need GenControl alternative for Windows 7

I fixed my problem, had to enable a windows firewall exception for WMI remote management.

Is it possible to have the program ask for credentials to connect to a non-domain computer if you try to connect to one? We have a lot of non-domian computers for security reasons.

This is an awesome program BTW
 
liveify said:
I fixed my problem, had to enable a windows firewall exception for WMI remote management.

Is it possible to have the program ask for credentials to connect to a non-domain computer if you try to connect to one? We have a lot of non-domian computers for security reasons.

This is an awesome program BTW
Click to expand...

Good catch on WMI.. i will add this into my notes. Were you able to find this with the new version of my program since it gives you a WMI error message?

Since i need WMI access to run remote commands on the device, i dont think there would be a way for me to integrate enabling WMI remotely without having that access. My thoughts here were that i could integrate doing this into the program. I will add it to my notes, but i dont know if i will have an automated way to bypass that in the future. It might just be an added requirement.

Are you saying that you want to be able to connect to a non-domain joined computer that is on your local network using this program?

My assumption here is that you have a local admin account on that device in question?

In theory you should be able to Shift-->Right Click my program and do a run as... and then for the username field type in the computers name and the user account..

1ghnwp.png


I havent tested this.. but i dont see why it wouldnt work... thats the way that most of our Helpdesk people use the program albiet they are using admin credentials to domain joined computers.
 
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Minkus said:
Hi Muad'Dib,

Are you able to post the later versions to another site?

Have been trying to get this from depositfiles.com but it keeps asking me to subscribe with my mobile phone at a cost of £1.50.

Very reluctant to do this - are there any other free download sites that could be used instead?

I am also happy to host the file on my personal webspace if you like.

Kind regards,
Chris
Click to expand...

Depositfiles is free.. you just have to make sure you click on "Regualar Download" and NOT "GOLD Download". Once you do that you will have to wait for 60 seconds (it counts down) and then you enter the captcha code. Once thats done you can download the file.

If you still are having an issue with it, i will upload it to a file sharing service of your choice... just name it.

Anyway, i do plan on building a website for this.. but with how busy i am im not sure when i will get to it..
 
Aaah... I've got it now. It was coming up with the mobile phone thing after selecting 'Regular Download', but there was a red X in the top right corner of the webpage to close it.

Once I clicked this I got the countdown as you described.

Thanks a lot!
 
Muad'Dib said:
New Version 1.6 is here!!

ADDED command line "Unattended" Mode.

It works very simply.. just call the program with the computer name you want to connect to after it. ex:
RemoteControl.exe JamesComputer
Click to expand...

Just to let you know, I have tested this on a few PCs, mostly Win 7 32 & 64, in our environment and its working great!

Thank you so much!
 
Muad'Dib said:
In theory you should be able to Shift-->Right Click my program and do a run as... and then for the username field type in the computers name and the user account..



I havent tested this.. but i dont see why it wouldnt work... thats the way that most of our Helpdesk people use the program albiet they are using admin credentials to domain joined computers.
Click to expand...

This only works or me if the computer you're connecting from has the same local username and password.
 
liveify said:
This only works or me if the computer you're connecting from has the same local username and password.
Click to expand...

Ahh yes.. that makes since.

I can tell you right now that i would completely have to re-write a lot of the program to add a prompt for a username and password... this adds a large layer of complexity to the whole thing. As not only are we copying files to the remote computer but we are also running remote commands on it.

I will but this on my to-do list.. but its unlikely i will get to it anytime soon.
 
Awesome program. Would you be able to have it pull a list of computers and descriptions from AD? That'd be handier for when someone needs support instead of looking up their computer name, we can just find it via the computer name or description.

Also, is there a way to get file transfer in VNC to work? Is this because you are using TightVNC for the server and RealVNC for the viewer? Is there a reason for the 2 different ones?
 
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/usr/home said:
Awesome program. Would you be able to have it pull a list of computers and descriptions from AD? That'd be handier for when someone needs support instead of looking up their computer name, we can just find it via the computer name or description.

