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Pretty cool idea, I never thought of remotely admin into an Ubuntu laptop. I know it's easy to do, just never thought of it. I know that's what a lot of indus

Pretty cool idea, I never thought of remotely admin into an Ubuntu laptop. I know it's easy to do, just never thought of it. I know that's what a lot of industry does for windows systems, but hey, you got to do a lot to keep windows on line.

rdtsc 12y ago
I just set up ssh, on a non-default port, long passphrase. One of the worst things is if machine won't boot (happened once due to hard drive failing). Otherwise it uses a few dynamic dns sites so I can know its IP ( + a few links to the show me the IP links in her browser toolbar, just in case). If there is a problem and need to help her with the desktop, there is x11vnc.
- shaan7 12y ago
  ditto. +1 to x11vnc :D
- aceperry 12y ago
  Nice setup. I've used vnc before, not x11vnc so I'm not sure if it's similar. But vnc seemed to require a lot of bandwidth to run. But it's definitely nice.
  - rdtsc 12y ago
    x11vnc allows you to see the desktop the user is seeing. I think vnc by default creates its own sessions. So for example, my mom would say "I am not sure where to find the pictures". I would move the folder to her Desktop from ssh, hoping the would see it. But if not I ssh in, then launch x11vnc then connect to it with a vncclient and then move around her desktop to see what the problem might be. She would see the mouse move and buttons getting clicked. Bandwidth is not a problem because, we have have something like 50Mpbs connections, latency is usually the issue as the signal has to go half way around the world.
  - 72deluxe 12y ago
    You could run it at really really low colour depths and enable compression, or use compression over an SSH link. Still not perfect, but better.
- lloeki 12y ago
  > I just set up ssh, on a non-default port, long passphrase. Disallow password login, use key-based auth (using a dedicated, passphrase-protected key that you can copy around). An alternative is to have a "shortcut" that help them fire a SSH client connecting to a server of yours, with port forwarding allowing you to connect back, so you don't have to worry about firewalls and other appliances being reset.

rdtsc 12y ago

I just set up ssh, on a non-default port, long passphrase. One of the worst things is if machine won't boot (happened once due to hard drive failing). Otherwise it uses a few dynamic dns sites so I can know its IP ( + a few links to the show me the IP links in her browser toolbar, just in case). If there is a problem and need to help her with the desktop, there is x11vnc.

shaan7 12y ago
ditto. +1 to x11vnc :D
aceperry 12y ago
Nice setup. I've used vnc before, not x11vnc so I'm not sure if it's similar. But vnc seemed to require a lot of bandwidth to run. But it's definitely nice.
- rdtsc 12y ago
  x11vnc allows you to see the desktop the user is seeing. I think vnc by default creates its own sessions. So for example, my mom would say "I am not sure where to find the pictures". I would move the folder to her Desktop from ssh, hoping the would see it. But if not I ssh in, then launch x11vnc then connect to it with a vncclient and then move around her desktop to see what the problem might be. She would see the mouse move and buttons getting clicked. Bandwidth is not a problem because, we have have something like 50Mpbs connections, latency is usually the issue as the signal has to go half way around the world.
- 72deluxe 12y ago
  You could run it at really really low colour depths and enable compression, or use compression over an SSH link. Still not perfect, but better.
lloeki 12y ago
> I just set up ssh, on a non-default port, long passphrase. Disallow password login, use key-based auth (using a dedicated, passphrase-protected key that you can copy around). An alternative is to have a "shortcut" that help them fire a SSH client connecting to a server of yours, with port forwarding allowing you to connect back, so you don't have to worry about firewalls and other appliances being reset.