Do AOL allow VNC connections?

I'm trying to help my mum with her PC, and want to do so remotely.

I have broadband with a fixed IP, and I use VNC from my PDA to my PC at
home. I Installed tightVNC on her machine, looked at the IP (being dial-
up she gets a different IP every time) and tried to connect but was un-
successful.
--
Regards
Jon

Jon wrote:
> I'm trying to help my mum with her PC, and want to do so remotely.
>
> I have broadband with a fixed IP, and I use VNC from my PDA to my PC at
> home. I Installed tightVNC on her machine, looked at the IP (being dial-
> up she gets a different IP every time) and tried to connect but was un-
> successful.

I don't know if this is standard for all VNC versions; I think it is,
but it definitely works for UltraVNC under Windows.

1. Preparation: Install VNC server on the remote machine. Make sure that
port 5500 is open for the VNC viewer on YOUR setup.

2. Get the remote user to run VNC. Or it can always be running as a
service; in this case you need to set a difficult password. You don't
need to know the password to connect this way.

3. When the remote user has a problem, they should phone you. You must
find your Internet IP address. run the VNC viewer in listen mode.

3. Tell the remote user to: right-click the WinVNC icon in the system
tray. Left-click "Add new client"; in the window that appears and type
in YOUR IP address, leaving the ID blank. Precise details may depend
upon the version of VNC being used.

4. The remote user clicks OK and you are connected, with no password
required.

Security is not compromised: if an attacker connects to port 5500 on the
listening viewer, all he can do is allow you to control his machine.

If the remote user is running VNC permanently, as a service, an attacker
can get in with the password. This isn't a bad problem if the password
is difficult.

HTH,
--
Michael Salem