Single Click VNC Server – Solving Grandma’s Computer Problem is Just a Click Away
I just discovered last night that the UltraVNC people make a program called UltraVNC SC (SingleClick)
The basic idea of this program is that someone who needs computer help from me can download a ~100K executable and launch it, and I’m instantly controlling and viewing their computer screen. There’s no installation, no router settings non-sense, just click and go. It really has opened up a whole world of possibilities for me to painlessly help friends and relatives with simple computer problems.
There is one catch though. You’ll need to spend about 30 minutes creating your own custom executable and configuring your own router. Follow the links below to get started.
- The main UltraVNC SC (SingleClick) page walks you through the steps to set up your own executable.
- This PDF offers more detailed instructions.
- There is also a forum for further help if you need it.
Here are a few more things to keep in mind.
- Your VNC viewer should be running in listening mode and listening to the IP address of the person you want to help. Send the person you are helping to www.whatismyip.com and have them tell you their IP address and type that into your listener settings as so:
X’s just there to hide the real IP address. 5500 is the port to listen to, 5500 is the default so hopefully you won’t have to change this. - The IP address you put into the host section of the helpdesk.txt file is your own IP address. Thus YOU should visit www.whatismyip.com and put that address in there.
Here is the host section of my helpdesk.txt file for example:
[HOST]
Internet support
-connect 68.168.X.XXX:5500 -noregistry - If you really need to help someone with a computer problem and don’t have time to do this setup stuff then you may want to try FogCreeks CoPilot product which does the same thing but more easily. (Drawback, it costs $10.00)
I’d love to see something similar to this for a Mac. I haven’t found anything yet though. If anyone knows of one, let me know.
[tags]copilot, copilot alternative, vnc, tech support, help[/tags]
Hello,
That co-pilot thing is very professional looking. I want to do the same thing those guys did accept I wouldn’t want it to reference Co-pilot. Do you know of anyone willing to create something like that for me for a fee? I’ve tried the VNC Single Click but can’t get it to work and it still requires that they navigate to a website to get their ip. Also, I used netstat -an so I could see what my customized SC program was doing and it sends a request (SYN_SENT) to the helper’s ip adress on port 5500 but only for a few seconds. I would like to make it so all the person has to do is double click my program and BAM!, we are in business.
Thanks
Danny,
I’ve seen people use this service which might help you: https://www.gotomeeting.com/
I think it is expensive though.
And then the same company also has this one, but it looks expensive too:
http://www.gotoassist.com/
-Greg
“it still requires that they navigate to a website to get their ip”
If it’s built properly you can email it.All
they have to do is click on the exe and it
does a reverse connection.
Dave, when I launch Ultra VNC viewer in listening mode it has a place to fill in the VNC host (see screen shot in post)
What do I put there if I don’t know the IP address of the person I’m trying to help?
For remote support software 4remotesuppport.com’s version of remote control over the web. It’s a fraction of the cost of gotoassist and you can email a support link. They have an executable version and a java version of the remote side’s software download. The remote side doesn’t need java – that’s where the executable version kicks in. Sort of like gotomypc does it. You don’t have to know the remote side IP or anything else. The executable can be placed on your own website and unlike ultravnc, if YOUR ip address changes you don’t have to rebuild the program – it’s done dynamically on their site for thier users. You could change Ip adresses as many times as you like which means the service can be used from multiple support locations without having to have multiple programs for the desktops to run.
Hi – just saw your webpage while looking for a version of SC that will operate on a MAC, no luck so far, but I thought I’d clarify a couple things. With SC it is entirely unnecesary to put in any IP address, you just run it on listenmode on the correct port and you’re good to go – just give the person a link to your SC program and have VNC running on your local computer in listen mode. Where you are putting in the IP address is if you want to manually connect to a computer that is already running vnc server, and is not really applicable for single click.
–Seth
Thanks Seth. I’ll revise this post next time I use the tool. That makes it much more convientient. Let me know if you find a Mac equivalent of this someday.
To note, I just started using SC UltraVNC, and here are a couple of of hopefully helpful comments I have. First, you do NOT have to know the person you are trying to help’s IP address. They are connecting to you, not you to them. Your IP address is built into the executable they download. It is your router which must setup the port forward, and all they need to do is double-click the appropriate support option, and they immediately connect to you, unless they have some sort of firewall running, which blocks the connection. Secondly, you do NOT have to change your IP address in the build, IF you register your IP with a ddns service. There are many out there, and once you register, you do not have to put your IP address into the build. A ddns name with the port works just fine. Then, if your IP changes, your ddns service gets updated with your new IP, your ddns name stays the same, and your Single-click UltraVNC build still works because you are connecting to a ddns name, not an IP address. This is guaranteed, I did not put my IP address into my build, only “myddnsname:5500″. Don’t forget to add that port number.
one last comment. To send by email can be a bit of a pain, since this is an executable. I found the best was to have them download it directly off an ftp site. I built an html document with a clickable button in the body, so I can send an email with a button to click. Once clicked the link begins the download off the ftp site, and then they don’t have to worry about trying to use an attached executable in an email. Very few email clients allow exe files to be opened anymore. They are blocked, and the person you are helping usually has no idea how to unblock them. It’s in the preferences setup for the email app, but let’s face it, if your aunt or cousin knew where that option was, you wouldn’t have to be sending them the single-click help in the first place!! You want this connection to happen fast so that you aren’t wasting your time, and giving them a solution in 10 minutes or less (my time is precious to me), have them download from an ftp site if possible. All they need do then is click the link, and choose “run”, done. Alternatively, change the extension from .exe to .xex and then have them save to their desktop, and change it back to .exe to run the little app. This takes a bit to talk them through, but if you do a nice detailed email, it can work. If you get creative, you can also put a picture of yourself in the logo window. Makes the app a little bigger, but not bad. Mine ballooned from 165kb to 235kb, but sometimes it’s nice for someone to see your smilin’ face, as long as you don’t scare the h#** out of them when they see it. LOL
You have to find a nice picture, set the pixels to 196 wide by something less for the height. I used Irfanview to crop, and then resize my picture. Then, you need to save as a bmp, rename it “logo.bmp”, and paste into the build file. It’s that simple.
Phil,
Thanks for the very informative comments! So as you explain it, my VNC viewer just has to be running? I don’t need to change any settings there? Dynamic DNS is also an excellent idea.
The instructions are not complete. If you don’t know the client’s IP, start you VNC viewer in listen mode. This way you only need to have the correct port open and the viewer running. To start the vncviewer in listening mode, you need to add -listen at the end of command.
vncviewer.exe -listen
I would suggest you all look at VNC SingleClick Manual to get the whole picture.