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Author: Joey

  • Secure Remote Support on LAN with x11vnc over SSH on Rocky Linux

    Secure Remote Support on LAN with x11vnc over SSH on Rocky Linux

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    Read this same article on the Rocky Linux Documentation website

    Introduction

    x11vnc is a powerful VNC program that distinguishes itself by utilizing the existing X session instead of creating a new one. This makes it an excellent tool for providing remote support, as the user’s screen or X session can be controlled remotely.

    In this guide, you will learn how to stand up an x11vnc server and how to connect to it remotely.

    Setting Up the VNC server

    To capture a user’s X session, x11vnc server will need to be installed on their Rocky workstation.

    Disable Wayland

    First, you need to disable Wayland. Open the custom.conf file using your text editor of choice:

    sudo vim /etc/gdm/custom.conf

    Uncomment WaylandEnable=false:

    # GDM configuration storage

[daemon]
WaylandEnable=false

[security]

[xdmcp]

[chooser]

[debug]
# Uncomment the line below to turn on debugging
#Enable=true

    Restart gdm service:

    sudo systemctl restart gdm

    Install and configure x11vnc

    Enable the EPEL repository:

    sudo dnf install epel-release

    Install x11vnc:

    sudo dnf install x11vnc

    Create a password for x11vnc:

    x11vnc -storepasswd ~/.x11vnc.pwd

    Create a new file with your text editor of choice. This will be used to create a service to run x11vnc:

    sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/x11vnc.service

    Copy and paste the following text into the file, then write and quit. Replace the rfbauth path with the path to the password file you created earlier. Replace User and Group with the user you intend to provide remote support to:

    [Unit]
Description=Start x11vnc at startup
After=display-manager.service

[Service]
Type=simple
Environment=DISPLAY=:1
Environment=XAUTHORITY=/run/user/1000/gdm/Xauthority
ExecStart=/usr/bin/x11vnc -auth /var/lib/gdm/.Xauthority -forever -loop -noxdamage -repeat -rfbauth /home/server/.x11vnc.pwd -rfbport 5900 -shared
User=server
Group=server

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

    Enable and start the x11vnc service:

    sudo systemctl enable --now x11vnc.service

    Setting Up Your Client

    Install the EPEL repository

    Install the EPEL repository:

    sudo dnf install epel-release

    Install a VNC client

    Install TigerVNC. We will not be using the server, but will utilize the client:

    sudo dnf install tigervnc

    Create the SSH Tunnel

    Create an SSH tunnel to securely connect to the VNC server:

    ssh -L 5900:localhost:5900 REMOTEIP

    Launch the VNC Viewer

    Open your VNC viewer:

    vncviewer

    Connect to the VNC server by entering 127.0.0.1 or localhost into TigerVNC and connect.

    Enter the x11vnc password you created earlier.

    Conclusion

    At this point, you have successfully set up an x11vnc server and connected to it using a TigerVNC client. This solution is ideal for providing remote support, as it shares the same X session as the user, ensuring a seamless support experience.

    Thank you for reading this article. If you found it helpful, please consider subscribing to our newsletter.

    Additionally, if you’re considering starting an organization or business, creating a website, protecting your WordPress site from malware and cyber attacks, or are in the market for a new gaming laptop, checkout the affiliate links below! 22halomedia uses each of these products and is proudly partnered with these companies.

    Articles to Read Next

    How to Setup WireGuard VPN on Rocky 9 Linux

    Secure Remote Support on LAN with x11vnc over SSH on Rocky Linux

    How to Install Virtual Box and Answering “What is a Hypervisor?”

    How to Enable Bidirectional Shared Clipboard on VirtualBox VM

    How to Create a Linux VM with VirtualBox

    Affiliate Links

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    Create a website with namedotcom

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    My work laptop

    Affiliate Disclaimer

    Please note that my website and content may contain affiliate links. This means that when you click on these links and make a purchase, I may earn a commission. Rest assured, all the products I promote are ones that I believe to be of high quality, and I personally use them as a consumer myself. Your support through these links helps me continue to create valuable content. Thank you for your support!

  • Installing VirtualBox Guest Additions on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Desktop

    Installing VirtualBox Guest Additions on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Desktop

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    Introduction

    Yesterday’s article, “Spinning up an Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Desktop VM in VirtualBox,” provided the necessary knowledge to install Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Desktop on a VirtualBox VM (Virtual machine).

    Today, we will cover how to install VirtualBox Guest Additions, a package of utilities and drivers that enhances the performance and ease-of-use of VirtualBox VM’s.

    Install VirtualBox Guest Additions

    In the top left corner of your Ubuntu desktop, click the Activities overview. You can also press the Super key on your keyboard.

