Cyber Militia

Say what you will about Microsoft Windows, there are certain things where it just shines.
Case in point, Remote Desktop – so efficient, that over a reasonably fast internet connection, the user experience is almost as good as when logged in locally.
The Linux alternatives, while not as restrictive, are nowhere near as efficient.

The only thing that comes close is NX server.
This tutorial will run you through the process of installing NX server, with XFCE desktop environment, on a Debian (6.0) machine.

Install XFCE & GDM

apt-get install xfce4 gdm

Download the three NoMachine .deb packages (client, node & server)

mkdir /tmp/nomachine
cd /tmp/nomachine
wget http://64.34.161.181/download/3.5.0/Linux/nxclient_3.5.0-7_i386.deb
wget http://64.34.161.181/download/3.5.0/Linux/nxnode_3.5.0-9_i386.deb
wget http://64.34.161.181/download/3.5.0/Linux/FE/nxserver_3.5.0-11_i386.deb

(If you’re not running 32-bit debian OR if the links above don’t work, get the correct links from here.)

Install the NoMachine .deb packages

dpkg -i /tmp/nomachine/*.deb

Configure the NoMachine server

nano /usr/NX/etc/server.cfg

Defaults should suffice for most users, but a few things that might be of interest nonetheless – Uncomment the line that you need in the config file, and set the value accordingly.

If you’re running SSHD on a non-standard port, uncomment these two lines and put in the correct port number

#SSHDPort = "22"
#SSHDAuthPort = "22"

If you want to be able to access NX as root.

#EnableAdministratorLogin = "0"

Configure the NoMachine node

nano /usr/NX/etc/node.cfg

If you’re running SSHD on a non-standard port, uncomment this line and put in the correct port number

#SSHDPort = "22"

Apply the changes

/usr/NX/bin/nxnode --uninstall
/usr/NX/bin/nxnode --install
/usr/NX/bin/nxserver --uninstall
/usr/NX/bin/nxserver --install
/usr/NX/bin/nxserver --stop
/usr/NX/bin/nxserver --start

To install NX client on the local machine
Windows client available for download here.
(If you don’t need the Windows client OR if the link above doesn’t work, get the correct link from here.)

Configure NX client connection
Start the Client
Put in the Host address / SSH port
Set Desktop as Unix & Custom
In “advanced settings” -> “run the following command”, put in the following command –

startxfce4

Connect!

You’ll be prompted for password and upon successful authentication, you’ll be presented with a XFCE desktop.
You can even close (X) the client connection window and have this session running so that you can connect to it later!