NWI Tech Support

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Remote technical support

Some number of years ago, we constructed a web-based remote support application utilizing the open source software UltraVNC. It’s a mini sever known as SC (Single Click) and it’s really easy to build. Take a look at the walk through for details. There are also lots of excellent 3rd party projects to consider as well, you can find them within the forum.

All you need is to get going is:

• access to your router configuration
• a bit of in-site on (port mapping and firewall ports)
• an MS Windows (Mac and Unix/Linux work as well)  box to serve as the the listener
• webspace to host your compiled application
• It is also a great relief to use a DDNS system to ease the locating of your machine on the Internet as well.

What is DDNS (Dynamic Domain Name System)?
Dynamic DNS is a system designed to implement the mapping of FQDN’s (Fully Qualified Domain Name) to DHCP allocated IP addresses.

So… what does this do for me?
In layman’s terms, DDNS essentially allows you to give your computer a persistent name to be reached at over the Internet.

Can’t my machine be reach via IP address?
Absolutely, the problem is that most residential ISP’s (Internet Service Provider) utilize a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server to provide you an IP address. A DHCP server houses list(s) of IP addresses called Range(s) to allot to the numerous clients they serve on an as needed basis. Each allotted IP address is leased for a specific amount of time before it expires and your machine needs to either renew or request a new one depending on the ISP’s server configuration.

How does a DDNS server work?
A DDNS server works by allowing the user to create an A Record (Address Record) to be housed in a specific Zone File (which can be though of as a domain configuration file). This record stores the name of your choosing and maps to the IP address that the configuration detects from your WAN connection. This name is then pre-pended to the domain name you selected or was allotted to you and this is the FQDN in which your WAN IP is located. For this to work properly a client piece is required. The job of the client piece is to monitor your IP address changes and report them back to the server.

WAN address…, then how do I find my computer?
First things first, you will need to find your LAN (Local Area Network) IP address. The easiest way to go about this is to open a command prompt from the start menu or by using the key command WIN+R, typing cmd in the run box and pressing Enter. From the command prompt type ipconfig and press Enter. Your IP address will be listed in the output. To find your computer from the Internet, more than likely, you will need to gain entrance through a NAT (Network Address Translation) system first. A NAT is designed to provide all of your computers/devices behind the router a single WAN IP address provided by your ISP. This system was designed primarily to conserve the limited number of IP addresses on the Internet. To break it down, the router takes over and directs traffic between the Internet and your LAN. To locate a specific device behind a NAT a port mapping or pinhole is required. This port mapping is essentially a direct path via a specific port between the router and the specified computer or device. When a request from the Internet comes in for that specific port the router checks it’s list and recognizes, for example, port 5500 is mapped to IP address 192.168.0.104 (note that some routers require/prefer mappings based on a hostname rather than IP address), and sends it along happily.

The Listener (VNC server)
UltraVNC server, as well as most other VNC servers, provide a listening mode that can be flagged during execution to enable to the server to listen for and accept/deny incoming connection attempts. The beauty of listening mode is that most firewalls are bypassed from the connecting side due to the outgoing rather than incoming request. The default listening port is 5500.

Our latest project

Our latest project, currently in the works and partially completed, was designed to offer anyone with an Internet connection the ability to provide friends, family, clients, etc… interactive live support utilizing the recent  development of the UltraVNC wrapper, known as ChunkVNC.

We currently have the Windows client/viewer, as well as the Macintosh client available and we’re currently working on a Linux solution.

To use these services, all one would need to do is instruct their friend, family, client, etc… to the slighPC’s Live Support section located under the Main Menu on the right-hand side. Download and run the client application labeled:

OpenRemoteDesk – Windows.

OpenRemoteDesk_v2 – Windows

.

The support provider would then download and run the viewer, also under the “Live Support” section labeled:

OpenRemoteView – Windows.

Type in the code provided by your friend, family, client, etc… and lend your helping hand as the rest is self-explanatory.

1. tdurbin says:

   March 10, 2010 at 6:05 pm

   Absolutely… feel free to add us to the list, we would be honored.
   We figured that it was handed to us (Open Source) on a silver platter, so it was the least we could do to give something back.
   I feel very privileged to see the creator of ChunkVNC here. I love what have done with UltraVNC! Thanks for the excellent software and keep up the great work.

   I’m anxious to see what you have done with 4.0.
2. supercoe says:

   March 10, 2010 at 5:48 pm

   I like what you’ve done here, nice and neat separate packages.
   It seems you are running a public repeater for anyone to use?
   I keep a couple Ready To Run versions of ChunkVNC but the repeaters are based out of Germany and Switzerland. Would you allow me to add your repeater to the list so people in the US could have a better connection?

   It would be for home use only as we prohibit commercial use with public repeaters.

   Let me know what you think…
3. admin says:

   March 7, 2010 at 11:54 am

   Hello Muzamil,

   I have read of this:
   Why is ChunkVNC getting detected as a virus?
Pretty much every compiled AutoIt script is incorrectly detected as a virus.
The best I can do is use a version of AutoIt that is detected the least with VirusTotal.com
   I have never witnessed the issue… although I can’t say that I have run it on an AVG protected pc either. I can however assure you that there are no trojans, malwares, viruses, etc… in any of the software posted here. I can also assure you that this is a false positive. To err on the side of caution, this matter will be investigated and any further findings will be posted.

   Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
4. Muzamil says:

   March 7, 2010 at 11:10 am

   Hi,

   Great work! Exactly what I was looking for. (thumbs up),
   Although I’m having a little problem:

   I tried Open Live Support… while the client ran fine, when I ran the viewer AVG Antivirus detected a threat. I have read many articles relating to autoit and false positives, is this something I should be concerned with?