Security and privacy | VNC® Connect (2024)

RealVNC Connect is built from the ground up with security in mind, affording you the flexibility and access you need while providing the controls and privacy required by regulations.

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Our fundamental security principles

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You don't have to trust RealVNC as a company to trust our software and services

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We do not record your sessions, and data cannot be decrypted now or in the future

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Every connection is treated as though it is made in a hostile environment

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The owner of the remote computer ultimately decides who is able to connect

  • STANDARDS AND COMPLIANCE

  • DATA PRIVACY

  • SECURE INFRASTRUCTURE

  • 24X7 SECURITY OPERATIONS CENTER (SOC)

Standards and Compliance

RealVNC’s remote access solution is designed to meet and assist with a broad range of industry and government standards and regulations.

We are certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2013 and Cyber Essentials and comply with GDPR, and CCPA, ensuring adherence to stringent data protection and privacy guidelines. Additionally, RealVNC supports your compliance with HIPAA and PCI-DSS.

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RealVNC does not process, store, or have any access to any data accessed during a remote session.

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Secure Infrastructure

The RealVNC Connect services run on RealVNC owned and managed servers and network equipment.

We do not use public Cloud services (such as AWS or Azure) for the RealVNC authentication and cloud connection brokering services. No third-party provider has access to the RealVNC infrastructure.

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24x7 Security Operations Center (SOC)

We have a 24×7 Security Operations Center that monitors for cyber security events across our infrastructure and investigates and, where needed, mitigates them.
Global threat intelligence provides detailed information on attacker tools, techniques, and trends to facilitate effective triage.

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Full End-to-End Encryption

RealVNC Connect uses full end-to-end encryption with Perfect Forward Secrecy built into our protocol. This means the session cannot be decrypted by a man-in-the-middle during the session, and that session data cannot be saved or decrypted in the future.

These remote sessions are encrypted with AES-GCM 128 or 256-bit, and all web API calls use at least TLS 1.2, ensuring no one can read the data in transit, including RealVNC.

Works with any network

RealVNC Connect’s cloud connectivity enables easy access to machines through NAT and firewalls. It does this using an outbound connection to RealVNC cloud services from both RealVNC Viewer and RealVNC Server. By avoiding the use of inbound TCP or UDP packets, RealVNC Connect doesn’t require any ports to be opened on your firewall.

On-premise (offline) deployment mode

If you have specific security or regulatory requirements, RealVNC Connect can be deployed entirely behind your firewalls and used only within your network without requiring devices to have an internet connection.

Secure Cloud Brokering

RealVNC Connect has been designed to work in a hostile environment – in fact, you don't have to trust RealVNC as a company to trust our software and services. Even when using our cloud-based brokering service, RealVNC Connect is fully end-to-end encrypted and you are guaranteed to be connected to the intended device via both automated and manual identity checking of our RSA key-based fingerprint verification.

Ring-fenced devices

Only permitted members of your team can discover and then attempt to access your RealVNC Connect devices, unlike competitor products where remote devices are discoverable by anyone.

AUTHENTICATION

Default two-factor authentication for account access

RealVNC accounts are secured using email-based 2FA by default. This ensures that your account is secure even if someone gets their hands on your account credentials (email address and password). You can also set up time-based one-time password (TOTP) authentication and enforce this for your entire RealVNC Connect Team.

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SSO

Single Sign-On

By implementing Single Sign-On, you can use your existing identity provider for authentication, reducing user complexity while enhancing security.

AUTHENTICATION

Multi-factor authentication

Learn how to protect both your RealVNC® account, and remote computers with RealVNC® Connect installed, using as many authentication factors as you need.

SESSION AUTHENTICATION

Remote session authentication by default

All remote sessions must be authenticated using local system – or domain – credentials by default. This authentication is independent of RealVNC account authentication.

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Centralized management

Use your existing management tooling, such as Group Policy, to manage all aspects of your RealVNC Connect software configuration. Group Policy ADM/ADMX templates are available for download.

Brute force protection

No matter which method is used to connect to your devices, RealVNC Connect clients have built-in brute force protection, so even the final device-level authentication layer has protection by exponentially increasing the delay between incorrect authentication attempts.

Granular Permissions

Users or groups can be granted specific remote access permissions. As an example, you can disable functionality such as file transfer or copy & paste for a specific user or user group.

Gatekeeping Access

If a user is already logged in when a remote session starts, RealVNC Connect can be configured to prompt the end user to approve or reject the connection. It is useful when the end user has something confidential open on their desktop.

Privacy Mode

Keep your sessions and sensitive data private by blanking the screen and connected monitors on your remote device. You can also lock-down input devices like the keyboard and mouse so you can work without interference.

Deployment Options

To support the varied needs of businesses, RealVNC Connect offers a choice of deployment options, including MSI packages for Windows deployment, group policy management, and deployment via script.

Secure by Design

The RealVNC engineering team follows a Security Development Lifecycle to ensure security is included in all stages of product design and development.

We use software composition analysis to alert our engineering team of vulnerabilities found in third-party libraries used within the RealVNC Connect codebase, which are then remediated as necessary.

White-box security audited

RealVNC periodically employs a specialist security consultancy to audit all aspects of the RealVNC Connect software. For further information, see our cure53 report.

