App/Solution for Remote Desktop Sharing?

[El Maestro]

Hi all,

I finally convinced my Dad to switch to a Mac. We live far apart, and I'd like to be able to provide tech support (and run updates, etc.) to him by taking over/sharing his desktop via the Internet. What do you all suggest for doing that? Thanks!

 

[sracer]

I use and highly recommend TeamViewer. Free for personal use.

 

[Alrescha]

Screen Sharing / Remote Control is still built right into Messages as long as you both have an AIM or Jabber account.

A.

 

[El Maestro]

Thanks to you both. Based on these suggestions, I can assume we don't need to invest in Apple's Remote Desktop Connection software?

 

[chrfr]

Thanks to you both. Based on these suggestions, I can assume we don't need to invest in Apple's Remote Desktop Connection software?

Definitely not necessary for you.

 

[JoelBC]

A VPN server is built into OS X...an application such as iVPN (highly recommended) can be used to easily establish a VPN connection after which a VNC Viewer such as RealVNC can be used for screen sharing.

And before anyone says that this is what TeamViewer does I find two advantages of using VPN/RealVPN namely (i) better security as you are not going through TeamViewer's servers and (ii) better speed as TeamViewer sometimes reduces their personal use bandwidth depending on demand.

Hope this helps.

 

[robgendreau]

Or something like Remoter, or JollysFastVNC. They both can use SSH tunneling instead of a a VPN, and are very secure. They aren't subscriptions, but stand alone software.

Remoter provides a service that is basically only a way for those with dynamic IP addresses to be able to connect, and provides some automation of the setup through your router.

Rob

 

[El Maestro]

Will TeamViewer work with non-static IP addresses? My dad and I both have Fios (residential) and that doesn't have fixed IPs.

The VPN stuff does seem good too, but I am nervous about how technical it is to configure on the "client" side.

 

[JoelBC]

Will TeamViewer work with non-static IP addresses? My dad and I both have Fios (residential) and that doesn't have fixed IPs.

Yes, the TeamViewer will work with non-static IP addresses because it essentially assigns each device a unique name / number...no worries here.

The VPN stuff does seem good too, but I am nervous about how technical it is to configure on the "client" side.

The more technical side to configure is the server side...that said, the mere fact that you ask / know about static IP addresses means that you should be able to do it.

The only trick - and it is not that hard -- is to i) assign the server computer a fixed IP address within the LAN (which is easily done via the router) and ii) open the port for the VPN server (which again -- is easily done -- via the router.

We are here to help!!!

 

[GGJstudios]

Will TeamViewer work with non-static IP addresses? My dad and I both have Fios (residential) and that doesn't have fixed IPs.

The VPN stuff does seem good too, but I am nervous about how technical it is to configure on the "client" side.

I've used TeamViewer for years, which is free for personal use and works with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Ubuntu, iPhone, iPad, etc. Yes, it works with both static and dynamic IP addressing, has no issues with firewalls. It's very secure and private and quite simple to set up and use (no messing around with ports), which comes in handy if providing remote support to those who aren't very computer literate. You can talk them through the setup on their end and be connected to them in less than a minute. I prefer it over LogMeIn because it includes free file transfers between computers, a feature I use frequently. Also, TeamViewer doesn't affect audio settings on OS X, as many have reported that LogMeIn does.

 

[maflynn]

Another vote for team viewer as mentioned. The price is right and its a solid product.

 

[sracer]

Will TeamViewer work with non-static IP addresses? My dad and I both have Fios (residential) and that doesn't have fixed IPs.

The VPN stuff does seem good too, but I am nervous about how technical it is to configure on the "client" side.

TeamViewer is one of those things that "just works". I've been quite impressed with the simplicity of the setup, flexibility for different environments, and reliable performance.

The nice thing is that they provide a web-client that allows you to remote-in to a target system (that has TeamViewer installed) FROM a device that doesn't have TV installed.

I've been down the VPN server route, I find TeamViewer to be "no muss, no fuss".