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How to: Remotely control another Mac

andrebsd said:
Sure, you can put a java client on the system (run apache locally on the computer running vnc, as simply putting it on geocities wont work)... theres an example in my signature.
Click to expand...

That's cool, thanks. Anything you would recommend for that? Maybe a link?
 
ruftytufty said:
one more thing ...

when I run the ssh command to create the tunnel on the "Slave" machine, I always get

"Enter passphrase for key '/Users/philip/.ssh/id_dsa':"

I did use a passphrase when I generated the key pair. Should I have left this blank? If not, is there some way to store the passphrase so the user doesn't have to enter it each time?
Click to expand...

SSHKeychain works great for your DSA/RSA Keys.

sshkeychain linky
 
beaster said:
VNC doesn't allow for file transfer between the machines, as far as I know. But if you can ssh between the boxes, you can sftp, and you'd be all set. You might also be able to setup ssh tunnels for other protocols, like Apple File Sharing, etc., but I haven't tried that.

-Sean
Click to expand...

VNC. thought it meant virtual network connection or somat like that,,, like a NETWORK but over the net,,, so thought you could transfer files,, or if not, maybe thats why ive never been able to do what i wanted to do, lol
 
Issues with Remotely control another Mac

beaster said:
Once that was installed I went into the Sharing prefrences pane on the Mini and started the ARD service. I also went into the Access Privileges for ARD and enabled "VNC viewers may control screen with Password". Just put any old password in - it doesn't matter and will be ignored since we're tunneling over ssh.
Click to expand...

As I think it is noted (not terribly clearly) in a different reply, Version 2.2 of ARD *requires* a password to be entered

beaster said:
Note that I did NOT need to open up the ARD ports on the Mini's software firewall since this will be tunneled over ssh.
Click to expand...

I don't know how beaster did this because my macs (10.4.4 and 10.3.9) automatically open any ports associated with enabled services and don't allow them to be closed. The can be turned off manually at the CL or with other software (like Flying Buttress), but that isn't very simple.

beaster said:
I generated a DSA public-private key pair on the Mini under my dad's account (in Terminal, type "ssh-keygen -t dsa" and accept the defaults). I copied my dad's public key to the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys2 file under the dummy account.
Click to expand...

I'm a little confused here because I had to create an .ssh directory and there obviously is not authorized_keys2 file there. Can I just rename the public key file or do I need to do something else? I've never logged in as this dummy user, so is that the problem?

beaster said:
Once that is established, I fire up COTVNC, type in "localhost" under the Host: field, leave the display/port set to 0, leave the password field empty, and click Connect.
Click to expand...

Of course, since ARD 2.2 requires a password, one has to be put into the CotVNC window.

Overall, I think this is a nice instruction set, but it would be so much better if it were cleaned up a little and someone could help with the firewall ports auto-opening "problem". At that point, it should be disseminated accross the universe of Mac techies 'cause we all get the-calls-that-make-you-groan from relatives.

-E
 
erich said:
I don't know how beaster did this because my macs (10.4.4 and 10.3.9) automatically open any ports associated with enabled services and don't allow them to be closed. The can be turned off manually at the CL or with other software (like Flying Buttress), but that isn't very simple.
Click to expand...

You're right, that's a mistake I have fixed.

I'm a little confused here because I had to create an .ssh directory and there obviously is not authorized_keys2 file there. Can I just rename the public key file or do I need to do something else? I've never logged in as this dummy user, so is that the problem?
Click to expand...

It'd be easier to log in as the dummy user once, ssh as that user somewhere (which will automatically create the .ssh directory with the proper permissions), and then copy the keys as that user. Once you've set it up, you shouldn't need to bother with the dummy user again. If you have no authorized_keys2 file there, then yes you can create one by simply renaming the public key file from the machine you're trying to control. If you want to add another machine, just append that 2nd machine's public key to the end of the authorized_keys2 file.

