Did you know that since version 10.4, Mac OSX has a VNC server built in? It was originally implemented to have remote control and management. Since 10.5 (where Apple Remote Desktop was implemented for remote managing), they have renamed it to screen sharing, but the principal remains the same.

To enable it, follow the instructions below.

Enabling VNC

The following guidelines are for Mac OSX 10.6, but they are roughly the same for other versions.

1. Open System Preferences.



2. Find the icon that says Sharing.



3. In the list of services at the left, select and enable Screen Sharing by ticking its checkbox.



4. By default, no authentication is set, and so, you cannot yet use VNC. To set the password, click on the button Computer Settings at the right of the window. A popup will appear where you can set the password.



5. Hit the OK button, and close the window. And that's about it for the Mac side.

Connecting to the VNC

To connect to the VNC, you need a VNC viewer. Depending on what OS you're on, you are a bit limited to which client you will be using:

• For Mac OSX, basically any VNC is compatible. A free client you can try is Chicken of the VNC.
• For Windows and Linux, the recommended client is TightVNC.
  On Windows, RealVNC and UltraVNC don't work at the moment.