated by use
|
|
|
of the "__COMM__" string: from it to the end of the
|
|
|
line is ignored. An empty password may be specified
|
|
|
via the "__EMPTY__" string on a line by itself (note
|
|
|
your viewer might not accept empty passwords).
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the string "__BEGIN_VIEWONLY__" appears on a
|
|
|
line by itself, the remaining passwords are used for
|
|
|
viewonly access. For compatibility, as a special case
|
|
|
if the file contains only two password lines the 2nd
|
|
|
one is automatically taken as the viewonly password.
|
|
|
Otherwise the "__BEGIN_VIEWONLY__" token must be
|
|
|
used to have viewonly passwords. (tip: make the 3rd
|
|
|
and last line be "__BEGIN_VIEWONLY__" to have 2
|
|
|
full-access passwords)
|
|
|
|
|
|
-unixpw [list] Use Unix username and password authentication. x11vnc
|
|
|
uses the su(1) program to verify the user's password.
|
|
|
[list] is an optional comma separated list of allowed
|
|
|
Unix usernames. See below for per-user options that
|
|
|
can be applied.
|
|
|
|
|
|
A familiar "login:" and "Password:" dialog is
|
|
|
presented to the user on a black screen inside the
|
|
|
vncviewer. The connection is dropped if the user fails
|
|
|
to supply the correct password in 3 tries or does not
|
|
|
send one before a 25 second timeout. Existing clients
|
|
|
are view-only during this period.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Since the detailed behavior of su(1) can vary from
|
|
|
OS to OS and for local configurations, test the mode
|
|
|
carefully on your systems before using it in production.
|
|
|
Test different combinations of valid/invalid usernames
|
|
|
and valid/invalid passwords to see if it behaves as
|
|
|
expected. x11vnc will attempt to be conservative and
|
|
|
reject a login if anything abnormal occurs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
On FreeBSD and the other BSD's by default it is
|
|
|
impossible for the user running x11vnc to validate
|
|
|
his *own* password via su(1) (evidently commenting out
|
|
|
the pam_self.so entry in /etc/pam.d/su eliminates this
|
|
|
problem). So the x11vnc login will always *fail* for
|
|
|
this case (even when the correct password is supplied).
|
|
|
|
|
|
A possible workaround for this would be to start
|
|
|
x11vnc as root with the "-users +nobody" option to
|
|
|
immediately switch to user nobody. Another source of
|
|
|
problems are PAM modules that prompt for extra info,
|
|
|
e.g. password aging modules. These logins will fail
|
|
|
as well even when the correct password is supplied.
|
|
|
|
|
|
**IMPORTANT**: to prevent the Unix password being sent
|
|
|
in *clear text* over the network, one of two schemes
|
|
|
will be enforced: 1) the -ssl builtin SSL mode, or 2)
|
|
|
require both -localhost and -stunnel be enabled.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Method 1) ensures the traffic is encrypted between
|
|
|
viewer and server. A PEM file will be required, see the
|
|
|
discussion under -ssl below (under some circumstances
|
|
|
a temporary one can be automatically generated).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Method 2) requires the viewer connection to appear
|
|
|
to come from the same machine x11vnc is running on
|
|
|
(e.g. from a ssh -L port redirection). And that the
|
|
|
-stunnel SSL mode be used for encryption over the
|
|
|
network.(see the description of -stunnel below).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: as a convenience, if you ssh(1) in and start
|
|
|
x11vnc it will check if the environment variable
|
|
|
SSH_CONNECTION is set and appears reasonable. If it
|
|
|
does, then the -ssl or -stunnel requirement will be
|
|
|
dropped since it is assumed you are using ssh for the
|
|
|
encrypted tunnelling. -localhost is still enforced.
|
|
|
Use -ssl or -stunnel to force SSL usage even if
|
|
|
SSH_CONNECTION is set.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To override the above restrictions you can set
|
|
|
environment variables before starting x11vnc:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Set UNIXPW_DISABLE_SSL=1 to disable requiring either
|
|
|
-ssl or -stunnel. Evidently you will be using a
|
|
|
different method to encrypt the data between the
|
|
|
vncviewer and x11vnc: perhaps ssh(1) or an IPSEC VPN.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that use of -localhost with ssh(1) is roughly
|
|
|
the same as requiring a Unix user login (since a Unix
|
|
|
password or the user's public key authentication is
|
|
|
used by sshd on the machine where x11vnc runs and only
|
|
|
local connections from that machine are accepted)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Set UNIXPW_DISABLE_LOCALHOST=1 to disable the -localhost
|
|
|
requirement in Method 2). One should never do this
|
|
|
(i.e. allow the Unix passwords to be sniffed on the
|
|
|
network).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Regarding reverse connections (e.g. -R connect:host
|
|
|
and -connect host), when the -localhost constraint is
|
|
|
in effect then reverse connections can only be used
|
|
|
to connect to the same machine x11vnc is running on
|
|
|
(default port 5500). Please use a ssh or stunnel port
|
|
|
redirection to the viewer machine to tunnel the reverse
|
|
|
connection over an encrypted channel. Note that in -ssl
|
|
|
mode reverse connection are disabled (see below).
|
|
|
|
|
|
In -inetd mode the Method 1) will be enforced (not
|
|
|
Method 2). With -ssl in effect reverse connections
|
|
|
are disabled. If you override this via env. var, be
|
|
|
sure to also use encryption from the viewer to inetd.
|
|
|
Tip: you can also have your own stunnel spawn x11vnc
|
|
|
in -inetd mode (thereby bypassing inetd). See the FAQ
|
|
|
for details.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The user names in the comma separated [list] can have
|
|
|
per-user options after a ":", e.g. "fred:opts"
|
|
|
where "opts" is a "+" separated list of
|
|
|
"viewonly", "fullaccess", "input=XXXX", or
|
|
|
"deny", e.g. "karl,wally:viewonly,boss:input=M".
|
|
|
For "input=" it is the K,M,B,C described under -input.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If a user in the list is "*" that means those
|
|
|
options apply to all users. It also means all users
|
|
|
are allowed to log in after supplying a valid password.
|
|
|
Use "deny" to explicitly deny some users if you use
|
|
|
"*" to set a global option.
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are also some utilities for testing password
|
|
|
if [list] starts with the "%" character. See the
|
|
|
quick_pw() function in the source for details.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-unixpw_nis [list] As -unixpw above, however do not use su(1) but rather
|
|
|
use the traditional getpwnam(3) + crypt(3) method to
|
|
|
verify passwords. All of the above -unixpw options and
|
|
|
contraints apply.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This mode requires that the encrypted passwords be
|
|
|
readable. Encrypted passwords stored in /etc/shadow
|
|
|
will be inaccessible unless x11vnc is run as root.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is called "NIS" mode simply because in most
|
|
|
NIS setups user encrypted passwords are accessible
|
|
|
(e.g. "ypcat passwd") by an ordinary user and so that
|
|
|
user can authenticate ANY user.
|
|
|
|
|
|
NIS is not required for this mode to work (only that
|
|
|
getpwnam(3) return the encrypted password is required),
|
|
|
but it is unlikely it will work for any most modern
|
|
|
environments unless x11vnc is run as root to be able
|
|
|
to access /etc/shadow (note running as root is often
|
|
|
done when running x11vnc from inetd and xdm/gdm/kdm).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Looked at another way, if you do not want to use the
|
|
|
su(1) method provided by -unixpw, you can run x11vnc
|
|
|
as root and use -unixpw_nis. Any users with passwords
|
|
|
in /etc/shadow can then be authenticated. You may want
|
|
|
to use -users unixpw= to switch the process user after
|
|
|
the user logs in.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-display_WAIT :... A special usage mode for the normal -display option.
|
|
|
Useful with -unixpw, but can be used independently
|
|
|
of it. If the display string begins with WAIT: then
|
|
|
x11vnc waits until a VNC client connects before opening
|
|
|
the X display (or -rawfb device).
|
|
|
|
|
|
This could be useful for delaying opening the display
|
|
|
for certain usage modes (say if x11vnc is started at
|
|
|
boot time and no X server is running or users logged
|
|
|
in yet).
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the string is, e.g. WAIT:0.0 or WAIT:1, i.e. "WAIT"
|
|
|
in front of a normal X display, then that indicated
|
|
|
display is used. A more interesting case is like this:
|
|
|
|
|
|
WAIT:cmd=/usr/local/bin/find_display
|
|
|
|
|
|
in which case the command after "cmd=" is run to
|
|
|
dynamically work out the DISPLAY and optionally the
|
|
|
XAUTHORITY data. The first line of the command output
|
|
|
must be of the form DISPLAY=<xdisplay>. Any remaining
|
|
|
output is taken as XAUTHORITY data. It can be either
|
|
|
of the form XAUTHORITY=<file> or raw xauthority data for
|
|
|
the display (e.g. "xauth extract - $DISPLAY" output).
|
|
|
|
|
|
In the case of -unixpw (but not -unixpw_nis), then the
|
|
|
above command is run as the user who just authenticated
|
|
|
via the login and password prompt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also in the case of -unixpw, the user logging in can
|
|
|
place a colon at the end of his username and supply
|
|
|
a few options: scale=, scale_cursor= (or sc=), solid
|
|
|
(or so), id=, clear_mods (or cm), clear_keys (or ck),
|
|
|
repeat, speeds= (or sp=), readtimeout= (or rd=), or
|
|
|
rotate= (or ro=) separated by commas if there is more
|
|
|
than one. After the user logs in successfully, these
|
|
|
options will be applied to the VNC screen. For example,
|
|
|
|
|
|
login: fred:scale=3/4,sc=1,repeat
|
|
|
Password: ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
login: runge:sp=modem,rd=120,solid
|
|
|
|
|
|
for convenience m/n implies scale= e.g. fred:3/4 If you
|
|
|
type and enter your password incorrectly, to retrieve
|
|
|
your long "login:" line press the Up arrow once
|
|
|
(before typing anything else).
|
|
|
|
|
|
To disable the option setting set the environment
|
|
|
variable X11VNC_NO_UNIXPW_OPTS=1 before starting x11vnc.
|
|
|
To set any other options, the user can use the gui
|
|
|
(x11vnc -gui connect) or the remote control method
|
|
|
(x11vnc -R opt:val) during his VNC session.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The combination of -display WAIT:cmd=... and -unixpw
|
|
|
allows automatic pairing of an unix authenticated VNC
|
|
|
user with his desktop. This could be very useful on
|
|
|
SunRays and also any system where multiple users share
|
|
|
a given machine. The user does not need to remember
|
|
|
special ports or passwords set up for his desktop
|
|
|
and VNC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
A nice way to use WAIT:cmd=... is out of inetd(8)
|
|
|
(it automatically forks a new x11vnc for each user).
|
|
|
You can have the x11vnc inetd spawned process run as,
|
|
|
say, root or nobody. When run as root (for either inetd
|
|
|
or display manager), you can also supply the option
|
|
|
"-users unixpw=" to have the x11vnc process switch to
|
|
|
the user as well. Note: there will be a 2nd SSL helper
|
|
|
process that will not switch, but it is only encoding
|
|
|
and decoding the encrypted stream at that point.
|
|
|
|
|
|
As a special case, WAIT:cmd=FINDDISPLAY will run a
|
|
|
script that works on most Unixes to determine a user's
|
|
|
DISPLAY variable and xauthority data (see who(1)).
|
|
|
To have this default script printed to stdout (e.g. for
|
|
|
customization) run with WAIT:cmd=FINDDISPLAY-print
|
|
|
|
|
|
As another special case, WAIT:cmd=HTTPONCE will allow
|
|
|
x11vnc to service one http request and then exit.
|
|
|
This is usually done in -inetd mode to run on, say,
|
|
|
port 5800 and allow the Java vncviewer to be downloaded
|
|
|
by client web browsers. For example:
|
|
|
|
|
|
5815 stream tcp nowait root /usr/sbin/tcpd .../x11vnc \
|
|
|
-inetd -q -http_ssl -display WAIT:cmd=HTTPONCE
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is used in the Apache SSL-portal example (see FAQ).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Finally, one can insert a geometry between colons,
|
|
|
e.g. WAIT:1280x1024:... to set the size of the display
|
|
|
the VNC client first attaches to since some VNC viewers
|
|
|
will not automatically adjust to a new framebuffer size.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-ssl [pem] Use the openssl library (www.openssl.org) to provide a
|
|
|
built-in encrypted SSL tunnel between VNC viewers and
|
|
|
x11vnc. This requires libssl support to be compiled
|
|
|
into x11vnc at build time. If x11vnc is not built
|
|
|
with libssl support it will exit immediately when -ssl
|
|
|
is prescribed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[pem] is optional, use "-ssl /path/to/mycert.pem"
|
|
|
to specify a PEM certificate file to use to identify
|
|
|
and provide a key for this server. See openssl(1) for
|
|
|
more info about PEMs and the -sslGenCert option below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The connecting VNC viewer SSL tunnel can optionally
|
|
|
authenticate this server if they have the public
|
|
|
key part of the certificate (or a common certificate
|
|
|
authority, CA, is a more sophisicated way to verify
|
|
|
this server's cert, see -sslGenCA below). This is
|
|
|
used to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks. Otherwise,
|
|
|
if the VNC viewer accepts this server's key without
|
|
|
verification, at least the traffic is protected
|
|
|
from passive sniffing on the network (but NOT from
|
|
|
man-in-the-middle attacks).
|
|
|
|
|
|
If [pem] is not supplied and the openssl(1) utility
|
|
|
command exists in PATH, then a temporary, self-signed
|
|
|
certificate will be generated for this session (this
|
|
|
may take 5-30 seconds on slow machines). If openssl(1)
|
|
|
cannot be used to generate a temporary certificate
|
|
|
x11vnc exits immediately.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If successful in using openssl(1) to generate a
|
|
|
temporary certificate, the public part of it will be
|
|
|
displayed to stderr (e.g. one could copy it to the
|
|
|
client-side to provide authentication of the server to
|
|
|
VNC viewers.) See following paragraphs for how to save
|
|
|
keys to reuse when x11vnc is restarted.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Set the env. var. X11VNC_SHOW_TMP_PEM=1 to have x11vnc
|
|
|
print out the entire certificate, including the PRIVATE
|
|
|
KEY part, to stderr. One could reuse this cert if saved
|
|
|
in a [pem] file. Similarly, set X11VNC_KEEP_TMP_PEM=1
|
|
|
to not delete the temporary PEM file: the file name
|
|
|
will be printed to stderr (so one could move it to
|
|
|
a safe place for reuse). You will be prompted for a
|
|
|
passphrase for the private key.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If [pem] is "SAVE" then the certificate will be saved
|
|
|
to the file ~/.vnc/certs/server.pem, or if that file
|
|
|
exists it will be used directly. Similarly, if [pem]
|
|
|
is "SAVE_PROMPT" the server.pem certificate will be
|
|
|
made based on your answers to its prompts for info such
|
|
|
as OrganizationalName, CommonName, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use "SAVE-<string>" and "SAVE_PROMPT-<string>"
|
|
|
to refer to the file ~/.vnc/certs/server-<string>.pem
|
|
|
instead. E.g. "SAVE-charlie" will store to the file
|
|
|
~/.vnc/certs/server-charlie.pem
|
|
|
|
|
|
See -ssldir below to use a directory besides the
|
|
|
default ~/.vnc/certs
|
|
|
|
|
|
Example: x11vnc -ssl SAVE -display :0 ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reverse connections are disabled in -ssl mode because
|
|
|
there is no way to ensure that data channel will
|
|
|
be encrypted. Set X11VNC_SSL_ALLOW_REVERSE=1 to
|
|
|
override this.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Your VNC viewer will also need to be able to connect
|
|
|
via SSL. See the discussion below under -stunnel and
|
|
|
the FAQ (ssl_vncviewer script) for how this might be
|
|
|
achieved. E.g. on Unix it is easy to write a shell
|
|
|
script that starts up stunnel and then vncviewer.
|
|
|
Also in the x11vnc source a SSL enabled Java VNC Viewer
|
|
|
applet is provided in the classes/ssl directory.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-ssltimeout n Set SSL read timeout to n seconds. In some situations
|
|
|
(i.e. an iconified viewer in Windows) the viewer stops
|
|
|
talking and the connection is dropped after the default
|
|
|
timeout (25s for about the first minute, 43200s later).
|
|
|
Set to zero to poll forever. Set to a negative value
|
|
|
to use the builtin setting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-ssldir [dir] Use [dir] as an alternate ssl certificate and key
|
|
|
management toplevel directory. The default is
|
|
|
~/.vnc/certs
|
|
|
|
|
|
This directory is used to store server and other
|
|
|
certificates and keys and also other materials. E.g. in
|
|
|
the simplest case, "-ssl SAVE" will store the x11vnc
|
|
|
server cert in [dir]/server.pem
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use of alternate directories via -ssldir allows you to
|
|
|
manage multiple VNC Certificate Authority (CA) keys.
|
|
|
Another use is if ~/.vnc/cert is on an NFS share you
|
|
|
might want your certificates and keys to be on a local
|
|
|
filesystem to prevent network snooping (for example
|
|
|
-ssldir /var/lib/x11vnc-certs).
|
|
|
|
|
|
-ssldir affects nearly all of the other -ssl* options,
|
|
|
e.g. -ssl SAVE, -sslGenCert, etc..
|
|
|
|
|
|
-sslverify [path] For either of the -ssl or -stunnel modes, use [path]
|
|
|
to provide certificates to authenticate incoming VNC
|
|
|
*Client* connections (normally only the server is
|
|
|
authenticated in SSL.) This can be used as a method
|
|
|
to replace standard password authentication of clients.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If [path] is a directory it contains the client (or CA)
|
|
|
certificates in separate files. If [path] is a file,
|
|
|
it contains multiple certificates. See special tokens
|
|
|
below. These correspond to the "CApath = dir" and
|
|
|
"CAfile = file" stunnel options. See the stunnel(8)
|
|
|
manpage for details.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Examples:
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl -sslverify ~/my.pem
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl -sslverify ~/my_pem_dir/
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that if [path] is a directory, it must contain
|
|
|
the certs in separate files named like <HASH>.0, where
|
|
|
the value of <HASH> is found by running the command
|
|
|
"openssl x509 -hash -noout -in file.crt". Evidently
|
|
|
one uses <HASH>.1 if there is a collision...
