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I just started a job using a Mac. I also have a Mac at home. The IT dpt here does not know how to remote login to my desktop from home. They installed the Cisco VPN client and game an account for that. I think at this point I need some remote desktop software to login to my work Machine. I looked online and downloaded the free version of TeamViewer. I didn't really understand how to use it. I have my work computer's name, and was hoping that would be enough to login, but I think I am mising a piece of the puzzle. Any thoughts on how to login to my work computer? Thanks.

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possible duplicate of Best Remote Desktop Software for Mac – Doug Harris Jun 28 '11 at 15:32
is the work system windows, and can you check its ip address? you could probably use RDP instead. I'll leave it for someone who knows teamviewer to handle that part of that, if its your preferred solution – Journeyman Geek Jun 28 '11 at 15:33
both computers are mac. Mac at work, Mac at home. – Crystal Jun 28 '11 at 16:58

4 Answers

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You also have the option of using VNC instead of Remote Desktop. A VNC server is bundled with OS X (Leopard and up, but probably earlier too).

You just need to go to System Preferences -> Sharing and look through the options for Screen Sharing.

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I find the default screen share that OS X ships with doesn't always work over VPN connections. Bonjour seems to choke on the hostname resolution trying to connect. Try this...

Connect to your work network using the VPN client.

If you know the IP address of your work machine trying running Applications -> Screen Sharing. Select Connections -> New from the menu. And instead of entering the hostname in to the popup box, enter the IP address. It can take quite a bit of time for Screen Sharing to bring up a session. But if it goes longer than 3-4 minutes it's probably not going to work.

If that doesn't work grab a trail version of Jolly's Fast VNC client for OS X. Fire that up. Add a new server to the list with the + button. Use the IP address for the server. Port 5900. And try to connect with JFVNC -- it's a whole lot more robust than the built-in VNC in OS X when it comes to tolerating network oddities, but it doesn't pass through OS X key commands (like Option-Space Bar) as nicely as the built-in VNC client.

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Go to System Preferences, and select the Sharing preference pane.
sharing prefpane

You can choose whether you want to use Screen Sharing or Remote Management - Remote Management allows you to do more features when used with Apple Remote Desktop. You may also want to turn on Remote Login, which allows you to log in to the terminal of the Mac using SSH.

In case the built in VNC client does not work, you can try an alternative such as the Chicken of the VNC.

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If you can't figure out VNC over VPN, TeamViewer is probably the easiest option. It's pretty simple: just start the TeamViewer client on your work machine and take note of the ID and password that it presents once it has a connection. Then on your home computer, start a session in the TeamViewer client using that ID and password.

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teamviewer is dreadfully slow :( – user78429 Jun 28 '11 at 16:18
I've had varying results with it. I've seen it go shockingly fast on an iOS device (compared to the other options), acceptably fast on a good desktop, and really slowly on a bad desktop. It's still easy to set up. – NReilingh Jun 28 '11 at 16:57

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