What is best for remotely connecting to an MAC

[rimmi2002]

I have MBP and so does my brother. Every once in a while I need to help him with computer trouble shooting. Rather than talking through each step over the phone, is there a way to remotely connect to his mac and fix things sitting far away?

I guess I'm asking whats the best remote connection client for a mac? Any help will be great. Thanks.

 

[GimmeSlack12]

You don't need one. It's built in to OS X. Though it isn't obvious, you want to use the Go menu and "Connect to Server" and then enter the address to your brothers IP. This requires him to turn on VNC and forward the router port (port 5900). The address you type in will be "vnc://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:5900" where the xxx's are the numbers for the IP.

I guess what I'm saying is the method requires a bit of setup but works really well.

As for a dead simple approach I guess there is iChat or Microsoft's SharedView.

 

[benhollberg]

I didn't you know could do that without third-party software on a Mac, that is awesome. I have you used LogMeIn before to help others but it is $30 and I just log in from my iPad. I am going to try to set this up with my parents computer.

 

[rimmi2002]

You don't need one. It's built in to OS X. Though it isn't obvious, you want to use the Go menu and "Connect to Server" and then enter the address to your brothers IP. This requires him to turn on VNC and forward the router port (port 5900). The address you type in will be "vnc://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:5900" where the xxx's are the numbers for the IP.

I guess what I'm saying is the method requires a bit of setup but works really well.

As for a dead simple approach I guess there is iChat or Microsoft's SharedView.

Thanks for the help. Sorry I am little new to OSX. Where is the "Go menu" for finding the "connect to server" command?

Also does the VNC need to be turned on in the router or is this something that is done in snow leopard?

Thanks for the help.

 

[benhollberg]

Thanks for the help. Sorry I am little new to OSX. Where is the "Go menu" for finding the "connect to server" command?

Also does the VNC need to be turned on in the router or is this something that is done in snow leopard?

Thanks for the help.

If your on Finder then click on the top bar and 'Go" is on the left side and "Connect to Server" is at the bottom of that menu. Or when you are on the Finder press "Command + K".

I haven't done this type of thing before but I believe the VCN needs to be turn on in System Preferences under Sharing and then Remote Login. Although I don't know this second part for sure but I think that is what he is talking about.

 

[zweigand]

If you both have snow leopard ( or plain leopard I think) just use iChat. You can ask to share the screen in app.

 

[kuwisdelu]

Thanks for the help. Sorry I am little new to OSX. Where is the "Go menu" for finding the "connect to server" command?

Change to the Finder. (Just click the Desktop or something.) In the menu bar, just choose "Go" and "Connect to Server..." should be the last option.

Also does the VNC need to be turned on in the router or is this something that is done in snow leopard?

It should be okay if you just turn it on on his computer. Go to his Apple Menu->System Preferences->Sharing. Check "Screen Sharing." On the pane to the right, it should tell you "Other users can access your computer from vnc://xxx.xx.xx.xx/". Just enter that when you do Go->Connect to Server. If you know his username and password, use that. Otherwise when you're doing this, click the "+" sign and add a username and password for yourself when you want to troubleshoot his machine.

Alternatively, you can both set up accounts in iChat accounts (using AIM or whatever), on your buddy list, you should see an icon next to his username that will allow you to do Screen Sharing.

 

[rimmi2002]

Thanks for all the help. This is really great!