|
|
|
|
|
|
The the key-management utility "-sslCertInfo HASHON"
|
|
|
and "-sslCertInfo HASHOFF" will create/delete these
|
|
|
hashes for you automatically (via symlink) in the HASH
|
|
|
subdirs it manages. Then you can point -sslverify to
|
|
|
the HASH subdir.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Special tokens: in -ssl mode, if [path] is not a file or
|
|
|
a directory, it is taken as a comma separated list of
|
|
|
tokens that are interpreted as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
If a token is "CA" that means load the CA/cacert.pem
|
|
|
file from the ssl directory. If a token is "clients"
|
|
|
then all the files clients/*.crt in the ssl directory
|
|
|
are loaded. Otherwise the file clients/token.crt
|
|
|
is attempted to be loaded. As a kludge, use a token
|
|
|
like ../server-foo to load a server cert if you find
|
|
|
that necessary.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use -ssldir to use a directory different from the
|
|
|
~/.vnc/certs default.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that if the "CA" cert is loaded you do not need
|
|
|
to load any of the certs that have been signed by it.
|
|
|
You will need to load any additional self-signed certs
|
|
|
however.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Examples:
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl -sslverify CA
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl -sslverify self:fred,self:jim
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl -sslverify CA,clients
|
|
|
|
|
|
Usually "-sslverify CA" is the most effective.
|
|
|
See the -sslGenCA and -sslGenCert options below for
|
|
|
how to set up and manage the CA framework.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NOTE: the following utilities, -sslGenCA, -sslGenCert,
|
|
|
-sslEncKey, and -sslCertInfo are provided for
|
|
|
completeness, but for casual usage they are overkill.
|
|
|
|
|
|
They provide VNC Certificate Authority (CA) key creation
|
|
|
and server / client key generation and signing. So they
|
|
|
provide a basic Public Key management framework for
|
|
|
VNC-ing with x11vnc. (note that they require openssl(1)
|
|
|
be installed on the system)
|
|
|
|
|
|
However, the simplest usage mode (where x11vnc
|
|
|
automatically generates its own, self-signed, temporary
|
|
|
key and the VNC viewers always accept it, e.g. accepting
|
|
|
via a dialog box) is probably safe enough for most
|
|
|
scenarios. CA management is not needed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To protect against Man-In-The-Middle attacks the
|
|
|
simplest mode can be improved by using "-ssl SAVE"
|
|
|
to have x11vnc create a longer term self-signed
|
|
|
certificate, and then (safely) copy the corresponding
|
|
|
public key cert to the desired client machines (care
|
|
|
must be taken the private key part is not stolen;
|
|
|
you will be prompted for a passphrase).
|
|
|
|
|
|
So keep in mind no CA key creation or management
|
|
|
(-sslGenCA and -sslGenCert) is needed for either of
|
|
|
the above two common usage modes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One might want to use -sslGenCA and -sslGenCert
|
|
|
if you had a large number of VNC client and server
|
|
|
workstations. That way the administrator could generate
|
|
|
a single CA key with -sslGenCA and distribute its
|
|
|
certificate part to all of the workstations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Next, he could create signed VNC server keys
|
|
|
(-sslGenCert server ...) for each workstation or user
|
|
|
that then x11vnc would use to authenticate itself to
|
|
|
any VNC client that has the CA cert.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Optionally, the admin could also make it so the
|
|
|
VNC clients themselves are authenticated to x11vnc
|
|
|
(-sslGenCert client ...) For this -sslverify would be
|
|
|
pointed to the CA cert (and/or self-signed certs).
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc will be able to use all of these cert and
|
|
|
key files. On the VNC client side, they will need to
|
|
|
be "imported" somehow. Web browsers have "Manage
|
|
|
Certificates" actions as does the Java applet plugin
|
|
|
Control Panel. stunnel can also use these files (see
|
|
|
the ssl_vncviewer example script in the FAQ.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
-sslGenCA [dir] Generate your own Certificate Authority private key,
|
|
|
certificate, and other files in directory [dir].
|
|
|
|
|
|
If [dir] is not supplied, a -ssldir setting is used,
|
|
|
or otherwise ~/.vnc/certs is used.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This command also creates directories where server and
|
|
|
client certs and keys will be stored. The openssl(1)
|
|
|
program must be installed on the system and available
|
|
|
in PATH.
|
|
|
|
|
|
After the CA files and directories are created the
|
|
|
command exits; the VNC server is not run.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You will be prompted for information to put into the CA
|
|
|
certificate. The info does not have to be accurate just
|
|
|
as long as clients accept the cert for VNC connections.
|
|
|
You will also need to supply a passphrase of at least
|
|
|
4 characters for the CA private key.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Once you have generated the CA you can distribute
|
|
|
its certificate part, [dir]/CA/cacert.pem, to other
|
|
|
workstations where VNC viewers will be run. One will
|
|
|
need to "import" this certicate in the applications,
|
|
|
e.g. Web browser, Java applet plugin, stunnel, etc.
|
|
|
Next, you can create and sign keys using the CA with
|
|
|
the -sslGenCert option below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Examples:
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslGenCA
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslGenCA ~/myCAdir
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssldir ~/myCAdir -sslGenCA
|
|
|
|
|
|
(the last two lines are equivalent)
|
|
|
|
|
|
-sslGenCert type name Generate a VNC server or client certificate and private
|
|
|
key pair signed by the CA created previously with
|
|
|
-sslGenCA. The openssl(1) program must be installed
|
|
|
on the system and available in PATH.
|
|
|
|
|
|
After the Certificate is generated the command exits;
|
|
|
the VNC server is not run.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The type of key to be generated is the string "type".
|
|
|
It is either "server" (i.e. for use by x11vnc) or
|
|
|
"client" (for a VNC viewer). Note that typically
|
|
|
only "server" is used: the VNC clients authenticate
|
|
|
themselves by a non-public-key method (e.g. VNC or
|
|
|
unix password). "type" is required.
|
|
|
|
|
|
An arbitrary default name you want to associate with
|
|
|
the key is supplied by the "name" string. You can
|
|
|
change it at the various prompts when creating the key.
|
|
|
"name" is optional.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If name is left blank for clients keys then "nobody"
|
|
|
is used. If left blank for server keys, then the
|
|
|
primary server key: "server.pem" is created (this
|
|
|
is the saved one referenced by "-ssl SAVE" when the
|
|
|
server is started)
|
|
|
|
|
|
If "name" begins with the string "self:" then
|
|
|
a self-signed certificate is created instead of one
|
|
|
signed by your CA key.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If "name" begins with the string "req:" then only a
|
|
|
key (.key) and a certificate signing *request* (.req)
|
|
|
are generated. You can then send the .req file to
|
|
|
an external CA (even a professional one, e.g. Thawte)
|
|
|
and then combine the .key and the received cert into
|
|
|
the .pem file with the same basename.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The distinction between "server" and "client" is
|
|
|
simply the choice of output filenames and sub-directory.
|
|
|
This makes it so the -ssl SAVE-name option can easily
|
|
|
pick up the x11vnc PEM file this option generates.
|
|
|
And similarly makes it easy for the -sslverify option
|
|
|
to pick up your client certs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
There is nothing special about the filename or directory
|
|
|
location of either the "server" and "client" certs.
|
|
|
You can rename the files or move them to wherever
|
|
|
you like.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Precede this option with -ssldir [dir] to use a
|
|
|
directory other than the default ~/.vnc/certs You will
|
|
|
need to run -sslGenCA on that directory first before
|
|
|
doing any -sslGenCert key creation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note you cannot recreate a cert with exactly the same
|
|
|
distiguished name (DN) as an existing one. To do so,
|
|
|
you will need to edit the [dir]/CA/index.txt file to
|
|
|
delete the line.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Similar to -sslGenCA, you will be prompted to fill
|
|
|
in some information that will be recorded in the
|
|
|
certificate when it is created. Tip: if you know
|
|
|
the fully-quailified hostname other people will be
|
|
|
connecting to you can use that as the CommonName "CN"
|
|
|
to avoid some applications (e.g. web browsers and java
|
|
|
plugin) complaining it does not match the hostname.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You will also need to supply the CA private key
|
|
|
passphrase to unlock the private key created from
|
|
|
-sslGenCA. This private key is used to sign the server
|
|
|
or client certicate.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The "server" certs can be used by x11vnc directly by
|
|
|
pointing to them via the -ssl [pem] option. The default
|
|
|
file will be ~/.vnc/certs/server.pem. This one would
|
|
|
be used by simply typing -ssl SAVE. The pem file
|
|
|
contains both the certificate and the private key.
|
|
|
server.crt file contains the cert only.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The "client" cert + private key file will need
|
|
|
to be copied and imported into the VNC viewer
|
|
|
side applications (Web browser, Java plugin,
|
|
|
stunnel, etc.) Once that is done you can delete the
|
|
|
"client" private key file on this machine since
|
|
|
it is only needed on the VNC viewer side. The,
|
|
|
e.g. ~/.vnc/certs/clients/<name>.pem contains both
|
|
|
the cert and private key. The <name>.crt contains the
|
|
|
certificate only.
|
|
|
|
|
|
NOTE: It is very important to know one should always
|
|
|
generate new keys with a passphrase. Otherwise if an
|
|
|
untrusted user steals the key file he could use it to
|
|
|
masquerade as the x11vnc server (or VNC viewer client).
|
|
|
You will be prompted whether to encrypt the key with
|
|
|
a passphrase or not. It is recommended that you do.
|
|
|
One inconvenience to a passphrase is that it must
|
|
|
be suppled every time x11vnc or the client app is
|
|
|
started up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Examples:
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslGenCert server
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl SAVE -display :0 ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
and then on viewer using ssl_vncviewer stunnel wrapper
|
|
|
(see the FAQ):
|
|
|
ssl_vncviewer -verify ./cacert.crt hostname:0
|
|
|
|
|
|
(this assumes the cacert.crt cert from -sslGenCA
|
|
|
was safely copied to the VNC viewer machine where
|
|
|
ssl_vncviewer is run)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Example using a name:
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslGenCert server charlie
|
|
|
x11vnc -ssl SAVE-charlie -display :0 ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Example for a client certificate (rarely used):
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslGenCert client roger
|
|
|
scp ~/.vnc/certs/clients/roger.pem somehost:.
|
|
|
rm ~/.vnc/certs/clients/roger.pem
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc is then started with the the option -sslverify
|
|
|
~/.vnc/certs/clients/roger.crt (or simply -sslverify
|
|
|
roger), and on the viewer user on somehost could do
|
|
|
for example:
|
|
|
|
|
|
ssl_vncviewer -mycert ./roger.pem hostname:0
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you set the env. var REQ_ARGS='...' it will be
|
|
|
passed to openssl req(1). A common use would be
|
|
|
REQ_ARGS='-days 730' to bump up the expiration date
|
|
|
(2 years in this case).
|
|
|
|
|
|
-sslEncKey [pem] Utility to encrypt an existing PEM file with a
|
|
|
passphrase you supply when prompted. For that key to be
|
|
|
used (e.g. by x11vnc) the passphrase must be supplied
|
|
|
each time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The "SAVE" notation described under -ssl applies as
|
|
|
well. (precede this option with -ssldir [dir] to refer
|
|
|
a directory besides the default ~/.vnc/certs)
|
|
|
|
|
|
The openssl(1) program must be installed on the system
|
|
|
and available in PATH. After the Key file is encrypted
|
|
|
the command exits; the VNC server is not run.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Examples:
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslEncKey /path/to/foo.pem
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslEncKey SAVE
|
|
|
x11vnc -sslEncKey SAVE-charlie
|
|
|
|
|
|
-sslCertInfo [pem] Prints out information about an existing PEM file.
|
|
|
In addition the public certificate is also printed.
|
|
|
The openssl(1) program must be in PATH. Basically the
|
|
|
command "openssl x509 -text" is run on the pem.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The "SAVE" notation described under -ssl applies
|
|
|
as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Using "LIST" will give a list of all certs being
|
|
|
managed (in the ~/.vnc/certs dir, use -ssldir to refer
|
|
|
to another dir). "ALL" will print out the info for
|
|
|
every managed key (this can be very long). Giving a
|
|
|
client or server cert shortname will also try a lookup
|
|
|
(e.g. -sslCertInfo charlie). Use "LISTL" or "LL"
|
|
|
for a long (ls -l style) listing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Using "HASHON" will create subdirs [dir]/HASH and
|
|
|
[dir]/HASH with OpenSSL hash filenames (e.g. 0d5fbbf1.0)
|
|
|
symlinks pointing up to the corresponding *.crt file.
|
|
|
([dir] is ~/.vnc/certs or one given by -ssldir.)
|
|
|
This is a useful way for other OpenSSL applications
|
|
|
(e.g. stunnel) to access all of the certs without
|
|
|
having to concatenate them. x11vnc will not use them
|
|
|
unless you specifically reference them. "HASHOFF"
|
|
|
removes these HASH subdirs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The LIST, LISTL, LL, ALL, HASHON, HASHOFF words can
|
|
|
also be lowercase, e.g. "list".
|
|
|
|
|
|
-sslDelCert [pem] Prompts you to delete all .crt .pem .key .req files
|
|
|
associated with [pem]. "SAVE" and lookups as in
|
|
|
-sslCertInfo apply as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-stunnel [pem] Use the stunnel(8) (www.stunnel.org) to provide an
|
|
|
encrypted SSL tunnel between viewers and x11vnc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This external tunnel method was implemented prior to the
|
|
|
integrated -ssl encryption described above. It still
|
|
|
works well. This requires stunnel to be installed
|
|
|
on the system and available via PATH (n.b. stunnel is
|
|
|
often installed in sbin directories). Version 4.x of
|
|
|
stunnel is assumed (but see -stunnel3 below.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
[pem] is optional, use "-stunnel /path/to/stunnel.pem"
|
|
|
to specify a PEM certificate file to pass to stunnel.
|
|
|
Whether one is needed or not depends on your stunnel
|
|
|
configuration. stunnel often generates one at install
|
|
|
time. See the stunnel documentation for details.
|
|
|
|
|
|
stunnel is started up as a child process of x11vnc and
|
|
|
any SSL connections stunnel receives are decrypted and
|
|
|
sent to x11vnc over a local socket. The strings
|
|
|
"The SSL VNC desktop is ..." and "SSLPORT=..."
|
|
|
are printed out at startup to indicate this.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The -localhost option is enforced by default
|
|
|
to avoid people routing around the SSL channel.
|
|
|
Set STUNNEL_DISABLE_LOCALHOST=1 before starting x11vnc
|
|
|
to disable the requirement.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Your VNC viewer will also need to be able to connect via
|
|
|
SSL. Unfortunately not too many do this. UltraVNC has
|
|
|
an encryption plugin but it does not seem to be SSL.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also, in the x11vnc distribution, a patched TightVNC
|
|
|
Java applet is provided in classes/ssl that does SSL
|
|
|
connections (only).
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is also not too difficult to set up an stunnel or
|
|
|
other SSL tunnel on the viewer side. A simple example
|
|
|
on Unix using stunnel 3.x is:
|
|
|
|
|
|
% stunnel -c -d localhost:5901 -r remotehost:5900
|
|
|
% vncviewer localhost:1
|
|
|
|
|
|
For Windows, stunnel has been ported to it and there
|
|
|
are probably other such tools available. See the FAQ
|
|
|
for more examples.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-stunnel3 [pem] Use version 3.x stunnel command line syntax instead of
|
|
|
version 4.x
|
|
|
|
|
|
-https [port] Choose a separate HTTPS port (-ssl mode only).
|
|
|
|
|
|
In -ssl mode, it turns out you can use the
|
|
|
single VNC port (e.g. 5900) for both VNC and HTTPS
|
|
|
connections. (HTTPS is used to retrieve a SSL-aware
|
|
|
VncViewer.jar applet that is provided with x11vnc).
|
|
|
Since both use SSL the implementation was extended to
|
|
|
detect if HTTP traffic (i.e. GET) is taking place and
|
|
|
handle it accordingly. The URL would be, e.g.:
|
|
|
|
|
|
https://mymachine.org:5900/
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is convenient for firewalls, etc, because only one
|
|
|
port needs to be allowed in. However, this heuristic
|
|
|
adds a few seconds delay to each connection and can be
|
|
|
unreliable (especially if the user takes much time to
|
|
|
ponder the Certificate dialogs in his browser, Java VM,
|
|
|
or VNC Viewer applet. That's right 3 separate "Are
|
|
|
you sure you want to connect?" dialogs!)
|
|
|
|
|
|
So use the -https option to provide a separate, more
|
|
|
reliable HTTPS port that x11vnc will listen on. If
|
|
|
[port] is not provided (or is 0), one is autoselected.
|
|
|
The URL to use is printed out at startup.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The SSL Java applet directory is specified via the
|
|
|
-httpdir option. If not supplied it will try to guess
|
|
|
the directory as though the -http option was supplied.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-usepw If no other password method was supplied on the command
|
|
|
line, first look for ~/.vnc/passwd and if found use it
|
|
|
with -rfbauth; next, look for ~/.vnc/passwdfile and
|
|
|
use it with -passwdfile; otherwise, prompt the user
|
|
|
for a password to create ~/.vnc/passwd and use it with
|
|
|
the -rfbauth option. If none of these succeed x11vnc
|
|
|
exits immediately.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-storepasswd pass file Store password "pass" as the VNC password in the
|
|
|
file "file". Once the password is stored the
|
|
|
program exits. Use the password via "-rfbauth file"
|
|
|
|
|
|
If called with no arguments, "x11vnc -storepasswd",
|
|
|
the user is prompted for a password and it is stored
|
|
|
in the file ~/.vnc/passwd. Called with one argument,
|
|
|
that will be the file to store the prompted password in.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-nopw Disable the big warning message when you use x11vnc
|
|
|
without some sort of password.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-accept string Run a command (possibly to prompt the user at the
|
|
|
X11 display) to decide whether an incoming client
|
|
|
should be allowed to connect or not. "string" is
|
|
|
an external command run via system(3) or some special
|
|
|
cases described below. Be sure to quote "string"
|
|
|
if it contains spaces, shell characters, etc. If the
|
|
|
external command returns 0 the client is accepted,
|
|
|
otherwise the client is rejected. See below for an
|
|
|
extension to accept a client view-only.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If x11vnc is running as root (say from inetd(8) or from
|
|
|
display managers xdm(1), gdm(1), etc), think about the
|
|
|
security implications carefully before supplying this
|
|
|
option (likewise for the -gone option).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Environment: The RFB_CLIENT_IP environment variable will
|
|
|
be set to the incoming client IP number and the port
|
|
|
in RFB_CLIENT_PORT (or -1 if unavailable). Similarly,
|
|
|
RFB_SERVER_IP and RFB_SERVER_PORT (the x11vnc side
|
|
|
of the connection), are set to allow identification
|
|
|
of the tcp virtual circuit. The x11vnc process
|
|
|
id will be in RFB_X11VNC_PID, a client id number in
|
|
|
RFB_CLIENT_ID, and the number of other connected clients
|
|
|
in RFB_CLIENT_COUNT. RFB_MODE will be "accept".
