ssvnc-gui(1) SSVNC ssvnc-gui(1)NAMEssvnc-gui - a GUI wrapper for SSL and SSH VNC connections.
SYNOPSISssvnc-gui
ssvnc-gui [host][:display]
ssvnc-gui [saved-profile-name]
ssvnc-gui [options] [host-or-profile]
ssvnc-gui-cmd [ssvnc_cmd-args]
ssvnc-gui-viewer [viewer-args]
ssvnc-gui--help
DESCRIPTIONssvnc-gui is a tcl/tk gui wrapper that runs on Unix, MacOSX, and Win‐
dows. It sets up an SSL or SSH tunnel to the remote VNC Server and
then launches the VNC viewer (either the one provided or another one
that you have specified) to use that encrypted tunnel to connect to the
VNC Server. The use of Proxies and Gateways to make the connections is
implemented.
Once you have started the SSVNC gui, you can click on the buttons
"Help", "Options -> Help", "Certs -> Help", etc. for much information
on how to use and configure the tool.
In short, you supply a VNC server "hostname:display" in the "VNC
Host:Display" entry box and then press the "Connect" button to connect
to the server via SSL (stunnel). E.g. "far-away.east:0". Port numbers
are also allowed, e.g. far-away.east:5905.
Or supply user@hostname:display and click on the "Use SSH" option, then
press the "Connect" button to connect to the server via an SSH tunnel.
E.g. "fred@far-away.east:0".
Note it is also possible to disable the use of SSL/SSH encryption tun‐
nels by using a vnc:// or Vnc:// prefix before host:display.
Shift+Ctrl-E is a short-cut to add/remove it. See also the -noenc
option below for the 'No Encryption' button.
Normally you do not specify any command line options. You simply run
ssvnc and use the GUI that starts up.
However, as shortcuts you can supply a VNC host:display (or host:port)
on the command line to connect to immediately (the GUI is started and
the connection is initiated). For example, "ssvnc far-away.east:0"
Instead of a host:display, you can specify the name of a saved profile
to automatically load that profile and then connect to its server. For
example "ssvnc far", if you named the profile "far". You can use the
-profiles option to list the profiles you have saved.
The related commands sshvnc and tsvnc start up the GUI in simplified
modes: SSH Only Mode, and Terminal Services Mode, respectively. See
below and the application Help for more information on the modes.
You can also place certain settings in your ~/.ssvncrc, see the SSVNC
Help panel ('Tips') for more info.
The -cmd option does not start the GUI, it runs the command line util‐
ity ssvnc_cmd directly with the given arguments. ssvnc_cmd can launch
the viewer directly (-viewer ...) or, by default, the ss_vncviewer
SSL/SSH tunnel wrapper script. See its help output for more informa‐
tion.
There are also some command line options described as follows.
OPTIONS-help, -h
Prints out to the terminal a brief description and the options.
--help Starts up the GUI as though the 'Help' button was pressed to
show the main Help panel.
-cmd [ssvnc_cmd-args]
Launch the ssvnc_cmd utility command directly (no GUI) with the
given arguments (for use when ssvnc_cmd is not in one's PATH.)
If neither ssvnc_cmd nor ssvncviewer is in PATH, one can launch
the viewer directly via: ssvnc-gui-cmd -viewer [viewer-args]
See the next option -viewer for an alias.
-viewer [viewer-args]
Shorthand for ssvnc-gui-cmd -viewer [viewer-args].
-profiles
List the saved SSVNC profiles you have created. A profile is a
destination host with specific parameter settings.
-list Same as -profiles
-ssh Start in "SSH Only Mode". No SSL aspects are shown. Same as
running the command sshvnc
-ts Start in "Terminal Services Mode". This is like "SSH Only
Mode", but simpler and assumes x11vnc is available on the remote
side to start and manage X and VNC sessions. Same as running
the command tsvnc
-tso Same as -ts "Terminal Services Mode", however never let the user
leave this mode (no button to switch modes is provided.) Same
as SSVNC_TS_ALWAYS=1.
-ssl Force the full GUI Mode: both SSL and SSH. This is the default.
Same as -ss.
-nv Toggle the "Verify All Certs" button to be off at startup.
