Preparing to deploy VNC to our customers with custom install

[EvilJoven]

We're planning on deploying UltraVNC to our customers. To make things easier we're rewriting our own installer which includes the VNC server files (no mods to any code) and custom registry entries (HKLM\Software\OLM and HKCU\Software\OLM, preconfigured on a test PC) so customers can do a single click install so that its easier and they dont end running a listening VNC daemon on their PCs.

First, I just want to make sure we're covering our bases so we aren't violating the GPL or UltraVNC's liscenses. To do this we're first displaying our own disclaimer which states our preamble (software not waranteed, not liable for damages etc). In this file we're also stating that this is a custom installation of UltraVNC with no code modification and include a link to ultravnc.sourceforge.net. After accepting this the GPL is displayed with an Accept/Reject dialogue and then UltraVNC readme is displayed (the same file included with the VNC release). Is this sufficient to comply with both the GPL and UltraVNC liscenses?

Secondly, to better secure the system I would like to have our installation configure the VNC server settings and disallow our users to change these settings themselves. Unfortunatly I have not found a way to do this. When I copy the values from HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ORL\WinVNC3 to HKLM\Software\ORL\WinVNC3\Default and add the key AllowProperties (REG_DWORD = 0) the user cannot log in and they also cannot run the VNC Server, it gives them an error stating that no password has been set and they cannot access the server properties to set the password (despite the fact that the imported registry keys include a set password).

I think that this is because the settings in HKLM\Software\ORL\WinVNC3\Default are only read if UltraVNC is run as a service (something we do not want to do). Can someone please confirm this and/or let me know what I'm doing wrong.

[lizard]

I think that this is because the settings in HKLM\Software\ORL\WinVNC3\Default are only read if UltraVNC is run as a service

have you tried HKCU not HKLM?

[Rudi De Vos]

No problem for the GPL issue.

UltraVnc is ment to be used as some kind of helpdesk support.
If you use the orignal sourcecode and exe you can include them in a custom installer.
If you make changes, icons/bitmaps mods, you also need to make the sourcecode somewhere available on your site.

Distribution
For online, there is no problem. Only take a bit care when you bundle it with other applications on a cdrom. Use seperate installers, 1 installer could be a violation. (never understand that part of the GPL license correctly)

For reg settings you could check TEST19.
In Test19, we have split the props in admin and poll settings. To change the admin probs, the current user need to have admin rights.

[EvilJoven]

Wicked, thanks for the input.

No changes planned to the app, bitmaps etc, just the way the files are installed and we're including registry entries instead of allowing the server to generate them on the first execution. We're actually taking the lazy route and not bothering to compile from source, we're going to use the standard UVNC exe from the standard UVNC installation and repackaging it in our own installer.

As for packaging it with the installation of other programs I don't suspect we'll be doing that, making changes to our images is really expensive. We're either going to include it on a CD with a user guide or simply host it on our webserver. Either way the installer will be seperate from our other apps.

I'll give 19 a try to see if that works, I still need to find out if the keys in HKLM/Software/ORL/WINVNC3/Default (the keys I need to have working properly in order to deny access to the server properties so our customers don't inadvertently open a security hole as big as my head in their systems. I suspect they're only generated/read if the server is installed as a system service but I'll have to test that out when I'm not dead tired.

Also, one of my coworkers brought up an interesting point. I'm paranoid about this being secure for our users because I would never let tech support have access to stuff if I couldn't supervise what they were doing. So far I've managed to make things very secure except for one thing, file transfer. As it stands clients cannot tell if a file transfer has been initiated. I could just disable this completly but it's very useful. Is there any support that will allow our customers to accept or reject sends/recieves?