Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
and the one you intend to use to access it remotely. This can be done
within the iCloud pane of System Preferences. Back To My Mac invisibly
creates a secure network connection between computers across the
Internet, with no need to alter firewall settings or configure Internet
routers.
You can then connect to the remote Mac while out and about by finding the
remote Mac's entry under the Shared heading within Finder and clicking the
Share Screen button at the top right of the Finder window.
If you decide not to use Back To My Mac, the remote Mac will need to be
Internet accessible. This can be done several different ways, such as config-
uring the demilitarized zone (DMZ) of the remote Mac's Internet router to pass
incoming Screen Sharing (also known as VNC) requests to the Mac. Alterna-
tively, a popular choice is to use a third-party Dynamic DNS service like
DNS2GO,
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if the Internet router is compatible with it.
Note that the remote Mac's firewall is automatically configured when you
activate Screen Sharing to allow incoming connections. No modification or
setup is necessary on the computer you want to use to connect to the remote
Mac.
Once setup has been completed, here are some tips to make using Screen
Sharing more productive.
No Need to Log In
There's no need to leave the remote Mac logged into your desktop. In fact,
although it needs to be left switched on, you can simply leave the remote Mac
at the login screen. You'll still be able to connect to the screen of the remote
Mac, as described earlier. When you do, you'll see the login screen of the
remote Mac, where you'll be prompted as usual to select a user account and
then log in with the password. However, remember that—once you're logged
in—anybody able to view the remote Mac's screen will see everything you're
doing.
Log In as a Different User
Let's say the iMac in an office has two user accounts: one for Jane and one
for Gary. Jane is using the iMac to do some word processing. Meanwhile,
Gary is in a cafe on the other side of the city, with his MacBook Air in front
