Xhosting on Linux 9

Hello

I'm new to using Linux but I do have some earlier experience with HP-UX and
Solaris. I'm interested in setting up a Linux machine on my home network and
using an X-host client program on my PC to access it. I only have one
monitor and I don't want to have to keep switching the video cable back and
forth between the boxes. I've set up the Linux (RedHat 9) box in High
Security mode. I'm using a DHCP network connection. On my PC, I'm trying to
use the free version of Xmanager to connect to the Linux box. I remember
reading in the installation prompt that in High Security mode, by default,
you would not be able to connect with X clients but you could customize it
by specifying the ports that you want to permit access to. I can't find
information on how to do that, though. Can anyone offer advice on how to use
a PC X-Window client to access a Linux machine on a private home network?

TIA

Bugenhagen wrote:
> Hello
>
[snip]
> information on how to do that, though. Can anyone offer advice on how to use
> a PC X-Window client to access a Linux machine on a private home network?
>
> TIA
>
>
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...=Google+Search
http://www.xs4all.nl/~zweije/xauth.html

--
Ben M.

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----------------

Bugenhagen spilled the following:

> Hello
>
> I'm new to using Linux but I do have some earlier experience with HP-UX
> and Solaris. I'm interested in setting up a Linux machine on my home
> network and using an X-host client program on my PC to access it. I only
> have one monitor and I don't want to have to keep switching the video
> cable back and forth between the boxes. I've set up the Linux (RedHat 9)
> box in High Security mode. I'm using a DHCP network connection. On my PC,
> I'm trying to use the free version of Xmanager to connect to the Linux
> box. I remember reading in the installation prompt that in High Security
> mode, by default, you would not be able to connect with X clients but you
> could customize it by specifying the ports that you want to permit access
> to. I can't find information on how to do that, though. Can anyone offer
> advice on how to use a PC X-Window client to access a Linux machine on a
> private home network?
>
> TIA

Firstly, your going to have a lot of problems until you get your terminology
straight - with the X window system, you sit at the server, the programs
run on the client.

What do you mean you are using a DHCP network conection? For a 2 computer
network, lifes a bit short for setting up DHCP, Particularly as the most
basic form of access control with X uses ip addresses.

Unless you specifically want to learn how X works, I'd suggest you try VNC
for the RDP stuff - in addition to the fact that it will work with either
MSWindows or Xwindows at either end of the cable, (IMHO) its a lot simpler
to setup securely securely than X.

That's not to say its not possible to do it with X. First, try to work out
how to get an X window onto your terminal. Mostly 'secure' and 'telnet' do
no live comfortably in the same sentence - so I'm guessing you've already
got ssh set up and can connect to the Linux box from the MS box. Then, all
you need to do is configure Xmanager to accept the linux box as the client
(a crude way of doing this from a *UNIX*/*LINUX* terminal is to enter the
command xhost +w.x.y.z at the shell - where w.x.y.z is the address of the
client). Then ssh to the client and enter (for example)

export DISPLAY=w.x.y.a:0
xterm

(where w.x.y.a is the address of the server and :0 is the first screen
attached to it).

Once you've got that cracked you can start worrying about xdmcp and
authentication cookies and tunneling and all those fun things.

(BTW X traffic usually occurs on ports 6000-6063 using tcp and/or udp).

HTH

C.

"Bugenhagen" <wu_ninja_1999@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:LpKdna-IwveYYpPd4p2dnA@comcast.com...
> Hello
>
> I'm new to using Linux but I do have some earlier experience with HP-UX
and
> Solaris. I'm interested in setting up a Linux machine on my home network
and
> using an X-host client program on my PC to access it. I only have one
> monitor and I don't want to have to keep switching the video cable back
and
> forth between the boxes. I've set up the Linux (RedHat 9) box in High
> Security mode. I'm using a DHCP network connection. On my PC, I'm trying
to
> use the free version of Xmanager to connect to the Linux box. I remember
> reading in the installation prompt that in High Security mode, by default,
> you would not be able to connect with X clients but you could customize it
> by specifying the ports that you want to permit access to. I can't find
> information on how to do that, though. Can anyone offer advice on how to
use
> a PC X-Window client to access a Linux machine on a private home network?

#1: You can install VNC on your PC client, and use that to access a VNC
based X session on the Linux box.

#2: You can install CygWin (www.cygwin.com) and use the full-blown XFree86
that comes with it to do full, genuine X sessions over SSH to protect your
data from anyone monitoring it.

"Colin McKinnon"
<colin.thisisnotmysurname@ntlworld.deletemeunlessU RaBot.com> wrote in
message news:lEBQb.10369$YV1.5268@newsfep4-winn.server.ntli.net...
> Bugenhagen spilled the following:
>
> > Hello
> >
> > I'm new to using Linux but I do have some earlier experience with HP-UX
> > and Solaris. I'm interested in setting up a Linux machine on my home
> > network and using an X-host client program on my PC to access it. I only
> > have one monitor and I don't want to have to keep switching the video
> > cable back and forth between the boxes. I've set up the Linux (RedHat 9)
> > box in High Security mode. I'm using a DHCP network connection. On my
PC,
> > I'm trying to use the free version of Xmanager to connect to the Linux
> > box. I remember reading in the installation prompt that in High Security
> > mode, by default, you would not be able to connect with X clients but
you
> > could customize it by specifying the ports that you want to permit
access
> > to. I can't find information on how to do that, though. Can anyone offer
> > advice on how to use a PC X-Window client to access a Linux machine on a
> > private home network?
> >
> > TIA
>
> Firstly, your going to have a lot of problems until you get your
terminology
> straight - with the X window system, you sit at the server, the programs
> run on the client.
>
> What do you mean you are using a DHCP network conection? For a 2 computer
> network, lifes a bit short for setting up DHCP, Particularly as the most
> basic form of access control with X uses ip addresses.
>
> Unless you specifically want to learn how X works, I'd suggest you try VNC
> for the RDP stuff - in addition to the fact that it will work with either
> MSWindows or Xwindows at either end of the cable, (IMHO) its a lot simpler
> to setup securely securely than X.
>
> That's not to say its not possible to do it with X. First, try to work out
> how to get an X window onto your terminal. Mostly 'secure' and 'telnet' do
> no live comfortably in the same sentence - so I'm guessing you've already
> got ssh set up and can connect to the Linux box from the MS box. Then, all
> you need to do is configure Xmanager to accept the linux box as the client
> (a crude way of doing this from a *UNIX*/*LINUX* terminal is to enter the
> command xhost +w.x.y.z at the shell - where w.x.y.z is the address of the
> client). Then ssh to the client and enter (for example)
>
> export DISPLAY=w.x.y.a:0
> xterm

NEVER DO THIS!!!!! It's a really, really bad idea from a lot of security
perspectives. After you've got CygWin installed on your PC, you can use SSH
(read the manual pages on it!) to safely tunnel your X connection.

Unfortunately, most idiots doing connections the way described above use
"xhost +" to enable all incoming X connections, and that's a huge security
problem.