    Click the search bar that labeled “Type to search“, and begin typing “terminal”. The Terminal application will appear before you finish typing. Click on Terminal to launch it.

    Update your Ubuntu system with the following command:

    sudo apt update -y

    You will get a warning message outputted to the console that reads “Warning: The unit file, source configuration file or drop-ins of apt-news.service changed on disk. Run ‘systemctl daemon -reload‘ to reload units.”

    Run the command from the error message above to reload Systemd files:

    systemctl daemon-reload

    Enter your sudo user’s password and click Authenticate.

    Upgrade your Ubuntu system with the following command:

    sudo apt upgrade -y

    Click Devices > Insert Guest Additions CD Image… in the VirtualBox toolbar.

    Select Files from the Ubuntu dock.

    In the left-hand menu of Files, click, VBox_GAs…

    Click Run Software in the orange banner that reads “Contains software to run” near the top of Files.

    Click Run when the next window titled ‘”VBox_GAs_7.0.18″ contains software intended to be automatically started. Would you like to run it?’ appears.

    Enter your sudo user’s password and click Authenticate.

    You will get a message informing you bzip2 is not installed.

    Press Return on your keyboard to close the terminal, then install bzip2 with the following command:

    sudo apt install bzip2 -y

    Repeat previous steps

    1. Open Files
    2. Click Devices > Insert Guest Additions CD Image… in the VirtualBox toolbar.
    3. Click Run when the next window titled ‘”VBox_GAs_7.0.18″ contains software intended to be automatically started. Would you like to run it?’ appears.
    4. Enter your sudo user’s password and click Authenticate.

    Once VirtualBox Guest Additions finished installing, it will output some text, informing you “This system is currently not set up to build kernel modules.”, and “Running kernel modules will not be replaced until the system is restarted.”

    Run the following command to be able to build kernel modules:

    sudo apt install build-essential gcc make
perl dkms

    Then power off your system:

    Click File > Close… in the VirtualBox toolbar.

    Select Power off the machine, then click OK.

    Update Your Ubuntu VM’s Display Settings

    Your VM will initially have limited VRAM (video random access memory) assigned, and 3D acceleration will be disabled by default . For the best display experience, allocate as much VRAM as possible. Additionally, enable 3D acceleration if your system supports it.

    Click the gear icon in the VirtualBox Manager toolbar to launch the VM Settings.

    In the left-hand menu, click Display.

    1. Increase Video Memory to 128MB or as much as your system can afford.
    2. Check Enable 3D Acceleration, if your system supports it.
    3. Click OK.

    Using VirtualBox Guest Additions

    While there are several utilities and additional functionality VirtualBox Guest Additions provides, this guide will focus on auto-resizing your VM for best viewing results.

    Start Your Ubuntu VM.

    Click View > Auto-resize Guest Display. You may need to repeat this step a few times until the desired effect is achieved. Eventually the VM’s display should stretch across your screen and seamlessly scale clicking and dragging a corner of the window.

    The Ubuntu VirtualBox covering the entire display thanks to VirtualBox Guest Additions

    Conclusion

    As you can see, installing VirtualBox Guest Additions greatly enhances performance and usability. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you’ve created a versatile environment ready for various tasks. Enjoy your enhanced Ubuntu VM experience on VirtualBox!

    Thank you for reading this article. If you found it helpful, please consider subscribing to our newsletter.

    Additionally, if you’re considering starting an organization or business, creating a website, protecting your WordPress site from malware and cyber attacks, or are in the market for a new gaming laptop, checkout the affiliate links below! 22halomedia uses each of these products and is proudly partnered with these companies.

    Articles to Read Next

    How to Setup WireGuard VPN on Rocky 9 Linux

    Secure Remote Support on LAN with x11vnc over SSH on Rocky Linux

    How to Install Virtual Box and Answering “What is a Hypervisor?”

    How to Enable Bidirectional Shared Clipboard on VirtualBox VM

    How to Create a Linux VM with VirtualBox

    Affiliate Links

    Form your business with Northwest registered agent

    Create a website with name.com

    Secure your WordPress website with Wordfence

    Buy the laptop I use

    Affiliate Disclaimer

    Please note that my website and content may contain affiliate links. This means that when you click on these links and make a purchase, I may earn a commission. Rest assured, all the products I promote are ones that I believe to be of high quality, and I personally use them as a consumer myself. Your support through these links helps me continue to create valuable content. Thank you for your support!