Also, is there a way to get file transfer in VNC to work? Is this because you are using TightVNC for the server and RealVNC for the viewer? Is there a reason for the 2 different ones?
Click to expand...

Thats a good thought on the Name or description query.

It what fashion do you envision this? Are you thinking it would fill in as you type?

My thought was to have a seperate AD type of page where you could just do a find like you do when you open the AD MMC. It wouldnt be quite as robust, but you could at least do a search for a name or description.


As far as the file transfer question, you are correct. It is because we are using realvnc viewer and tightvnc server. The reason it is done this way is because they are both free. The RealVNC server costs money... and could potentially be difficult to implement.
 
Why not use tightVNC viewer?

I was thinking it would list the topology and computer names and descriptions from AD. From there you can select the name and hit a button or soMething to remote in.
 
/usr/home said:
Why not use tightVNC viewer?

I was thinking it would list the topology and computer names and descriptions from AD. From there you can select the name and hit a button or soMething to remote in.
Click to expand...

When i created the program TightVNC Viewer sucked compard to RealVNC's viewer so i wrote the program around that. TightVNC Viewer has upgraded since then and it may be better now. Im not keen on the idea of starting over though. I might play with it at some point.

I see what you are saying about the AD topology. My thinking is very similar, but when you double click the machine that you want to remote into it fills in the Main form with the proper information for that device.. and then you press connect if you want to. I might play with this some also.

Thanks for the ideas.
 
This has been excellent for many months, and the "prompt user" worked when initially implemented, but with 1.6 it no longer works.

Thanks for a great program!
 
Ahh yes .. i fixed that right after i released it. lol!

Let me test again and make sure its working and then i will release the latest version.


My appologies!
 
Hi,

Just to say as well that in version 1.5 the release notes state 'Different location and a new key was needed to suppress an "Unencrypted connection" prompt' - but we still get this prompt on our computers in version 1.6.

Is it possible to enable encryption?
 
Minkus said:
Hi,

Just to say as well that in version 1.5 the release notes state 'Different location and a new key was needed to suppress an "Unencrypted connection" prompt' - but we still get this prompt on our computers in version 1.6.

Is it possible to enable encryption?
Click to expand...

The prompt that i mention in the release notes is an actual message box that comes up that you have to press ok on to move forward.

I have a feeling what you are seeing is a bar across the bottom of the vnc viewer that is saying unencrypted connection. This bar should dissappear into the bottom of the viewer in 3-5 seconds. Is this what you are seeing? Or are you seeing the actual message box mentioned in the previous paragraph?

As far as an encrypted connection, this would not be possible using the mix of tightvnc server and realvnc viewer. As far as im aware tightvnc does not support encryption.. only realvnc. I would have to use RealVNC for this and it would require an enterprise license etc etc. It just wouldnt happen.

IMO encryption isnt really benefecial with internal connections unless your already compromised on your internal network.
 
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Is there any chance of packing the exe differently, to save size? Is UPX a viable option?
 
Muad'Dib said:
I have a feeling what you are seeing is a bar across the bottom of the vnc viewer that is saying unencrypted connection. This bar should dissappear into the bottom of the viewer in 3-5 seconds. Is this what you are seeing? Or are you seeing the actual message box mentioned in the previous paragraph?
Click to expand...

Yes, this is right - I thought this was what the release notes were referring to.

If it's a limitation of TightVNC, then that's fair enough. I know what you mean about the internal connections, but good security demands defence-in-depth - i.e. enable encryption, even if you don't think your internal network is compromised, just in case it is.
 
Jon8RFC said:
Is there any chance of packing the exe differently, to save size? Is UPX a viable option?
Click to expand...

UPX does not work with .net framework.. although the Embeded exe's for the TightVNC Server(s) and RealVNC viewer can be packed. This is how i originally had the program set-up but i found little odditys that went away once i stopped packing the exe's.