Of course, since ARD 2.2 requires a password, one has to be put into the CotVNC window.

Overall, I think this is a nice instruction set, but it would be so much better if it were cleaned up a little and someone could help with the firewall ports auto-opening "problem". At that point, it should be disseminated accross the universe of Mac techies 'cause we all get the-calls-that-make-you-groan from relatives.

-E
Click to expand...

One of these days, if I get some time... :)

-Sean
 
Small clarifications needed.

"I copied my dad's public key to the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys2 file under the dummy account."

I can not find exactly where to put this in the dummy account. Any clarification?

"ssh dummy@mypowerbook.ddnsname.whatever -R 5900:127.0.0.1:5900"

What numbers (ip address ?) goes in place of 127.0.0.1?

I really hope to get this working. Great post. Thanks for everything so far. I hope with these few clarifications I can get it working.

Thanks,
Drew
 
drews578 said:
"I copied my dad's public key to the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys2 file under the dummy account."

I can not find exactly where to put this in the dummy account. Any clarification?

"ssh dummy@mypowerbook.ddnsname.whatever -R 5900:127.0.0.1:5900"

What numbers (ip address ?) goes in place of 127.0.0.1?

I really hope to get this working. Great post. Thanks for everything so far. I hope with these few clarifications I can get it working.

Thanks,
Drew
Click to expand...

Hi Drew-

The public key goes in ~/.ssh/authorized_keys2 under the dummy account. the ~ symbol is short for the dummy user's home directory. Typically on a Mac that's /Users/dummy, in which case the public key would go in /Users/dummy/.ssh/authorized_keys2.

The IP address should stay 127.0.0.1 - that wasn't an example. 127.0.0.1 is the loopback address.

Regards,
Sean
 
I'm having some issues with forwarding.

Which ports do I (the administrator) need to forward, and to what?

Also, could somebody explain a bit more regarding the use of dyndns? I'm a bit confused by it and I found the instructions a bit brief on that subject.


Thanks!
 
I just played around with ARD and Linux (from my work computer), and it was pretty slow (1 refresh/90 seconds), but I tried OSXvnc, and it works a lot better, so if you have to access your Mac from Linux (and possibly Windows), try that.

Should work with the SSH tunnel as well (I'm using a VPN tunnel, so I don't need SSH in this case).

Thanks for the how-to, cheers!
 
asherman13 said:
I'm having some issues with forwarding.

Which ports do I (the administrator) need to forward, and to what?

Also, could somebody explain a bit more regarding the use of dyndns? I'm a bit confused by it and I found the instructions a bit brief on that subject.


Thanks!
Click to expand...

Hi Asherman13-

If you're talking about forwarding ports on your router (i.e. on the "Powerbook" end), then you'd want to forward the incoming SSH port (22) to your Powerbook's ip address. How you do that will depend entirely on your router's software, which is beyond the scope of this how-to. But generally it's pretty straightforward - there's usually a port-forwarding section of the setup page, and you just pick your computer's local IP (usually something like 192.168.1.100) and map that to port 22.

DYNDNS has a pretty good help section if you go to their site. Basically you set yourself up with a hostname and domain, and manually update it to point to whatever your internet facing IP happens to by at that time. If you're behind a router, it'd be your router's IP.

-Sean
 
beaster said:
Almost there! Now all my dad has to do was double-click on that Terminal file to startup the tunnel. Once that is established, I fire up COTVNC, type in "localhost" under the Host: field, leave the display/port set to 0, leave the password field empty, and click Connect.
Click to expand...

You can eliminate having to manually run the script and have other services (such as AFP) tunnelled for you using a simple preference pane configuration interface called AlmostVPN. Ultimately, AlmostVPN simply provides a nice interface to the shh tunneling setup that you already use.
 
Does Apple Remote Desktop do the same thing as Beaster's idea?

If so I'm doing what Beaster did!

Thanks!

Also, does this work with Leopard?
 
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