|
|
|
RFB_STATE will be PROTOCOL_VERSION, SECURITY_TYPE,
|
|
|
AUTHENTICATION, INITIALISATION, NORMAL, or UNKNOWN
|
|
|
indicating up to which state the client has acheived.
|
|
|
RFB_LOGIN_VIEWONLY will be 0, 1, or -1 (unknown).
|
|
|
RFB_USERNAME, RFB_LOGIN_TIME, and RFB_CURRENT_TIME may
|
|
|
also be set.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If "string" is "popup" then a builtin popup window
|
|
|
is used. The popup will time out after 120 seconds,
|
|
|
use "popup:N" to modify the timeout to N seconds
|
|
|
(use 0 for no timeout).
|
|
|
|
|
|
In the case of "popup" and when the -unixpw option
|
|
|
is specified, then a *second* window will be popped
|
|
|
up after the user successfully logs in via his UNIX
|
|
|
password. This time the user will be identified as
|
|
|
UNIX:username@hostname, the "UNIX:" prefix indicates
|
|
|
which user the viewer logged as via -unixpw. The first
|
|
|
popup is only for whether to allow him to even *try*
|
|
|
to login via unix password.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If "string" is "xmessage" then an xmessage(1)
|
|
|
invocation is used for the command. xmessage must be
|
|
|
installed on the machine for this to work.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Both "popup" and "xmessage" will present an option
|
|
|
for accepting the client "View-Only" (the client
|
|
|
can only watch). This option will not be presented if
|
|
|
-viewonly has been specified, in which case the entire
|
|
|
display is view only.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the user supplied command is prefixed with something
|
|
|
like "yes:0,no:*,view:3 mycommand ..." then this
|
|
|
associates the numerical command return code with
|
|
|
the actions: accept, reject, and accept-view-only,
|
|
|
respectively. Use "*" instead of a number to indicate
|
|
|
the default action (in case the command returns an
|
|
|
unexpected value). E.g. "no:*" is a good choice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that x11vnc blocks while the external command
|
|
|
or popup is running (other clients may see no updates
|
|
|
during this period). So a person sitting a the physical
|
|
|
display is needed to respond to an popup prompt. (use
|
|
|
a 2nd x11vnc if you lock yourself out).
|
|
|
|
|
|
More -accept tricks: use "popupmouse" to only allow
|
|
|
mouse clicks in the builtin popup to be recognized.
|
|
|
Similarly use "popupkey" to only recognize
|
|
|
keystroke responses. These are to help avoid the
|
|
|
user accidentally accepting a client by typing or
|
|
|
clicking. All 3 of the popup keywords can be followed
|
|
|
by +N+M to supply a position for the popup window.
|
|
|
The default is to center the popup window.
|
|
|
-afteraccept string As -accept, except to run a user supplied command after
|
|
|
a client has been accepted and authenticated. RFB_MODE
|
|
|
will be set to "afteraccept" and the other RFB_*
|
|
|
variables are as in -accept. Unlike -accept, the
|
|
|
command return code is not interpreted by x11vnc.
|
|
|
Example: -afteraccept 'killall xlock &'
|
|
|
-gone string As -accept, except to run a user supplied command when
|
|
|
a client goes away (disconnects). RFB_MODE will be
|
|
|
set to "gone" and the other RFB_* variables are as
|
|
|
in -accept. The "popup" actions apply as well.
|
|
|
Unlike -accept, the command return code is not
|
|
|
interpreted by x11vnc. Example: -gone 'xlock &'
|
|
|
|
|
|
-users list If x11vnc is started as root (say from inetd(8) or from
|
|
|
display managers xdm(1), gdm(1), etc), then as soon
|
|
|
as possible after connections to the X display are
|
|
|
established try to switch to one of the users in the
|
|
|
comma separated "list". If x11vnc is not running as
|
|
|
root this option is ignored.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Why use this option? In general it is not needed since
|
|
|
x11vnc is already connected to the X display and can
|
|
|
perform its primary functions. The option was added
|
|
|
to make some of the *external* utility commands x11vnc
|
|
|
occasionally runs work properly. In particular under
|
|
|
GNOME and KDE to implement the "-solid color" feature
|
|
|
external commands (gconftool-2 and dcop) unfortunately
|
|
|
must be run as the user owning the desktop session.
|
|
|
Since this option switches userid it also affects the
|
|
|
userid used to run the processes for the -accept and
|
|
|
-gone options. It also affects the ability to read
|
|
|
files for options such as -connect, -allow, and -remap.
|
|
|
Note that the -connect file is also sometimes written
|
|
|
to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
So be careful with this option since in some situations
|
|
|
its use can decrease security.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In general the switch to a user will only take place
|
|
|
if the display can still be successfully opened as that
|
|
|
user (this is primarily to try to guess the actual owner
|
|
|
of the session). Example: "-users fred,wilma,betty".
|
|
|
Note that a malicious user "barney" by quickly using
|
|
|
"xhost +" when logging in may possibly get the x11vnc
|
|
|
process to switch to user "fred". What happens next?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Under display managers it may be a long time before
|
|
|
the switch succeeds (i.e. a user logs in). To instead
|
|
|
make it switch immediately regardless if the display
|
|
|
can be reopened prefix the username with the "+"
|
|
|
character. E.g. "-users +bob" or "-users +nobody".
|
|
|
|
|
|
The latter (i.e. switching immediately to user
|
|
|
"nobody") is probably the only use of this option
|
|
|
that increases security.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In -unixpw mode, if "-users unixpw=" is supplied
|
|
|
then after a user authenticates himself via the
|
|
|
-unixpw mechanism, x11vnc will try to switch to that
|
|
|
user as though "-users +username" had been supplied.
|
|
|
If you want to limit which users this will be done for,
|
|
|
provide them as a comma separated list after "unixpw="
|
|
|
|
|
|
To immediately switch to a user *before* connections
|
|
|
to the X display are made or any files opened use the
|
|
|
"=" character: "-users =bob". That user needs to
|
|
|
be able to open the X display and any files of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The special user "guess=" means to examine the utmpx
|
|
|
database (see who(1)) looking for a user attached to
|
|
|
the display number (from DISPLAY or -display option)
|
|
|
and try him/her. To limit the list of guesses, use:
|
|
|
"-users guess=bob,betty".
|
|
|
|
|
|
Even more sinister is the special user "lurk="
|
|
|
that means to try to guess the DISPLAY from the utmpx
|
|
|
login database as well. So it "lurks" waiting for
|
|
|
anyone to log into an X session and then connects to it.
|
|
|
Specify a list of users after the = to limit which users
|
|
|
will be tried. To enable a different searching mode, if
|
|
|
the first user in the list is something like ":0" or
|
|
|
":0-2" that indicates a range of DISPLAY numbers that
|
|
|
will be tried (regardless of whether they are in the
|
|
|
utmpx database) for all users that are logged in. Also
|
|
|
see the "-display WAIT:..." functionality. Examples:
|
|
|
"-users lurk=" and also "-users lurk=:0-1,bob,mary"
|
|
|
|
|
|
Be especially careful using the "guess=" and "lurk="
|
|
|
modes. They are not recommended for use on machines
|
|
|
with untrustworthy local users.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-noshm Do not use the MIT-SHM extension for the polling.
|
|
|
Remote displays can be polled this way: be careful this
|
|
|
can use large amounts of network bandwidth. This is
|
|
|
also of use if the local machine has a limited number
|
|
|
of shm segments and -onetile is not sufficient.
|
|
|
-flipbyteorder Sometimes needed if remotely polled host has different
|
|
|
endianness. Ignored unless -noshm is set.
|
|
|
-onetile Do not use the new copy_tiles() framebuffer mechanism,
|
|
|
just use 1 shm tile for polling. Limits shm segments
|
|
|
used to 3.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-solid [color] To improve performance, when VNC clients are connected
|
|
|
try to change the desktop background to a solid color.
|
|
|
The [color] is optional: the default color is "cyan4".
|
|
|
For a different one specify the X color (rgb.txt name,
|
|
|
e.g. "darkblue" or numerical "#RRGGBB").
|
|
|
|
|
|
Currently this option only works on GNOME, KDE, CDE,
|
|
|
and classic X (i.e. with the background image on the
|
|
|
root window). The "gconftool-2" and "dcop" external
|
|
|
commands are run for GNOME and KDE respectively.
|
|
|
Other desktops won't work, e.g. Xfce (send us the
|
|
|
corresponding commands if you find them). If x11vnc is
|
|
|
running as root (inetd(8) or gdm(1)), the -users option
|
|
|
may be needed for GNOME and KDE. If x11vnc guesses
|
|
|
your desktop incorrectly, you can force it by prefixing
|
|
|
color with "gnome:", "kde:", "cde:" or "root:".
|
|
|
-blackout string Black out rectangles on the screen. "string" is a
|
|
|
comma separated list of WxH+X+Y type geometries for
|
|
|
each rectangle. If one of the items on the list is the
|
|
|
string "noptr" the mouse pointer will not be allowed
|
|
|
to go into a blacked out region.
|
|
|
-xinerama If your screen is composed of multiple monitors
|
|
|
-noxinerama glued together via XINERAMA, and that screen is
|
|
|
not a rectangle this option will try to guess the
|
|
|
areas to black out (if your system has libXinerama).
|
|
|
default: -xinerama
|
|
|
|
|
|
In general, we have noticed on XINERAMA displays you
|
|
|
may need to use the "-xwarppointer" option if the mouse
|
|
|
pointer misbehaves.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-xtrap Use the DEC-XTRAP extension for keystroke and mouse
|
|
|
input insertion. For use on legacy systems, e.g. X11R5,
|
|
|
running an incomplete or missing XTEST extension.
|
|
|
By default DEC-XTRAP will be used if XTEST server grab
|
|
|
control is missing, use -xtrap to do the keystroke and
|
|
|
mouse insertion via DEC-XTRAP as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-xrandr [mode] If the display supports the XRANDR (X Resize, Rotate
|
|
|
and Reflection) extension, and you expect XRANDR events
|
|
|
to occur to the display while x11vnc is running, this
|
|
|
options indicates x11vnc should try to respond to
|
|
|
them (as opposed to simply crashing by assuming the
|
|
|
old screen size). See the xrandr(1) manpage and run
|
|
|
'xrandr -q' for more info. [mode] is optional and
|
|
|
described below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Since watching for XRANDR events and trapping errors
|
|
|
increases polling overhead, only use this option if
|
|
|
XRANDR changes are expected. For example on a rotatable
|
|
|
screen PDA or laptop, or using a XRANDR-aware Desktop
|
|
|
where you resize often. It is best to be viewing with a
|
|
|
vncviewer that supports the NewFBSize encoding, since it
|
|
|
knows how to react to screen size changes. Otherwise,
|
|
|
libvncserver tries to do so something reasonable for
|
|
|
viewers that cannot do this (portions of the screen
|
|
|
may be clipped, unused, etc).
|
|
|
|
|
|
"mode" defaults to "resize", which means create a
|
|
|
new, resized, framebuffer and hope all viewers can cope
|
|
|
with the change. "newfbsize" means first disconnect
|
|
|
all viewers that do not support the NewFBSize VNC
|
|
|
encoding, and then resize the framebuffer. "exit"
|
|
|
means disconnect all viewer clients, and then terminate
|
|
|
x11vnc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-rotate string Rotate and/or flip the framebuffer view exported by VNC.
|
|
|
This transformation is independent of XRANDR and is
|
|
|
done in software in main memory and so may be slower.
|
|
|
This mode could be useful on a handheld with portrait or
|
|
|
landscape modes that do not correspond to the scanline
|
|
|
order of the actual framebuffer. "string" can be:
|
|
|
|
|
|
x flip along x-axis
|
|
|
y flip along y-axis
|
|
|
xy flip along x- and y-axes
|
|
|
+90 rotate 90 degrees clockwise
|
|
|
-90 rotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise
|
|
|
+90x rotate 90 degrees CW, then flip along x
|
|
|
+90y rotate 90 degrees CW, then flip along y
|
|
|
|
|
|
these give all possible rotations and reflections.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aliases: same as xy: yx, +180, -180, 180
|
|
|
same as -90: +270, 270
|
|
|
same as +90: 90, (ditto for 90x, 90y)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Like -scale, this transformation is applied at the very
|
|
|
end of any chain of framebuffer transformations and so
|
|
|
any options with geometries, e.g. -blackout, -clip, etc.
|
|
|
are relative to the original X (or -rawfb) framebuffer,
|
|
|
not the final one sent to VNC viewers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you do not want the cursor shape to be rotated
|
|
|
prefix "string" with "nc:", e.g. "nc:+90",
|
|
|
"nc:xy", etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-padgeom WxH Whenever a new vncviewer connects, the framebuffer is
|
|
|
replaced with a fake, solid black one of geometry WxH.
|
|
|
Shortly afterwards the framebuffer is replaced with the
|
|
|
real one. This is intended for use with vncviewers
|
|
|
that do not support NewFBSize and one wants to make
|
|
|
sure the initial viewer geometry will be big enough
|
|
|
to handle all subsequent resizes (e.g. under -xrandr,
|
|
|
-remote id:windowid, rescaling, etc.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
-o logfile Write stderr messages to file "logfile" instead of
|
|
|
to the terminal. Same as "-logfile file". To append
|
|
|
to the file use "-oa file" or "-logappend file".
|
|
|
-flag file Write the "PORT=NNNN" (e.g. PORT=5900) string to
|
|
|
"file" in addition to stdout. This option could be
|
|
|
useful by wrapper script to detect when x11vnc is ready.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-rc filename Use "filename" instead of $HOME/.x11vncrc for rc file.
|
|
|
-norc Do not process any .x11vncrc file for options.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-env VAR=VALUE Set the environment variable 'VAR' to value 'VALUE'
|
|
|
at x11vnc startup. This is a convenience utility to
|
|
|
avoid shell script wrappers, etc. to set the env. var.
|
|
|
You may specify as many of these as needed on the
|
|
|
command line.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-h, -help Print this help text.
|
|
|
-?, -opts Only list the x11vnc options.
|
|
|
-V, -version Print program version and last modification date.
|
|
|
-license Print out license information. Same as -copying and
|
|
|
-warranty.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-dbg Instead of exiting after cleaning up, run a simple
|
|
|
"debug crash shell" when fatal errors are trapped.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-q Be quiet by printing less informational output to
|
|
|
stderr. Same as -quiet.
|
|
|
-bg Go into the background after screen setup. Messages to
|
|
|
stderr are lost unless -o logfile is used. Something
|
|
|
like this could be useful in a script:
|
|
|
port=`ssh -t $host "x11vnc -display :0 -bg" | grep PORT
|
|
|
`
|
|
|
port=`echo "$port" | sed -e 's/PORT=//'`
|
|
|
port=`expr $port - 5900`
|
|
|
vncviewer $host:$port
|
|
|
|
|
|
-modtweak Option -modtweak automatically tries to adjust the AltGr
|
|
|
-nomodtweak and Shift modifiers for differing language keyboards
|
|
|
between client and host. Otherwise, only a single key
|
|
|
press/release of a Keycode is simulated (i.e. ignoring
|
|
|
the state of the modifiers: this usually works for
|
|
|
identical keyboards). Also useful in resolving cases
|
|
|
where a Keysym is bound to multiple keys (e.g. "<" + ">"
|
|
|
and "," + "<" keys). Default: -modtweak
|
|
|
-xkb When in modtweak mode, use the XKEYBOARD extension (if
|
|
|
-noxkb the X display supports it) to do the modifier tweaking.
|
|
|
This is powerful and should be tried if there are still
|
|
|
keymapping problems when using -modtweak by itself.
|
|
|
The default is to check whether some common keysyms,
|
|
|
e.g. !, @, [, are only accessible via -xkb mode and if
|
|
|
so then automatically enable the mode. To disable this
|
|
|
automatic detection use -noxkb.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-capslock When in -modtweak (the default) or -xkb mode,
|
|
|
if a keysym in the range A-Z comes in check the X
|
|
|
server to see if the Caps_Lock is set. If it is do
|
|
|
not artificially press Shift to generate the keysym.
|
|
|
This will enable the CapsLock key to behave correctly
|
|
|
in some circumstances: namely *both* the VNC viewer
|
|
|
machine and the x11vnc X server are in the CapsLock
|
|
|
on state. If one side has CapsLock on and the other
|
|
|
off and the keyboard is not behaving as you think it
|
|
|
should you should correct the CapsLock states (hint:
|
|
|
pressing CapsLock inside and outside of the viewer can
|
|
|
help toggle them both to the correct state). However,
|
|
|
for best results do not use this option, but rather
|
|
|
*only* enable CapsLock on the VNC viewer side (i.e. by
|
|
|
pressing CapsLock outside of the viewer window, also
|
|
|
-skip_lockkeys below). Also try -nomodtweak for a
|
|
|
possible workaround.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-skip_lockkeys Have x11vnc ignore all Caps_Lock, Shift_Lock, Num_Lock,
|
|
|
Scroll_Lock keysyms received from viewers. The idea is
|
|
|
you press Caps_Lock on the VNC Viewer side but that does
|
|
|
not change the lock state in the x11vnc-side X server.
