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I have been looking for a fast, well supported VNC or remote desktop application to view my Windows machine desktop from my Ubuntu laptop. Do you have any suggestions for me?

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5 Answers 5

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You can use the default VNC client for Ubuntu: Remmina

Just type VNC or remmina in the dash to start it:

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Note: It's installed by default since 12.04.

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  • This seems to no longer be true in Ubuntu 20.04 Jul 1, 2021 at 17:43
  • @BrianLeishman You sure, still present in the iso manifest: releases.ubuntu.com/20.04/… (remmina 1.4.2+dfsg-1ubuntu1) Jul 2, 2021 at 12:07
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    Not totally sure, but I'm on a fresh Ubuntu 20.04 install and it wasn't installed, I had to apt install remmina Jul 2, 2021 at 12:12
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I've always used KRDC. It just works.

sudo apt install krdc
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  • The other suggestions didn't work on 14.04 LTS. This one is great. Thanks.
    – James
    Dec 8, 2015 at 18:16
  • This one is so awesome! Everything works! This is the true tool of a remote worker. Mar 9, 2019 at 7:17
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    I'd only ever used Remmina. It works, but was sometimes a bit frustrating to set up. KRDC is amazingly simple. Thank you.
    – McHobbes
    Jun 19, 2020 at 15:51
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Some Free/Libre software supporting VNC/RFB protocol or Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP):

VirtualBox has a built-in vRDP protocol that can be used to access GNU/Linux remote desktops (Linux distro usually lacks a RDP server). The vRDP protocol is compatible with all RDP clients. However, the proprietary VirtualBox Extension Pack is required.

See also this good comparison of remote desktop software (Wikipedia).

TechRadar has also published an interesting article on this purpose:

https://www.techradar.com/news/5-of-the-best-linux-remote-desktop-clients

Best Linux remote desktop clients: Top 5 RDC in 2018
By Mayank Sharma, January 2018
We cover all the ins-and-outs of remote viewing

Remote control features

  • TigerVNC   3/5
  • RealVNC 4/5   Top
  • Remmina   4/5   Top
  • Vinagre   3/5
  • TightVNC 3/5

Multimedia performance

  • TigerVNC   4/5   Top
  • RealVNC 4/5   Top
  • Remmina   3/5
  • Vinagre   4/5   Top
  • TightVNC 2/5

Interface and usability

  • TigerVNC   3/5
  • RealVNC 3/5
  • Remmina   3/5
  • Vinagre   3/5
  • TightVNC 3/5

Documentation and support

  • TigerVNC   2/5
  • RealVNC 5/5   Top
  • Remmina   3/5
  • Vinagre   2/5
  • TightVNC 2/5

Server and protocol support

  • TigerVNC   2/5
  • RealVNC 4/5   Top
  • Remmina   3/5
  • Vinagre   3/5
  • TightVNC 1/5

Configurable parameters

  • TigerVNC   2/5
  • RealVNC 4/5   Top
  • Remmina   3/5
  • Vinagre   2/5
  • TightVNC 2/5

Connection flexibility

  • TigerVNC   4/5   Top
  • RealVNC 3/5
  • Remmina   4/5   Top
  • Vinagre   2/5
  • TightVNC 4/5   Top

Final verdict

  • TigerVNC   5/5   Open source credentials and performance
  • RealVNC4/5   Remote desktop access on the Raspberry Pi
  • Remmina   3/5   Multi-protocol remote desktop client
  • Vinagre   3/5   Lacks the control offered by its peers
  • TightVNC2/5   Focus on Windows platforms
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Vinagre is now the default client in ubuntu. I had issues with remmina in fullscreen mode, vinagre works as a charm.

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  • 1
    No, vinagre is not the default per se. It depends on the desktop in use. It might be on Gnome and or Unity but it's not on KDE.
    – wie5Ooma
    Aug 4, 2015 at 20:57
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    If you install ubuntu and not kubuntu/lubuntu/xubuntu/etc. , then it comes by default.
    – Yalok Iy
    Aug 16, 2015 at 13:35
  • I had some troubles with strange Alt keys sent to the host using KRDC, after a quick try, Vinagre seems to solve most of them so far!
    – tobiasBora
    Dec 18, 2019 at 19:52
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Best for me is TightVnc - java client to view remote desktop for any vnc server. You can download directly: http://www.tightvnc.com/download-old.php or sudo apt-get install tightvnc and then jtightvncviewer - command line start

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  • 2
    Best for you, why? That would be a more helpful answer. Jul 5, 2019 at 6:32

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