  • Spinning up an Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Desktop VM in VirtualBox

    Spinning up an Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Desktop VM in VirtualBox

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    Introduction

    Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Desktop is the latest long-term support release from Canonical. In this guide, you will learn how to download the Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Desktop ISO from Canonical’s website and install it on a new VirtualBox VM (virtual machine).

    Downloading the ISO

    Downloading Ubuntu is as simple as clicking the download button on Canonical’s website. Keep in mind that the file is quite large, at around 6GB, so the download may take some time depending on your internet speed.

    How-to download the ISO:

    Go to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Desktop download page.

    Click the green button that says Download 24.04 LTS.

    Creating a VirtualBox VM

    While creating an Ubuntu VM (Virtual Machine) can be done on any hypervisor, VirtualBox is used in this guide.

    Consider reading or watching our guide on VirtualBox if you have never created a VM or used VirtualBox.

    How to create a VirtualBox VM:

    Click New.

    Give your VM a Descriptive Name.

    Select the ISO image from the dropdown menu.

    Check Skip Unattended Installation.

    Assign desired amount of Base Memory and Processors to your VM.

    Assign desired amount of disk space towards the VM’s VHD (Virtual Hard Disk). Then click Next.

    Read the summary and click Finish when done.

    Click Start to boot your VM.

    Installing Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Desktop

    Congratulations on creating your new VirtualBox VM! Now you need to install Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. While you have the option to try Ubuntu without installing it, for long-term data storage and retrieval, you should install it on the VHD you created earlier.

    Press Enter (on your keyboard) when prompted to try or install Ubuntu.

    Choose your language, then click Next.

    Choose your accessibility options, then click Next.

    Select your keyboard layout, then click Next.

    Connect to the internet, then click Next.

    Press Update now to update the installer. Alternatively, press Skip to continue the installation without updating. For the purposes of this guide we will update the installer.

    After the installer finishes updating, click Close installer.

    Click Install Ubuntu 24.04 LTS to run the installer again. You will need to repeat selecting the desired options as presented by the installer earlier in this guide.

    Select how you would like to install Ubuntu. For the purposes of this guide, the default option, Interactive installation, was left selected.

    Select the apps you would like to start with. For the purposes of this guide, the default option, Default selection, was left selected. Then click Next.

    Now you need to choose whether you intend to install proprietary 3rd party software, such as graphics and Wi-Fi drivers, along with media codecs. For the purposes of this guide, both checkboxes under the heading Install recommended proprietary software?, have been checked. Then click Next.

    Select how you want to install Ubuntu. For the purposes of this guide, Erase disk and install Ubuntu, has been selected. Then click Next.

    Create your account by providing values for Your name, Your computer name, Your username, and your Password. Leave Require my password to login checked. Then click Next.

    Select your Location and Timezone from their respective dropdown menus. Then click Next.

    Review your choices.

    Click the green Install button to start installing Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Desktop.

    After the installation finishes, restart your PC by clicking the green button labeled Restart now.

    Welcome to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

    When you launch Ubuntu for he first time after installing it, a window with the text “Welcome to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS!” will automatically launch. Read the welcome message before clicking Next.

    The next window will give you the option to enable Ubuntu Pro. Select Skip for now before clicking Next.

    You can help the development of Ubuntu by choosing to send diagnostic data. For the purposes of this article, the option No, don’t share system data was selected. Once done, click Next.

    The next window is intended to introduce the software store. Click Next to finish the guided tour.

    Conclusion

    You should now have the necessary knowledge to download an Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Desktop ISO image and create your very own VirtualBox VM complete with a fresh Ubuntu installation.

    Thank you for reading this article. If you found it helpful, please consider subscribing to our newsletter.

    Additionally, if you’re considering starting an organization or business, creating a website, protecting your WordPress site from malware and cyber attacks, or are in the market for a new gaming laptop, checkout the affiliate links below! 22halomedia uses each of these products and is proudly partnered with these companies.

    Articles to Read Next

    How to Setup WireGuard VPN on Rocky 9 Linux

    Secure Remote Support on LAN with x11vnc over SSH on Rocky Linux

    How to Install Virtual Box and Answering “What is a Hypervisor?”

    How to Enable Bidirectional Shared Clipboard on VirtualBox VM

    How to Create a Linux VM with VirtualBox

    Affiliate Links

    Form your business with Northwest registered agent

    Create a website with name.com

    Secure your WordPress website with Wordfence

    ASUS Gaming laptop

    Affiliate Disclaimer

    Please note that my website and content may contain affiliate links. This means that when you click on these links and make a purchase, I may earn a commission. Rest assured, all the products I promote are ones that I believe to be of high quality, and I personally use them as a consumer myself. Your support through these links helps me continue to create valuable content. Thank you for your support!