Someday im hoping to try to re-address the size issue's but for now it is what it is. It shouldnt make the program slow at all.. and it still should be pretty portable.
 
Hi, Great software

Is there a way to lock the user prompt so that it is always selected and cant be unselected?

So it can be greyed out in other words?
 
If i did that, then i would have to do a one off custom exe... otherwise this program would not be universal.
 
Id rather not have a file dependency for the application... and really the only setting that you could control (at least for now) with the possible file is whether or not the Prompt User checkbox was checked by default or not. Not to mention the user could modify or delete the file rendering any settings useless. You could lock it down.. but then i would have to hard code the path to the file and again we are moving away from being universal.
 
Muad'Dib

Thank You for making this it works great thus far.

Do you think you can make the chat work in vnc viewer?
 
codeyell0 said:
Muad'Dib

Thank You for making this it works great thus far.

Do you think you can make the chat work in vnc viewer?
Click to expand...

Id love to.. the problem is though is that in order to do that we would need to use RealVNC Server which requires a license and is not free.
 
Muad, is there a way to add the ability to have a fallback option that can be filled in to attempt to connect to a system? For instance, I can't connect to systems which already have TightVNC running as a service GenControl reports that a VNC service is "already running", while RemoteControl reports "Sorry, but you don't have access to <computer name>".

Would it be too much work to have the ability for RemoteControl to report why it can't connect? If it sees that it's already running on a certain port, can we have RemoteControl attempt to connect using pre-determined credentials? We have one password on those systems, and if I can't connect using the default ability of RemoteControl ability, having it connect normally would be excellent.

If that can't be done, being able to manually input a user name each time and/or choose to use the VNC viewer you've included in the application would be amazing--an all-in-one utility!

I'm really looking forward to your next release for the "prompt user" fix. Thanks again! Where can I donate, or what can I do to help you out with the program or your website?
 
Jon8RFC said:
Muad, is there a way to add the ability to have a fallback option that can be filled in to attempt to connect to a system? For instance, I can't connect to systems which already have TightVNC running as a service GenControl reports that a VNC service is "already running", while RemoteControl reports "Sorry, but you don't have access to <computer name>".

Would it be too much work to have the ability for RemoteControl to report why it can't connect? If it sees that it's already running on a certain port, can we have RemoteControl attempt to connect using pre-determined credentials? We have one password on those systems, and if I can't connect using the default ability of RemoteControl ability, having it connect normally would be excellent.

If that can't be done, being able to manually input a user name each time and/or choose to use the VNC viewer you've included in the application would be amazing--an all-in-one utility!

I'm really looking forward to your next release for the "prompt user" fix. Thanks again! Where can I donate, or what can I do to help you out with the program or your website?
Click to expand...


My Program uses a non standard port (5993) for the VNC connections. I rarely see a time where a VNC server is already running on that port. However i could see there being a time where there "could" be. I may put this on my "requested" features list but honestly it would rarely if ever be needed.

In regards to the error: "Sorry, but you don't have access to <computer name>". You will get this error anytime that you try to connect to a computer that you cant access the default C$ share on. This has nothing to do with what vnc servers or listeners you may already have running on the systems you are trying to connect to... its a permissions issue or a problem with the C$ share not being accessible. Try to browse to the destination computers C$ share manually by using "\\<computername>\C$" Can you get through that way? If not does it prompt you for credentials? Are these credentials that are on a domain or workgroup? My application was designed to be ran on a domain with admin credentials to the box you are trying to connect to. If these credentials are different than what you are currently logged in as, you can do a "run as" on the application and run it as that user.

As far as donations are concerned.. feel free to donate to my paypal address:
iqc1hg.png
. One of these days i will have a proper website and all that set-up for this application.. but thats far from a reality right now. Thank you for asking!
 
Muad'Dib said:
My Program uses a non standard port (5993) for the VNC connections. I rarely see a time where a VNC server is already running on that port. However i could see there being a time where there "could" be. I may put this on my "requested" features list but honestly it would rarely if ever be needed.