|
|
|
Nevertheless your capitalized letters come in over
|
|
|
the wire and are applied correctly to the x11vnc-side
|
|
|
X server. Note this mode probably won't do what you
|
|
|
want in -nomodtweak mode. Also, a kludge for KP_n
|
|
|
digits is always done it this mode: they are mapped to
|
|
|
regular digit keysyms. See also -capslock above.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-skip_keycodes string Ignore the comma separated list of decimal keycodes.
|
|
|
Perhaps these are keycodes not on your keyboard but
|
|
|
your X server thinks exist. Currently only applies
|
|
|
to -xkb mode. Use this option to help x11vnc in the
|
|
|
reverse problem it tries to solve: Keysym -> Keycode(s)
|
|
|
when ambiguities exist (more than one Keycode per
|
|
|
Keysym). Run 'xmodmap -pk' to see your keymapping.
|
|
|
Example: "-skip_keycodes 94,114"
|
|
|
-sloppy_keys Experimental option that tries to correct some
|
|
|
"sloppy" key behavior. E.g. if at the viewer you
|
|
|
press Shift+Key but then release the Shift before
|
|
|
Key that could give rise to extra unwanted characters
|
|
|
(usually only between keyboards of different languages).
|
|
|
Only use this option if you observe problems with
|
|
|
some keystrokes.
|
|
|
-skip_dups Some VNC viewers send impossible repeated key events,
|
|
|
-noskip_dups e.g. key-down, key-down, key-up, key-up all for the same
|
|
|
key, or 20 downs in a row for the same modifier key!
|
|
|
Setting -skip_dups means to skip these duplicates and
|
|
|
just process the first event. Note: some VNC viewers
|
|
|
assume they can send down's without the corresponding
|
|
|
up's and so you should not set this option for
|
|
|
these viewers (symptom: some keys do not autorepeat)
|
|
|
Default: -noskip_dups
|
|
|
-add_keysyms If a Keysym is received from a VNC viewer and that
|
|
|
-noadd_keysyms Keysym does not exist in the X server, then add the
|
|
|
Keysym to the X server's keyboard mapping on an unused
|
|
|
key. Added Keysyms will be removed periodically and
|
|
|
also when x11vnc exits. Default: -add_keysyms
|
|
|
-clear_mods At startup and exit clear the modifier keys by sending
|
|
|
KeyRelease for each one. The Lock modifiers are skipped.
|
|
|
Used to clear the state if the display was accidentally
|
|
|
left with any pressed down.
|
|
|
-clear_keys As -clear_mods, except try to release any pressed key.
|
|
|
Note that this option and -clear_mods can interfere
|
|
|
with a person typing at the physical keyboard.
|
|
|
-remap string Read Keysym remappings from file named "string".
|
|
|
Format is one pair of Keysyms per line (can be name
|
|
|
or hex value) separated by a space. If no file named
|
|
|
"string" exists, it is instead interpreted as this
|
|
|
form: key1-key2,key3-key4,... See <X11/keysymdef.h>
|
|
|
header file for a list of Keysym names, or use xev(1).
|
|
|
To map a key to a button click, use the fake Keysyms
|
|
|
"Button1", ..., etc. E.g: "-remap Super_R-Button2"
|
|
|
(useful for pasting on a laptop)
|
|
|
|
|
|
To disable a keysym (i.e. make it so it will not be
|
|
|
injected), remap it to "NoSymbol" or "None".
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dead keys: "dead" (or silent, mute) keys are keys that
|
|
|
do not produce a character but must be followed by a 2nd
|
|
|
keystroke. This is often used for accenting characters,
|
|
|
e.g. to put "`" on top of "a" by pressing the dead
|
|
|
key and then "a". Note that this interpretation
|
|
|
is not part of core X11, it is up to the toolkit or
|
|
|
application to decide how to react to the sequence.
|
|
|
The X11 names for these keysyms are "dead_grave",
|
|
|
"dead_acute", etc. However some VNC viewers send the
|
|
|
keysyms "grave", "acute" instead thereby disabling
|
|
|
the accenting. To work around this -remap can be used.
|
|
|
For example "-remap grave-dead_grave,acute-dead_acute"
|
|
|
As a convenience, "-remap DEAD" applies these remaps:
|
|
|
|
|
|
g grave-dead_grave
|
|
|
a acute-dead_acute
|
|
|
c asciicircum-dead_circumflex
|
|
|
t asciitilde-dead_tilde
|
|
|
m macron-dead_macron
|
|
|
b breve-dead_breve
|
|
|
D abovedot-dead_abovedot
|
|
|
d diaeresis-dead_diaeresis
|
|
|
o degree-dead_abovering
|
|
|
A doubleacute-dead_doubleacute
|
|
|
r caron-dead_caron
|
|
|
e cedilla-dead_cedilla
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you just want a subset use the first letter
|
|
|
label, e.g. "-remap DEAD=ga" to get the first two.
|
|
|
Additional remaps may also be supplied via commas,
|
|
|
e.g. "-remap DEAD=ga,Super_R-Button2". Finally,
|
|
|
"DEAD=missing" means to apply all of the above as
|
|
|
long as the left hand member is not already in the
|
|
|
X11 keymap.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-norepeat Option -norepeat disables X server key auto repeat when
|
|
|
-repeat VNC clients are connected and VNC keyboard input is
|
|
|
not idle for more than 5 minutes. This works around a
|
|
|
repeating keystrokes bug (triggered by long processing
|
|
|
delays between key down and key up client events: either
|
|
|
from large screen changes or high latency).
|
|
|
Default: -norepeat
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: your VNC viewer side will likely do autorepeating,
|
|
|
so this is no loss unless someone is simultaneously at
|
|
|
the real X display.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use "-norepeat N" to set how many times norepeat will
|
|
|
be reset if something else (e.g. X session manager)
|
|
|
undoes it. The default is 2. Use a negative value
|
|
|
for unlimited resets.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-nofb Ignore video framebuffer: only process keyboard and
|
|
|
pointer. Intended for use with Win2VNC and x2vnc
|
|
|
dual-monitor setups.
|
|
|
-nobell Do not watch for XBell events. (no beeps will be heard)
|
|
|
Note: XBell monitoring requires the XKEYBOARD extension.
|
|
|
-nosel Do not manage exchange of X selection/cutbuffer between
|
|
|
VNC viewers and the X server at all.
|
|
|
-noprimary Do not poll the PRIMARY selection for changes to send
|
|
|
back to clients. (PRIMARY is still set on received
|
|
|
changes, however).
|
|
|
-nosetprimary Do not set the PRIMARY selection for changes received
|
|
|
from VNC clients.
|
|
|
-noclipboard Do not poll the CLIPBOARD selection for changes to send
|
|
|
back to clients. (CLIPBOARD is still set on received
|
|
|
changes, however).
|
|
|
-nosetclipboard Do not set the CLIPBOARD selection for changes
|
|
|
received from VNC clients.
|
|
|
-seldir string If direction string is "send", only send the selection
|
|
|
to viewers, and if it is "recv" only receive it from
|
|
|
viewers. To work around apps setting the selection
|
|
|
too frequently and messing up the other end. You can
|
|
|
actually supply a comma separated list of directions,
|
|
|
including "debug" to turn on debugging output.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-cursor [mode] Sets how the pointer cursor shape (little icon at the
|
|
|
-nocursor mouse pointer) should be handled. The "mode" string
|
|
|
is optional and is described below. The default
|
|
|
is to show some sort of cursor shape(s). How this
|
|
|
is done depends on the VNC viewer and the X server.
|
|
|
Use -nocursor to disable cursor shapes completely.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some VNC viewers support the TightVNC CursorPosUpdates
|
|
|
and CursorShapeUpdates extensions (cuts down on
|
|
|
network traffic by not having to send the cursor image
|
|
|
every time the pointer is moved), in which case these
|
|
|
extensions are used (see -nocursorshape and -nocursorpos
|
|
|
below to disable). For other viewers the cursor shape
|
|
|
is written directly to the framebuffer every time the
|
|
|
pointer is moved or changed and gets sent along with
|
|
|
the other framebuffer updates. In this case, there
|
|
|
will be some lag between the vnc viewer pointer and
|
|
|
the remote cursor position.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the X display supports retrieving the cursor shape
|
|
|
information from the X server, then the default is
|
|
|
to use that mode. On Solaris this can be done with
|
|
|
the SUN_OVL extension using -overlay (see also the
|
|
|
-overlay_nocursor option). A similar overlay scheme
|
|
|
is used on IRIX. Xorg (e.g. Linux) and recent Solaris
|
|
|
Xsun servers support the XFIXES extension to retrieve
|
|
|
the exact cursor shape from the X server. If XFIXES
|
|
|
is present it is preferred over Overlay and is used by
|
|
|
default (see -noxfixes below). This can be disabled
|
|
|
with -nocursor, and also some values of the "mode"
|
|
|
option below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that under XFIXES cursors with transparency (alpha
|
|
|
channel) will usually not be exactly represented and one
|
|
|
may find Overlay preferable. See also the -alphacut
|
|
|
and -alphafrac options below as fudge factors to try
|
|
|
to improve the situation for cursors with transparency
|
|
|
for a given theme.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The "mode" string can be used to fine-tune the
|
|
|
displaying of cursor shapes. It can be used the
|
|
|
following ways:
|
|
|
|
|
|
"-cursor arrow" - just show the standard arrow
|
|
|
nothing more or nothing less.
|
|
|
|
|
|
"-cursor none" - same as "-nocursor"
|
|
|
|
|
|
"-cursor X" - when the cursor appears to be on the
|
|
|
root window, draw the familiar X shape. Some desktops
|
|
|
such as GNOME cover up the root window completely,
|
|
|
and so this will not work, try "X1", etc, to try to
|
|
|
shift the tree depth. On high latency links or slow
|
|
|
machines there will be a time lag between expected and
|
|
|
the actual cursor shape.
|
|
|
|
|
|
"-cursor some" - like "X" but use additional
|
|
|
heuristics to try to guess if the window should have
|
|
|
a windowmanager-like resizer cursor or a text input
|
|
|
I-beam cursor. This is a complete hack, but may be
|
|
|
useful in some situations because it provides a little
|
|
|
more feedback about the cursor shape.
|
|
|
|
|
|
"-cursor most" - try to show as many cursors as
|
|
|
possible. Often this will only be the same as "some"
|
|
|
unless the display has overlay visuals or XFIXES
|
|
|
extensions available. On Solaris and IRIX if XFIXES
|
|
|
is not available, -overlay mode will be attempted.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-arrow n Choose an alternate "arrow" cursor from a set of
|
|
|
some common ones. n can be 1 to 6. Default is: 1
|
|
|
Ignored when in XFIXES cursor-grabbing mode.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-noxfixes Do not use the XFIXES extension to draw the exact cursor
|
|
|
shape even if it is available.
|
|
|
-alphacut n When using the XFIXES extension for the cursor shape,
|
|
|
cursors with transparency will not usually be displayed
|
|
|
exactly (but opaque ones will). This option sets n as
|
|
|
a cutoff for cursors that have transparency ("alpha
|
|
|
channel" with values ranging from 0 to 255) Any cursor
|
|
|
pixel with alpha value less than n becomes completely
|
|
|
transparent. Otherwise the pixel is completely opaque.
|
|
|
Default 240
|
|
|
|
|
|
-alphafrac fraction With the threshold in -alphacut some cursors will become
|
|
|
almost completely transparent because their alpha values
|
|
|
are not high enough. For those cursors adjust the
|
|
|
alpha threshold until fraction of the non-zero alpha
|
|
|
channel pixels become opaque. Default 0.33
|
|
|
-alpharemove By default, XFIXES cursors pixels with transparency have
|
|
|
the alpha factor multiplied into the RGB color values
|
|
|
(i.e. that corresponding to blending the cursor with a
|
|
|
black background). Specify this option to remove the
|
|
|
alpha factor. (useful for light colored semi-transparent
|
|
|
cursors).
|
|
|
-noalphablend In XFIXES mode do not send cursor alpha channel data
|
|
|
to libvncserver. The default is to send it. The
|
|
|
alphablend effect will only be visible in -nocursorshape
|
|
|
mode or for clients with cursorshapeupdates turned
|
|
|
off. (However there is a hack for 32bpp with depth 24,
|
|
|
it uses the extra 8 bits to store cursor transparency
|
|
|
for use with a hacked vncviewer that applies the
|
|
|
transparency locally. See the FAQ for more info).
|
|
|
|
|
|
-nocursorshape Do not use the TightVNC CursorShapeUpdates extension
|
|
|
even if clients support it. See -cursor above.
|
|
|
-cursorpos Option -cursorpos enables sending the X cursor position
|
|
|
-nocursorpos back to all vnc clients that support the TightVNC
|
|
|
CursorPosUpdates extension. Other clients will be able
|
|
|
to see the pointer motions. Default: -cursorpos
|
|
|
-xwarppointer Move the pointer with XWarpPointer(3X) instead of
|
|
|
the XTEST extension. Use this as a workaround
|
|
|
if the pointer motion behaves incorrectly, e.g.
|
|
|
on touchscreens or other non-standard setups.
|
|
|
Also sometimes needed on XINERAMA displays.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-buttonmap string String to remap mouse buttons. Format: IJK-LMN, this
|
|
|
maps buttons I -> L, etc., e.g. -buttonmap 13-31
|
|
|
|
|
|
Button presses can also be mapped to keystrokes: replace
|
|
|
a button digit on the right of the dash with :<sym>:
|
|
|
or :<sym1>+<sym2>: etc. for multiple keys. For example,
|
|
|
if the viewing machine has a mouse-wheel (buttons 4 5)
|
|
|
but the x11vnc side does not, these will do scrolls:
|
|
|
-buttonmap 12345-123:Prior::Next:
|
|
|
-buttonmap 12345-123:Up+Up+Up::Down+Down+Down:
|
|
|
|
|
|
See <X11/keysymdef.h> header file for a list of Keysyms,
|
|
|
or use the xev(1) program. Note: mapping of button
|
|
|
clicks to Keysyms may not work if -modtweak or -xkb is
|
|
|
needed for the Keysym.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you include a modifier like "Shift_L" the
|
|
|
modifier's up/down state is toggled, e.g. to send
|
|
|
"The" use :Shift_L+t+Shift_L+h+e: (the 1st one is
|
|
|
shift down and the 2nd one is shift up). (note: the
|
|
|
initial state of the modifier is ignored and not reset)
|
|
|
To include button events use "Button1", ... etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-nodragging Do not update the display during mouse dragging events
|
|
|
(mouse button held down). Greatly improves response on
|
|
|
slow setups, but you lose all visual feedback for drags,
|
|
|
text selection, and some menu traversals. It overrides
|
|
|
any -pointer_mode setting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-wireframe [str] Try to detect window moves or resizes when a mouse
|
|
|
-nowireframe button is held down and show a wireframe instead of
|
|
|
the full opaque window. This is based completely on
|
|
|
heuristics and may not always work: it depends on your
|
|
|
window manager and even how you move things around.
|
|
|
See -pointer_mode below for discussion of the "bogging
|
|
|
down" problem this tries to avoid.
|
|
|
Default: -wireframe
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shorter aliases: -wf [str] and -nowf
|
|
|
|
|
|
The value "str" is optional and, of course, is
|
|
|
packed with many tunable parameters for this scheme:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Format: shade,linewidth,percent,T+B+L+R,mod,t1+t2+t3+t4
|
|
|
Default: 0xff,3,0,32+8+8+8,all,0.15+0.30+5.0+0.125
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you leave nothing between commas: ",," the default
|
|
|
value is used. If you don't specify enough commas,
|
|
|
the trailing parameters are set to their defaults.
|
|
|
|
|
|
"shade" indicate the "color" for the wireframe,
|
|
|
usually a greyscale: 0-255, however for 16 and 32bpp you
|
|
|
can specify an rgb.txt X color (e.g. "dodgerblue") or
|
|
|
a value > 255 is treated as RGB (e.g. red is 0xff0000).
|
|
|
"linewidth" sets the width of the wireframe in pixels.
|
|
|
"percent" indicates to not apply the wireframe scheme
|
|
|
to windows with area less than this percent of the
|
|
|
full screen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
"T+B+L+R" indicates four integers for how close in
|
|
|
pixels the pointer has to be from the Top, Bottom, Left,
|
|
|
or Right edges of the window to consider wireframing.
|
|
|
This is a speedup to quickly exclude a window from being
|
|
|
wireframed: set them all to zero to not try the speedup
|
|
|
(scrolling and selecting text will likely be slower).
|
|
|
|
|
|
"mod" specifies if a button down event in the
|
|
|
interior of the window with a modifier key (Alt, Shift,
|
|
|
etc.) down should indicate a wireframe opportunity.
|
|
|
It can be "0" or "none" to skip it, "1" or "all"
|
|
|
to apply it to any modifier, or "Shift", "Alt",
|
|
|
"Control", "Meta", "Super", or "Hyper" to only
|
|
|
apply for that type of modifier key.
|
|
|
|
|
|
"t1+t2+t3+t4" specify four floating point times in
|
|
|
seconds: t1 is how long to wait for the pointer to move,
|
|
|
t2 is how long to wait for the window to start moving
|
|
|
or being resized (for some window managers this can be
|
|
|
rather long), t3 is how long to keep a wireframe moving
|
|
|
before repainting the window. t4 is the minimum time
|
|
|
between sending wireframe "animations". If a slow
|
|
|
link is detected, these values may be automatically
|
|
|
changed to something better for a slow link.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-wirecopyrect mode Since the -wireframe mechanism evidently tracks moving
|
|
|
-nowirecopyrect windows accurately, a speedup can be obtained by
|
|
|
telling the VNC viewers to locally copy the translated
|
|
|
window region. This is the VNC CopyRect encoding:
|
|
|
the framebuffer update doesn't need to send the actual
|
|
|
new image data.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shorter aliases: -wcr [mode] and -nowcr
|
|
|
|
|
|
"mode" can be "never" (same as -nowirecopyrect)
|
|
|
to never try the copyrect, "top" means only do it if
|
|
|
the window was not covered by any other windows, and
|
|
|
"always" means to translate the orginally unobscured
|
|
|
region (this may look odd as the remaining pieces come
|
|
|
in, but helps on a slow link). Default: "always"
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: there can be painting errors or slow response
|
|
|
when using -scale so you may want to disable CopyRect
|
|
|
in this case "-wirecopyrect never" on the command
|
|
|
line or by remote-control. Or you can also use the
|
|
|
"-scale xxx:nocr" scale option.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-debug_wireframe Turn on debugging info printout for the wireframe
|
|
|
heuristics. "-dwf" is an alias. Specify multiple
|
|
|
times for more output.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-scrollcopyrect mode Like -wirecopyrect, but use heuristics to try to guess
|
|
|
-noscrollcopyrect if a window has scrolled its contents (either vertically
|
|
|
or horizontally). This requires the RECORD X extension
|
|
|
to "snoop" on X applications (currently for certain
|
|
|
XCopyArea and XConfigureWindow X protocol requests).
