KRDC – the KDE Remote Desktop Client | Remote Computer Control

KRDC is the KDE Remote Desktop Client. KRDC was overhauled as part of the Google Summer of Code (SoC) 2007 by Urs Wolfer and other developers to be included in the KDE 4.0.

KDE (K Desktop Environment) is a free software project based around its flagship product, a desktop environment mainly for Unix-like systems. The term remote desktop refers to a software or an OS feature allowing graphical applications to be run remotely on a server, while being displayed locally. Remote desktop applications have varying features. Some allow attaching to an existing user’s session (i.e. a running desktop) and “remote controlling” it in front of the user’s eyes. Taking over a desktop remotely is a form of remote administration.

It can also be explained as remote control of a computer by using another device connected via the internet or another network. This is widely used by many computer manufacturers (DELL, HP etc.) and large businesses’ help desk for technical troubleshooting of their customers. Windows XP, Vista, and Server 2003/2008 include Remote Desktop Services; Apple includes Screen Sharing with Mac OS X but sells its Apple Remote Desktop separately. Various professional third-party, open source and freeware remote desktop applications exist which are cross-platform and work various versions of Windows, Mac, and UNIX/Linux/BSD.

Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is a graphical desktop sharing system that uses the RFB protocol to remotely control another computer. It transmits the keyboard and mouse events from one computer to another, relaying the graphical screen updates back in the other direction, over a network.

VNC is platform-independent – a VNC viewer on one operating system may connect to a VNC server on the same or any other operating system. There are clients and servers for many GUI-based operating systems and for Java. Multiple clients may connect to a VNC server at the same time. Popular uses for this technology include remote technical support and accessing files on one’s work computer from one’s home computer, or vice versa. VNC was originally developed at the Olivetti Research Laboratory in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The original VNC source code and many modern derivatives are open source under the GNU General Public License.