In regards to the error: "Sorry, but you don't have access to <computer name>". You will get this error anytime that you try to connect to a computer that you cant access the default C$ share on. This has nothing to do with what vnc servers or listeners you may already have running on the systems you are trying to connect to... its a permissions issue or a problem with the C$ share not being accessible. Try to browse to the destination computers C$ share manually by using "\\<computername>\C$" Can you get through that way? If not does it prompt you for credentials? Are these credentials that are on a domain or workgroup? My application was designed to be ran on a domain with admin credentials to the box you are trying to connect to. If these credentials are different than what you are currently logged in as, you can do a "run as" on the application and run it as that user.

As far as donations are concerned.. feel free to donate to my paypal address:
iqc1hg.png
. One of these days i will have a proper website and all that set-up for this application.. but thats far from a reality right now. Thank you for asking!
Click to expand...

Yeah, we run on a different port, I believe, but because Remote Control doesn't work, but GenControl does, I figured it wasn't a c$ access issue. Is that accurate? I'm not entirely certain if GenControl looks for a server first, or not.

I guess, while I'm at it, we're all on the same domain, and our systems SHOULD all have c$ access, but these are Wyse devices running Windows XP Embedded. SO...the c$ may be disabled, or we may just be using a different image which has it disabled. Would it be too much coding or trouble to have the ability to input network credentials to have RemoteControl fallback to trying to add the default administrative share, if it finds that it can't connect? I guess I'm asking a lot, but I love your program and would like to be more involved and have a hand in it. Thanks!
 
Jon8RFC said:
Yeah, we run on a different port, I believe, but because Remote Control doesn't work, but GenControl does, I figured it wasn't a c$ access issue. Is that accurate? I'm not entirely certain if GenControl looks for a server first, or not.

I guess, while I'm at it, we're all on the same domain, and our systems SHOULD all have c$ access, but these are Wyse devices running Windows XP Embedded. SO...the c$ may be disabled, or we may just be using a different image which has it disabled. Would it be too much coding or trouble to have the ability to input network credentials to have RemoteControl fallback to trying to add the default administrative share, if it finds that it can't connect? I guess I'm asking a lot, but I love your program and would like to be more involved and have a hand in it. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Your going to have problems period with using my program to connect to Embedded devices. I run all the remote commands on a device using WMI. Embedded uses a stripped down version of WMI and causes connectivity issues. Beyond that I just haven't tested.

As I mentioned earlier however, its a very easy test to see if you can connect to the default C$ admin share. Just manually try to browse to it using the method I described in my last post.
 
1.6.2 is here!

Here are the changes:

1.6.1:

1.) Upgraded to RealVNC 5.0.2
2.) Minor Code movement.
3.) Fixed issue with cleaning remote computer if it failed once (wouldnt clean again).

1.6.2:

1.) Upgraded RealVNC Viewer to 5.0.3
2.) Upgraded TightVNC Server to 1.6.0
3.) Renamed a few functions so they could be read better if somone was looking at the code (still a mess to trained eye im sure).
4.) Added AD integration. New option under "Options" menu for browsing AD. This will bring up a new window that allows you to drill down into seperate OU's in your domain until you find the computer you are looking for. Double clicking the Computer fills out the main form for you with the Computer Name and AD Description for that computer object.
5.) Removed double Install\Uninstall of Tight VNC Server which was added in 1.6 as a way to see if that would fix the hooksdll issue (not being able to delete it).
6.) After removing Double Install\Uninstall of TightVNC Server, i added a double call to stop the service and also to uninstall the service. Hopefully this will accomplish the same thing and wont take as long (time will tell).
8.) Tested to be working with minor tweaking of Windows 8 System (May have to set Remote Registry Service to manual instead of disabled).
7.) Now compiled in Visual Studio 2012

VirusTotal:

https://www.virustotal.com/file/a4cecf4654751a27579850279102810ed9b96c99fc174bcd92c1e7d5668bc574/analysis/1352332860/

Download Link:

http://depositfiles.com/files/takqzxkkz

As always please provide feedback! Thanks!
 
