VNC User Guide - RealVNC

Chapter 1: Introduction
5. Make sure VNC Server is running on the host computer and that it can accept incoming connections.
See Step 1: Ensure VNC Server is running on the host computer on page 20 for more information.
6. Find out the network address of VNC Server. If you are connecting:
— Over a LAN or VPN, this must be a private address, which is that of the host computer itself. See
Connecting within a private network on page 27 for more information.
— Over the Internet, this must be a public address, which is that of a router or similar device. See
Connecting over the Internet on page 28 for more information.
7. Find out the credentials required to authenticate to VNC Server. By default, if you are connecting to:
— VNC Server (Enterprise) or VNC Server (Personal), you require the user name and password of a
user account with administrative privileges on the host computer. Note at least one account on the
host computer must have a password set; see Authenticating using host computer user credentials
on page 98 for more information.
— VNC Server (Free), you require a password specific to VNC. For more information, see
Authenticating using a VNC password on page 103.
Note: If you cannot perform these operations and a host computer user is present, you may be able to
jointly perform a reverse connection. See Establishing a reverse connection on page 107 for more
information.
Setting up the client computer
1. Ensure your client computer is turned on, has a functioning operating system, and is connected to the
same network as the host computer.
2. Download VNC Viewer from www.realvnc.com/download/viewer/, and save the file to an appropriate
location (depending on the download package chosen, you may need to extract it first). Under UNIX and
Linux, you must also make the file executable, for example by running the command:
chmod +x
Note: Alternatively, you can download and install VNC on the client computer, and just run the VNC
Viewer component, since it does not require a license key. If you do this, VNC Viewer can be started
from the menu system of most operating systems, which may be more convenient, and in addition you
can save connections to VNC Address Book.
3. If your client computer is protected by a proxy server, specify the details of that proxy server. For more
information, see Connecting via a proxy server on page 36.
12 VNC User Guide