need GenControl alternative for Windows 7

Not for tightvnc viewer... only for tightvnc server.

I think you can get it easily by just opening a command line in the directory of the viewer and typing:

<exename> /?
 
Thank you so much for this awesome utility! Would it be possible to enable "Prompt User" from the command line, such as remotecontrol computername -prompt?

Thank you!
 
yolodrew said:
Thank you so much for this awesome utility! Would it be possible to enable "Prompt User" from the command line, such as remotecontrol computername -prompt?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

That would be awesome! Our organization has been using your app for over a year now, and our department loves it, but we just got "in trouble" for using remote assistance that doesn't prompt the user. We've been asked to research commercial alternatives that do, but I can't find any that I like as much as this one, even without a budget in mind.
 
Donations help make changes like these happen faster ;)

I am in Information Security and work with Compliance quite a bit. Our teams use Remote Assistance first and foremost; As a last resort if that doesn't work then they use my Remote Control program. Since it has logging on the client computer (the one you are connecting to) its considered acceptable since we can audit against this. There is a legitimate business need to have a utility like mine considering that in a lot of cases the end user may not be in front of their computer at the time that its convenient for Support (as an example) to work on it.

I will add the Prompt User feature via command line as soon as I can.
 
1.7.3 Release

Here are the changes:

1.7.3:

1.) Added new command line option of "--prompt" which will enable prompting the user by default.
2.) Changed How it Works page to reflect above change.
3.) Added an error message for command line options if arguments are invalid.
4.) Upgraded TightVNC Server to 2.7.7

1.7.2:

1.) Upgraded TightVNC Server to 2.7.1
2.) Upgraded RealVNC Viewer to 5.0.5
3.) Changed some code making it faster on cleanup. Includes new background worker so that GUI will come back ASAP
4.) Other various code improvements and fixes
5.) Added prompt to Clear Hosts button letting you know it did its job.
6.) Disabled Clear Hosts button during connection and cleaning process to prevent unexpected changes.
7.) Cleaned up verbage in Known Issues page.

1.7.1:

1.) Disabled MenuStrip while connected and cleaning to prevent unexpected changes.


VirusTotal:

Code: 
https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/90b3c9201459652f4305965a4d06585b705b73d96805c95df6bb07cbc27556e6/analysis/1372272605/

Download Link:

Code: 
http://wikisend.com/download/388388/RemoteControl.zip

As always please provide feedback! Thanks!
 
Thanks again! I quit my job at Seton a few months ago, but I got many of my desktop support coworkers, including the head Desktop Engineer, using this. This really is awesome.

If I end up at another job (doubtful--I quit so I could go back to school) and I'm using your program, you can expect a hefty donation again.

I'm just updating for home use today. I really dislike all of Microsoft's iterations of remote control, so thank you =)
 
Muad'Dib said:
1.7.3 Release

Here are the changes:

1.7.3:

1.) Added new command line option of "--prompt" which will enable prompting the user by default.
2.) Changed How it Works page to reflect above change.
3.) Added an error message for command line options if arguments are invalid.
4.) Upgraded TightVNC Server to 2.7.7
Click to expand...

Your software is wonderful! I have one suggestion: Can you please make a status bar with information that is going on (Connecting, Cleaning Up, etc). It's a bit hard to notice now on the command button that is greyed-out.

Also,
Have you resolved the issue with the leftover file in the RCTEMP folder? I noticed that it was left behind on both a 32bit XP machine and a 64bit Windows 7 PC.
Perhaps it's possible to add a function that kills whatever process is locking the file so that it can be deleted. Similar to how Unlocker or FileAssasin work.
 
Binary01 said:
Your software is wonderful! I have one suggestion: Can you please make a status bar with information that is going on (Connecting, Cleaning Up, etc). It's a bit hard to notice now on the command button that is greyed-out.

Also,
Have you resolved the issue with the leftover file in the RCTEMP folder? I noticed that it was left behind on both a 32bit XP machine and a 64bit Windows 7 PC.
Perhaps it's possible to add a function that kills whatever process is locking the file so that it can be deleted. Similar to how Unlocker or FileAssasin work.
Click to expand...

For whatever reason, the first time you connect to a device it locks that screenhooks.dll file in the RCTEMP folder for an undetermined amount of time. I think this has to do with the way the VNC server hooks into the OS for viewing the screen. I kind of gave up on the whole thing because no matter what I did the file would randomly stick around. In theory I could add a scheduled task on the target computer that would repeatedly try to delete the file until its gone and then delete the task.. but im not willing to do that. In most cases, reconnecting and disconnecting from the machine will remove the folder as designed.

