ChunkVNC "Fork"

[Rat]

v4.0.0 released... with support for the latest UltraVNC version, (v1.1.8 32 and 64 bit).. read more here

You can read all about it [post=82848]here[/post], [post=82691]here[/post], [post=82630]here[/post], [post=82647]here[/post], [post=84030]here[/post], and [post=88617]here[/post]

Fully customisable and re-brandable...



You can download the new version from the following URL:
http://www.vuware.com/chunkvnc/ChunkVNC_3.1m.zip

v3.1m New Features:
1. Minimise/Maximise to system tray.
2. Configurable Connection Timeout.
3. Optional Hide on Connect.
4. An auto-connect option, (in v3.1g this is the only available mode), to support a manual "Connect" Button.
5. An optional user defined list of technicians and associated IDs.
6. An option to "de-chrome" the window so that no title bar or border is shown.
7. Background monitoring of connection status.
8. The window logo becomes "draggable" if its not "clickable"
9. When installing as a service it generates and displays a random ID which you can use for future connections to that target machine.
10. It is really designed to work with Karl Runge's Perl repeater script which can maintain multiple independent sessions on the same network port with different connection ID's. (see here: [topic=18106][/topic])
11. Better list management in the ChunkVNC Viewer
12. Support for the latest UltraVNC version, (v1.0.9.6.1)
13. Encryption plugin working
14. vnchooks.dll working
15. Displays Service Connection ID before killing connection when Installing as a Service
16. Viewer script rewritten
17. Added explicit 15sec timeout instead of using MessageBox Timeout
18. Added option to close any existing VNC services first
19. Fixed the Vista, Win7 screen refresh issue, (by setting "PollFullScreen=1" in "ultravnc.ini")
20. Added a "Re-run as Administrator" tray menu item, (if not currently running as an administrator)


Some simple installation instructions:

1. Install ChunkVNC by executing ChunkVNCRemoteSupport_Install_3.1m.exe.

2. Edit "C:\Program Files\ChunkVNC\SRC\InstantSupportDefs.au3" and make the following changes:
a) Set the $ServerPort and $RepeaterPort values for your installation.

b) Set the $RepeaterUrl value to your repeater url.

c) Set the $StaffList values for your requirements.

3. Execute C:\Program Files\ChunkVNC\InstantSupportCompileAll.exe to apply your changes to your current installation.

You can of course also do all this in the codebase which is also included in the ChunkVNC_3.1m.zip file and then re-package the installer using the InnoSetup tool and the ChunkVNCRemoteSupport_Install_3.1m.iss script file.


In particular have a close look at the installer script: "ChunkVNCRemoteSupport_Install_3.1m.iss". In there you can see how it renames user-provided custom files to the standard release names... see below:

Line 53: Source: .\v3.1m\SRC\ChunkVNCSupportDefs.au3; DestDir: {app}\SRC; Flags: ignoreversion; DestName: InstantSupportDefs.au3

Line 160: Source: .\v3.1m\SRC\InstantSupport_Files\logo.chunkvnc.jpg; DestDir: {app}\SRC\InstantSupport_Files; Flags: ignoreversion; DestName: logo.jpg

Line 161: Source: .\v3.1m\SRC\InstantSupport_Files\rc4.chunkvnc.key; DestDir: {app}\SRC\InstantSupport_Files; Flags: ignoreversion; DestName: rc4.key

Line 174: Source: .\v3.1m\Viewer\Bin\rc4.chunkvnc.key; DestDir: {app}\Viewer\Bin; Flags: ignoreversion; DestName: rc4.key


In my forked version, (3.1m) of ChunkVNC, when the "$ShortName.exe" file is executed it creates the following temporary folder and places the following files in it:
Note: $ShortName is set in the "InstantSupportDefs.au3" file.

