NAME¶
ssvnc - a GUI wrapper for SSL and SSH VNC connections.
SYNOPSIS¶
ssvnc
ssvnc [
host][
:display]
ssvnc [
saved-profile-name]
ssvnc [
options] [
host-or-profile]
ssvnc -cmd [
ssvnc_cmd-args]
ssvnc -viewer [
viewer-args]
ssvnc --help
DESCRIPTION¶
ssvnc is a tcl/tk gui wrapper that runs on Unix, MacOSX, and Windows. It
sets up an SSL or SSH tunnel to the remote VNC Server and then launches the
VNC viewer (either the one provided or another one that you have specified) to
use that encrypted tunnel to connect to the VNC Server. The use of Proxies and
Gateways to make the connections is implemented.
Once you have started the SSVNC gui, you can click on the buttons
"Help", "Options -> Help", "Certs ->
Help", etc. for much information on how to use and configure the tool.
In short, you supply a VNC server "hostname:display" in the "VNC
Host:Display" entry box and then press the "Connect" button to
connect to the server via SSL (stunnel). E.g. "far-away.east:0".
Port numbers are also allowed, e.g. far-away.east:5905.
Or supply user@hostname:display and click on the "Use SSH" option,
then press the "Connect" button to connect to the server via an SSH
tunnel. E.g. "fred@far-away.east:0".
Note it is also possible to disable the use of SSL/SSH encryption tunnels by
using a
vnc:// or
Vnc:// prefix before host:display. Shift+Ctrl-E is a
short-cut to add/remove it. See also the
-noenc option below for the
'No Encryption' button.
Normally you do not specify any command line options. You simply run
ssvnc and use the GUI that starts up.
However, as shortcuts you can supply a VNC host:display (or host:port) on the
command line to connect to immediately (the GUI is started and the connection
is initiated). For example, "
ssvnc far-away.east:0" Instead
of a host:display, you can specify the name of a saved profile to
automatically load that profile and then connect to its server. For example
"
ssvnc far", if you named the profile "far". You
can use the
-profiles option to list the profiles you have saved.
The related commands
sshvnc and
tsvnc start up the GUI in
simplified modes: SSH Only Mode, and Terminal Services Mode, respectively. See
below and the application Help for more information on the modes.
You can also place certain settings in your ~/.ssvncrc, see the SSVNC Help panel
('Tips') for more info.
The
-cmd option does not start the GUI, it runs the command line utility
ssvnc_cmd directly with the given arguments.
ssvnc_cmd can
launch the viewer directly (
-viewer ...) or, by default, the
ss_vncviewer SSL/SSH tunnel wrapper script. See its help output for
more information.
There are also some command line options described as follows.
OPTIONS¶
- -help, -h
- Prints out to the terminal a brief description and the options.
- --help
- Starts up the GUI as though the 'Help' button was pressed to show the main
Help panel.
- -cmd [ssvnc_cmd-args]
- Launch the ssvnc_cmd utility command directly (no GUI) with the given
arguments (for use when ssvnc_cmd is not in one's PATH.) If neither
ssvnc_cmd nor ssvncviewer is in PATH, one can launch the viewer directly
via: ssvnc -cmd -viewer [viewer-args] See the next option -viewer for an
alias.
- -viewer [viewer-args]
- Shorthand for ssvnc -cmd -viewer [viewer-args].
- -profiles
- List the saved SSVNC profiles you have created. A profile is a destination
host with specific parameter settings.
- -list
- Same as -profiles
- -ssh
- Start in "SSH Only Mode". No SSL aspects are shown. Same as
running the command sshvnc
- -ts
- Start in "Terminal Services Mode". This is like "SSH Only
Mode", but simpler and assumes x11vnc is available on the
remote side to start and manage X and VNC sessions. Same as running the
command tsvnc
- -tso
- Same as -ts "Terminal Services Mode", however never let
the user leave this mode (no button to switch modes is provided.) Same as
SSVNC_TS_ALWAYS=1.
- -ssl
- Force the full GUI Mode: both SSL and SSH. This is the default. Same as
-ss.
- -nv
- Toggle the "Verify All Certs" button to be off at startup.
