remote desktopwindows 7
I'm brand new to Ubuntu and Linux in general and I installed Ubuntu on a second PC (just to be sure that if I mess something up, I still have my Windows 7 PC).
Is there an easy way for me to use remote desktop or an equivalent on my Windows 7 PC to connect to my Ubuntu PC? I want to be able to work on Ubuntu without having two keyboards/mice.
So far, what I've found on the web take for granted that I'm already good with Linux, which is not my case. So I'm looking for a answer for dummies. 😉
If you're planning on providing assistance to someone who is not very computer savvy, TeamViewer is going to make your life far easier. Yes, it is a closed-source commercial product – but the magical sensation you feel when establishing a connection using only an ID number makes it all well worth it.
For a while you might think you can pull off carefully setting up a VNC server and the required firewall/NAT rules to be ready for future support sessions, but it won't do you any good the day that your friend in need of assistance has changed their network setup or broken their server configuration by following some Hoary Hedgehog how-to.
It's pretty hard to get this part wrong:
With most of my clients, I don't even have them try to install TeamViewer. Session initiation looks like this:
Yes, this is an understandable confusion. I reported it as a bug and it's been fixed in 11.10. "Remote Desktop" in Ubuntu is not the same thing as in Windows. It's intended to share your running desktop with someone else. In 11.10, it's been renamed to "Desktop Sharing" to better reflect that. It also uses another protocol, VNC, so if you want to connect to your shared desktop from Windows, you'll need to install a VNC viewer. There are many of them to choose from.
It is also possible to connect to Ubuntu using the Windows built-in client. You'll need to install xrdp, but the last time I tried, it was not easy.
Best Answer
I believe you can use various VNC applications on Windows that are compatible with the built in one on Ubuntu. I really can not recommend any specific ones, as I have not used them since 2005. Remember to go to System -> Preferences -> Remote Desktop to set it up if Ubuntu is the guest.