Temporary Installation Path:
Windows XP: "C:\Documents and Settings\[User]\Local Settings\Temp\$ShortName_Temp_Files\"
Vista and Windows 7: "C:\Users\[User]\AppData\Local\Temp\"

ChunkVNC Installed File List:
chunkvnc.ini
logo.jpg
rc4.key
sas.dll
SCHook.dll
SecureVNCPlugin.dsm
ultravnc.ini
vnchooks.dll
$ShortNameServer.exe
$ShortNameServiceInstaller.exe

When my ChunkVNC fork is installed as a service it creates the following permanent folder and copies the above files into it:
Note: $LongName is set in the "InstantSupportDefs.au3" file.

ChunkVNC Service Installation Path:
All Windows: "C:\Program Files\$LongName"


ChunkVNC Registry Changes:
My forked version of ChunkVNC also attempts to make the following changes to the registry to disable UAC warnings.
Note: This will only work if the user has administrator permissions.

Key: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System"
Value Name: "ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin"

It initially sets this Registry Value to 0 and then restores it to its original value when the program exits.





START: OLD LEGACY MESSAGE TEXT
v3.1d Latest Update...
Well despite my previous best intentions of not re-writing the ChunkVNC official release too much, I found that the requirement to include user-defined connection ID codes and my difficulty with getting AutoIt to position a text label has resulted in a fairly major code modification which I'm unofficially calling v3.1d. In particular, the code for the "InstantSupport.au3" script has effectively been completely re-written and I think is now much clearer as well as being fully event driven. The other major change is that the re-branding now extends to the displayed Connection ID code. Unfortunately, I couldn't get AutoIt to position the text label exactly where I wanted it, so being a C programmer I naturally re-wrote it at the GDI level and consequently there is a new function called "DrawConnectionId()" which bears absolutely no resemblance to any of the original ChunkVNC code, (sorry).

I have also included an InnoSetup installation script which automates the installation, (and uninstallation) of all of this as well.

Anyway, you can download the new code from the following URL (6.3MB includes all updates):
http://www.vuware.com/chunkvnc/ChunkVNC_3_1d.zip

Note: In order to save space I have only included 0-byte length executables for everything except the "InstantSupportCompileAll.exe" application, which you will therefore need to run in order to build all of the other exe's.


Cheers,
Ratty >//o



Original Posting begins here...
Well its more of a "spoon" really

I have provided a reworked version of the ChunkVNC AutoIt scripts here for anyone who might be interested, (8.4MB):
http://www.vuware.com/chunkvnc/ChunkVNC_3_X.zip

I have taken the liberty of firstly renaming the scripts to the following names, which I felt was a little bit more explanatory and hopefully better reflected their actual function:

InstantSupportDefs.au3
InstantSupportCompiler.au3
InstantSupportServiceInstaller.au3
InstantSupport.au3
InstantSupportViewer.au3

I also added some basic support for rebranding in a new script called "InstantSupportDefs.au3".

I also included the rewritten self deletion routines and basically changed a whole bunch of other stuff as well, (hence the cutlery reference).
My hope is that this will provide some inspiration for any upcoming ChunkVNC versions.

I've also included the compiled executeables and other files so that this constitutes a "full" release... Oh and I also included the latest AutoIt release files as well.

Note: The included re-branded demo is actually for one of my customers, (but the repeater URL is bogus )


Cheers,
Ratty >//o

[B]

Hi Rat. I know from your previous posts you've been working with this for a little while now, but this "announcement" doesn't really tell me what's new in your "fork".

Could you please explain:

1. Purported benefits of your version.

2. Perceived disadvantages of the "official" version.

3. Specific new features or functional changes.

4. Other specific documentation.

Thanks!

[supercoe]

Rat,

Thanks for sharing, looks like you've completed v3.2!
Some documentation would be nice but it seems that this is more for us code monkeys?

B,

After looking quickly at the source, Rat has done quite a bit of work just cleaning everything up so it's easier to understand. He has also fixed the "OMG I just deleted my C: drive" problem.

