Automatically starting remote desktop

Vino-server, enable with GUI

Ubuntu comes with vino-server pre-installed.

To enable go to: System - Preferences - Remote desktop

• Check ‘Allow other users to view your desktop’.
• Check ‘Allow other users to control your desktop’.
• Uncheck ‘Ask you for confirmation’.
• Type in the password you want to use.

Enable with script

To enable using a script:

metacity --replace & disown
vino-preferences & disown
gconftool-2 -s -t bool /desktop/gnome/remote_access/enabled true

Check if the server is enabled:

gconftool-2 -g /desktop/gnome/remote_access/enabled

Note:

• Now you can use remote desktop with VNC, but you need to have a user logged in.
• Remote desktop uses TCP port 5900.

Start vino-server at boot

Note: The following didn't work for me, instead I leave a user logged in and lock the screen

---

To allow remote desktop at boot modify the gnome startup script to start vino-server:

sudo gedit /etc/gdm/Init/Default

/usr/lib/vino/vino-server &

Then add the line 'KillInitClients=false':

sudo gedit /etc/gdm/custom.conf

...
KillInitClients=false
...

Note: this file has been moved around quite a lot in Ubuntu history. This location is for Ubuntu 10.04.

VPN problem 'Bad checksum from pppd'

Todo: but maybe we want to have mppe-128?

---

Jan 12 09:14:09 WJV5 pptpd[2852]: CTRL: Client 100.200.300.4 control connection started
Jan 12 09:14:09 WJV5 pptpd[2852]: CTRL: Starting call (launching pppd, opening GRE)
Jan 12 09:14:09 WJV5 pppd[2854]: Plugin /usr/lib/pptpd/pptpd-logwtmp.so loaded.
Jan 12 09:14:09 WJV5 pptpd[2852]: GRE: Bad checksum from pppd.
Jan 12 09:14:39 WJV5 pptpd[2852]: GRE: read(fd=6,buffer=611660,len=8196) from PTY failed: status = -1 
  error = Input/output error, usually caused by unexpected termination of pppd, check option syntax and pppd logs
Jan 12 09:14:39 WJV5 pptpd[2852]: CTRL: PTY read or GRE write failed (pty,gre)=(6,7)
Jan 12 09:14:39 WJV5 pptpd[2852]: CTRL: Reaping child PPP[2854]
Jan 12 09:14:39 WJV5 pptpd[2852]: CTRL: Client 100.200.300.4 control connection finished

Disable 'require-mppe-128', source:

• http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1794838

sudo gedit /etc/ppp/pptpd-options

...
#require-mppe-128
...