- -nvb
- Never show the "Verify All Certs" button. Same as
SSVNC_NO_VERIFY_ALL_BUTTON=1.
- -bigger
- Make the Profile Selection Dialog window bigger. Same as
SSVNC_BIGGER_DIALOG=1.
- -noenc
- Start off in a mode where a 'No Encryption' check button is present. You
can toggle the mode with Ctrl-E. Same as
SSVNC_DISABLE_ENCRYPTION_BUTTON=1. Or noenc=1 in ~/.ssvncrc.
Selecting no encryption is the same as the vnc:// and Vnc:// prefixes
described below. The -noenc mode is now the default, use
-enc or noenc=0 for the opposite behavior.
- -killstunnel
- On Windows, automatically terminate the STUNNEL process when the viewer
exits instead of prompting you (same as killstunnel=1 in ssvnc_rc
or toggle in Options menu)
- -nokillstunnel
- On Windows, disable -killstunnel mode. Same as killstunnel=0
in ssvnc_rc or toggle in Options menu. Note that -killstunnel mode
is now the default.
- -mycert /path/to/mycert.pem
- Set the default "MyCert" to be /path/to/mycert.pem. Same
as -cert. If the file does not exist, ~/.vnc/certs is prefixed and
tried. You can also set mycert=/path/to/mycert.pem in
~/.ssvncrc.
- -cacert /path/to/cacert.crt
- Set the default "ServerCert" to be /path/to/cacert.crt.
Same as -ca. If the file does not exist, ~/.vnc/certs is prefixed
and tried. You can also set cacert=/path/to/cacert.crt in
~/.ssvncrc.
- -crl /path/to/mycrl.pem
- Set the default Certificate Revocation List to be
/path/to/mycrl.pem. If the file does not exist, ~/.vnc/certs is
prefixed and tried. You can also set crl=/path/to/mycrl.pem in
~/.ssvncrc.
URL NOTATION¶
Here are all of our URL-like prefixes that you can put in front of host:display
(or host:port):
For SSL:
vncs:// vncssl:// and vnc+
ssl://
For SSH:
vncssh:// and vnc+
ssh://
For No Encryption:
vnc:// and
Vnc://
Examples:
To quickly make an SSL connection:
ssvnc vncs://snoopy.com:0
To quickly make an SSH connection:
ssvnc vnc+ssh://fred@snoopy.com:0
To quickly make a direct connection:
ssvnc Vnc://snoopy.com:0
The above will also work in the "VNC Host:Display" entry box in the
GUI. Press the "Connect" button after entering them.
The difference between
vnc:// and
Vnc:// is that the latter one will not prompt
you whether you really want to make an unencrypted connection or not.
FILES¶
Your SSVNC vnc profiles are stored in the
$HOME/.vnc/profiles directory.
They end in suffix
.vnc
Your SSVNC vnc certificates and keys are stored in the
$HOME/.vnc/certs
directory. They typically end in
.pem (both certificate and private
key) or
.crt (certificate only).
You can put a few global parameters (e.g. mode=sshvnc) in your
$HOME/.ssvncrc file (
ssvnc_rc on Windows); see the application
Help for more information.
FONTS¶
The following is from Tip 18 in the Help panel.
Fonts: To change the tk fonts, set these environment variables before starting
up ssvnc: SSVNC_FONT_DEFAULT and SSVNC_FONT_FIXED. For example:
% env SSVNC_FONT_DEFAULT='helvetica -20 bold' ssvnc
% env SSVNC_FONT_FIXED='courier -14' ssvnc
or set both of them at once.
To achieve the same effect, you can also set parameters in your ~/.ssvncrc file,
for example:
font_default=helvetica -20 bold
font_fixed=courier -14
SEE ALSO¶
ssvncviewer(1), vncviewer(1),
stunnel(8),
ssh(1),
x11vnc(1),
vncserver(1)
http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc/ssvnc.html
AUTHORS¶
Karl J. Runge <runge@karlrunge.com> wrote the SSVNC gui (tcl/tk) and
associated wrapper scripts, and added features to the unix vncviewer source
code.