Accessing your desktop from a remote location is fun. But anyone who wants to protect their data knows that it has to be secure. In a lot of cases, doing this requires configuring an SSH server with X11 forwarding.

Vino, GNOME’s remote desktop (VNC) server, is nothing new. It has been around since GNOME 2.8, over three years ago. The only problem with it is the fact that there is slim to no security exposed in the interface. Thankfully, with the release of GNOME 2.22 in a little over a month, we can hopefully stop compulsively worrying about the state of our computers.

The biggest security features are highlighted, with encryption being the key factor here. No longer will you have to tunnel over SSH to set up a simple remote connection, as it is now accessible with a few clicks. And when you are done with your session, you can also have your screen automatically lock to keep others off.

Other notable features include the ability to restrict connections to your local computer, which is probably only useful for a multi-user system, and the option to use another port (security through obscurity).