Independent penetration tests

As well as extensive internal security measures, we employ third-party security experts to perform penetration tests on our public-facing services. For the most recent penetration test report, 
see our our latest pentest report

Code signing

We use code signing to ensure binaries haven’t been modified in transit or at rest by malicious third parties. On Windows, RealVNC Connect installers and installed binaries are signed using Authenticode, while on MacOS, we use Gatekeeper. For added peace of mind, you’ll also find checksums on our website to verify that the component you download is valid.

Session Logging & Audit

Track and monitor remote access activity using session logs to meet compliance and security policies. All events are saved to the local system log. If using cloud connections, events are logged in our Audit tool, which you can access in the RealVNC Connect Portal or via API for ingestion into external log systems.

Try RealVNC® Connect for yourself

Sign up for your free 14-day trial and see what RealVNC Connect can do! No bank details required.

Start your free trial now

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FAQs

Why is my VNC not connecting? ›

VNC Server is either not running, or not running on the specified port. Ensure VNC Server is running. If you are establishing a direct connection and have specified a port other than the default for VNC (5900), ensure VNC Server is configured to use that port.

How do I resolve too many security failures in VNC? ›

To reset the blocklist, you simply need to not attempt a connection for a short period of time (see above), or restart the RealVNC Server software/the computer running RealVNC Server. A successful connection from an IP address also resets the blocklist timeout.

Is VNC insecure? ›

VNC Connect is secure out-of-the-box. All connections are encrypted end-to-end, and by default remote computers are protected by a password or by system login credentials, depending on your subscription.

How do I fix a VNC server error? ›

Restart VNC Server. When VNC Viewer not connecting, it is mainly because VNC Server not running well. Make sure VNC Server is running on the remote computer and you can restart it to solve the problem.

How do I connect to my VNC server? ›

How does it work?
  1. Install ZNC on your server.
  2. Generate an initial configuration via znc --makeconf . ...
  3. Configure your IRC client to connect to your ZNC server. ...
  4. Read the FAQ if you run into any problems. ...
  5. Enjoy!
Feb 11, 2024

How do you restart the VNC service? ›

Restarting your VNC session might be necessary if system-wide environment variables have been changed.
  1. Log in to the server with your SSH client. You should get a command prompt.
  2. Type " vncserver -kill :6 ", where 6 should be replaced by your actual VNC session number.

How can I improve my VNC connection? ›

Change the resolution settings on both PCs. To a large degree, the higher the resolution the more bandwidth and CPU power needed to send updates. For this reason, changing the resolution of VNC on the two PCs can speed up the VNC.

How to clear VNC cache? ›

Clear the cache for VNC Apps
  1. Find an application icon in your smartphone, then tap and hold on it.
  2. Tap the information icon:
  3. Tap Storage and tap Clear cache at the bottom.

Is VNC obsolete? ›

Misconception: VNC technology is outdated

VNC technology was developed over 20 years ago, but it has significantly evolved. VNC Connect is monitored and updated regularly to fix any bugs and to address customer needs as they change with the times.

Does VNC need VPN? ›

VPN. Though a VPN and VNC offer different features, they work well in tandem. VNC provides remote access to devices, facilitating home working. A VPN encrypts connections over networks and hides devices' IP addresses and online activities from the prying eyes of third parties.

How vulnerable is VNC? ›

Vulnerabilities in VNC Server Authentication-less is a Medium risk vulnerability that is one of the most frequently found on networks around the world. This issue has been around since at least 1990 but has proven either difficult to detect, difficult to resolve or prone to being overlooked entirely.

Why I am unable to connect via VNC Viewer? ›

Have you entered the remote computer's IP address or hostname into RealVNC Viewer correctly, including a port number if required? If RealVNC Server is not listening on port 5900, enter :<1-99> for ports in the range 5901-5999, for example 192.168.

Is RealVNC free? ›

Our Lite plan gives you just what you need to remotely connect to and control your devices. It's free for non-commercial use, so it's best suited for personal projects or lending a helping hand to less tech-savvy friends and family.

How do I block VNC connections? ›

Go to Control Panel > Network Settings > Right click on your connection > Disable.

How to connect VNC through Internet? ›

Now do this:
  1. Download RealVNC Server to the computer you want to control.
  2. Use RealVNC Server to look up the private (internal) IP address of the computer.
  3. Download RealVNC Viewer to the device you want to control from.
  4. Enter the private IP address in RealVNC Viewer to establish a direct connection.
Mar 25, 2024

How to check status of VNC server? ›

Please check our status page (https://status.vnc.com) if you are experiencing issues with any of the following:
  1. Signing in to your RealVNC Connect portal.
  2. Signing into the RealVNC Viewer app on your computer or mobile device.
  3. Using RealVNC Viewer to establish a cloud connection to a remote device.
Jun 17, 2023

How do I enable VNC server? ›

Next we show how to install VNCServer and make the connection.
  1. 1 Installation VNCServer. ...
  2. 2 Login and enter a password. ...
  3. 3 Add configuration file. ...
  4. 4 Edit the configuration file. ...
  5. 5 Service verification. ...
  6. 6 Disable the firewall. ...
  7. 7 Connecting VNC client to VNC server.

How to restart VNC server? ›

Restarting your VNC session might be necessary if system-wide environment variables have been changed.
  1. Log in to the server with your SSH client. You should get a command prompt.
  2. Type " vncserver -kill :6 ", where 6 should be replaced by your actual VNC session number.

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