Can anyone tell me how VNC works on Macs?

[Spanky Deluxe]

Ok, back in the days when I used to work at a PC network support company we saw programs like PCAnywhere and of course Windows' Remote Desktop and its predecessor as the best things since sliced bread. I still often use remote desktop today.

Apart from buying the whole remote desktop passage is there a way to do the same things with a mac. With a windows pc you can remote desktop in using clients that run on Windows or Mac and there's even an online version which you can run on a webserver. Is there any way to control a mac in the same way, such as from a PC or from a website. I'm in the library on campus and it'd be great if I could have a method set up so that I could connect to my mini at home. It would also be rather sweet to be using OS X while everyone around me struggles through Windows!

 

[jsw]

Simple.

Download Chicken of the VNC as a client, or use a VNC client on Windows.

Turn on "Apple Remote Desktop" in System Preferences...->Sharing on the Mac you wish to be the server. Or connect to another (Windows, etc.) VNC system with CotVNC on the Mac.

Make sure the ports are correctly routed with any in-between routers.

Bob's your uncle.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

Excellent! I'll have to set that up when I'm home. Which ports need forwarding for Apple's Remote Desktop?

 

[eji]

Forwarded ports: 3283 and 5900 (both TCP and UDP)

They will automatically open in the firewall when you tick the "Apple Remote Desktop" option under the "Sharing" pane in System Preferences.

I was just using the Chicken of the VNC/Apple Remote Dekstop combo today as I was installing some new software on my wife's computer (couldn't be bothered to spin my chair around). Works great -- even snappier than OSXVNC, if you ask me.

 

[lmedland]

Hi,

Is it possible to create a SSH connection so that the connections is encrypted? I'm new to this but would like to connect into my Mac at home (got a static IP) and would like a secure connection.

Many thanks!

 

[sreedy]

Hi,

Is it possible to create a SSH connection so that the connections is encrypted? I'm new to this but would like to connect into my Mac at home (got a static IP) and would like a secure connection.

Many thanks!

You'll need to create an encyrpted ssh tunnel which you can then send your VNC traffic down. You can do this from a windows box with something like putty, once this link is created you pass your vnc client the localhost info you've put into putty and off you go. You'll only need port 22 open on your firewall for this to work.

This are the help pages I used to set this up:

http://forums.osxfaq.com/viewtopic.php?t=8466

http://dingetje.homeip.net/howto/VNC/VNC_PuTTY_HOWTO.pdf

 

[lmedland]

Thanks very much, I'll check the links out.

 

[lmedland]

Just in case anyone else is interested I found this great link on using VNC over SSH.

http://www.macmod.com/content/view/89//