Thanks for the new release. The OU browser is great! We did run into an error where it said "over 6666 devices", and it failed to display all of them. Is there any way around this?

The "prompt user" doesn't seem to be working.

Along with the OU browsing, is there any way to allow connecting to various domains? We have a couple of domains and since we can only be logged onto one at a time, would it be possible to enable something like "domain/computer" in the host name text area? We were recently forced to switch to a new domain, yet the majority of the computers are on the other one, so we didn't have much time to test cross-compatibility to know if it's possible.

I did notice that on some Windows XP Embedded devices, I was able to connect with the older version, so there might be something else at play which is having difficulty connecting. On computers which RemoteControl won't work, we fallback to GenControl which will occasionally work, and if that doesn't work, RDP (mstsc.exe) will almost always work. Is there anything I can do to assist, like use a debug/logging version? I'm not sure which timezone you live in, but I would be happy to setup a time to try and have you connect and see how things work or don't work, firsthand.

As for the c$ access, would it be possible to enable a "connect as user" thing, similarly to how drives are mapped? I think I may be running into that issue on occasion. Along with that, when tightvnc is already running, would it be too difficult to add an the option to send a command to end that task? I can run it manually, I'm just wondering how difficult itwould be to incorporate that. I may be asking you to turn your program into something more than originally intended, but it seems like it has the potential to correct any problem encountered given how much you've already done. Please let me know if I'm asking too much!
 
Jon8RFC said:
Thanks for the new release. The OU browser is great! We did run into an error where it said "over 6666 devices", and it failed to display all of them. Is there any way around this?

The "prompt user" doesn't seem to be working.

Along with the OU browsing, is there any way to allow connecting to various domains? We have a couple of domains and since we can only be logged onto one at a time, would it be possible to enable something like "domain/computer" in the host name text area? We were recently forced to switch to a new domain, yet the majority of the computers are on the other one, so we didn't have much time to test cross-compatibility to know if it's possible.

I did notice that on some Windows XP Embedded devices, I was able to connect with the older version, so there might be something else at play which is having difficulty connecting. On computers which RemoteControl won't work, we fallback to GenControl which will occasionally work, and if that doesn't work, RDP (mstsc.exe) will almost always work. Is there anything I can do to assist, like use a debug/logging version? I'm not sure which timezone you live in, but I would be happy to setup a time to try and have you connect and see how things work or don't work, firsthand.

As for the c$ access, would it be possible to enable a "connect as user" thing, similarly to how drives are mapped? I think I may be running into that issue on occasion. Along with that, when tightvnc is already running, would it be too difficult to add an the option to send a command to end that task? I can run it manually, I'm just wondering how difficult itwould be to incorporate that. I may be asking you to turn your program into something more than originally intended, but it seems like it has the potential to correct any problem encountered given how much you've already done. Please let me know if I'm asking too much!
Click to expand...

I made some improvements already to the Directory browser. Mainly with a flaw of not showing the Default Containers (like the Default Computer container).

At the top of the directory browser, there is an option to change how many objects to display. Did you see this option? I dont have a SS of it right now, but its under a menu item at the top of the browser. I believe i set the Default to mimic Active Directory which is set at 1000.

The prompt user issue is a hard one. I am 99% sure i know what the problem is. Can you confirm that the device you are running my program on has multiple IP's? I have a feeling its picking the wrong IP address so when it sets that key on the remote computer its not the correct IP so it doesnt prompt them. I dont currently know of a way that i can prevent this from happening. I may have to ponder this one for awhile. A quick thought is to just put all IP's into the remote computer.

As far as allowing to choose different domains, I may add this functionality in future releases. I will add this to my notes just not sure when i will get to it. Either way, you will need to make sure you run the applicaion with credentials to be able to Administrate computers in these other domains.

At this time i am NOT supporting Windows XP Embedded. Mainly because of the problems/lack of WMI. Sorry.

