LogMeIn recently discontinued their free remote desktop access program, but TeamViewer is still around and offering this feature for free. If you want to connect over the Internet from another device, we recommend you use one of the below, easy-to-use alternatives to Screen Sharing. We don’t recommend this unless you know what you’re doing, as it’s more complicated and there are security concerns. If you want to connect to your Mac from anything that isn’t a Mac, you’ll need to forward ports to ensure the VNC is accessible.

When you use another Mac and you’re logged into the same iCloud account, your other Mac will appear under the Shared section of the sidebar in Finder, and you can connect to its screen over the Internet.

Open the System Preferences window, click the iCloud icon, check Use Back to My Mac, and go through the setup process. If you have another Mac, you can set up Screen Sharing to work over the Internet without needing any other software. If you don’t set up a password, you’ll have to agree to a confirmation dialog on the Mac every time you want to control it remotely. If you don’t have a Mac or want to use another VNC client, you can connect to the IP address displayed here. Bear in mind that the IP address displayed above is likely an internal IP address where your Mac can be found on your local network, which means you can’t access it over the Internet without forwarding ports.Ĭlick the Computer Settings button to set a password. If you have another Mac on the local network, you can open a Finder window, look in the Shared section of the sidebar, select the computer you want to control, and click Share Screen. This control panel will inform you how you can connect. Click the Sharing icon in the System Preferences window and enable the Screen Sharing checkbox. To enable screen sharing, click the Apple icon on the menu bar at the top of your screen and select System Preferences. This means that you can use standard VNC clients to control your Mac, and VNC clients are available for all platforms. Your Mac contains a built-in Screen Sharing feature, which is essentially a VNC server with some extra features.

Desktop remote control for mac