Is there a service like GoToMyPC for the
Mac?
GoToMyPC is a program and a web site that lets you remote control your Windows
PC using any web browser. So if you were on a trip to France and used a
PC in an internet cafe or a friend's house, you could bring up your PC's desktop
and check your email or do anything you could do if you were sitting in front
of it.
GoToMyPC is a lot like VNC, except that it bypasses non-routable IPs and firewalls.
The GoToMyPC website talks to the GoToMyPC software on your PC and makes
the connection.
In 2005 Citrix was rumoured to be porting GoToMyPC to the Mac, but as of 2007
no such luck.
• Apple Remote Desktop or ARD ($299) is available from Apple, but it doesn't
work thru NAT. You would need the ARD client or a VNC client, and UDP port
3283 needs to be open on the firewall. If your mac had a routable IP address
this could work, and you wouldn't need to subscribe to a service like GoToMyPC.
• Symantec pcAnywhere 12.0 ($192) supports Macs. You need the pcAnywhere
Access Server to bypass NAT or Firewalls, but this includes a Web Remote feature
that lets you access your machine from any web browser ($399 for up to 25 computers).
It supports Windows (up to Vista), OS X, and Linux.
• Logmein has a demo mac version. It works from any browser and supports
unlimited computers. Advanced features like file transfer require a monthly
subscription.
• MacHelpMate offers screen-sharing. It's intended for consultants
to buy for $600/year to do remote support for OS X, but the demo is fully functioning
and free. Be careful to Disable any connection you make in www.autohelpmate.com
after you finish or you may have trouble connecting later on. Do you have
to contact them to reset things?
• Do-It-Yourself with any VNC server for OS X. Set your firewall/NAT
router to port forward TCP 5900 (VNC client) and TCP 5800 (Java applet client)
to the OS X machine you want to remote control. If you have a static IP
on your router, you're done. Put the VNC Java Applet on a web page (like
the web space you get from your ISP) and then call up that web page when your
on-the-go and connect back to your static IP at port 5800. If your IP is
dynamic, you either need to subscribe to a Dynamic DNS service, like no-ip.com
(free to $24.95+/year), and put a dynDNS client on your Mac to upload your current
IP to the service. Most SOHO firewalls and routers have dynamic DNS support
built-in. Or, write/get a script to upload your dynamic IP to a web page
with a secret URL and us cron to run it every 15 minutes. Then you can use
the VNC viewer Java applet with the IP address uploaded to the secret URL to connect
to your home machine's current dynamic IP. Easy as that!
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