How to Install a VNC Server on Ubuntu

Installing a Virtual Network Computing (VNC) server on an Ubuntu system allows you to remotely access and control your desktop from anywhere, using a secure connection. This guide will walk you through the steps of installing and setting up a VNC server on Ubuntu.

The first step is to install the tightvncserver package, which is a popular VNC server implementation. You can do this by running the following command:

```

# apt install tightvncserver

```

Once the installation is complete, you will be prompted to set a password for your VNC server. This password will be used by clients to connect to your server.

Next, you need to create a user account that will run the VNC server. You can do this by running the following command:

```

# useradd vnc

```

You should also add the `vnc` user to the `sudo` group, so that it has sufficient privileges to start and stop the VNC server. You can do this by running the following command:

```

# gpasswd -a vnc sudo

```

Now you need to change the ownership of the `/home/vnc` directory to the `vnc` user. You can do this by running the following command:

```

# chown -R vnc:vnc /home/vnc

```

Next, you need to create a default startup script for the VNC server. This script will be executed when the VNC server starts up. You can do this by running the following command:

```

# touch /home/vnc/.vnc/xstartup

```

You should also set the `Xauthority` file for the VNC server, so that it can properly authenticate clients. You can do this by running the following command:

```

# Xauthority

```

To start the VNC server, you need to run the following command:

```

# su - vnc

```

This will prompt you for a password, which is the one you set earlier.

You can then connect to your VNC server using a client application, such as TightVNC or RealVNC. To do this, you will need to know the IP address of your Ubuntu system and the port number that the VNC server is listening on (usually 5900).

In addition to installing and setting up the VNC server, you may also want to install a graphic environment on your Ubuntu system. This will allow you to remotely access and control your desktop using the VNC server.

There are many graphic environments available for Ubuntu, including XFCE, KDE, GNOME, and Unity. XFCE is a popular choice because it uses a surprisingly low amount of memory while still looking slick and functional.

To install XFCE on your Ubuntu system, you can run the following command:

```

# apt install xfce4 xfce4-goodies gnome-icon-theme dbus-x11

```

This will install the XFCE desktop environment and some additional packages that are required to use it. You can then start the XFCE desktop environment by running the following command:

```

# startxfce4

```

Once you have installed and set up your VNC server, you can remotely access and control your Ubuntu system using a client application. This makes it easy to work on your Ubuntu system from anywhere, as long as you have an internet connection.

In this guide, we have shown you how to install and set up a VNC server on an Ubuntu system. We have also discussed some of the benefits of using a VNC server, including remote access and control of your desktop. With these instructions, you should be able to easily install and use a VNC server on your Ubuntu system.

Vnc server install ubuntu