[Rat]

1. Purported benefits of your version.

Well I guess the main benefits are the support for re-branding, the fixed self-deletion code and the general "tidying up" of the scripts.


2. Perceived disadvantages of the "official" version.

I'm not trying to create a new ChunkVNC here... I was just fiddling around for my own, (and my customer's) benefit and decided to post the resulting code changes here in case they were generally helpful.


3. Specific new features or functional changes.

See Answer 1... I suggest you try running the "InstantSupportCompiler.exe" and "XBaseRemote.exe" apps to see the more visual changes in action. I didn't want to go too far with my changes since I might begin to pre-empt the upcoming new release of ChunkVNC. I think I now understand the code well enough that if I really wanted to, I could "go to town" on adding new features, (with AutoIt there's no limit to what you could conceivably do). However, I think that at the moment this would be counter-productive and confusing to the core ChunkVNC project effort. I would rather wait and see what appears in the next version first.


4. Other specific documentation.

For the moment look at the code and take note of the new script names... they should clarify what does what.

[Rat]

I may have a gone a little overboard, but I have also written a compiler-compiler script which I use so that I don't have to manually run the AutoIt compiler to create the re-branded compiler exe. ("Nothing succeeds like Excess" hey?)

In any case it may be of some use for those folks who don't want to install AutoIt but who still want re-branding.

You can download the compile-compiler script and the executable from here (300KB):

http://www.vuware.com/chunkvnc/ChunkVNC_3_X_X.zip

(Note: The relative paths are the same as for my previous download.)


OPERATION

Step 1. Edit the "/SRC/InstantSupportDefs.au3" file to rebrand your ChunkVNC version. (and edit any relevant logo and icon image files as well)

Step 2. Run the "InstantSupportCompilerCompiler.exe" compiler-compiler executable to create a re-branded "InstantSupportCompiler.exe" executable.

Step 3. Run the re-branded "InstantSupportCompiler.exe" compiler executable to create the re-branded InstantSupport files.

[supercoe]

Rat,

No such thing as overboard!

I just have a batch file called MakeCompiler.cmd

Code: Select all

SRC\Aut2Exe\Aut2Exe.exe /in SRC\Compiler.au3 /out Compiler.exe /icon SRC\InstantSupport_Files\icon1.ico

[Rat]

Well I figured that running an Exe and clicking a big friendly button might be a more attractive proposition for the less technically inclined...

[Rat]

Laziness is a great motivator...

I realised that I may as well run the "InstantSupportCompiler.exe" once the compiler-compiler had completed successfully, (and skip Step 3).

So here it is...

http://www.vuware.com/chunkvnc/ChunkVNC_3_X_Y.zip

(Note: The relative paths are the same as for my previous downloads.)


OPERATION

Step 1. Edit the "/SRC/InstantSupportDefs.au3" file to rebrand your ChunkVNC version. (and edit any relevant logo and icon image files as well)

Step 2. Run the "InstantSupportCompileAll.exe" compiler-compiler executable to create a re-branded "InstantSupportCompiler.exe" executable. If this completes successfully it will then run the re-branded "InstantSupportCompiler.exe" compiler executable to create the re-branded InstantSupport files.

[Rat]

I've wrapped this whole thing up as an InnoSetup installer script if anyone is interested... the whole thing can then be deployed as a single exe.

It will create Start Menu links and optionally run the compiler-compiler after installation. It also has an automated uninstaller.

[mudputty]

Nice. So, does your exe also allow you to choose what text and logo you want for the re-branding, or do you still need to edit the file for that? I do like the simpler names of that files. It helps at a glance to know what they are for.

[Rat]

does your exe also allow you to choose what text and logo you want for the re-branding, or do you still need to edit the file for that?

