Modified VNC software enables remote access on iPhone
Granted, Telekinesis is fine and all if you're dealing with a Mac at home, but for those trying to get a little remote access to their PCs through the iPhone, this solution ought to do the trick. Natetrue -- who was apparently frustrated by the mobile's inability to talk to his Wintel remotely from day one -- has taken the TightVNC client and apparently modified the application to play fairly nicely with Apple's handset. More specifically, you can use the iPhone's zooming and panning capabilities to move around your desktop, and all the clicking, typing, and drag 'n drop actions you'd expect from such a program are all being reported as fully functional. Best of all, all the code and insight you need are available gratis, so be sure and hit the read link to get your download on. Oh, and do share how things work out, wouldya?
The idea seems simple enough. I want to be able to use my PC from the comfort and safety of my iPhone. I got to thinking about it, and it seemed that modifying VNC was the best option. It already has the remote framebuffer thing down pat and I just had to write a web interface for it so the iPhone could connect up.
I decided on TightVNC as my starting point. There was already a built-in HTTP server that I modified heavily. Right now it's Windows only because that's all I have to develop on, but I didn't use Windows-specific functions so porting should be trivial. (Update: now it does use Windows-specific functions for window choosing. Sorry!)
To use:
- Download the Binaries from my website (Developers: source, patch)
- Extract all files into some folder and run WinVNC.exe
- It will ask you to set a default password. CAUTION: At the moment the web client sends your password in plaintext. Use caution when connecting over open Wi-fi access points.
- Note your computer's IP address, and type it into the iPhone Safari address bar, appending :5800, like http://192.168.10.13:5800/
- Enter the password in the password box, and hit Log In.
- A list of windows will show up. Choose one or use Full Desktop to show it all.
Use the iPhone's excellent zooming and panning capabilities to move around your desktop. To perform an action such as clicking or typing, tap the screen where you want to do it, and a menu will show up, along with a crosshair for accuracy.
Options are for the most part self-explanatory.
Supported actions:
- Clicks: Left, right, middle, double
- Scrolling: Mouse wheel up and down
- Dragging and dropping (click Drag to hold mouse button down, click Drop to release)
- Text entry
To enter text, use the Text Input button. VNC will click where the crosshair is centered, then create a text box for you to enter text.
Click the blue "Done" button to type your text onto your PC. Press the X button below the input box to close it.
To use:
- Download the Binaries from my website (Developers: source, patch)
- Extract all files into some folder and run WinVNC.exe
- It will ask you to set a default password. CAUTION: At the moment the web client sends your password in plaintext. Use caution when connecting over open Wi-fi access points.
- Note your computer's IP address, and type it into the iPhone Safari address bar, appending :5800, like http://192.168.10.13:5800/
- Enter the password in the password box, and hit Log In.
- A list of windows will show up. Choose one or use Full Desktop to show it all.
Use the iPhone's excellent zooming and panning capabilities to move around your desktop. To perform an action such as clicking or typing, tap the screen where you want to do it, and a menu will show up, along with a crosshair for accuracy.
Options are for the most part self-explanatory.
Supported actions:
- Clicks: Left, right, middle, double
- Scrolling: Mouse wheel up and down
- Dragging and dropping (click Drag to hold mouse button down, click Drop to release)
- Text entry
To enter text, use the Text Input button. VNC will click where the crosshair is centered, then create a text box for you to enter text.
Click the blue "Done" button to type your text onto your PC. Press the X button below the input box to close it.
How it works
WebVNC is a modification of the VNC server. Where before the HTTP server in VNC would just serve a Java applet, now it serves an AJAX application that downloads the screen as a set of JPEG images. The application then checks back with the server to see which ones have changed, and reloads them. Input is just another message to the server.
The window list is done with Windows-specific functions, enumerating top-level windows and returning a list of their titles and positions. When you click one the VNC server activates the window and the AJAX app limits its window size to just the one window.