The connecting cleaning etc process notification should be very visible even when greyed out. There is also a progress bar at the bottom that moves when the application is busy. Is that not adequate enough? I guess I could also change the cursor to the busy cursor.
 
Last edited:
Muad'Dib said:
For whatever reason, the first time you connect to a device it locks that screenhooks.dll file in the RCTEMP folder for an undetermined amount of time. I think this has to do with the way the VNC server hooks into the OS for viewing the screen. I kind of gave up on the whole thing because no matter what I did the file would randomly stick around. In theory I could add a scheduled task on the target computer that would repeatedly try to delete the file until its gone and then delete the task.. but im not willing to do that. In most cases, reconnecting and disconnecting from the machine will remote the folder as designed.

The connecting cleaning etc process notification should be very visible even when greyed out. There is also a progress bar at the bottom that moves when the application is busy. Is that not adequate enough? I guess I could also change the cursor to the busy cursor.
Click to expand...
I think a status bar would make it more obvious as to what's going on. It should also display if there was a problem with clean up IMO. Regardless, this is a great program and I think it deserves its own homepage.
 
Binary01 said:
I think a status bar would make it more obvious as to what's going on. It should also display if there was a problem with clean up IMO. Regardless, this is a great program and I think it deserves its own homepage.
Click to expand...

Ill keep this in the back of my head and play around with a few options.
 
1.7.4 Release

Here are the changes:

1.7.4

1.) Updated TightVnc to 2.7.10
2.) Verified working with Windows 8.1


VirusTotal:

Code: 
https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/998b679cf66d7558ef3c87d433603a68d456c6b06cba0350826616e3a5d5880a/analysis/1379978664/


Download Link:

Code: 
http://www.tschantz.name/RemoteControl/RemoteControl.zip

As always please provide feedback! Thanks!
 
hello!

been playing with this for a few weeks now, and love it, thanks. its nice to finally have a replacement for gencontrol :)

i've discovered a problem with it connecting to a win2008 r2 x64 server though.i just get an error from vnc viewer "connect: Connection Refused (10061)"

im guessing its something to do with either a security policy on the domain/gpo, or some potential setup issie with the server (its a brand new box i just built)... any ideas whereabouts i should be looking? (im running your app from my win7 x32 laptop)

cheers,
w.
 
A couple of small suggestions:
It would be great to be able to double-click on an entry to start the remote connection.
Also the ability to sort by name, etc in the hosts list or even export it then re-import.
Ability to leave the VNC software on the remote computer if desired, maybe customize settings as well.
Choice of whether or not to save the PC to the saved hosts list.
Ability to remove single or multiples from the hosts list with shift, control, etc and the delete key.

Other than that I can say I love this tool so far, just found it yesterday, will send a donation your way....
 
Last edited:
wanye said:
hello!

been playing with this for a few weeks now, and love it, thanks. its nice to finally have a replacement for gencontrol :)

i've discovered a problem with it connecting to a win2008 r2 x64 server though.i just get an error from vnc viewer "connect: Connection Refused (10061)"

im guessing its something to do with either a security policy on the domain/gpo, or some potential setup issie with the server (its a brand new box i just built)... any ideas whereabouts i should be looking? (im running your app from my win7 x32 laptop)

cheers,
w.
Click to expand...

Interesting that you are getting that error about connection refused.

When you get the error can you check the remote computer (don't close the error window) and see if the VNC Server is running and started? Additionally can you also check to make sure that the port is open (5993)?

Thanks
 
OldNESJunkie said:
A couple of small suggestions:
It would be great to be able to double-click on an entry to start the remote connection.
Also the ability to sort by name, etc in the hosts list or even export it then re-import.
Ability to leave the VNC software on the remote computer if desired, maybe customize settings as well.
Choice of whether or not to save the PC to the saved hosts list.
Ability to remove single or multiples from the hosts list with shift, control, etc and the delete key.

Other than that I can say I love this tool so far, just found it yesterday, will send a donation your way....
Click to expand...

I was thinking about this the other day. As it stands, if you single click it just fills the connection field. I may play with the idea of also adding a double click option.

I am not sure if I will ever add the option to sort by name but its a nice thought. I wont ever add an export option though as technically all the hosts are saved to a text file in the APPDATA folder already.

You can already right click and delete a single host, but I can see the need to select multiple. I might play with some options there.

Thanks for the suggestions.
 
Maybe a stupid question, but how do I go about making a donation?


"I wont ever add an export option though as technically all the hosts are saved to a text file in the APPDATA folder already."

Oops, I missed that somehow, guess I shouldv'e RTFM....
 
