In order for Screens to be able to connect back to your Windows PC, it needs to be configured for remote access.
There are 2 ways to configure your Windows PC:
These topics are discussed below.
Configuring your Windows PC via Screens Connect
To make the configuration easier, we recommend that you download and install Screens Connect, our free utility that makes your Windows PC reachable from anywhere.
Screens Connect will also install a VNC server (TightVNC) and a SSH server (freeSSHd), which are required in order for Screens to be able to connect. It also takes care of configuring the Windows firewall.
Once installed and running, Screens Connect is accessible via the task menu bar.
You can download Screens Connect here. Simply launch the app and follow the instructions!
Note: Avast Antivirus is known to interfere with Screens Connect. If you use the product, it's necessary to configure an exception for Screens Connect.
Configuring your Windows PC manually
If you choose not to, or are unable to, install Screens Connect on your PC, you must install a VNC server. We recommend TightVNC or UltraVNC, but any VNC server should work just as well.
Once a VNC server has been installed, you'll need to gather some information.
The IP address. Move your mouse cursor over the VNC server icon in the taskbar and wait for the popup to display the IP address.
The VNC port. Double-click the VNC server icon in the Windows task bar to open the server settings. By default, the port number should be 5900, but it's possible to have this set to another value. We recommend that port 5900 is used.
The password. We highly recommend that you create a password for accessing your PC via the VNC server. Not setting one could be a security risk. Click the Change... button under Primary password to create one. This is the password you'll be using when connecting via Screens.
The Firewall. If the Windows Firewall is running -- or any other software firewall, for that matter -- make sure that Screens Connect (if installed) and the VNC server are allowed to receive incoming connections.
Optional: Installing a SSH Server for Secure Connections
By default, Windows does not provide a service to create a SSH tunnel, so you must install a 3rd-party app to add this functionality to your PC. We recommend using freeSSHd, which is free and used in the following instructions as an example.
Follow the developer’s installation instructions.
When asked to create private keys, click Yes.
When asked whether freeSSHd should run as a service, click Yes.
In the Windows task bar, double-click the VNC icon to display the settings window.
Select the User tab and click the Add button.
A User Properties window appears.
Enter a username.
Set the Authorization to Password stored as SHA1 hash.
Enter a secure password.
Enable only the tunneling option.
Click OK.
Select the SSH tab.
Note: By default, the SSH port will be set to 22, but it's possible that another app installed on your PC is already using that port. If so, you may change the port to something else, like port 222 in our example.
Select the Tunneling tab.
Enable Allow local port forwarding.
Click OK.
If an error occurs when connecting through a SSH tunnel with freeSSHd, open the VNC server settings on the Windows PC you’re trying to connect to and enable Allow loopback connections.
If the Windows Firewall -- or any other software firewall -- is running, make sure that freeSSHd is allowed to receive incoming connections.
Making the Computer Available Outside its Local Network
A recommenced alternative to using Screens Connect in order to make your PC reachable remotely is No-IP. Please refer to the Making your computer reachable remotely without Screens Connect article to learn how.
Selecting a Display
In order to select a particular display on your computer, you need to specify a different port number. You'll find more details in this article.
Configure Screens
You can now create a new screen in order to connect to your Windows PC.
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