Cannot connect to UltraVNC Vista Home Premium SP2

[robv]

Just a heads-up. I could not connect to UltraVNC server because the default firewall setup was wrong. (I assume it was the default firewall setup.) Changing the firewall setting fixed that problem. I've been using RealVNC for years (free at home, paid-for at work to enable encryption). I am now trying UltraVNC at home because RealVNC is so slow on Vista. (According to my interpretaton of RealVNC's web site, I cannot inquire as to whether this slowness problem is fixed in the RealVNC $30 download, unless I pay first. I should pay to find out the problem persists?) So I googled and discovered the free UltraVNC, and am now experimenting. (I deinstalled RealVNC prior to installing UltraVNC, per UltraVNC instructions. This deinstallation did NOT remove RealVNC firewall rules. I can't remember if I created the RealVNC rules or RealVNC free edition did. I know -- they said free edition doesn't work on Vista. OK, so I'm not using it now.) I installed 1.0.6.5 server 64-bit edition. When I couldn't connect to the server, it didn't take long to realize the default firewall setup was wrong. I don't know what caused this -- it's hard to believe the release would create the wrong firewall rules!? -- but what I said happened above did in fact happen. The installation placed a vncviewer rule in the Inbound set (no winvnc rule). I took the Inbound vncviewer TCP rule, changed the program to winvnc, changed to just the ports I use, and was able to connect. (I stopped and restarted the service, just to make sure, after I modified the firewall rule.) I'm using "Windows Firewall and Advanced Security." I am used to an old version of Kerio firewall, so find it frustrating that, with Vista Home Premium, I cannot see some things that are going on; for example, I don't (yet) know how to see what ports are open and who's listening on what. I can do this on Windows XP with, for example, the aforementioned firewall program. BTW, trying to connect OUT now, I cannot, but I don't see any Outbound firewall rules. I'll look into this later...thanks for reading.

[robv]

I guess this will be my last post here. I started fooling around with programs that came with UltraVNC, and somehow succeeded in making it impossible to productively set the password. In the meantime, I learned a little more about a feature I never used -- listening viewer. This explains part of the firewall entries, but not the missing ones. In any case, because I couldn't get the password to work (when earlier it had worked!?), I deinstalled UltraVNC and this time installed RealVNC Personal Edition. RealVNC worked flawlessly, including fixing the "slow video updates." I am happy to pay a nominal, one-time fee to avoid wasting any more of my time. Thanks.