Last edited:
Muad'Dib said:
Interesting that you are getting that error about connection refused.

When you get the error can you check the remote computer (don't close the error window) and see if the VNC Server is running and started? Additionally can you also check to make sure that the port is open (5993)?

Thanks
Click to expand...

ok, when i run it, it spawns two tvnserver.exe processes at the other end. one owned by my user (who has admin rights on the box), one by system

netstat shows the following two ports:

Code: 
 [tvnserver.exe]
  TCP    0.0.0.0:5900           0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING       3336
 [tvnserver.exe]
  TCP    0.0.0.0:6014           0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING       1628

but no mention of 5993 being in use

anything else you want me to check?

the port *should* be open... the firewall is currently disabled while i'm testing stuff before go-live.

*edit*
the WMI service is running and set to automatic startup if thats any use to you...
 
Last edited:
wanye said:
ok, when i run it, it spawns two tvnserver.exe processes at the other end. one owned by my user (who has admin rights on the box), one by system

netstat shows the following two ports:

Code: 
 [tvnserver.exe]
  TCP    0.0.0.0:5900           0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING       3336
 [tvnserver.exe]
  TCP    0.0.0.0:6014           0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING       1628

but no mention of 5993 being in use

anything else you want me to check?

the port *should* be open... the firewall is currently disabled while i'm testing stuff before go-live.

*edit*
the WMI service is running and set to automatic startup if thats any use to you...
Click to expand...

It looks to me like it gets installed and runs, but wants to use the default port of 5900.

When the error happens, try to telnet into the computer that you are connecting to over port 5900 and 5993. ex: "telnet <computername1> 5993" If its successful you should get the following message: "RFB..."

3356pau.jpg


My gut is that it wont work using 5993. If this is true, check the following registry keys on the computer you are connecting to:
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\TightVNC\Server". Export this key and send me the contents. Additionally, check the log and see if it contains any errors. The log can be found on the machine you are connecting from in the following location: "%appdata%\RemoteControl\remotecontrol.log"

Thanks
 
yep, its listening on 5900 not 5993

doesnt look like the registry key is being inserted successfully:

WUNC5gE.png


(remote registry service is running btw)

the only entries in %appdata%\RemoteControl\remotecontrol.log are "failed to remove rctemp" for a couple of other machines i (successfully) connect to with it. nothing related to this new server in there.
 
Another small thing:

When you disconnect from a end user, after the session closes & it goes through and removes VNC from the PC, it needs to clear the Host Name & Description boxes if possible.
Also how about an option to save the windows position when it's closed?
 
Last edited:
Hi Muad'Dib,

Speaking of UAC - is it possible for Remote Control to include an embedded manifest to force it to prompt for Admin credentials when run under UAC?

I don't *think* it's hard to do - the following pages describe the process:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb756929.aspx
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2432329/how-do-i-deploy-applications-in-run-as-administrator-mode

At the moment we have to set this manually via a shortcut. If the manifest was included in the executable, this would not be necessary (and surely everyone needs to run this as Administrator anyway?)

Kind regards,
Chris
 
Muad'Dib said:
Can you as a test disable UAC and see if it makes a difference?
Click to expand...

cant at the moment, as i put the server live yesterday and cant make changes to it anymore without going through the change control process we have...

however, i'll be building an identical box next week, so will be able to test it on that before it goes live... will check back and update once i've built and tested it
 
wanye said:
cant at the moment, as i put the server live yesterday and cant make changes to it anymore without going through the change control process we have...

however, i'll be building an identical box next week, so will be able to test it on that before it goes live... will check back and update once i've built and tested it
Click to expand...

Ok report back when you get a chance. I don't think I will have time to test that part myself anytime soon so you will probably beat me to it.
 
Minkus said:
Hi Muad'Dib,

Speaking of UAC - is it possible for Remote Control to include an embedded manifest to force it to prompt for Admin credentials when run under UAC?

I don't *think* it's hard to do - the following pages describe the process:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb756929.aspx
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2432329/how-do-i-deploy-applications-in-run-as-administrator-mode

At the moment we have to set this manually via a shortcut. If the manifest was included in the executable, this would not be necessary (and surely everyone needs to run this as Administrator anyway?)

Kind regards,
Chris
Click to expand...

Currently, the process for this application has always been to do a Shift Right Click-->Run As Different User. I don't foresee that changing that in near future. It does what it needs to do without adding even more complexity to the application.
 
OldNESJunkie said:
Another small thing:

When you disconnect from a end user, after the session closes & it goes through and removes VNC from the PC, it needs to clear the Host Name & Description boxes if possible.
Also how about an option to save the windows position when it's closed?
Click to expand...
'

Thanks I will put this on the to do list.
 
