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Screen sharing (VNC) without iChat?

S

shamanskyh

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 16, 2009
43
0
I know that Leopard has a screensharing utility built in (in the coreservices folder) or by going to Go>Connect to Server>vnc://---------- in the Finder menu, but I would like to know what IP I type into the box (I would like to share with someone not on my local network). I'm not an expert in networking, but I'm pretty good with computers, so you can use technical terms.

Thanks for any replies!
 
If you don't know how to get IP, there are few simple options

- LogMeIn
- Apple's Mobile Me which has a service called "back to my mac".
 
I just use Logmein.com to avoid having to know the address when I'm outside the local network. There are ways to have the machine post it's address somewhere so that you can VNC in (you need to have port forwarding setup in the router). Logmein.com is free and just handles all of this for you...
 
I use Logmein for my laptop, parents mac and my work PC. I like it because all you need is a browser. The only downside is the free client can not print to a local printer and you can not move files between machines. But other than that, it works really nice without and network know how.
 
ok, but...

I've tried LogMeIn in the past and it was okay, but I'm still curious. Let's assume that I know the other users public and private IP. What address would I type into Screen Sharing.app? Do I need to put a port in too?
 
I took a look at that, but I was hoping for an easier solution. (Still, thank you for the reply, you're probably right)

I was really hoping to just be able to specify only public ip and private ip -- I even tried PUBLIC:pRIVATE but that didn't work. Anyone have any suggestions?
 
UPDATE: I did some more research and found that the most recent poster (that wasn't me) was completely correct. It's too bad that there isn't an easier way of doing this, but it still has me wondering how iChat is able to do it.

Thanks to everyone who replied!!!:):)
 
iChat has a direct pipe to your IP (machine) from their server. So, they can manage that link from 2 clients and know all of the IP addresses. Logmein.com works the same way with the client establishing the link with their server on each side. In any case, I find Logmein.com to be the easiest way without having to fool with IP addresses and port forwarding.
 
Curious... I'm not aware of a way to do this with iChat -- doesn't mean it's not possible though. Good luck!
 
shamanskyh said:
my main reason for choosing Screen Sharing.app over iChat was the extra options in the toolbar you could enable through a terminal command. (http://www.usingmac.com/2008/1/3/killer-leopard-trick-finder-screen-sharing) Is there any way to do this (especially the curtain function) in iChat?
Click to expand...

I'm a bit late to the party, but...

Those extra options were killed by one of the 10.5.x updates. I was sad to see them go.

iChat uses Universal Plug N Play (UPNP) which is not such a wonderful thing to have enabled if you're security paranoid. Logmein requires a downloaded app to run on the host computer, so it's not much better than setting up NAT ports, just a bit simpler.

I use Screen Sharing locally because it's much faster than any of the other VNC apps I've seen. Otherwise I use Chicken of the VNC or Jaadu on the iphone. I use dyndns.org to track my IP address, and then I just enter hostname.dyndns.org in the address field. It's always a good idea to use a password and a port other than 5900 (even 5901 is better).

I'm using VNC to run a headless Mini that I use as a print, security camera , and media server to relieve the load from my Mac Pro. It works really well, except I can't run iChat video without an actual monitor attached. If anyone can figure that one out I'll buy you a beer.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the built in Screen Sharing Pref Pane (and Screen Sharing app) will only allow connections on port 5900. According to some this isn't so smart. I disabled Screen Sharing run Vine Server so that I can define the display port.
 
How about Skype + Timbuktu?

Downside: Skype is free, but you need a Timbuktu license for every machine you will be connecting to.

HTH
 
I use TeamViewer for all my screen sharing needs and I have never had a problem with it.
 
SHADO said:
I use TeamViewer for all my screen sharing needs and I have never had a problem with it.
Click to expand...

+1

also +1 for LogMeIn.

i like the client apps for TeamViewer, but I also like the HTML version of LogMeIn because if the computer is on then you can login, with TeamViewer you always need to open the app.
 
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