What is Virtual Network Computing?

July 30, 2020 By Nick Anderson No Comments 5 minutes

There’s a constant demand for people working from home to access certain resources remotely. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed people inside, leaving them away from the resources they would otherwise take for granted. Resources such as shared folders, printers, or databases of an organization can only be accessed inside of the organization for security reasons.

The unprecedented times have called for drastic actions to ensure that productivity and flow of work is not affected. As employees work from home, the organizations have to rely on and use technologies that can bridge the communication gap and allow employees to work remotely. Enter remote desktop-sharing; a concept that we are familiar with, and one that is now at the heart of remote work.

Virtual Network Computing Explained

Virtual Network Computing is a software that enables a user to control a computer remotely. It is based onthe concept that defines the use of computers remotely through the power of the internet. If you have a PC at the office, then it’s possible to connect and use the resources present in and connected and to that computer through software. There are two parts to VNC; a client software and the server. The former presents an interface through which that remote system can be controlled from anywhere in the world.

Once you have a VNC server running, you can view and control the operating system from your Windows or Mac, or even a smartphone. The mouse and keyboard keystrokes are sent over the internet and registered on the remote machine, allowing you the freedom to access from anywhere in the world. It is made possible thanks to VNC’s Remote Frame Buffer (RFB) protocol.

Thanks to the open-source nature of VNC, there have been many adaptions of VNC. The RFB has also seen modifications and improvements which give adaptions a unique standing amongst themselves.

How FastestVPN Uses Remote Desktop Sharing

FastestVPN’s customer support team is available to assist you every hour of the week. With the remote desktop sharing technology, our experts can take control of your device to locate a problem and fix it. Of course, the traditional way of instructions gets the job done. But for people who aren’t as tech-savvy to implement those instructions, a hands-on approach by one of our customer representatives quickly addresses the problem you have.

How Does VNC Differ from VPN?

Let’s briefly go over how a VPN works. A remote server allows you to connect and use it as a proxy for internet communication. If a user in the United States connects to a VPN server in the United Kingdom, it effectively uses the VPN server as a mask.

The “P” in VPN stands for private. Companies can establish VPN servers to facilitate remote logins on company portals. For security reasons, such portals are restricted from access outside of the organization’s network. The VPN server enables employees to access employee portals and shared folders.

In comparison, VNC gives you the ability to control a remote computer. You can hover the cursor around, execute programs, use network devices – all from many miles away. VNC relies on the speed of your internet connection; better connection leads to a better experience. Actions will update quicker on your end. The device from which you control the remote computer does not need to be heavy on the hardware specifications; it should just meet the recommended specs for the operating system. It’s because the device is only acting as an input device – all the processing is taking place on the remote computer, and the output is being displayed to you in real-time.

Using VPN with VNC

It’s preferred to use a VPN with VNC. Some companies may require employees to connect to the VPN before they can access the company’s resources remotely. It ensures that employees are using a secure channel to access data that could be very confidential.

The benefit of using a VPN over VNC is encryption. VNC only encrypts the password information during authentication; it does not encrypt the entire session. Encryption is the process of making data unreadable so that only the intended recipients can decipher the message with a special key. As an example, FastestVPN secure internet communication with AES 256-bit encryption, which is considered the gold standard in encryption suites.

As someone on the move, you will find yourself relying on public Wi-Fi hotspots to connect to a computer back home or at the workplace. Public Wi-Fi connections are unsecure and vulnerable to Man-in-the-Middle attacks. Someone on the same network can sniff on the data packets you transmit. An attacker could even set up a fake access point to relay internet communication. This ability gives the attacker insight on what websites you are visit and the credentials you use to log in. VPN prevents such dangerous stealing attempts by encrypting data between you and the VPN server.

Conclusion

VNC is an incredible technology that has enabled people to work remotely. In the current circumstances, it is nothing short of a blessing. But staying on top of threats that exist is also important. It is recommended that you use a VPN to stay off the public network and encrypt your sessions while using VNC.

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