Setting up remote access to help friends/family members/customers can be difficult, especially when firewalls and NAT routers are involved. Just yesterday I had to connect to my uncle’s computer via remote access and help him configure his emails, programs and etc… It’s not easy because I had to instruct my uncle to shut off his Windows built-in firewall, his anti-virus and ZoneAlarm firewall program in order for me to connect. Secondly, my uncle uses a router, meaning I won’t be able to connect to him “directly” if he didn’t forward his port. Port forwarding can be quite a task for a normal user because it involves configuring the router.

The normal way of connecting to a computer via remote access is, the Client only requires the server’s IP address. As for Server, it will require forwarding the port that the remote access application is using to his own local IP address. The server will sit there listening to the port for incoming connections. Reverse Connection is the other way round. The Server only requires the Client IP address and as for the Client, it requires port forwarding and it will be the one listening for incoming connections. With “Reverse Connection” technology, I am able to skip the part where I had to ask my uncle to configure port forwarding from his router.

The following tutorial explains how to use VNC’s reverse connection to remote access easier.


Setup on your side
1. If you have a router, make sure to forward port 5500 to your computer. If you’re unsure how, check here.
2. Download tightvnc-1.2.9_x86_viewer.zip
3. Unzip vncviewer.exe to your Desktop
4. Go to Start -> Run, type cmd to open a command prompt. CD to your Desktop path.

5. Type: vncviewer -listen and press Enter. You’ll see a small icon appear on your traybar.

6. That’s it for your part. You are now ready to accept connections from your customer.

Setup on customer side
1. YOU download tightvnc-1.2.9_x86.zip. (Take note as this file is different from the above)
2. Extract WinVNC.exe and VNCHooks.dll from tightvnc-1.2.9_x86.zip
3. Send WinVNC.exe and VNCHooks.dll to customer. Optionally, you can combine the two into a single executable with PEBundle.
4. Have customer double click WinVNC.exe, type anything into the “Password:” box, and press OK.

5. Have customer right click on WinVNC icon in system tray, choose “Add New Client“.

6. Give your IP address to your customer to type it in. Upon clicking OK button, you will be able to see and control your customer’s computer.

When finished, simply right click VNC tray icon on customer’s Desktop and choose “Close”. Customer may delete the VNC file(s) you sent.

Source: TinyApps