At the moment you need to edit the "InstantSupportDefs.au3" to rebrand the app. Its a pretty simple process, but there's no reason why even this couldn't be done with an AutoIt GUI. I admit that I hadn't thought of it.

As I mentioned earlier I am reluctant to go much further with this, and am waiting until the next version of ChunkVNC is released.

The one thing I will do is add support for Default, User-defined and Randomly selected Connection ID's, since this is neccessary if you are planning to connect to multiple customers from multiple technicians concurrently. The version I released was targetted at a particular customer who only needed a single fixed Connection ID, (their telephone number).

[Rat]

See my modified original posting in this thread to read about a new "major" update...

[guinness]

BUG: With XBaseRemote.exe when you click 'Cancel' on the input MsgBox for the ServerID it doesn't exit, it keeps returning the input box.

[Rat]

Hi Guiness,

Ummm... not really a bug, more of a design flaw .
(I assumed that if you started it you would always enter a valid code.)

Thanks for the feedback.

In any case, I've uploaded v3.1c with a fix to:
http://www.vuware.com/chunkvnc/ChunkVNC_3_1c.zip


Cheers,
Ratty >//o

[Rat]

New version available with my UAC Disable/Restore code added. The InnoSetup script also includes Repeater Service Install/Uninstall/Start/Stop links as well.

http://www.vuware.com/chunkvnc/ChunkVNC_3_1d.zip

[ltctech]

I made some changes myself...

First of all I noticed that more than one instance of ChunkVNC server could be started and cause issues. So I added this:

Code: Select all

;Checks if another instance is running and stops extraction
If ProcessExists("InstantSupportVNC.exe") Then
	MsgBox( 0, "Warning", "Instant Support is already running...", 5 )
	Exit
EndIf

Since a dll would keep getting locked, I decided to rewrite the temp directory logic:

Code: Select all

; Set our temp working directory to a random name
$LowerLimit = 0
$UpperLimit = 999999
$TempRandom = Random( $LowerLimit,$UpperLimit,1 )
$TempPath = @TempDir & "\ChunkVNC_Temp_Files_" & $TempRandom

Delete temp only tries to delete once, avoids high cpu usage...

Code: Select all

Func _DeleteTemp( $iDelay = 0 )
	Local $sCmdFile
	FileDelete( @TempDir & "\scratch.bat" )
	$sCmdFile = 'ping -n ' & $iDelay & '127.0.0.1 > nul' & @CRLF _
			& 'rmdir "' & $TempPath & '" /s /q' & @CRLF _
			& 'del ' & @TempDir & '\scratch.bat'
	FileWrite( @TempDir & "\scratch.bat", $sCmdFile )
	Run( @TempDir & "\scratch.bat", @TempDir, @SW_HIDE )
EndFunc

Adds runonce reg key on close to delete any leftovers on next login

Code: Select all

RegWrite("HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce", "CleanISTemp9x_" & $TempRandom, "REG_SZ",
 "command.com /c rmdir """ & $TempPath & """ /s /q")
RegWrite("HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce", "CleanISTempNT_" & $TempRandom, "REG_SZ",
 "cmd.exe /c rmdir """ & $TempPath & """ /s /q")

I also had the urge to rewrite the wrapper in C++.
However, I normally program in C# and thus it would take a while.
Not all computers have .NET so it has to be written in C++.
Maybe when I am less lazy...

[supercoe]

ltctech,

Thanks for the code additions I especially like the runonce addition.

[dichotom]

This all sounds really awesome, is it going to be in 3.2 when it is released?

[hm2k]

Is this in the SVN?

If not, why not? There's no need to fork, you guys can all contribute to the SVN...

http://code.google.com/p/chunkvnc/source/checkout

Providing you have write access given by the project owner...

Meanwhile, keep up the good work.

PS. I'd be happy to help out with this project, add me as nfhm2k to the project. Cheers.

