About authentication types
When you connect to a remote server, there are numerous possibilities of how to check your identity to let you in. These vary mainly depending on type of desktop sharing protocol, e.g. Apple Screen Sharing, Microsoft RDP, or VNC. Each type of server provides its own set of authentication fields.
Here is a short guide on authentication types supported by Remotix.
Connecting to an Apple Screen Sharing server
While connecting to an OS X built-in desktop sharing server, you can use a VNC password or an existing OS X user login/password pair. For information on how to set up a Screen Sharing server on a Mac, see Setting up a server.
When you connect to a Mac with your own credentials while an another user session is active, a Session Select window will appear, asking you which user’s desktop you prefer. Choose if you want to start a separate session leaving the remote user’s work uninterrupted, or to assist the user in his/her session. (See About virtual displays.)
If you don’t have the credentials for a remote computer, it is still possible to connect by asking the currently logged in user to share his screen. You may ask the remote user for:
- Share screen permission, providing you full control over the remote computer.
- Observe permission, allowing to view remote screen without any interaction.
In both cases, the currently logged in user will have to accept the connection request.
When you connect by asking for an observe permission, you will be in Observe mode regardless of “Initially Observe” setting state in Remotix preferences. You will also be unable to send contents of your clipboard to a remote computer while in observe mode. For information, see Control or observe a single server.
Apple Screen Sharing also supports additional data encryption. For information, see Secure transmitted data.
Connecting to a Microsoft RDP server
Remote Desktop Protocol is a proprietary protocol developed by Microsoft, which provides a graphical interface to connect to a Windows-running computer over a network connection. To set up an RDP server, make sure that your copy of Windows supports Remote Desktop Services and refer to Microsoft documentation on topic.
The only way to authenticate on RDP server is to enter a remote user credentials:
- Username: local Windows username.
- Password: local Windows password.
- Domain: an optional field, needed in some cases when the target computer belongs to a domain.
While connecting to a Windows PC, you can control only currently logged in user’s screen.
Remotix also supports connection to an RDP server via Remote Desktop Gateway. For information, see Connect using Remote Desktop Gateway.
Connecting to a VNC server
Virtual Network Computing (VNC) software is available for a variety of computing platforms, making it possible to establish VNC connections between different operating systems.
For information on how to set up a VNC server, see Setting up a server.
The main authentication type in VNC is VNC password set in the VNC server software on the remote machine. Some servers support additional authentication types, e.g. UltraVNC username/password.
In most cases, only authentication data is transmitted over the Internet securely. If you want to protect all connection data, see Establish a secured connection.
RELATED INFORMATION
Control or observe a single server