The Easiest Way to Remotely Connect to Linux Mint from Any OS

Plus an important warning about your connection

I have Linux Mint installed on a test machine at home that I use for playing around with Linux in general, but I use a Windows 10 machine as my main daily driver. I wanted a convenient way to connect to my Linux Mint machine from Windows or Mac without having to install all kind of packages, etc.

If you browse the Internet, you’ll see articles about installing XRDP, x11VNC, etc, etc. This all sounded a bit too complicated for me, especially since Linux Mint has built-in desktop sharing capabilities.

Warning: It’s worth noting that the method I’m describing below disables encryption for the remote connection.

For me, this is a non-issue since I am simply connecting to the Linux box from within my local network. If you need to have encryption enabled for the remote connection, I’ll be writing up another post soon on how to do that as it’s a bit more complicated.

Configure Desktop Sharing Settings

In Linux Mint, click on the menu button,Preferencesand thenDesktop Sharing. This will open theDesktop Sharing Preferencesscreen where you can enable other users to connect to the Linux system.

UnderSharing, go ahead and check theAllow other users to view your desktopandAllow other users to control your desktopboxes. UnderSecurity, it’s probably a good idea to uncheck theYou must confirm each access to this machineas that would require you to locally confirm the remote connection before it is accepted. If you’re giving someone else access to your machine, then it’s probably worth checking so that you can control when someone connects to your machine.

In order to prevent anyone from connecting to your machine, check theRequire the user to enter this passwordbox and type in a decently strong password. ClickCloseas we are done with this dialog.

Install dconf Editor

Next, we have to disable the encryption that is currently required by Vino, which is the package installed in Linux Mint by default. We have to install the dconf Editor, so that we can change the default settings.

Open Terminal and type in the following command:

Once the package has been installed, click on the Linux Mint menu, thenAll Applicationsand scroll down till you seedconf Editor.

Open the editor and then navigate toorg–gnome–desktop–remote-access.

In the right-hand pane, go ahead and uncheck therequire-encryptionbox. Close the editor and then restart your Linux box. Once you are logged back in, we can try to connect.

Connect Using VNC Client

At this point, you can download your favorite VNC client for Windows and connect to the Linux box. In my case, I used theVNC Viewer programfrom RealVNC. You don’t have to sign up or pay for anything to use the viewer.

Type in the IP address for your Linux box and press Enter. Since there is no encryption, you’ll get a popup dialog telling you that your connection is not secure. Once you get past that message, you’ll have to enter the password you typed when we first setup desktop sharing settings on Linux Mint.

Hopefully, if all went well, you should now see the desktop for your Linux Mint machine.

As previously mentioned, this is a quick fix way to get into your Linux machine, but it is not secure. This means that all the data sent over the network is completely unencrypted, including passwords, etc. So, make sure no one can snoop on you if you plan to use this method. I’ll be posting another article soon on how to connect remotely to your Linux Mint box using encryption. If you have any questions, post a comment. Enjoy!

Founder of Help Desk Geek and managing editor. He began blogging in 2007 and quit his job in 2010 to blog full-time. He has over 15 years of industry experience in IT and holds several technical certifications.Read Aseem’s Full Bio

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