Just run the application with whatever user account that you need to use. That should take care of any credential issues that you may run into.
 
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1.6.3 is here!

Here are the changes:

1.6.3:

1.) Fixed issue with AD Browser not showing default containers like Users\Computers.
2.) Added "Change Domain" to AD Browser so you can change the Domain Scope (PITA)
3.) Added "Find" to AD Browser. This is similar to the Active Directory Find function. You can search for a specific machine name or part of one. Double clicking the name adds it to the Main connection window.
4.) Implemented a different way to add the key to the target device that tells it to prompt the user. This now adds all IP's of the connecting machine to prevent problems. This hopefully will fix the issue with "Prompt User" not working.

VirusTotal:

https://www.virustotal.com/file/91366f1bcc68bbdc6b89159305bfced1b44b2b5fc23b423ec8e2ee902483bcc9/analysis/1352834007/

Download Link:

http://depositfiles.com/files/47lou839r

In order to use the new Change Domain and Find features of the AD browser, just right click anywhere in the TreeView on the left.

As always please provide feedback! Thanks!
 
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1.6.4 is here! SECURITY UPDATE

Here are the changes:

1.6.4:

1.) Sorted Find results in AD Browser
2.) Added "Browse.." button to "Change Domain" dialog. This shows you all domains in your forest as well as the ones you have a trust relationship with.
3.) Found a new "Known Issue". Where the VNC Service stays installed and running on the remote computer if its not cleaned appropriately.
4.) Above fixed by changing VNC Service Startup type to Manual instead of Automatic.
5.) Changed starting and stopping service to use built in -stop function of TightVNC instead of using sc start.
6.) Updated Information Page with new procedures talked about above.

VirusTotal:

https://www.virustotal.com/file/ca73c709dd7e37ad1e894e29d7ca3d91582931d29437f7bc00204ea841b59aae/analysis/1353010841/

Download Link:

http://depositfiles.com/files/gmz57xbgj

As always please provide feedback! Thanks!
 
1.6.5 Release

Here is the change:

1.6.5:

1.) Added logging into Remote Computers Event Log for successful connections as well as disconnections. This may be needed for Enterprise Environments as well as for Auditing reasons. It creates a new Event Log called "RemoteControl" on the remote computer and adds "Information" Events on each disconnect/connect. It also logs the Connecting user and their computer name as well as who is logged into the computer when they connect to it.

VirusTotal:

https://www.virustotal.com/file/cbecb9a1a7fe00669f18b8d43a14ef0c89ae021bba74ef49da8eea00752bc251/analysis/1353354139/

Download Link:

http://depositfiles.com/files/y5bz59wj5

As always please provide feedback! Thanks!
 
Good Morning

We use the software and find it really useful. What we would really like a prompt to disable remote inputs (keyboard and mouse) when connecting to a computer so that when we are logged in as Admin's the user has no control.

Regards.
 
Minkus said:
Good Morning

We use the software and find it really useful. What we would really like a prompt to disable remote inputs (keyboard and mouse) when connecting to a computer so that when we are logged in as Admin's the user has no control.

Regards.
Click to expand...

I could modify the application to have a selection for blocking remote input, however this would be something that would have to be selected by the user who is running the application.

I dont think thats what you are trying to accomplish.. but please correct me if i am wrong.
 
Muad'Dib said:
I could modify the application to have a selection for blocking remote input, however this would be something that would have to be selected by the user who is running the application.

I dont think thats what you are trying to accomplish.. but please correct me if i am wrong.
Click to expand...

To clarify: What we would like is an option for the person running remote control; then anyone in front of the physical machine is unable to take control whilst we are connected.

Many Thanks
 
Minkus said:
To clarify: What we would like is an option for the person running remote control; then anyone in front of the physical machine is unable to take control whilst we are connected.

Many Thanks
Click to expand...

Ahh thanks for the clarification. I should be able to accomplish this no problem. I will try to implement this into a new release in the future.
 
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