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Remotely Controlling another Mac

C

Caezar

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 9, 2004
270
2
Between a rock and a hard place
I want to remotely control my mom's iMac to help her install new programs, clean the desktop, etc.

Because I don't have a clue about VNC, I have been studying The Macrumors guide "Remotely Controlling another Mac".

Before I start with the set-up can anyone confirm that the solution detailed in the guide works over the internet and not only within a LAN?

Thanks!
 
swiftaw

swiftaw

macrumors 603
Jan 31, 2005
6,328
25
Omaha, NE, USA
Caezar said:
I want to remotely control my mom's iMac to help her install new programs, clean the desktop, etc.

Because I don't have a clue about VNC, I have been studying The Macrumors guide "Remotely Controlling another Mac".

Before I start with the set-up can anyone confirm that the solution detailed in the guide works over the internet and not only within a LAN?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Provided you know the target IP address, and you configure any devices in the way, such as a router, you can connect to any computer from anywhere in the world.
 
GimmeSlack12

GimmeSlack12

macrumors 603
Apr 29, 2005
5,403
12
San Francisco
I've heard a lot about logmein.com but I've never used it. So I'll give you a quick rundown of using VNC.

Download ChickenVNC for your Mac.
Turn on Remote Desktop on her iMac (System Prefs>Sharing). Turn on all privileges in the Sharing prefs too.
Get her world IP (http://www.whatismyip.com). If she is using a router this part will require more instructions.
Open ChickenVNC on your computer and put in her world IP and any password that was given in the Sharing Prefs.

Hit connect! This should be basically all you need to do, if your Mom has a router then you'll need to do some port forwarding for port 5900, but I can tell you how to do that too if needed.
 
T

thegrifman

macrumors regular
Nov 8, 2006
161
1
Kennesaw, GA
If, by chance, your mom has a Linksys broadband router, it may have builtin Dyndns.com (free subdomain service) support. Mine does so that's how I connect to it. Alternatively you could set her up with a bookmark to something like http://myipaddress.com to get her ip address and then use vnc.
 
N

newmacuser13

macrumors member
Oct 11, 2006
52
0
Caezar said:
I want to remotely control my mom's iMac to help her install new programs, clean the desktop, etc.

Because I don't have a clue about VNC, I have been studying The Macrumors guide "Remotely Controlling another Mac".

Before I start with the set-up can anyone confirm that the solution detailed in the guide works over the internet and not only within a LAN?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Or wait for Leopard, as I am so that I can control/clean up my parents iMac. Leopard is supposed to have it built in, formerly as a iChat feature, now elsewhere in Leopard
 
T

thegrifman

macrumors regular
Nov 8, 2006
161
1
Kennesaw, GA
newmacuser13 said:
Or wait for Leopard, as I am so that I can control/clean up my parents iMac. Leopard is supposed to have it built in, formerly as a iChat feature, now elsewhere in Leopard
Click to expand...

Tiger has a built-in VNC server already so no third party apps are needed necessarily. My own experience shows that TightVNC Viewer on windows allows me to connect to my MBP in full color mode but if I try to lower it then I have problems connecting so OSXVNC may be a better server route in cases like that.
 
GimmeSlack12

GimmeSlack12

macrumors 603
Apr 29, 2005
5,403
12
San Francisco
dukebound85 said:
is there a program to let you run your apps anywhere. for instance, i want to run my itunes when im at my schools labs
Click to expand...

I don't understand what you mean. Run your apps from what computer? Connect to your data you mean? You can use VNC to control your computer from anywhere, but you really need to elaborate on your question.
 
dukebound85

dukebound85

macrumors Core
Jul 17, 2005
19,131
4,110
5045 feet above sea level
well i would like to run itunes from my mac on my schools computers (windows) remotely as i dont always have my ipod on me. being able to transfer files between my mac and the lab computers would also be nice

much like a citrix thing that i use to connect to the engineering labs from home but vice versa
 
GimmeSlack12

GimmeSlack12

macrumors 603
Apr 29, 2005
5,403
12
San Francisco
dukebound85 said:
well i would like to run itunes from my mac on my schools computers (windows) remotely as i dont always have my ipod on me. being able to transfer files between my mac and the lab computers would also be nice

much like a citrix thing that i use to connect to the engineering labs from home but vice versa
Click to expand...

No you can't do that.
 
M

Moof1904

macrumors 65816
May 20, 2004
1,053
87
I've found that the biggest problem for me is setting up port forwarding on my dad's machine. I couldn't find port forwarding instructions online anywhere for his model and when he called verizon tech support, they said that they flatly refuse to provide port forwarding instructions to any customer, for security reasons. Schmucks.
 
dukebound85

dukebound85

macrumors Core
Jul 17, 2005
19,131
4,110
5045 feet above sea level
GimmeSlack12 said:
Well iTunes can do that. But you have to be on the 'same' wireless connection. And the dorms and your lab will not be.
Click to expand...

really? i was under the impression that programs like orb and telekinesis would allow the ipt to have access to media on computer if they had wireless. not have to be on same network though. is that right? and if so, there should be a way to stream my media to another computer, not just my ipt
 
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