|
|
|
Examples: Hitting <Return> in a terminal window when the
|
|
|
cursor was at the bottom, the text scrolls up one line.
|
|
|
Hitting <Down> arrow in a web browser window, the web
|
|
|
page scrolls up a small amount. Or scrolling with a
|
|
|
scrollbar or mouse wheel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shorter aliases: -scr [mode] and -noscr
|
|
|
|
|
|
This scheme will not always detect scrolls, but when
|
|
|
it does there is a nice speedup from using the VNC
|
|
|
CopyRect encoding (see -wirecopyrect). The speedup
|
|
|
is both in reduced network traffic and reduced X
|
|
|
framebuffer polling/copying. On the other hand, it may
|
|
|
induce undesired transients (e.g. a terminal cursor
|
|
|
being scrolled up when it should not be) or other
|
|
|
painting errors (window tearing, bunching-up, etc).
|
|
|
These are automatically repaired in a short period
|
|
|
of time. If this is unacceptable disable the feature
|
|
|
with -noscrollcopyrect.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Screen clearing kludges: for testing at least, there
|
|
|
are some "magic key sequences" (must be done in less
|
|
|
than 1 second) to aid repairing painting errors that
|
|
|
may be seen when using this mode:
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 Alt_L's in a row: resend whole screen,
|
|
|
4 Alt_L's in a row: reread and resend whole screen,
|
|
|
3 Super_L's in a row: mark whole screen for polling,
|
|
|
4 Super_L's in a row: reset RECORD context,
|
|
|
5 Super_L's in a row: try to push a black screen
|
|
|
|
|
|
note: Alt_L is the Left "Alt" key (a single key)
|
|
|
Super_L is the Left "Super" key (Windows flag).
|
|
|
Both of these are modifier keys, and so should not
|
|
|
generate characters when pressed by themselves. Also,
|
|
|
your VNC viewer may have its own refresh hot-key
|
|
|
or button.
|
|
|
|
|
|
"mode" can be "never" (same as -noscrollcopyrect)
|
|
|
to never try the copyrect, "keys" means to try it
|
|
|
in response to keystrokes only, "mouse" means to
|
|
|
try it in response to mouse events only, "always"
|
|
|
means to do both. Default: "always"
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: there can be painting errors or slow response
|
|
|
when using -scale so you may want to disable CopyRect
|
|
|
in this case "-scrollcopyrect never" on the command
|
|
|
line or by remote-control. Or you can also use the
|
|
|
"-scale xxx:nocr" scale option.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-scr_area n Set the minimum area in pixels for a rectangle
|
|
|
to be considered for the -scrollcopyrect detection
|
|
|
scheme. This is to avoid wasting the effort on small
|
|
|
rectangles that would be quickly updated the normal way.
|
|
|
E.g. suppose an app updated the position of its skinny
|
|
|
scrollbar first and then shifted the large panel
|
|
|
it controlled. We want to be sure to skip the small
|
|
|
scrollbar and get the large panel. Default: 60000
|
|
|
|
|
|
-scr_skip list Skip scroll detection for applications matching
|
|
|
the comma separated list of strings in "list".
|
|
|
Some applications implement their scrolling in
|
|
|
strange ways where the XCopyArea, etc, also applies
|
|
|
to invisible portions of the window: if we CopyRect
|
|
|
those areas it looks awful during the scroll and
|
|
|
there may be painting errors left after the scroll.
|
|
|
Soffice.bin is the worst known offender.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use "##" to denote the start of the application class
|
|
|
(e.g. "##XTerm") and "++" to denote the start
|
|
|
of the application instance name (e.g. "++xterm").
|
|
|
The string your list is matched against is of the form
|
|
|
"^^WM_NAME##Class++Instance<same-for-any-subwindows>"
|
|
|
The "xlsclients -la" command will provide this info.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If a pattern is prefixed with "KEY:" it only applies
|
|
|
to Keystroke generated scrolls (e.g. Up arrow). If it
|
|
|
is prefixed with "MOUSE:" it only applies to Mouse
|
|
|
induced scrolls (e.g. dragging on a scrollbar).
|
|
|
Default: ##Soffice.bin,##StarOffice
|
|
|
|
|
|
-scr_inc list Opposite of -scr_skip: this list is consulted first
|
|
|
and if there is a match the window will be monitored
|
|
|
via RECORD for scrolls irrespective of -scr_skip.
|
|
|
Use -scr_skip '*' to skip anything that does not match
|
|
|
your -scr_inc. Use -scr_inc '*' to include everything.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-scr_keys list For keystroke scroll detection, only apply the RECORD
|
|
|
heuristics to the comma separated list of keysyms in
|
|
|
"list". You may find the RECORD overhead for every
|
|
|
one of your keystrokes disrupts typing too much, but you
|
|
|
don't want to turn it off completely with "-scr mouse"
|
|
|
and -scr_parms does not work or is too confusing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The listed keysyms can be numeric or the keysym
|
|
|
names in the <X11/keysymdef.h> header file or from the
|
|
|
xev(1) program. Example: "-scr_keys Up,Down,Return".
|
|
|
One probably wants to have application specific lists
|
|
|
(e.g. for terminals, etc) but that is too icky to think
|
|
|
about for now...
|
|
|
|
|
|
If "list" begins with the "-" character the list
|
|
|
is taken as an exclude list: all keysyms except those
|
|
|
list will be considered. The special string "builtin"
|
|
|
expands to an internal list of keysyms that are likely
|
|
|
to cause scrolls. BTW, by default modifier keys,
|
|
|
Shift_L, Control_R, etc, are skipped since they almost
|
|
|
never induce scrolling by themselves.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-scr_term list Yet another cosmetic kludge. Apply shell/terminal
|
|
|
heuristics to applications matching comma separated
|
|
|
list (same as for -scr_skip/-scr_inc). For example an
|
|
|
annoying transient under scroll detection is if you
|
|
|
hit Enter in a terminal shell with full text window,
|
|
|
the solid text cursor block will be scrolled up.
|
|
|
So for a short time there are two (or more) block
|
|
|
cursors on the screen. There are similar scenarios,
|
|
|
(e.g. an output line is duplicated).
|
|
|
|
|
|
These transients are induced by the approximation of
|
|
|
scroll detection (e.g. it detects the scroll, but not
|
|
|
the fact that the block cursor was cleared just before
|
|
|
the scroll). In nearly all cases these transient errors
|
|
|
are repaired when the true X framebuffer is consulted
|
|
|
by the normal polling. But they are distracting, so
|
|
|
what this option provides is extra "padding" near the
|
|
|
bottom of the terminal window: a few extra lines near
|
|
|
the bottom will not be scrolled, but rather updated
|
|
|
from the actual X framebuffer. This usually reduces
|
|
|
the annoying artifacts. Use "none" to disable.
|
|
|
Default: "term"
|
|
|
|
|
|
-scr_keyrepeat lo-hi If a key is held down (or otherwise repeats rapidly) and
|
|
|
this induces a rapid sequence of scrolls (e.g. holding
|
|
|
down an Arrow key) the "scrollcopyrect" detection
|
|
|
and overhead may not be able to keep up. A time per
|
|
|
single scroll estimate is performed and if that estimate
|
|
|
predicts a sustainable scrollrate of keys per second
|
|
|
between "lo" and "hi" then repeated keys will be
|
|
|
DISCARDED to maintain the scrollrate. For example your
|
|
|
key autorepeat may be 25 keys/sec, but for a large
|
|
|
window or slow link only 8 scrolls per second can be
|
|
|
sustained, then roughly 2 out of every 3 repeated keys
|
|
|
will be discarded during this period. Default: "4-20"
|
|
|
|
|
|
-scr_parms string Set various parameters for the scrollcopyrect mode.
|
|
|
The format is similar to that for -wireframe and packed
|
|
|
with lots of parameters:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Format: T+B+L+R,t1+t2+t3,s1+s2+s3+s4+s5
|
|
|
Default: 0+64+32+32,0.02+0.10+0.9,0.03+0.06+0.5+0.1+5.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you leave nothing between commas: ",," the default
|
|
|
value is used. If you don't specify enough commas,
|
|
|
the trailing parameters are set to their defaults.
|
|
|
|
|
|
"T+B+L+R" indicates four integers for how close in
|
|
|
pixels the pointer has to be from the Top, Bottom, Left,
|
|
|
or Right edges of the window to consider scrollcopyrect.
|
|
|
If -wireframe overlaps it takes precedence. This is a
|
|
|
speedup to quickly exclude a window from being watched
|
|
|
for scrollcopyrect: set them all to zero to not try
|
|
|
the speedup (things like selecting text will likely
|
|
|
be slower).
|
|
|
|
|
|
"t1+t2+t3" specify three floating point times in
|
|
|
seconds that apply to scrollcopyrect detection with
|
|
|
*Keystroke* input: t1 is how long to wait after a key
|
|
|
is pressed for the first scroll, t2 is how long to keep
|
|
|
looking after a Keystroke scroll for more scrolls.
|
|
|
t3 is how frequently to try to update surrounding
|
|
|
scrollbars outside of the scrolling area (0.0 to
|
|
|
disable)
|
|
|
|
|
|
"s1+s2+s3+s4+s5" specify five floating point times
|
|
|
in seconds that apply to scrollcopyrect detection with
|
|
|
*Mouse* input: s1 is how long to wait after a mouse
|
|
|
button is pressed for the first scroll, s2 is how long
|
|
|
to keep waiting for additional scrolls after the first
|
|
|
Mouse scroll was detected. s3 is how frequently to
|
|
|
try to update surrounding scrollbars outside of the
|
|
|
scrolling area (0.0 to disable). s4 is how long to
|
|
|
buffer pointer motion (to try to get fewer, bigger
|
|
|
mouse scrolls). s5 is the maximum time to spend just
|
|
|
updating the scroll window without updating the rest
|
|
|
of the screen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-fixscreen string Periodically "repair" the screen based on settings
|
|
|
in "string". Hopefully you won't need this option,
|
|
|
it is intended for cases when the -scrollcopyrect or
|
|
|
-wirecopyrect features leave too many painting errors,
|
|
|
but it can be used for any scenario. This option
|
|
|
periodically performs costly operations and so
|
|
|
interactive response may be reduced when it is on.
|
|
|
You can use 3 Alt_L's (the Left "Alt" key) taps in
|
|
|
a row (as described under -scrollcopyrect) instead to
|
|
|
manually request a screen repaint when it is needed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
"string" is a comma separated list of one or more of
|
|
|
the following: "V=t", "C=t", "X=t", and "8=t".
|
|
|
In these "t" stands for a time in seconds (it is
|
|
|
a floating point even though one should usually use
|
|
|
values > 2 to avoid wasting resources). V sets how
|
|
|
frequently the entire screen should be sent to viewers
|
|
|
(it is like the 3 Alt_L's). C sets how long to wait
|
|
|
after a CopyRect to repaint the full screen. X sets
|
|
|
how frequently to reread the full X11 framebuffer from
|
|
|
the X server and push it out to connected viewers.
|
|
|
Use of X should be rare, please report a bug if you
|
|
|
find you need it. 8= applies only for -8to24 mode: it
|
|
|
sets how often the non-default visual regions of the
|
|
|
screen (e.g. 8bpp windows) are refreshed. Examples:
|
|
|
-fixscreen V=10 -fixscreen C=10
|
|
|
|
|
|
-debug_scroll Turn on debugging info printout for the scroll
|
|
|
heuristics. "-ds" is an alias. Specify it multiple
|
|
|
times for more output.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-noxrecord Disable any use of the RECORD extension. This is
|
|
|
currently used by the -scrollcopyrect scheme and to
|
|
|
monitor X server grabs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-grab_buster Some of the use of the RECORD extension can leave a
|
|
|
-nograb_buster tiny window for XGrabServer deadlock. This is only if
|
|
|
the whole-server grabbing application expects mouse or
|
|
|
keyboard input before releasing the grab. It is usually
|
|
|
a window manager that does this. x11vnc takes care to
|
|
|
avoid the the problem, but if caught x11vnc will freeze.
|
|
|
Without -grab_buster, the only solution is to go the
|
|
|
physical display and give it some input to satisfy the
|
|
|
grabbing app. Or manually kill and restart the window
|
|
|
manager if that is feasible. With -grab_buster, x11vnc
|
|
|
will fork a helper thread and if x11vnc appears to be
|
|
|
stuck in a grab after a period of time (20-30 sec) then
|
|
|
it will inject some user input: button clicks, Escape,
|
|
|
mouse motion, etc to try to break the grab. If you
|
|
|
experience a lot of grab deadlock, please report a bug.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-debug_grabs Turn on debugging info printout with respect to
|
|
|
XGrabServer() deadlock for -scrollcopyrect mode.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-debug_sel Turn on debugging info printout with respect to
|
|
|
PRIMARY, CLIPBOARD, and CUTBUFFER0 selections.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-pointer_mode n Various pointer motion update schemes. "-pm" is
|
|
|
an alias. The problem is pointer motion can cause
|
|
|
rapid changes on the screen: consider the rapid
|
|
|
changes when you drag a large window around opaquely.
|
|
|
Neither x11vnc's screen polling and vnc compression
|
|
|
routines nor the bandwidth to the vncviewers can keep
|
|
|
up these rapid screen changes: everything will bog down
|
|
|
when dragging or scrolling. So a scheme has to be used
|
|
|
to "eat" much of that pointer input before re-polling
|
|
|
the screen and sending out framebuffer updates. The
|
|
|
mode number "n" can be 0 to 4 and selects one of
|
|
|
the schemes desribed below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that the -wireframe and -scrollcopyrect modes
|
|
|
complement -pointer_mode by detecting (and improving)
|
|
|
certain periods of "rapid screen change".
|
|
|
|
|
|
n=0: does the same as -nodragging. (all screen polling
|
|
|
is suspended if a mouse button is pressed.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
n=1: was the original scheme used to about Jan 2004:
|
|
|
it basically just skips -input_skip keyboard or pointer
|
|
|
events before repolling the screen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
n=2 is an improved scheme: by watching the current rate
|
|
|
of input events it tries to detect if it should try to
|
|
|
"eat" additional pointer events before continuing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
n=3 is basically a dynamic -nodragging mode: it detects
|
|
|
when the mouse motion has paused and then refreshes
|
|
|
the display.
|
|
|
|
|
|
n=4 attempts to measures network rates and latency,
|
|
|
the video card read rate, and how many tiles have been
|
|
|
changed on the screen. From this, it aggressively tries
|
|
|
to push screen "frames" when it decides it has enough
|
|
|
resources to do so. NOT FINISHED.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The default n is 2. Note that modes 2, 3, 4 will skip
|
|
|
-input_skip keyboard events (but it will not count
|
|
|
pointer events). Also note that these modes are not
|
|
|
available in -threads mode which has its own pointer
|
|
|
event handling mechanism.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To try out the different pointer modes to see which
|
|
|
one gives the best response for your usage, it is
|
|
|
convenient to use the remote control function, for
|
|
|
example "x11vnc -R pm:4" or the tcl/tk gui (Tuning ->
|
|
|
pointer_mode -> n).
|
|
|
|
|
|
-input_skip n For the pointer handling when non-threaded: try to
|
|
|
read n user input events before scanning display. n < 0
|
|
|
means to act as though there is always user input.
|
|
|
Default: 10
|
|
|
|
|
|
-allinput Have x11vnc read and process all available client input
|
|
|
before proceeding.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-speeds rd,bw,lat x11vnc tries to estimate some speed parameters that
|
|
|
are used to optimize scheduling (e.g. -pointer_mode
|
|
|
4, -wireframe, -scrollcopyrect) and other things.
|
|
|
Use the -speeds option to set these manually.
|
|
|
The triple "rd,bw,lat" corresponds to video h/w
|
|
|
read rate in MB/sec, network bandwidth to clients in
|
|
|
KB/sec, and network latency to clients in milliseconds,
|
|
|
respectively. If a value is left blank, e.g. "-speeds
|
|
|
,100,15", then the internal scheme is used to estimate
|
|
|
the empty value(s).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Typical PC video cards have read rates of 5-10 MB/sec.
|
|
|
If the framebuffer is in main memory instead of video
|
|
|
h/w (e.g. SunRay, shadowfb, dummy driver, Xvfb), the
|
|
|
read rate may be much faster. "x11perf -getimage500"
|
|
|
can be used to get a lower bound (remember to factor
|
|
|
in the bytes per pixel). It is up to you to estimate
|
|
|
the network bandwith and latency to clients. For the
|
|
|
latency the ping(1) command can be used.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For convenience there are some aliases provided,
|
|
|
e.g. "-speeds modem". The aliases are: "modem" for
|
|
|
6,4,200; "dsl" for 6,100,50; and "lan" for 6,5000,1
|
|
|
|
|
|
-wmdt string For some features, e.g. -wireframe and -scrollcopyrect,
|
|
|
x11vnc has to work around issues for certain window
|
|
|
managers or desktops (currently kde and xfce).
|
|
|
By default it tries to guess which one, but it can
|
|
|
guess incorrectly. Use this option to indicate which
|
|
|
wm/dt. "string" can be "gnome", "kde", "cde",
|
|
|
"xfce", or "root" (classic X wm). Anything else
|
|
|
is interpreted as "root".
|
|
|
|
|
|
-debug_pointer Print debugging output for every pointer event.
|
|
|
-debug_keyboard Print debugging output for every keyboard event.
