Remote Desktop recommendations for Mac

Anyone have a recommended solution for remote desktop to a Mac Mini from outside the local network? I'm debating leaving my Indigo installation up and running on a rental property. However, I'd like to be able to remote desktop in order to update software (Indigo and other mac os updates/etc).. I use the local network screen sharing for Mac OS which works great.. Just need something reasonably secure and reliable for Mac OS. BTW I'm ok with some cost as well if it's turnkey.

I actually tried a setup with Cloudflare Zerotrust and a supported VNC browser solution. It worked for a while and then broke without any warning. This option may be too much fiddling for me.

Anyone have a recommended solution for remote desktop to a Mac Mini from outside the local network? I'm debating leaving my Indigo installation up and running on a rental property. However, I'd like to be able to remote desktop in order to update software (Indigo and other mac os updates/etc).. I use the local network screen sharing for Mac OS which works great.. Just need something reasonably secure and reliable for Mac OS. BTW I'm ok with some cost as well if it's turnkey.

I actually tried a setup with Cloudflare Zerotrust and a supported VNC browser solution. It worked for a while and then broke without any warning. This option may be too much fiddling for me.

I use Chrome Remote Desktop which allows me to access it from anywhere using my gmail account over the web.

jeez that 'Chrome Remote Destktop' setup was so painless.. Thanks @ryanbuckner! BTW - in your experience so far, any issues or lessons learned using this solution?

If it’s of any interest I use Screens which is a fairly nicely supported Mac specific app and back end (vnc based) which works for me. Just in case you prefer to keep google at arms length..


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I second Screens.


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I use AnyDesk
It is free
Does not require port forwarding on the router


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I use Splashtop which is free for personal use and vpn into my network with unifi router so I don’t rely on Splashtop’s own external connections.

While not exactly the same thing, I use a VPN with my Unifi system and then use the Indigo client app or Apple's VNC client depending on what I'm looking to do.

Even with screens, I use the same approach: Unifi VPN.

Screens us just a nicer application the the stock Mac VNC client.


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Yeah I sometimes use Splashtop locally rather than apples vnc.
However when remote I’m either on iPhone or iPad so apples solution isn’t an option.

While not exactly the same thing, I use a VPN with my Unifi system and then use the Indigo client app or Apple's VNC client depending on what I'm looking to do.

Exactly the same. The biggest pain is that I've so far failed to get host names on my local network to propagate through the VPN to the remote machine, which means finding the IP address for the target machine before I can connect to it.

If you've solved that , I'd love to know how!

I don’t understand

With vpn you are in the local home network and then all the ip numbers are local and constant.

So my mac is at …50,
rpi at …20
Etc

??!!

Karl


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Exactly the same. The biggest pain is that I've so far failed to get host names on my local network to propagate through the VPN to the remote machine, which means finding the IP address for the target machine before I can connect to it.

If you've solved that , I'd love to know how!

I guess I never noticed that. I'll have to play around with it some time.

With vpn you are in the local home network and then all the ip numbers are local and constant.

I think what @MartinG means is a name set in the HOSTS file, like:

Code: Select all

10.0.1.123     indigo-server

where referencing `indigo-server` doesn't work over VPN like it does when attached locally.

It's not a free option but I use Jump Desktop on the MBP & iPad with my new Synology router's built-in VPN for access to a headless Indigo MacMini and Windows PC. The VPN has its own Remote Desktop app too, but I prefer to use Jump.

With vpn you are in the local home network and then all the ip numbers are local and constant.

I think what @MartinG means is a name set in the HOSTS file, like:

Code: Select all

10.0.1.123     indigo-server

where referencing `indigo-server` doesn't work over VPN like it does when attached locally.[/quote]

At risk of hijacking the thread... almost, but not quite. Some of my devices are on static IP addresses, so I 'just know' where to find them. But many (eg laptops, phones) are dynamically assigned, so their IP addresses do change occasionally. That means I can't just edit a hosts file (and don't want to, because ... yet another thing to maintain). But hostnames don't propagate from the LAN to the VPN, so I have to go find the dynamically assigned IP address some other way before I can connect to the 'floating' devices.