Source : engadget.com
Granted, Telekinesis is fine and all if you're dealing with a Mac at home, but for those trying to get a little remote access to their PCs through the iPhone, this solution ought to do the trick. Natetrue -- who was apparently frustrated by the mobile's inability to talk to his Wintel remotely from day one -- has taken the TightVNC client and apparently modified the application to play fairly nicely with Apple's handset. More specifically, you can use the iPhone's zooming and panning capabilities to move around your desktop, and all the clicking, typing, and drag 'n drop actions you'd expect from such a program are all being reported as fully functional. Best of all, all the code and insight you need are available gratis, so be sure and hit the read link to get your download on. Oh, and do share how things work out, wouldya?
The idea seems simple enough. I want to be able to use my PC from the comfort and safety of my iPhone. I got to thinking about it, and it seemed that modifying VNC was the best option. It already has the remote framebuffer thing down pat and I just had to write a web interface for it so the iPhone could connect up.
I decided on TightVNC as my starting point. There was already a built-in HTTP server that I modified heavily. Right now it's Windows only because that's all I have to develop on, but I didn't use Windows-specific functions so porting should be trivial. (Update: now it does use Windows-specific functions for window choosing. Sorry!)
To use:
- Download the Binaries from my website (Developers: source, patch)
- Extract all files into some folder and run WinVNC.exe
- It will ask you to set a default password. CAUTION: At the moment the web client sends your password in plaintext. Use caution when connecting over open Wi-fi access points.
- Note your computer's IP address, and type it into the iPhone Safari address bar, appending :5800, like http://192.168.10.13:5800/
- Enter the password in the password box, and hit Log In.
- A list of windows will show up. Choose one or use Full Desktop to show it all.
Use the iPhone's excellent zooming and panning capabilities to move around your desktop. To perform an action such as clicking or typing, tap the screen where you want to do it, and a menu will show up, along with a crosshair for accuracy.
Options are for the most part self-explanatory.
Supported actions:
- Clicks: Left, right, middle, double
- Scrolling: Mouse wheel up and down
- Dragging and dropping (click Drag to hold mouse button down, click Drop to release)
- Text entry
To enter text, use the Text Input button. VNC will click where the crosshair is centered, then create a text box for you to enter text.
Click the blue "Done" button to type your text onto your PC. Press the X button below the input box to close it.
To use:
- Download the Binaries from my website (Developers: source, patch)
- Extract all files into some folder and run WinVNC.exe
- It will ask you to set a default password. CAUTION: At the moment the web client sends your password in plaintext. Use caution when connecting over open Wi-fi access points.
- Note your computer's IP address, and type it into the iPhone Safari address bar, appending :5800, like http://192.168.10.13:5800/
- Enter the password in the password box, and hit Log In.
- A list of windows will show up. Choose one or use Full Desktop to show it all.
Use the iPhone's excellent zooming and panning capabilities to move around your desktop. To perform an action such as clicking or typing, tap the screen where you want to do it, and a menu will show up, along with a crosshair for accuracy.
Options are for the most part self-explanatory.
Supported actions:
- Clicks: Left, right, middle, double
- Scrolling: Mouse wheel up and down
- Dragging and dropping (click Drag to hold mouse button down, click Drop to release)
- Text entry
To enter text, use the Text Input button. VNC will click where the crosshair is centered, then create a text box for you to enter text.
Click the blue "Done" button to type your text onto your PC. Press the X button below the input box to close it.
How it works
WebVNC is a modification of the VNC server. Where before the HTTP server in VNC would just serve a Java applet, now it serves an AJAX application that downloads the screen as a set of JPEG images. The application then checks back with the server to see which ones have changed, and reloads them. Input is just another message to the server.
The window list is done with Windows-specific functions, enumerating top-level windows and returning a list of their titles and positions. When you click one the VNC server activates the window and the AJAX app limits its window size to just the one window.
Source : engadget.com
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