tightvncserver not setting up properly during installation using apt-get

Question

I am trying to use tightvncserver on my Raspberry Pi 3 so that I can access the GUI without a monitor and keyboard.

However, the install isn't updating-alternatives to vncserver in /usr/bin/ directory. There should be a file in that directory named, tightvncserver after install, but that does not occur in my install as seen below.

When I install tightvncserver and then try to find tightvncserver, which tightvncserver the pi does not find the tool in /usr/bin/. However, before I even installed tightvncserver I had /usr/bin/vncserver.

When I ran vncserver it ran tigervncserver, which proves that it the setup process did not complete properly because during the setup process the system is supposed to update-alternatives to use /usr/bin/tightvncserver as /usr/bin/vncserver.

Answer 1

The tightvncserver seams to be a drop-in-replacment. After the install process, you could use the tightvncserver with this command:

$ vncserver :1

For more commandline options look here: TightVNC Help

Answer 2

It would seem that TightVNC isn't part of this image of Kali Linux.

TigerVNC is a fork that is supported by the standard Kali Linux repositories.

I managed to figure out a pretty good alternative to TightVNC and TigerVNC. Below is my expanded solution.

Solution:

I would recommend using x11vnc as it provides the actual desktop experience rather than a virtual one.

To install x11vnc enter the following command:

apt-get update && apt-get install -y x11vnc

If you experience that the framebuffer size is too small, then to change it do the following:

1. Locate /boot/config.txt and open it using nano or vim

(Note: If the file /boot/config.txt does not exist, safely power-off the Pi using the command, poweroff and take the Micro-SD card out and plug it into a laptop or desktop computer. When the Micro-SD card mounts, open it. The config.txt file should be on the root of the mounted Micro-SD card).

2. uncomment the following text in config.txt:

Before:

#framebuffer_width=1280

#framebuffer_height=720

After:

framebuffer_width=1280

framebuffer_height=720

3. Save and exit the file. Then, reboot the Pi and start x11vnc by using the following command to push it into a background process: x11vnc -usepw -reopen -bg -forever &

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If you would like to start x11vnc at boot, add the following to a file called x11vnc.desktop in ~/.config/autostart:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=x11vnc
Exec=x11vnc -usepw -reopen -bg -forever &
Comment=Starts an x11vnc server on port kali:5900

(Note: If ~/.config/autostart does not exist, create the autostart directory by issuing the following command: mkdir ~/.config/autostart).

See how-to-execute-shell-script-on-kali-linux-startup for more information on application autostart on Kali Linux.