|
|
|
Same as -dp and -dk, respectively. Use multiple
|
|
|
times for more output.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-defer time Time in ms to wait for updates before sending to client
|
|
|
(deferUpdateTime) Default: 30
|
|
|
-wait time Time in ms to pause between screen polls. Used to cut
|
|
|
down on load. Default: 30
|
|
|
-wait_ui factor Factor by which to cut the -wait time if there
|
|
|
has been recent user input (pointer or keyboard).
|
|
|
Improves response, but increases the load whenever you
|
|
|
are moving the mouse or typing. Default: 2.00
|
|
|
-nowait_bog Do not detect if the screen polling is "bogging down"
|
|
|
and sleep more. Some activities with no user input can
|
|
|
slow things down a lot: consider a large terminal window
|
|
|
with a long build running in it continously streaming
|
|
|
text output. By default x11vnc will try to detect this
|
|
|
(3 screen polls in a row each longer than 0.25 sec with
|
|
|
no user input), and sleep up to 1.5 secs to let things
|
|
|
"catch up". Use this option to disable that detection.
|
|
|
-slow_fb time Floating point time in seconds delay all screen polling.
|
|
|
For special purpose usage where a low frame rate is
|
|
|
acceptable and desirable, but you want the user input
|
|
|
processed at the normal rate so you cannot use -wait.
|
|
|
-readtimeout n Set libvncserver rfbMaxClientWait to n seconds. On
|
|
|
slow links that take a long time to paint the first
|
|
|
screen libvncserver may hit the timeout and drop the
|
|
|
connection. Default: 20 seconds.
|
|
|
-nap Monitor activity and if it is low take longer naps
|
|
|
-nonap between screen polls to really cut down load when idle.
|
|
|
Default: take naps
|
|
|
-sb time Time in seconds after NO activity (e.g. screen blank)
|
|
|
to really throttle down the screen polls (i.e. sleep
|
|
|
for about 1.5 secs). Use 0 to disable. Default: 60
|
|
|
|
|
|
-nofbpm If the system supports the FBPM (Frame Buffer Power
|
|
|
-fbpm Management) extension (i.e. some Sun systems), then
|
|
|
prevent the video h/w from going into a reduced power
|
|
|
state when VNC clients are connected.
|
|
|
|
|
|
FBPM capable video h/w save energy when the workstation
|
|
|
is idle by going into low power states (similar to DPMS
|
|
|
for monitors). This interferes with x11vnc's polling
|
|
|
of the framebuffer data.
|
|
|
|
|
|
"-nofbpm" means prevent FBPM low power states whenever
|
|
|
VNC clients are connected, while "-fbpm" means to not
|
|
|
monitor the FBPM state at all. See the xset(1) manpage
|
|
|
for details. -nofbpm is basically the same as running
|
|
|
"xset fbpm force on" periodically. Default: -fbpm
|
|
|
|
|
|
-noxdamage Do not use the X DAMAGE extension to detect framebuffer
|
|
|
changes even if it is available. Use -xdamage if your
|
|
|
default is to have it off.
|
|
|
|
|
|
x11vnc's use of the DAMAGE extension: 1) significantly
|
|
|
reduces the load when the screen is not changing much,
|
|
|
and 2) detects changed areas (small ones by default)
|
|
|
more quickly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Currently the DAMAGE extension is overly conservative
|
|
|
and often reports large areas (e.g. a whole terminal
|
|
|
or browser window) as damaged even though the actual
|
|
|
changed region is much smaller (sometimes just a few
|
|
|
pixels). So heuristics were introduced to skip large
|
|
|
areas and use the damage rectangles only as "hints"
|
|
|
for the traditional scanline polling. The following
|
|
|
tuning parameters are introduced to adjust this
|
|
|
behavior:
|
|
|
|
|
|
-xd_area A Set the largest DAMAGE rectangle area "A" (in
|
|
|
pixels: width * height) to trust as truly damaged:
|
|
|
the rectangle will be copied from the framebuffer
|
|
|
(slow) no matter what. Set to zero to trust *all*
|
|
|
rectangles. Default: 20000
|
|
|
-xd_mem f Set how long DAMAGE rectangles should be "remembered",
|
|
|
"f" is a floating point number and is in units of the
|
|
|
scanline repeat cycle time (32 iterations). The default
|
|
|
(1.0) should give no painting problems. Increase it if
|
|
|
there are problems or decrease it to live on the edge
|
|
|
(perhaps useful on a slow machine).
|
|
|
|
|
|
-sigpipe string Broken pipe (SIGPIPE) handling. "string" can be
|
|
|
"ignore" or "exit". For "ignore" libvncserver
|
|
|
will handle the abrupt loss of a client and continue,
|
|
|
for "exit" x11vnc will cleanup and exit at the 1st
|
|
|
broken connection.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This option is not really needed since libvncserver
|
|
|
is doing the correct thing now for quite some time.
|
|
|
However, for convenience you can use it to ignore other
|
|
|
signals, e.g. "-sigpipe ignore:HUP,INT,TERM" in case
|
|
|
that would be useful for some sort of application.
|
|
|
You can also put "exit:.." in there.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-threads Whether or not to use the threaded libvncserver
|
|
|
-nothreads algorithm [rfbRunEventLoop] if libpthread is available
|
|
|
Default: -nothreads
|
|
|
|
|
|
-fs f If the fraction of changed tiles in a poll is greater
|
|
|
than f, the whole screen is updated. Default: 0.75
|
|
|
-gaps n Heuristic to fill in gaps in rows or cols of n or
|
|
|
less tiles. Used to improve text paging. Default: 4
|
|
|
-grow n Heuristic to grow islands of changed tiles n or wider
|
|
|
by checking the tile near the boundary. Default: 3
|
|
|
-fuzz n Tolerance in pixels to mark a tiles edges as changed.
|
|
|
Default: 2
|
|
|
-debug_tiles Print debugging output for tiles, fb updates, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-snapfb Instead of polling the X display framebuffer (fb) for
|
|
|
changes, periodically copy all of X display fb into main
|
|
|
memory and examine that copy for changes. Under some
|
|
|
circumstances this will improve interactive response,
|
|
|
or at least make things look smoother, but in others
|
|
|
(most!) it will make the response worse. If the video
|
|
|
h/w fb is such that reading small tiles is very slow
|
|
|
this mode could help. To keep the "framerate" up
|
|
|
the screen size x bpp cannot be too large. Note that
|
|
|
this mode is very wasteful of memory I/O resources
|
|
|
(it makes full screen copies even if nothing changes).
|
|
|
It may be of use in video capture-like applications,
|
|
|
or where window tearing is a problem.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-rawfb string Instead of polling X, poll the memory object specified
|
|
|
in "string".
|
|
|
|
|
|
For shared memory segments string is of the
|
|
|
form: "shm:N@WxHxB" which specifies a shmid
|
|
|
N and framebuffer Width, Height, and Bits
|
|
|
per pixel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For file polling to memory map mmap(2) a file use:
|
|
|
"map:/path/to/a/file@WxHxB", with WxHxB as above.
|
|
|
"mmap:..." is the same. If there is trouble with mmap,
|
|
|
use "file:/..." for slower lseek(2) based reading.
|
|
|
Use "snap:..." to imply -snapfb mode and the "file:"
|
|
|
access (this is for devices that only provide the fb
|
|
|
all at once).
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you do not supply a type "map" is assumed if
|
|
|
the file exists (see the next paragraphs for some
|
|
|
exceptions to this.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
If string is "setup:cmd", then the command "cmd"
|
|
|
is run and the first line from it is read and used
|
|
|
as "string". This allows initializing the device,
|
|
|
determining WxHxB, etc. These are often done as root
|
|
|
so take care.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the string begins with "video", see the VIDEO4LINUX
|
|
|
discusion below where the device may be queried for
|
|
|
(and possibly set) the framebuffer parameters.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the string begins with "console", "/dev/fb", or
|
|
|
"fb", see the LINUX CONSOLE discussion below where
|
|
|
the framebuffer device is opened and keystrokes (and
|
|
|
possibly mouse events) are inserted into the console.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Optional suffixes are ":R/G/B" and "+O" to specify
|
|
|
red, green, and blue masks and an offset into the
|
|
|
memory object. If the masks are not provided x11vnc
|
|
|
guesses them based on the bpp.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Examples:
|
|
|
-rawfb shm:210337933@800x600x32:ff/ff00/ff0000
|
|
|
-rawfb map:/dev/fb0@1024x768x32
|
|
|
-rawfb map:/tmp/Xvfb_screen0@640x480x8+3232
|
|
|
-rawfb file:/tmp/my.pnm@250x200x24+37
|
|
|
-rawfb file:/dev/urandom@128x128x8
|
|
|
-rawfb snap:/dev/video0@320x240x24 -24to32
|
|
|
-rawfb video0
|
|
|
-rawfb video -pipeinput VID
|
|
|
-rawfb console
|
|
|
|
|
|
(see ipcs(1) and fbset(1) for the first two examples)
|
|
|
|
|
|
In general all user input is discarded by default (see
|
|
|
the -pipeinput option for how to use a helper program
|
|
|
to insert). Most of the X11 (screen, keyboard, mouse)
|
|
|
options do not make sense and many will cause this
|
|
|
mode to crash, so please think twice before setting or
|
|
|
changing them in a running x11vnc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you DO NOT want x11vnc to close the X DISPLAY in
|
|
|
rawfb mode, prepend a "+" e.g. +file:/dev/fb0...
|
|
|
Keeping the display open enables the default
|
|
|
remote-control channel, which could be useful.
|
|
|
Alternatively, if you specify -noviewonly, then the
|
|
|
mouse and keyboard input are STILL sent to the X
|
|
|
display, this usage should be very rare, i.e. doing
|
|
|
something strange with /dev/fb0.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the device is not "seekable" try reading it all
|
|
|
at once in full snaps via the "snap:" mode (note:
|
|
|
this is a resource hog). If you are using file: or
|
|
|
map: and the device needs to be reopened for *every*
|
|
|
snapfb snapshot, set the environment variable:
|
|
|
SNAPFB_RAWFB_RESET=1 as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you want x11vnc to dynamically transform a 24bpp
|
|
|
rawfb to 32bpp (note that this will be slower) also
|
|
|
supply the -24to32 option. This would be useful for,
|
|
|
say, a video camera that delivers the pixel data as
|
|
|
24bpp packed RGB. This is the default under "video"
|
|
|
mode if the bpp is 24.
|
|
|
|
|
|
VIDEO4LINUX: on Linux some attempt is made to handle
|
|
|
video devices (webcams or TV tuners) automatically.
|
|
|
The idea is the WxHxB will be extracted from the
|
|
|
device itself. So if you do not supply "@WxHxB...
|
|
|
parameters x11vnc will try to determine them. It first
|
|
|
tries the v4l API if that support has been compiled in.
|
|
|
Otherwise it will run the v4l-info(1) external program
|
|
|
if it is available.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The simplest examples are "-rawfb video" and "-rawfb
|
|
|
video1" which imply the device file /dev/video and
|
|
|
/dev/video1, respectively. You can also supply the
|
|
|
/dev if you like, e.g. "-rawfb /dev/video0"
|
|
|
|
|
|
Since the video capture device framebuffer usually
|
|
|
changes continuously (e.g. brightness fluctuations),
|
|
|
you may want to use the -wait, -slow_fb, or -defer
|
|
|
options to lower the "framerate" to cut down on
|
|
|
network VNC traffic.
|
|
|
|
|
|
A more sophisticated video device scheme allows
|
|
|
initializing the device's settings using:
|
|
|
|
|
|
-rawfb video:<settings>
|
|
|
|
|
|
The prefix could also be, as above, e.g. "video1:" to
|
|
|
specify the device file. The v4l API must be available
|
|
|
for this to work. Otherwise, you will need to try
|
|
|
to initialize the device with an external program,
|
|
|
e.g. xawtv, spcaview, and hope they persist when x11vnc
|
|
|
re-opens the device.
|
|
|
|
|
|
<settings> is a comma separated list of key=value pairs.
|
|
|
The device's brightness, color, contrast, and hue can
|
|
|
be set to percentages, e.g. br=80,co=50,cn=44,hu=60.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The device filename can be set too if needed (if it
|
|
|
does not start with "video"), e.g. fn=/dev/qcam.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The width, height and bpp of the framebuffer can be
|
|
|
set via, e.g., w=160,h=120,bpp=16.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related to the bpp above, the pixel format can be set
|
|
|
via the fmt=XXX, where XXX can be one of: GREY, HI240,
|
|
|
RGB555, RGB565, RGB24, and RGB32 (with bpp 8, 8, 16, 16,
|
|
|
24, and 32 respectively). See http://www.linuxtv.org
|
|
|
for more info (V4L api).
|
|
|
|
|
|
For TV/rf tuner cards one can set the tuning mode
|
|
|
via tun=XXX where XXX can be one of PAL, NTSC, SECAM,
|
|
|
or AUTO.
|
|
|
|
|
|
One can switch the input channel by the inp=XXX setting,
|
|
|
where XXX is the name of the input channel (Television,
|
|
|
Composite1, S-Video, etc). Use the name that is in the
|
|
|
information about the device that is printed at startup.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For input channels with tuners (e.g. Television) one
|
|
|
can change which station is selected by the sta=XXX
|
|
|
setting. XXX is the station number. Currently only
|
|
|
the ntsc-cable-us (US cable) channels are built into
|
|
|
x11vnc. See the -freqtab option below to supply one
|
|
|
from xawtv. If XXX is greater than 500, then it is
|
|
|
interpreted as a raw frequency in KHz.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Example:
|
|
|
|
|
|
-rawfb video:br=80,w=320,h=240,fmt=RGB32,tun=NTSC,sta=47
|
|
|
|
|
|
one might need to add inp=Television too for the input
|
|
|
channel to be TV if the card doesn't come up by default
|
|
|
in that one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that not all video capture devices will support
|
|
|
all of the above settings.
|
|
|
|
|
|
See the -pipeinput VID option below for a way to control
|
|
|
the settings through the VNC Viewer via keystrokes.
|
|
|
As a shortcut, if the string begins "Video.." instead
|
|
|
of "video.." then -pipeinput VID is implied.
|
|
|
|
|
|
As above, if you specify a "@WxHxB..." after the
|
|
|
<settings> string they are used verbatim: the device
|
|
|
is not queried for the current values. Otherwise the
|
|
|
device will be queried.
|
|
|
|
|
|
LINUX CONSOLE: If the libvncserver LinuxVNC program
|
|
|
is on your system you may want to use that instead of
|
|
|
the following method because it will be faster and more
|
|
|
accurate for Linux text console.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the rawfb string begins with "console" the
|
|
|
framebuffer device /dev/fb0 is opened (this requires
|
|
|
the appropriate kernel modules to be installed) and so
|
|
|
is /dev/tty0. The latter is used to inject keystrokes
|
|
|
(not all are supported, but the basic ones are).
|
|
|
You will need to be root to inject keystrokes.
|
|
|
/dev/tty0 refers to the active VT, to indicate one
|
|
|
explicitly, use "console2", etc. using the VT number.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the Linux version seems to be 2.6 or later and the
|
|
|
"uinput" module appears to be present, then the uinput
|
|
|
method will be used instead of /dev/ttyN. uinput allows
|
|
|
insertion of BOTH keystrokes and mouse input and so it
|
|
|
preferred when accessing graphical (e.g. QT-embedded)
|
|
|
linux console apps. See -pipeinput UINPUT below for
|
|
|
more information on this mode; you will have to use
|
|
|
-pipeinput if you want to tweak any UINPUT parameters.
|
|
|
You may also want to also use the -nodragging and
|
|
|
-cursor none options. Use "console0", etc or
|
|
|
-pipeinput CONSOLE to force the /dev/ttyN method.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note you can change VT remotely using the chvt(1)
|
|
|
command. Sometimes switching out and back corrects
|
|
|
the framebuffer state.
|
|
|
|
|
|
To skip input injecting entirely use "consolex".
|
|
|
|
|
|
The string "/dev/fb0" (1, etc.) can be used instead
|
|
|
of "console". This can be used to specify a different
|
|
|
framebuffer device, e.g. /dev/fb1. As a shortcut the
|
|
|
"/dev/" can be dropped. If the name is something
|
|
|
nonstandard, use "console:/dev/foofb"
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you do not want x11vnc to guess the framebuffer's
|
|
|
WxHxB and masks automatically (sometimes the kernel
|
|
|
gives inaccurate information), specify them with a
|
|
|
@WxHxB at the end of the string.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Examples:
|
|
|
-rawfb console (same as -rawfb console)
|
|
|
-rawfb /dev/fb0 (same)
|
|
|
-rawfb console3 (force /dev/tty3)
|
|
|
-rawfb consolex (no keystrokes or mouse)
|
|
|
-rawfb console:/dev/nonstd
|
|
|
-rawfb console -pipeinput UINPUT:accel=4.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
-freqtab file For use with "-rawfb video" for TV tuner devices to
|
|
|
specify station frequencies. Instead of using the built
|
|
|
in ntsc-cable-us mapping of station number to frequency,
|
|
|
use the data in file. For stations that are not
|
|
|
numeric, e.g. SE20, they are placed above the highest
|
|
|
numbered station in the order they are found. Example:
|
|
|
"-freqtab /usr/X11R6/share/xawtv/europe-west.list"
|
|
|
You can make your own freqtab by copying the xawtv
|
|
|
format.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-pipeinput cmd This option lets you supply an external command in
|
|
|
"cmd" that x11vnc will pipe all of the user input
|
|
|
events to in a simple format. In -pipeinput mode by
|
|
|
default x11vnc will not process any of the user input
|
|
|
events. If you prefix "cmd" with "tee:" it will
|
|
|
both send them to the pipe command and process them.
|
|
|
For a description of the format run "-pipeinput
|
|
|
tee:/bin/cat". Another prefix is "reopen" which
|
|
|
means to reopen pipe if it exits. Separate multiple
|
|
|
prefixes with commas.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In combination with -rawfb one might be able to
|
|
|
do amusing things (e.g. control non-X devices).
|
|
|
To facilitate this, if -rawfb is in effect then the
|
|
|
value is stored in X11VNC_RAWFB_STR for the pipe command
|
|
|
to use if it wants. Do 'env | grep X11VNC' for more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Built-in pipeinput modes (no external program required):
|
|
|
|
|
|
If cmd is "VID" and you are using the -rawfb for a
|
|
|
video capture device, then an internal list of keyboard
|
|
|
mappings is used to set parameters of the video.