[FireFerum]

I have found that with the 3.1d, in Windows 7, the Uninstall shortcut does not get removed, the program files folder still remains, as does the schook.dll file. I even tried running the uninstall as admin. Am I doing something wrong?

[Rat]

Supercoe has a copy of the latest 3.1e version, (a significant change to v3.1d). Any new releases will probably be through him...

[Rat]

For those of you who know about my version 3.1f and are using it, I have released a new upgrade to fix some minor useability issues... (Sorry Chunk! I know I promised not to)

You can download the new version from the following URL:
http://www.vuware.com/chunkvnc/ChunkVNC_3.1g.zip

Changes List:
----------------
My clients were getting confused with the click on logo to open a web page so I made it an option and also made it an option to pin the window to the top of the Z-order.

Basically they would click on the window which would load the browser which would hide the window and then they would run the app again... and so on...

Remote technicians can now type a pre-defined hotkey string (eg. [CTRL]U to "un-pin" the app once they're in, (if the window is pinned).

I have added a check to prevent multiple instances of the Remote Support app being run concurrently.

I further tidied the InstantSupport.au3 script, (improved layout and documentation).

I have explicitly declared all gloabal variables as "Global"

I made some very minor changes to the CompileAll and Compiler so that an Hourglass cursor was displayed during compilation.

I removed the minimise button from the title bar of the various application windows.

I also made the "keep existing RC4 file" prompt during compilation optional, because it was bugging me having to click "yes" every time


Well I think thats about all of it, I had to make the changes to the Logo Click and Window Pinning, because my clients were driving me crazy clicking the bloody thing all the time and running multiple instances and there seemed little point in doing a half-arsed patch hence the new version release...

Enjoy,
Rat.
^>//o

[supercoe]

Sorry Chunk! I know I promised not to

Hey, at least you have time to get your releases out the door!

[tbran6]

I’ve been using the 3.1g version and it works great. Question though, I noticed this vision creates two running processes called ChunkVNCRemote.exe and ChunkVNCRemoteServer.exe that is using about 14MB of RAM. If I remember correctly the other versions only had one running process, is this true? I’m just curious why two .exe files are needed. Thanks guys.

Todd

[Rat]

Hey Todd,

I don't have a copy of "ChunkVNCRemoteServer.exe" running when I execute it?
Note: I do all my testing in a cleanskin VirtualBox machine.

I suspect you may have installed the server previously, (with an earlier version perhaps?).

Is "ChunkVNCRemoteServer.exe" still there in the processes list after you exit?

Cheers,
Rat.

[tbran6]

no sir. ChunkVNCRemoteServer.exe exits when I quit ChunkVNC. Maybe becasue I run and test it on the same box I compille InstantSupport on?

[Rat]

Well... if you're willing I suggest you go to http://www.vuware.com/remote.html and download the re-branded ChunkVNC Remote support app that you find there and arrange a time for me take over your PC remotely so I can investigate further.

Alternatively, you may wish to install VirtualBox or whichever virtualisation solution you prefer and run a virtual cleanskin Windows machine to test it there.

Which version of Windows are you running?

[Nick_ua]

Why do I have when connecting via the ID number UltraVNC server does not offer request login and password?
This is how you enable or configure?
I normally configured Viewer and server and Repeater connection is fine but I need that would be the prompt for the password and login.
Please help.
I live in Ukraine and the English language does not quite understand why I'm very hard to read the entire forum and understand yourself.

[tbran6]

Ok Rat, I tried the 3.1g on another PC and still get the two processes, ChunkVNCRemote.exe and ChunkVNCRemoteServer.exe. I also followed your suggestion, loaded a fresh clean WinXP SP2 in VirtualBox. Send me a PM on a time you can remote into my machine .I suspect others get this too. I don’t think the two processes are a big deal, I’m just reporting back what I’m seeing. If other testers get this please let us know.

[Rat]

Hi Nick_ua,

I think you will need to ask Supercoe that question...

Sorry,
Rat