1.7.7 Release

Here are the changes:

1.7.7

1.) Now clears Host Name and Description field when finished with cleaning or error message etc.
2.) Double Clicking a computer in the list will populate the lower section and then start the connection process.
3.) Added a "ToDo" Tab on the Information Page.
4.) Moved more code out of the main program and put it into the functions form.

1.7.6

1.) Fixed issue with change domain find which didnt show subdomains in the past.

1.7.5

1.) Updated RealVNC to 5.0.6
2.) Fixed issue with ADTree and doing a find after you changed the domain.
3.) Now Compiled with Visual Studio 2013.


VirusTotal:

Code: 
https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/8842baf9aeca31fd9d3ad9c7025b875bf276b25e596adc4fc63340986351254d/analysis/1386119072/

Download Link:

Code: 
http://wikisend.com/download/267280/RemoteControl.zip

As always please provide feedback!
Please also let me know if there are more items you feel need added to the ToDo section.

Thanks!
 
Muad'Dib said:
Currently, the process for this application has always been to do a Shift Right Click-->Run As Different User. I don't foresee that changing that in near future. It does what it needs to do without adding even more complexity to the application.
Click to expand...

That's fair enough - but this would mean that you wouldn't need to right click - just double click and it will auto-run as Administrator (UAC will prompt if necessary).

I think it's as simple as setting an option in the Visual Studio compiler:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb384691.aspx

Open the project's Property Pages dialog box. For details, see How to: Open Project Property Pages.
Expand the Configuration Properties node.
Expand the Linker node.
Select the Manifest File property page.
Modify the Enable User Account Control (UAC), UAC Execution Level, and UAC Bypass UI Protection properties. I think you want 'UAC Execution Level' of 'requireAdministrator' and 'UAC Bypass UI Protection' set to False.

This will not create any additional complexity - just next time you compile, the executable will flag itself to run as Administrator. Let me know if you're still unsure - but I think it might fix the problem above too :)
 
For this in your ToDo list:

"Possibly change the interface to show the connecting cleaning etc process better. (Maybe use another window to do this?)"


Maybe just enlarge the window size vertically at the bottom with some animation, show the status there as it connects, etc, then shrink back down to normal size afterwards?
 
Minkus said:
That's fair enough - but this would mean that you wouldn't need to right click - just double click and it will auto-run as Administrator (UAC will prompt if necessary).

I think it's as simple as setting an option in the Visual Studio compiler:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb384691.aspx

Open the project's Property Pages dialog box. For details, see How to: Open Project Property Pages.
Expand the Configuration Properties node.
Expand the Linker node.
Select the Manifest File property page.
Modify the Enable User Account Control (UAC), UAC Execution Level, and UAC Bypass UI Protection properties. I think you want 'UAC Execution Level' of 'requireAdministrator' and 'UAC Bypass UI Protection' set to False.

This will not create any additional complexity - just next time you compile, the executable will flag itself to run as Administrator. Let me know if you're still unsure - but I think it might fix the problem above too :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for sticking with it and pointing me in the right direction. I have implemented the change (albeit a bit different than what you posted) and it appears to work as designed in the limited testing I have done.

Are you willing to try it out and test?

RemoteControl 1.7.8 Pre-release

Code: 
http://netload.in/dateiZ2hMLpQ0rb/RemoteControl.zip.htm

Here is what happens:

If your on a non UAC computer (ie Windows XP), you still have to do RUN AS, or already be logged in as an Administrator. Application works same as before.

If your on a UAC Computer and its enabled:

1.) If your already an administrator then UAC will prompt you saying basically "are you sure".
2.) If your not an administrator UAC will prompt for Administrator credentials.

If your on a UAC computer but its disabled, UAC will not prompt you at all and the program will run just as it did before. (ie you may still have to Shift-->Right Click-->Run as Different User)


***Keep in mind UAC is only looking to see if your an admin on the computer your running the program on. It cares less about the computer you may connect to. So if your not an admin on the computer your connecting to, this change means nothing. Assuming you deploy Admin membership via GPO then it may not matter.
 
Last edited:
Muad'Dib said:
Thanks for sticking with it and pointing me in the right direction. I have implemented the change (albeit a bit different than what you posted) and it appears to work as designed in the limited testing I have done.

Are you willing to try it out and test?
Click to expand...

Hi, have given it a try & it seems to work as described on my computer.

Thanks for sorting this out - makes life much easier! :)
 
I noticed one small hiccup:

When you select & delete a host, it clears the host name field, but does not clear the Description field.
 
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