|
|
|
The mappings are:
|
|
|
|
|
|
"B" and "b" adjust the brightness up and down.
|
|
|
"H" and "h" adjust the hue.
|
|
|
"C" and "c" adjust the colour.
|
|
|
"N" and "n" adjust the contrast.
|
|
|
"S" and "s" adjust the size of the capture screen.
|
|
|
"I" and "i" cycle through input channels.
|
|
|
Up and Down arrows adjust the station (if a tuner)
|
|
|
F1, F2, ..., F6 will switch the video capture pixel
|
|
|
format to HI240, RGB565, RGB24, RGB32, RGB555, and
|
|
|
GREY respectively. See -rawfb video for details.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If cmd is "CONSOLE" or "CONSOLEn" where n
|
|
|
is a Linux console number, then the linux console
|
|
|
keystroke insertion to /dev/ttyN (see -rawfb console)
|
|
|
is performed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If cmd begins with "UINPUT" then the Linux uinput
|
|
|
module is used to insert both keystroke and mouse events
|
|
|
to the Linux console (see -rawfb above). This usually
|
|
|
is the /dev/input/uinput device file (you may need to
|
|
|
create it with "mknod /dev/input/uinput c 10 223"
|
|
|
and insert the module with "modprobe uinput".
|
|
|
|
|
|
The UINPUT mode currently only does US keyboards (a
|
|
|
scan code option may be added), and not all keysyms
|
|
|
are supported.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You may want to use the options -cursor none and
|
|
|
-nodragging in this mode.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Additional tuning options may be supplied via:
|
|
|
UINPUT:opt1,opt2,... (a comma separated list). If an
|
|
|
option begins with "/" it is taken as the uinput
|
|
|
device file.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Which uinput is injected can be controlled by an option
|
|
|
string made of the characters "K", "M", and "B"
|
|
|
(see the -input option), e.g. "KM" allows keystroke
|
|
|
and motion but not button clicks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
A UINPUT option of the form: accel=f, or accel=fx+fy
|
|
|
sets the mouse motion "acceleration". This is used
|
|
|
to correct raw mouse relative motion into how much the
|
|
|
application cursor moves (x11vnc has no control over,
|
|
|
or knowledge of how the windowing application interprets
|
|
|
the raw mouse motions). Typically the acceleration
|
|
|
for an X display is 2 (see xset "m" option). "f"
|
|
|
is a floating point number, e.g. 3.0. Use "fx+fy"
|
|
|
if you need to supply different corrections for x and y.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: the default acceleration is 2.0 since it seems
|
|
|
both X and qt-embedded often (but not always) use
|
|
|
this value.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Even with a correct accel setting the mouse position
|
|
|
will get out of sync (probably due to a mouse
|
|
|
"threshold" setting where the acceleration doe not
|
|
|
apply, set xset(1)). The option reset=N sets the
|
|
|
number of ms (default 150) after which the cursor is
|
|
|
attempted to be reset (by forcing the mouse to (0,
|
|
|
0) via small increments and then back out to (x, y)
|
|
|
in 1 jump), This correction seems to be needed but can
|
|
|
cause jerkiness or unexpected behavior with menus, etc.
|
|
|
Use reset=0 to disable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the uinput device has an absolute pointer (as opposed
|
|
|
to a normal mouse that is a relative pointer) you can
|
|
|
specify the option "abs". Note that a touchpad
|
|
|
on a laptop is an absolute device t some degree.
|
|
|
This (usually) avoids all the problems with mouse
|
|
|
acceleration. If x11vnc has trouble deducing the size
|
|
|
of the device, use "abs=WxH". Furthermore, if the
|
|
|
device is a touchscreen (assumed to have an absolute
|
|
|
pointer) use "touch" or "touch=WxH".
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you set the env. var X11VNC_UINPUT_THRESHOLDS then
|
|
|
the thresh=n mode will be enabled. It it currently
|
|
|
not working well. If |dx| <= thresh and |dy| < thresh
|
|
|
no acceleration is applied. Use "thresh=+n" |dx| +
|
|
|
|dy| < thresh to be used instead (X11?)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Example:
|
|
|
-pipeinput UINPUT:accel=4.0 -cursor none
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can also set the env. var X11VNC_UINPUT_DEBUG=1 or
|
|
|
higher to get debugging output for UINPUT mode.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-gui [gui-opts] Start up a simple tcl/tk gui based on the the remote
|
|
|
control options -remote/-query described below.
|
|
|
Requires the "wish" program to be installed on the
|
|
|
machine. "gui-opts" is not required: the default
|
|
|
is to start up both the full gui and x11vnc with the
|
|
|
gui showing up on the X display in the environment
|
|
|
variable DISPLAY.
|
|
|
|
|
|
"gui-opts" can be a comma separated list of items.
|
|
|
Currently there are these types of items: 1) a gui
|
|
|
mode, a 2) gui "simplicity", 3) the X display the
|
|
|
gui should display on, 4) a "tray" or "icon" mode,
|
|
|
and 5) a gui geometry.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1) The gui mode can be "start", "conn", or "wait"
|
|
|
"start" is the default mode above and is not required.
|
|
|
"conn" means do not automatically start up x11vnc,
|
|
|
but instead just try to connect to an existing x11vnc
|
|
|
process. "wait" means just start the gui and nothing
|
|
|
else (you will later instruct the gui to start x11vnc
|
|
|
or connect to an existing one.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
2) The gui simplicity is off by default (a power-user
|
|
|
gui with all options is presented) To start with
|
|
|
something less daunting supply the string "simple"
|
|
|
("ez" is an alias for this). Once the gui is
|
|
|
started you can toggle between the two with "Misc ->
|
|
|
simple_gui".
|
|
|
|
|
|
3) Note the possible confusion regarding the potentially
|
|
|
two different X displays: x11vnc polls one, but you
|
|
|
may want the gui to appear on another. For example, if
|
|
|
you ssh in and x11vnc is not running yet you may want
|
|
|
the gui to come back to you via your ssh redirected X
|
|
|
display (e.g. localhost:10).
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you do not specify a gui X display in "gui-opts"
|
|
|
then the DISPLAY environment variable and -display
|
|
|
option are tried (in that order). Regarding the x11vnc
|
|
|
X display the gui will try to communication with, it
|
|
|
first tries -display and then DISPLAY. For example,
|
|
|
"x11vnc -display :0 -gui otherhost:0", will remote
|
|
|
control an x11vnc polling :0 and display the gui on
|
|
|
otherhost:0 The "tray/icon" mode below reverses this
|
|
|
preference, preferring to display on the x11vnc display.
|
|
|
|
|
|
4) When "tray" or "icon" is specified, the gui
|
|
|
presents itself as a small icon with behavior typical
|
|
|
of a "system tray" or "dock applet". The color
|
|
|
of the icon indicates status (connected clients) and
|
|
|
there is also a balloon status. Clicking on the icon
|
|
|
gives a menu from which properties, etc, can be set and
|
|
|
the full gui is available under "Advanced". To be
|
|
|
fully functional, the gui mode should be "start"
|
|
|
(the default).
|
|
|
|
|
|
For "icon" the gui just a small standalone window.
|
|
|
For "tray" it will attempt to embed itself in the
|
|
|
"system tray" if possible. If "=setpass" is appended the
|
|
|
n
|
|
|
at startup the X11 user will be prompted to set the
|
|
|
VNC session password. If =<hexnumber> is appended
|
|
|
that icon will attempt to embed itself in the window
|
|
|
given by hexnumber. Use =noadvanced to disable the
|
|
|
full gui. (To supply more than one, use "+" sign).
|
|
|
E.g. -gui tray=setpass and -gui icon=0x3600028
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other modes: "full", the default and need not be
|
|
|
specified. "-gui none", do not show a gui, useful
|
|
|
to override a ~/.x11vncrc setting, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
5) When "geom=+X+Y" is specified, that geometry
|
|
|
is passed to the gui toplevel. This is the icon in
|
|
|
icon/tray mode, or the full gui otherwise. You can
|
|
|
also specify width and height, i.e. WxH+X+Y, but it
|
|
|
is not recommended. In "tray" mode the geometry is
|
|
|
ignored unless the system tray manager does not seem
|
|
|
to be running. One could imagine using something like
|
|
|
"-gui tray,geom=+4000+4000" with a display manager
|
|
|
to keep the gui invisible until someone logs in...
|
|
|
|
|
|
More icon tricks, "icon=minimal" gives an icon just
|
|
|
with the VNC display number. You can also set the font
|
|
|
with "iconfont=...". The following could be useful:
|
|
|
"-gui icon=minimal,iconfont=5x8,geom=24x10+0-0"
|
|
|
|
|
|
General examples of the -gui option: "x11vnc -gui",
|
|
|
"x11vnc -gui ez" "x11vnc -gui localhost:10",
|
|
|
"x11vnc -gui conn,host:0", "x11vnc -gui tray,ez"
|
|
|
"x11vnc -gui tray=setpass"
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you do not intend to start x11vnc from the gui
|
|
|
(i.e. just remote control an existing one), then the
|
|
|
gui process can run on a different machine from the
|
|
|
x11vnc server as long as X permissions, etc. permit
|
|
|
communication between the two.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-remote command Remotely control some aspects of an already running
|
|
|
x11vnc server. "-R" and "-r" are aliases for
|
|
|
"-remote". After the remote control command is
|
|
|
sent to the running server the 'x11vnc -remote ...'
|
|
|
command exits. You can often use the -query command
|
|
|
(see below) to see if the x11vnc server processed your
|
|
|
-remote command.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The default communication channel is that of X
|
|
|
properties (specifically X11VNC_REMOTE), and so this
|
|
|
command must be run with correct settings for DISPLAY
|
|
|
and possibly XAUTHORITY to connect to the X server
|
|
|
and set the property. Alternatively, use the -display
|
|
|
and -auth options to set them to the correct values.
|
|
|
The running server cannot use the -novncconnect option
|
|
|
because that disables the communication channel.
|
|
|
See below for alternate channels.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For example: 'x11vnc -remote stop' (which is the same as
|
|
|
'x11vnc -R stop') will close down the x11vnc server.
|
|
|
'x11vnc -R shared' will enable shared connections, and
|
|
|
'x11vnc -R scale:3/4' will rescale the desktop.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The following -remote/-R commands are supported:
|
|
|
|
|
|
stop terminate the server, same as "quit"
|
|
|
"exit" or "shutdown".
|
|
|
ping see if the x11vnc server responds.
|
|
|
Return is: ans=ping:<xdisplay>
|
|
|
blacken try to push a black fb update to all
|
|
|
clients (due to timings a client
|
|
|
could miss it). Same as "zero", also
|
|
|
"zero:x1,y1,x2,y2" for a rectangle.
|
|
|
refresh send the entire fb to all clients.
|
|
|
reset recreate the fb, polling memory, etc.
|
|
|
id:windowid set -id window to "windowid". empty
|
|
|
or "root" to go back to root window
|
|
|
sid:windowid set -sid window to "windowid"
|
|
|
waitmapped wait until subwin is mapped.
|
|
|
nowaitmapped do not wait until subwin is mapped.
|
|
|
clip:WxH+X+Y set -clip mode to "WxH+X+Y"
|
|
|
flashcmap enable -flashcmap mode.
|
|
|
noflashcmap disable -flashcmap mode.
|
|
|
shiftcmap:n set -shiftcmap to n.
|
|
|
notruecolor enable -notruecolor mode.
|
|
|
truecolor disable -notruecolor mode.
|
|
|
overlay enable -overlay mode (if applicable).
|
|
|
nooverlay disable -overlay mode.
|
|
|
overlay_cursor in -overlay mode, enable cursor drawing.
|
|
|
overlay_nocursor disable cursor drawing. same as
|
|
|
nooverlay_cursor.
|
|
|
8to24 enable -8to24 mode (if applicable).
|
|
|
no8to24 disable -8to24 mode.
|
|
|
8to24_opts:str set the -8to24 opts to "str".
|
|
|
24to32 enable -24to32 mode (if applicable).
|
|
|
no24to32 disable -24to32 mode.
|
|
|
visual:vis set -visual to "vis"
|
|
|
scale:frac set -scale to "frac"
|
|
|
scale_cursor:f set -scale_cursor to "f"
|
|
|
viewonly enable -viewonly mode.
|
|
|
noviewonly disable -viewonly mode.
|
|
|
shared enable -shared mode.
|
|
|
noshared disable -shared mode.
|
|
|
forever enable -forever mode.
|
|
|
noforever disable -forever mode.
|
|
|
timeout:n reset -timeout to n, if there are
|
|
|
currently no clients, exit unless one
|
|
|
connects in the next n secs.
|
|
|
filexfer enable filetransfer for new clients.
|
|
|
nofilexfer disable filetransfer for new clients.
|
|
|
http enable http client connections.
|
|
|
nohttp disable http client connections.
|
|
|
deny deny any new connections, same as "lock"
|
|
|
nodeny allow new connections, same as "unlock"
|
|
|
connect:host do reverse connection to host, "host"
|
|
|
may be a comma separated list of hosts
|
|
|
or host:ports. See -connect. Passwords
|
|
|
required as with fwd connections.
|
|
|
See X11VNC_REVERSE_CONNECTION_NO_AUTH=1
|
|
|
disconnect:host disconnect any clients from "host"
|
|
|
same as "close:host". Use host
|
|
|
"all" to close all current clients.
|
|
|
If you know the client internal hex ID,
|
|
|
e.g. 0x3 (returned by "-query clients"
|
|
|
and RFB_CLIENT_ID) you can use that too.
|
|
|
allowonce:host For the next connection only, allow
|
|
|
connection from "host".
|
|
|
allow:hostlist set -allow list to (comma separated)
|
|
|
"hostlist". See -allow and -localhost.
|
|
|
Do not use with -allow /path/to/file
|
|
|
Use "+host" to add a single host, and
|
|
|
use "-host" to delete a single host
|
|
|
localhost enable -localhost mode
|
|
|
nolocalhost disable -localhost mode
|
|
|
listen:str set -listen to str, empty to disable.
|
|
|
nolookup enable -nolookup mode.
|
|
|
lookup disable -nolookup mode.
|
|
|
input:str set -input to "str", empty to disable.
|
|
|
grabkbd enable -grabkbd mode.
|
|
|
nograbkbd disable -grabkbd mode.
|
|
|
grabptr enable -grabptr mode.
|
|
|
nograbptr disable -grabptr mode.
|
|
|
client_input:str set the K, M, B -input on a per-client
|
|
|
basis. select which client as for
|
|
|
disconnect, e.g. client_input:host:MB
|
|
|
or client_input:0x2:K
|
|
|
accept:cmd set -accept "cmd" (empty to disable).
|
|
|
afteraccept:cmd set -afteraccept (empty to disable).
|
|
|
gone:cmd set -gone "cmd" (empty to disable).
|
|
|
noshm enable -noshm mode.
|
|
|
shm disable -noshm mode (i.e. use shm).
|
|
|
flipbyteorder enable -flipbyteorder mode, you may need
|
|
|
to set noshm for this to do something.
|
|
|
noflipbyteorder disable -flipbyteorder mode.
|
|
|
onetile enable -onetile mode. (you may need to
|
|
|
set shm for this to do something)
|
|
|
noonetile disable -onetile mode.
|
|
|
solid enable -solid mode
|
|
|
nosolid disable -solid mode.
|
|
|
solid_color:color set -solid color (and apply it).
|
|
|
blackout:str set -blackout "str" (empty to disable).
|
|
|
See -blackout for the form of "str"
|
|
|
(basically: WxH+X+Y,...)
|
|
|
Use "+WxH+X+Y" to append a single
|
|
|
rectangle use "-WxH+X+Y" to delete one
|
|
|
xinerama enable -xinerama mode. (if applicable)
|
|
|
noxinerama disable -xinerama mode.
|
|
|
xtrap enable -xtrap input mode(if applicable)
|
|
|
noxtrap disable -xtrap input mode.
|
|
|
xrandr enable -xrandr mode. (if applicable)
|
|
|
noxrandr disable -xrandr mode.
|
|
|
xrandr_mode:mode set the -xrandr mode to "mode".
|
|
|
rotate:mode set the -rotate mode to "mode".
|
|
|
padgeom:WxH set -padgeom to WxH (empty to disable)
|
|
|
If WxH is "force" or "do" the padded
|
|
|
geometry fb is immediately applied.
|
|
|
quiet enable -quiet mode.
|
|
|
noquiet disable -quiet mode.
|
|
|
modtweak enable -modtweak mode.
|
|
|
nomodtweak enable -nomodtweak mode.
|
|
|
xkb enable -xkb modtweak mode.
|
|
|
noxkb disable -xkb modtweak mode.
|
|
|
capslock enable -capslock mode.
|
|
|
nocapslock disable -capslock mode.
|
|
|
skip_lockkeys enable -skip_lockkeys mode.
|
|
|
noskip_lockkeys disable -skip_lockkeys mode.
|
|
|
skip_keycodes:str enable -xkb -skip_keycodes "str".
|
|
|
sloppy_keys enable -sloppy_keys mode.
|
|
|
nosloppy_keys disable -sloppy_keys mode.
|
|
|
skip_dups enable -skip_dups mode.
|
|
|
noskip_dups disable -skip_dups mode.
|
|
|
add_keysyms enable -add_keysyms mode.
|
|
|
noadd_keysyms stop adding keysyms. those added will
|
|
|
still be removed at exit.
|
|
|
clear_mods enable -clear_mods mode and clear them.
|
|
|
noclear_mods disable -clear_mods mode.
|
|
|
clear_keys enable -clear_keys mode and clear them.
|
|
|
noclear_keys disable -clear_keys mode.
|
|
|
remap:str set -remap "str" (empty to disable).
|
|
|
See -remap for the form of "str"
|
|
|
(basically: key1-key2,key3-key4,...)
|
|
|
Use "+key1-key2" to append a single
|
|
|
keymapping, use "-key1-key2" to delete.
|
|
|
norepeat enable -norepeat mode.
|
|
|
repeat disable -norepeat mode.
|
|
|
nofb enable -nofb mode.
|
|
|
fb disable -nofb mode.
|
|
|
bell enable bell (if supported).
