Virtual Network Computing (VNC) can be a very handy tool when you have more than one desktop box you need to work with, especially when Remote Desktop is not available (you don’t want to pay for the Windows upgrade that has the server component). Fortunately there is a good free option for Windows, Ultra VNC.
I recently purchased a new computer but my “older” computer is still not obsolete so I have installed Ultra VNC Server as a service that starts on system startup. I now run the older box headless (no monitor attached) and simply connect to it using the Ultra VNC client. On my local network I see no lag so the user experience is no different than when I had a monitor directly attached.
Ultra VNC has a wealth of features:
- file transfer system to simplify file transfers between server and client
- client view as window or full screen with scalable desktop
- client view can be a single application or application window
- java-based web client available
- encryption plug-ins available
- rich set of configuration options including connection sharing and input restrictions (on client and server)
- a single installer is available for the server which can be used as a help-desk application
I have used some of the commercial VNC products over the years and there is nothing in those that you don’t get in Ultra VNC. If you need a good VNC solution for Windows, I highly recommend it.
