VNC on iphone to connect with Elk

[Mike P]

Hi,

Is anybody using VNC to connect to there pc? I installed the lite version on my iphone to give it a try. I have not had any luck connecting to my pc. I am very strong on hardware, but very weak on software. I have the IP correct, The port I am not sure about and I am asked for a VNC password?, I am not sure what password to type in. My goal is to connect with my Elk M1...Any help would be great......

Thanks,
Mike

 

[gatchel]

You have to install the VNC server on your PC and configure the password and the port. You could then use your VNC PC connection to connect to the Elk using the PC.

The phone is the client, the PC is the server.

When the server is running there will be a little blue box with an eye in it on your taskbar. If you right click it and go to admin properties all of your configuration for the server is there.

 

[Mike P]

You have to install the VNC server on your PC and configure the password and the port. You could then use your VNC PC connection to connect to the Elk using the PC.

The phone is the client, the PC is the server.

When the server is running there will be a little blue box with an eye in it on your taskbar. If you right click it and go to admin properties all of your configuration for the server is there.

THANKS.....,

Still no luck. Do I need to make any changes in my router?

Thanks again,
Mike

 

[CollinR]

Depends on if you are using wifi or the phone's connection for access.

EDIT:
Dan wrote a nice VNC How-to guide, you should read that and get PC>PC working before tring iphone>PC.

 

[tmbrown97]

I do this everyday...

What I found, is that the iPhone sux for local DNS.. know the IP address of your PC and use that in place of the hostname. Also, VNC is OK, but I prefer a RDP client - WinAdmin is like $12, but turned out to be well worth it.

As long as you have RDP or VNC on your host computer, you should be in good shape. I use VNC at the office for certain things, but RDP for my home PC because it has quad-monitors, and the RDP protocol brings this down to reason and still fits the iPhone screen well..

Hope that helps - if not, let me know - as I said, I do this daily and have the tricks down.

 

[tmbrown97]

Depends on if you are using wifi or the phone's connection for access.

That's a good point too... I'm about to order a Cisco router so I can VPN into my house so I can administer the panel without having to leave any vulnerabilities into my network... but before, I would use dynamic dns (dyndns.org) and I had port forwarding onto my home computer through my router so I could RDP into my home PC from anywhere... I used that setup for years without any issues - just make sure you have some security set up on your PC with decent passwords.

Note with DynDNS: I found that the netgear and linksys routers often would only report the IP address when it changed... and comcast only changes my IP about once every 6 months... so, because there was no report, DynDNS would expire out my account. I ended up loading their free client onto my PC and that reports back often enough to always keep the account active.

 

[Mike P]

Depends on if you are using wifi or the phone's connection for access.

That's a good point too... I'm about to order a Cisco router so I can VPN into my house so I can administer the panel without having to leave any vulnerabilities into my network... but before, I would use dynamic dns (dyndns.org) and I had port forwarding onto my home computer through my router so I could RDP into my home PC from anywhere... I used that setup for years without any issues - just make sure you have some security set up on your PC with decent passwords.

Note with DynDNS: I found that the netgear and linksys routers often would only report the IP address when it changed... and comcast only changes my IP about once every 6 months... so, because there was no report, DynDNS would expire out my account. I ended up loading their free client onto my PC and that reports back often enough to always keep the account active.

Todd, THANKS.. I got it working fine. Now I have another question to ask everybody. How do I program a password in RP to access it? I don't plan on using VNC that often, I will most likely disable the port forwarding unless I know I am going to need it. But when I do need it, RP is wide open now. One click opens it up, and picking the correct account to open is not much of a chore.
Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[tmbrown97]

I could be wrong here, but my understanding was that the password function was more to keep other installers from messing with your setup... but that ElkRP keeps the password stored.

I noticed that there was a Database Password under options, but the description made it sound like even that is stored, and you're not prompted for it. Maybe someone else has more experience there...

Personally I get my security from locking down the computers, the router, and the wifi... Just a note - VNC has pretty good password protection - my company actually uses it for hundreds of PC's that are 100% remote. And, you can store that on your iPhone so you don't have to enter it each time - so it can be a very secure password.

 

[Mike P]

I could be wrong here, but my understanding was that the password function was more to keep other installers from messing with your setup... but that ElkRP keeps the password stored.

I noticed that there was a Database Password under options, but the description made it sound like even that is stored, and you're not prompted for it. Maybe someone else has more experience there...

Personally I get my security from locking down the computers, the router, and the wifi... Just a note - VNC has pretty good password protection - my company actually uses it for hundreds of PC's that are 100% remote. And, you can store that on your iPhone so you don't have to enter it each time - so it can be a very secure password.

Thanks again Todd. I just got this one figured out...You add operators. When you open RP you are then prompted for a name and pw. I think this is the right route..If anybody knows a more secure or proper way to do this, Please let me know.

Mike