|
|
|
nobell disable bell.
|
|
|
nosel enable -nosel mode.
|
|
|
sel disable -nosel mode.
|
|
|
noprimary enable -noprimary mode.
|
|
|
primary disable -noprimary mode.
|
|
|
nosetprimary enable -nosetprimary mode.
|
|
|
setprimary disable -nosetprimary mode.
|
|
|
noclipboard enable -noclipboard mode.
|
|
|
clipboard disable -noclipboard mode.
|
|
|
nosetclipboard enable -nosetclipboard mode.
|
|
|
setclipboard disable -nosetclipboard mode.
|
|
|
seldir:str set -seldir to "str"
|
|
|
cursor:mode enable -cursor "mode".
|
|
|
show_cursor enable showing a cursor.
|
|
|
noshow_cursor disable showing a cursor. (same as
|
|
|
"nocursor")
|
|
|
arrow:n set -arrow to alternate n.
|
|
|
xfixes enable xfixes cursor shape mode.
|
|
|
noxfixes disable xfixes cursor shape mode.
|
|
|
alphacut:n set -alphacut to n.
|
|
|
alphafrac:f set -alphafrac to f.
|
|
|
alpharemove enable -alpharemove mode.
|
|
|
noalpharemove disable -alpharemove mode.
|
|
|
alphablend disable -noalphablend mode.
|
|
|
noalphablend enable -noalphablend mode.
|
|
|
cursorshape disable -nocursorshape mode.
|
|
|
nocursorshape enable -nocursorshape mode.
|
|
|
cursorpos disable -nocursorpos mode.
|
|
|
nocursorpos enable -nocursorpos mode.
|
|
|
xwarp enable -xwarppointer mode.
|
|
|
noxwarp disable -xwarppointer mode.
|
|
|
buttonmap:str set -buttonmap "str", empty to disable
|
|
|
dragging disable -nodragging mode.
|
|
|
nodragging enable -nodragging mode.
|
|
|
wireframe enable -wireframe mode. same as "wf"
|
|
|
nowireframe disable -wireframe mode. same as "nowf"
|
|
|
wireframe:str enable -wireframe mode string.
|
|
|
wireframe_mode:str enable -wireframe mode string.
|
|
|
wirecopyrect:str set -wirecopyrect string. same as "wcr:
|
|
|
"
|
|
|
scrollcopyrect:str set -scrollcopyrect string. same "scr
|
|
|
"
|
|
|
noscrollcopyrect disable -scrollcopyrect mode. "noscr"
|
|
|
scr_area:n set -scr_area to n
|
|
|
scr_skip:list set -scr_skip to "list"
|
|
|
scr_inc:list set -scr_inc to "list"
|
|
|
scr_keys:list set -scr_keys to "list"
|
|
|
scr_term:list set -scr_term to "list"
|
|
|
scr_keyrepeat:str set -scr_keyrepeat to "str"
|
|
|
scr_parms:str set -scr_parms parameters.
|
|
|
fixscreen:str set -fixscreen to "str".
|
|
|
noxrecord disable all use of RECORD extension.
|
|
|
xrecord enable use of RECORD extension.
|
|
|
reset_record reset RECORD extension (if avail.)
|
|
|
pointer_mode:n set -pointer_mode to n. same as "pm"
|
|
|
input_skip:n set -input_skip to n.
|
|
|
allinput enable use of -allinput mode.
|
|
|
noallinput disable use of -allinput mode.
|
|
|
ssltimeout:n set -ssltimeout to n.
|
|
|
speeds:str set -speeds to str.
|
|
|
wmdt:str set -wmdt to str.
|
|
|
debug_pointer enable -debug_pointer, same as "dp"
|
|
|
nodebug_pointer disable -debug_pointer, same as "nodp"
|
|
|
debug_keyboard enable -debug_keyboard, same as "dk"
|
|
|
nodebug_keyboard disable -debug_keyboard, same as "nodk"
|
|
|
defer:n set -defer to n ms,same as deferupdate:n
|
|
|
wait:n set -wait to n ms.
|
|
|
wait_ui:f set -wait_ui factor to f.
|
|
|
wait_bog disable -nowait_bog mode.
|
|
|
nowait_bog enable -nowait_bog mode.
|
|
|
slow_fb:f set -slow_fb to f seconds.
|
|
|
readtimeout:n set read timeout to n seconds.
|
|
|
nap enable -nap mode.
|
|
|
nonap disable -nap mode.
|
|
|
sb:n set -sb to n s, same as screen_blank:n
|
|
|
fbpm disable -nofbpm mode.
|
|
|
nofbpm enable -nofbpm mode.
|
|
|
xdamage enable xdamage polling hints.
|
|
|
noxdamage disable xdamage polling hints.
|
|
|
xd_area:A set -xd_area max pixel area to "A"
|
|
|
xd_mem:f set -xd_mem remembrance to "f"
|
|
|
fs:frac set -fs fraction to "frac", e.g. 0.5
|
|
|
gaps:n set -gaps to n.
|
|
|
grow:n set -grow to n.
|
|
|
fuzz:n set -fuzz to n.
|
|
|
snapfb enable -snapfb mode.
|
|
|
nosnapfb disable -snapfb mode.
|
|
|
rawfb:str set -rawfb mode to "str".
|
|
|
uinput_accel:f set uinput_accel to f.
|
|
|
uinput_reset:n set uinput_reset to n ms.
|
|
|
uinput_always:n set uinput_always to 1/0.
|
|
|
progressive:n set libvncserver -progressive slice
|
|
|
height parameter to n.
|
|
|
desktop:str set -desktop name to str for new clients
|
|
|
.
|
|
|
rfbport:n set -rfbport to n.
|
|
|
httpport:n set -httpport to n.
|
|
|
httpdir:dir set -httpdir to dir (and enable http).
|
|
|
enablehttpproxy enable -enablehttpproxy mode.
|
|
|
noenablehttpproxy disable -enablehttpproxy mode.
|
|
|
alwaysshared enable -alwaysshared mode.
|
|
|
noalwaysshared disable -alwaysshared mode.
|
|
|
(may interfere with other options)
|
|
|
nevershared enable -nevershared mode.
|
|
|
nonevershared disable -nevershared mode.
|
|
|
(may interfere with other options)
|
|
|
dontdisconnect enable -dontdisconnect mode.
|
|
|
nodontdisconnect disable -dontdisconnect mode.
|
|
|
(may interfere with other options)
|
|
|
debug_xevents enable debugging X events.
|
|
|
nodebug_xevents disable debugging X events.
|
|
|
debug_xdamage enable debugging X DAMAGE mechanism.
|
|
|
nodebug_xdamage disable debugging X DAMAGE mechanism.
|
|
|
debug_wireframe enable debugging wireframe mechanism.
|
|
|
nodebug_wireframe disable debugging wireframe mechanism.
|
|
|
debug_scroll enable debugging scrollcopy mechanism.
|
|
|
nodebug_scroll disable debugging scrollcopy mechanism.
|
|
|
debug_tiles enable -debug_tiles
|
|
|
nodebug_tiles disable -debug_tiles
|
|
|
debug_grabs enable -debug_grabs
|
|
|
nodebug_grabs disable -debug_grabs
|
|
|
debug_sel enable -debug_sel
|
|
|
nodebug_sel disable -debug_sel
|
|
|
dbg enable -dbg crash shell
|
|
|
nodbg disable -dbg crash shell
|
|
|
|
|
|
noremote disable the -remote command processing,
|
|
|
it cannot be turned back on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The vncconnect(1) command from standard VNC
|
|
|
distributions may also be used if string is prefixed
|
|
|
with "cmd=" E.g. 'vncconnect cmd=stop'. Under some
|
|
|
circumstances xprop(1) can used if it supports -set
|
|
|
(see the FAQ).
|
|
|
|
|
|
If "-connect /path/to/file" has been supplied to the
|
|
|
running x11vnc server then that file can be used as a
|
|
|
communication channel (this is the only way to remote
|
|
|
control one of many x11vnc's polling the same X display)
|
|
|
Simply run: 'x11vnc -connect /path/to/file -remote ...'
|
|
|
or you can directly write to the file via something
|
|
|
like: "echo cmd=stop > /path/to/file", etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
-query variable Like -remote, except just query the value of
|
|
|
"variable". "-Q" is an alias for "-query".
|
|
|
Multiple queries can be done by separating variables
|
|
|
by commas, e.g. -query var1,var2. The results come
|
|
|
back in the form ans=var1:value1,ans=var2:value2,...
|
|
|
to the standard output. If a variable is read-only,
|
|
|
it comes back with prefix "aro=" instead of "ans=".
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some -remote commands are pure actions that do not make
|
|
|
sense as variables, e.g. "stop" or "disconnect", in
|
|
|
these cases the value returned is "N/A". To direct a
|
|
|
query straight to the X11VNC_REMOTE property or connect
|
|
|
file use "qry=..." instead of "cmd=..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
ans= stop quit exit shutdown ping blacken zero
|
|
|
refresh reset close disconnect id sid waitmapped
|
|
|
nowaitmapped clip flashcmap noflashcmap shiftcmap
|
|
|
truecolor notruecolor overlay nooverlay overlay_cursor
|
|
|
overlay_yescursor nooverlay_nocursor nooverlay_cursor
|
|
|
nooverlay_yescursor overlay_nocursor 8to24 no8to24
|
|
|
8to24_opts 24to32 no24to32 visual scale scale_cursor
|
|
|
viewonly noviewonly shared noshared forever noforever
|
|
|
once timeout filexfer nofilexfer deny lock nodeny
|
|
|
unlock connect allowonce allow localhost nolocalhost
|
|
|
listen lookup nolookup accept afteraccept gone shm
|
|
|
noshm flipbyteorder noflipbyteorder onetile noonetile
|
|
|
solid_color solid nosolid blackout xinerama noxinerama
|
|
|
xtrap noxtrap xrandr noxrandr xrandr_mode rotate padgeom
|
|
|
quiet q noquiet modtweak nomodtweak xkb noxkb capslock
|
|
|
nocapslock skip_lockkeys noskip_lockkeys skip_keycodes
|
|
|
sloppy_keys nosloppy_keys skip_dups noskip_dups
|
|
|
add_keysyms noadd_keysyms clear_mods noclear_mods
|
|
|
clear_keys noclear_keys remap repeat norepeat fb nofb
|
|
|
bell nobell sel nosel primary noprimary setprimary
|
|
|
nosetprimary clipboard noclipboard setclipboard
|
|
|
nosetclipboard seldir cursorshape nocursorshape
|
|
|
cursorpos nocursorpos cursor show_cursor noshow_cursor
|
|
|
nocursor arrow xfixes noxfixes xdamage noxdamage
|
|
|
xd_area xd_mem alphacut alphafrac alpharemove
|
|
|
noalpharemove alphablend noalphablend xwarppointer
|
|
|
xwarp noxwarppointer noxwarp buttonmap dragging
|
|
|
nodragging wireframe_mode wireframe wf nowireframe
|
|
|
nowf wirecopyrect wcr nowirecopyrect nowcr scr_area
|
|
|
scr_skip scr_inc scr_keys scr_term scr_keyrepeat
|
|
|
scr_parms scrollcopyrect scr noscrollcopyrect noscr
|
|
|
fixscreen noxrecord xrecord reset_record pointer_mode pm
|
|
|
input_skip allinput noallinput input grabkbd nograbkbd
|
|
|
grabptr nograbptr client_input ssltimeout speeds wmdt
|
|
|
debug_pointer dp nodebug_pointer nodp debug_keyboard
|
|
|
dk nodebug_keyboard nodk deferupdate defer wait_ui
|
|
|
wait_bog nowait_bog slow_fb wait readtimeout nap nonap
|
|
|
sb screen_blank fbpm nofbpm fs gaps grow fuzz snapfb
|
|
|
nosnapfb rawfb uinput_accel uinput_thresh uinput_reset
|
|
|
uinput_always progressive rfbport http nohttp httpport
|
|
|
httpdir enablehttpproxy noenablehttpproxy alwaysshared
|
|
|
noalwaysshared nevershared noalwaysshared dontdisconnect
|
|
|
nodontdisconnect desktop debug_xevents nodebug_xevents
|
|
|
debug_xevents debug_xdamage nodebug_xdamage
|
|
|
debug_xdamage debug_wireframe nodebug_wireframe
|
|
|
debug_wireframe debug_scroll nodebug_scroll debug_scroll
|
|
|
debug_tiles dbt nodebug_tiles nodbt debug_tiles
|
|
|
debug_grabs nodebug_grabs debug_sel nodebug_sel dbg
|
|
|
nodbg noremote
|
|
|
|
|
|
aro= noop display vncdisplay desktopname guess_desktop
|
|
|
http_url auth xauth users rootshift clipshift
|
|
|
scale_str scaled_x scaled_y scale_numer scale_denom
|
|
|
scale_fac scaling_blend scaling_nomult4 scaling_pad
|
|
|
scaling_interpolate inetd privremote unsafe safer nocmds
|
|
|
passwdfile unixpw unixpw_nis unixpw_list ssl ssl_pem
|
|
|
sslverify stunnel stunnel_pem https usepw using_shm
|
|
|
logfile o flag rc norc h help V version lastmod bg
|
|
|
sigpipe threads readrate netrate netlatency pipeinput
|
|
|
clients client_count pid ext_xtest ext_xtrap ext_xrecord
|
|
|
ext_xkb ext_xshm ext_xinerama ext_overlay ext_xfixes
|
|
|
ext_xdamage ext_xrandr rootwin num_buttons button_mask
|
|
|
mouse_x mouse_y bpp depth indexed_color dpy_x dpy_y
|
|
|
wdpy_x wdpy_y off_x off_y cdpy_x cdpy_y coff_x coff_y
|
|
|
rfbauth passwd viewpasswd
|
|
|
|
|
|
-QD variable Just like -query variable, but returns the default
|
|
|
value for that parameter (no running x11vnc server
|
|
|
is consulted)
|
|
|
|
|
|
-sync By default -remote commands are run asynchronously, that
|
|
|
is, the request is posted and the program immediately
|
|
|
exits. Use -sync to have the program wait for an
|
|
|
acknowledgement from the x11vnc server that command was
|
|
|
processed (somehow). On the other hand -query requests
|
|
|
are always processed synchronously because they have
|
|
|
to wait for the answer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also note that if both -remote and -query requests are
|
|
|
supplied on the command line, the -remote is processed
|
|
|
first (synchronously: no need for -sync), and then
|
|
|
the -query request is processed in the normal way.
|
|
|
This allows for a reliable way to see if the -remote
|
|
|
command was processed by querying for any new settings.
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Note however that there is timeout of a few seconds so
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if the x11vnc takes longer than that to process the
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requests the requestor will think that a failure has
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taken place.
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-noremote Do not process any remote control commands or queries.
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-yesremote Do process remote control commands or queries.
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Default: -yesremote
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A note about security wrt remote control commands.
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If someone can connect to the X display and change
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the property X11VNC_REMOTE, then they can remotely
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control x11vnc. Normally access to the X display is
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protected. Note that if they can modify X11VNC_REMOTE
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on the X server, they have enough permissions to also
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run their own x11vnc and thus have complete control
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of the desktop. If the "-connect /path/to/file"
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channel is being used, obviously anyone who can write
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to /path/to/file can remotely control x11vnc. So be
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sure to protect the X display and that file's write
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permissions. See -privremote below.
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If you are paranoid and do not think -noremote is
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enough, to disable the X11VNC_REMOTE property channel
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completely use -novncconnect, or use the -safer option
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that shuts many things off.
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-unsafe A few remote commands are disabled by default
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(currently: id:pick, accept:<cmd>, gone:<cmd>, and
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rawfb:setup:<cmd>) because they are associated with
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running external programs. If you specify -unsafe, then
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these remote-control commands are allowed. Note that
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you can still specify these parameters on the command
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line, they just cannot be invoked via remote-control.
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-safer Equivalent to: -novncconnect -noremote and prohibiting
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-gui and the -connect file. Shuts off communcation
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channels.
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-privremote Perform some sanity checks and disable remote-control
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commands if it appears that the X DISPLAY and/or
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connectfile can be accessed by other users. Once
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remote-control is disabled it cannot be turned back on.
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-nocmds No external commands (e.g. system(3), popen(3), exec(3))
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will be run.
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-allowedcmds list "list" contains a comma separated list of the only
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external commands that can be run. The full list of
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associated options is:
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stunnel, ssl, unixpw, WAIT, id, accept, afteraccept,
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gone, pipeinput, v4l-info, rawfb-setup, dt, gui,
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storepasswd, crash.
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See each option's help to learn the associated external
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command. Note that the -nocmds option takes precedence
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and disables all external commands.
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-deny_all For use with -remote nodeny: start out denying all
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incoming clients until "-remote nodeny" is used to
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let them in.
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These options are passed to libvncserver:
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-rfbport port TCP port for RFB protocol
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-rfbwait time max time in ms to wait for RFB client
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-rfbauth passwd-file use authentication on RFB protocol
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(use 'storepasswd' to create a password file)
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-rfbversion 3.x Set the version of the RFB we choose to advertise
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-permitfiletransfer permit file transfer support
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-passwd plain-password use authentication
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|
(use plain-password as password, USE AT YOUR RISK)
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-deferupdate time time in ms to defer updates (default 40)
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-deferptrupdate time time in ms to defer pointer updates (default none)
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-desktop name VNC desktop name (default "LibVNCServer")
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-alwaysshared always treat new clients as shared
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-nevershared never treat new clients as shared
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|
-dontdisconnect don't disconnect existing clients when a new non-shared
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|
connection comes in (refuse new connection instead)
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-httpdir dir-path enable http server using dir-path home
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-httpport portnum use portnum for http connection
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-enablehttpproxy enable http proxy support
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-progressive height enable progressive updating for slow links
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-listen ipaddr listen for connections only on network interface with
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|
addr ipaddr. '-listen localhost' and hostname work too.
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libvncserver-tight-extension options:
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-disablefiletransfer disable file transfer
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|
-ftproot string set ftp root
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Pretty wild huh? [1]Contact me if you have any questions or problems.
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Personally, I use:
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x11vnc -rfbauth $HOME/.vnc/passwd -solid
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References
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1. mailto:xvml@karlrunge.com
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