-nvb Never show the "Verify All Certs" button. Same as SSVNC_NO_VER‐
IFY_ALL_BUTTON=1.
-bigger
Make the Profile Selection Dialog window bigger. Same as
SSVNC_BIGGER_DIALOG=1.
-noenc Start off in a mode where a 'No Encryption' check button is
present. You can toggle the mode with Ctrl-E. Same as
SSVNC_DISABLE_ENCRYPTION_BUTTON=1. Or noenc=1 in ~/.ssvncrc.
Selecting no encryption is the same as the vnc:// and Vnc://
prefixes described below. The -noenc mode is now the default,
use -enc or noenc=0 for the opposite behavior.
-killstunnel
On Windows, automatically terminate the STUNNEL process when the
viewer exits instead of prompting you (same as killstunnel=1 in
ssvnc_rc or toggle in Options menu)
-nokillstunnel
On Windows, disable -killstunnel mode. Same as killstunnel=0 in
ssvnc_rc or toggle in Options menu. Note that -killstunnel mode
is now the default.
-mycert /path/to/mycert.pem
Set the default "MyCert" to be /path/to/mycert.pem. Same as
-cert. If the file does not exist, ~/.vnc/certs is prefixed and
tried. You can also set mycert=/path/to/mycert.pem in ~/.ssvn‐
crc.
-cacert /path/to/cacert.crt
Set the default "ServerCert" to be /path/to/cacert.crt. Same as
-ca. If the file does not exist, ~/.vnc/certs is prefixed and
tried. You can also set cacert=/path/to/cacert.crt in ~/.ssvn‐
crc.
-crl /path/to/mycrl.pem
Set the default Certificate Revocation List to be
/path/to/mycrl.pem. If the file does not exist, ~/.vnc/certs is
prefixed and tried. You can also set crl=/path/to/mycrl.pem in
~/.ssvncrc.
URL NOTATION
Here are all of our URL-like prefixes that you can put in front of
host:display (or host:port):
For SSL: vncs:// vncssl:// and vnc+ssl://
For SSH: vncssh:// and vnc+ssh://
For No Encryption: vnc:// and Vnc://
Examples:
To quickly make an SSL connection: ssvnc vncs://snoopy.com:0
To quickly make an SSH connection: ssvnc vnc+ssh://fred@snoopy.com:0
To quickly make a direct connection: ssvnc Vnc://snoopy.com:0
The above will also work in the "VNC Host:Display" entry box in the
GUI. Press the "Connect" button after entering them.
The difference between vnc:// and Vnc:// is that the latter one will
not prompt you whether you really want to make an unencrypted connec‐
tion or not.
FILES
Your SSVNC vnc profiles are stored in the $HOME/.vnc/profiles direc‐
tory. They end in suffix .vnc
Your SSVNC vnc certificates and keys are stored in the $HOME/.vnc/certs
directory. They typically end in .pem (both certificate and private
key) or .crt (certificate only).
You can put a few global parameters (e.g. mode=sshvnc) in your
$HOME/.ssvncrc file (ssvnc_rc on Windows); see the application Help for
more information.
FONTS
The following is from Tip 18 in the Help panel.
Fonts: To change the tk fonts, set these environment variables before
starting up ssvnc-gui: SSVNC_FONT_DEFAULT and SSVNC_FONT_FIXED. For
example:
% env SSVNC_FONT_DEFAULT='helvetica -20 bold' ssvnc-gui
% env SSVNC_FONT_FIXED='courier -14' ssvnc-gui
or set both of them at once.
To achieve the same effect, you can also set parameters in your
~/.ssvncrc file, for example:
font_default=helvetica -20 bold
font_fixed=courier -14
SEE ALSOssvncviewer(1), vncviewer(1), stunnel(8), ssh(1), x11vnc(1), vnc‐
server(1) http://www.karlrunge.com/x11vnc http://www.karl‐
runge.com/x11vnc/ssvnc-gui.html
AUTHORS
Karl J. Runge <runge@karlrunge.com> wrote the SSVNC gui (tcl/tk) and
associated wrapper scripts, and added features to the unix vncviewer
source code.
January 2011 ssvnc-gui(1)
