Chrome Remote Desktop

Chrome Remote Desktop is a good solution if you would like to access your network via a specific network PC from anywhere in the world using your phone or tablet.

During the initial testing, the standard installation worked fine on Windows XP and Windows 7. The standard installation also completed without any problems on Lubuntu. The shared Lubuntu PC was also shown it the remote browser. But when trying to access it, we only received a black screen. Searching the internet, we found quite a number of different solutions. After reading through a few of the solutions I decided to try the easiest one first. To my surprise it worked.

This tutorial will list all the steps required to install Chrome Remote Desktop on Lubuntu.

1. Google Chrome needs to be installed.
   
2. You need a Google / Gmail account.
   
   

In the current and recent versions of Lubuntu and Ubuntu, the pre-installed browser is Firefox. For Chrome Remote Desktop to work, we need to install the Google Chrome browser as default browser. (We haven't tested the case where Chrome is not the default browser.)

1. Open Firefox and search for "Google Chrome browser".
   
2. Choose the link which looks like: "www.google.com/chrome"
   Just make that you receive a page from Google which starts with "www.google.com/..."
3. Click on the "Download Chrome" button.
4. The next page will as you to select your download package.
   Here you need to choose the 64 bit .deb (For Debian/Ubuntu) option if your Lubuntu is 64 bit. Otherwise choose the 32 bit .deb option.
   (If you are not sure about the version, open a terminal window,
   type: uname -m -p -i and press enter. If the result is x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 you are working on a 64 bit installation of Lubuntu.)
5. Then click on the "Accept and Install" button.
6. A Firefox dialog will open asking what Firefox should do with the file.
   "Open with gdebi-gtk (default)" should be selected. Then click "OK".
7. The Package Installer will open giving details. Click "Install Package".
8. It will then ask you for your login password.
9. The installation is complete when the buttons "Reinstall" and "Remove Package" are shown. Just close the Package Installer window.
10. Close Firefox.
11. Go to the Lubuntu Menu and click on the Internet folder.
    Here you should see a new entry: "Google Chrome". Click on Google Chrome to launch it.
12. Before Chrome opens, it will show a dialog asking if Chrome should be made the default browser. Leave the answer as YES and click "OK".
13. When Chrome opens, it will ask you to Sign in. Sign in using your Google / Gmail account and password. If you don't have a Gmail account, please create one, because Google will use this information to link your devices.
14. Once you have signed in to Google Chrome, your Chrome browser installation is complete.

1. Click on the Chrome Menu button and select Settings.
   
2. Once the Settings screen has opened, click on Extensions in the menu on the left hand side of the screen. This will list all the Extensions installed.
3. Towards the bottom of the screen is a link "Get more extensions".
   Click on that link to go to the Chrome Web Store.
4. Type "Chrome Remote Desktop" in the search box and press enter.
5. Chrome Remote Desktop should appear under the list of Apps. First check that there is a G (indicating that the app was developed by Google) and then click on the button "+ ADD TO CHROME" and follow instructions until you arrive at the Chrome Remote Desktop page.
6. Just before completion, you will a message saying: "Authorize To use Chrome Remote Desktop you must grant extended access...". Click on the "Continue" button.
7. Another screen will appear saying: "Chrome Remote Desktop would like to: Have offline access". Click "Accept" and you are at last on the Chrome Remote Desktop page.
8. Add this page to your favorites because it would be difficult to remember.
9. The section we are currently interested in is "Remote Assistance". Click on "Get Started" UNDER "Remote Assistance".
10. Two buttons will now appear on the right hand side of the Remote Assistance section. Click on the Share button.
11. Chrome will display a warning at the bottom. Click on the "Keep" button.
12. Chrome will now display the downloaded file at the bottom of the screen "Chrome-Remote-Desktop_current_amd64.deb". Click on this file and the package installer will open diplaying its information.
13. Click on "Install Package". You will be asked for your Lubuntu login password, and the installation will continue.
14. The installation is complete when the buttons "Reinstall" and "Remove Package" are shown. Just close the Package Installer window.
15. Click OK on the "Please run the installer..." message.
16. A message with an access code will appear. Click Cancel and you are back on your Remote Desktop page.
17. Make sure you have added this page to your favorites and close Chrome.
18. Open Chrome and go to your Remote Desktop page.
19. You should now see your computer near the bottom of your page.
20. Click on the button "Enable Remote Connections" and a dialog will open asking for a PIN to access your computer.
21. Enter the PIN twice, make a note of the PIN and click OK.
22. While Remote Connections are being enabled, it will ask for your Lubuntu login password. Once Connections have been enabled, click OK.
23. The standard part of the installation is now complete, and there are just a few more steps to get it working.

This section is important because if your Lubuntu session is locked after a given time period, you will not be able to unlock it from your remote device.

1. Go to the Lubuntu menu, go to Preferences and open Light Locker Settings
   
2. Change "Blank screen after" to at least 60 minutes.
3. Turn ALL Lock options OFF and click Apply.

Please note that if you plan to run this PC as a headless PC, you will still need to access this PC via some VNC viewer. In this case you need to totally deactivate all locking on this Lubuntu installation which is described in detail in our Screen Lock Deactivation tutorial.

1. Go to the Lubuntu menu, go to Accessories and open Leafpad (the text editor).
2. Type the following line:
   exec /usr/bin/lxsession -s Lubuntu -e LXDE
   and press enter at the end of the line.
3. Then go to the Leafpad menu and click File and Save.
4. The file must have the following name:
     .chrome-remote-desktop-session
   (Note the . at the beginning of the name and double check the spelling.) and must be saved in the Home folder.

1. Open Chrome and go to your Chrome Remote Desktop page.
2. Click on your PC at the bottom of the screen.
3. Enter your pin when it is requested and you should see the Lubuntu desktop in your browser.