Remote control of another computer
Remote control of another computer is possible using a variety of software, some free, some chargeable.
iChat screen sharing is the easiest to set up, but has limitations compared to its brother app "Screen Sharing". Both are free. Although there are paid applications that you can use, Screen Sharing is reliable and probably does everything you need.
iChat
Between two Macs, iChat can be used. Start an iChat session, click the button at the bottom that looks like two rectangles, have the other person accept.
Screen sharing
A user can access "Screen Sharing" by starting a vnc:// connection in a web browser or "Connect to Server" window. Enter the other user's IP address. Dragging the vnc URL to the dock allows a user to reach, say, a relative's desktop with one click.
If the person being helped is a long distance away, or abroad, it's important to be able to do maintenance without being in physical control of the computer. Sometimes it may be necessary to ask the other person to assist with physical tasks such as reconnecting USB devices or insert CDs, but everything else can be done by remote control.
Occasionally it is difficult to make the connection. Asking the other user to restart the computer may allow the normal connection to work.
With Snow Leopard, Screen Sharing works better than it did with Leopard. There is a weird and startling bug that allows the remote user to move your mouse around your screen if you enter Exposé.
Some alternatives
- LogMeIn.com is great and allows a free trial.
- Remote Desktop Connection Client from Microsoft will work If the other computer has Windows. It is free.
- Apple Remote Desktop can be used to manage Macs on a network, but is not free.
- Timbuktu has a long presence in this field.
Credits
- Contributed by several people in a Mac-Min email thread on February 26, 2010.