Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

gunnar · Aug 20, 2009, 07:07 PM

What is the easiest way to remotely login to my home mac while away? I want to be able to browse the files through the finder remotely and transfer to/from... Do I need a static IP for the home computer which is on DSL?

Cold Warrior · Aug 20, 2009, 07:21 PM

I've heard good things about logmein. I know of several members here that use it. However the free version doesn't allow drag-drop file up/downloads.

You don't need a static IP.

If it were me, I'd probably use a combination of logmein and dropbox.

ibook_steve · Aug 20, 2009, 08:16 PM

Or if you have a MobileMe subscription, you could use Back to my Mac.

Steve

turtle777 · Aug 20, 2009, 09:25 PM

As CW said, LogMeIn is more or less idiot proof, but in order to do file transfers, you'd need the Pro version (i.e. a subscription $70 per year

).

A cheaper alternative would be Searchlight for $39.

Re: static IP - definitely helpful. Use DynDNS.org. It's free.

-t

Simon · Aug 21, 2009, 04:57 AM

Originally Posted by turtle777

Re: static IP - definitely helpful. Use DynDNS.org. It's free.

Seconded.

It's free and their OS X daemon works flawlessly in the background. Fire and forget.

Once you get used to be able to use a specific URL to reach your remote Mac no matter where it is (or where you are) or what provider it is connected to, you'll never want to go back.

shifuimam · Aug 21, 2009, 08:17 AM

If you don't want to pay, you can do a combination of VNC and Dropbox. VNC is free - Vine VNC is what I use on my PowerMac running Leopard, and it's great (don't waste your time with Apple's own remote desktop connection). There are VNC clients available for everything, including the iPhone.

Use Dropbox to transfer files - copy into your remote dropbox, and in a few seconds, it'll be available in your local dropbox.

If all you're wanting is the ability to access files on your remote Mac, why not just use SFTP? It'll be faster than any remote desktop solution, since you won't have to worry about displaying your remote desktop on your local machine. OS X has SSH/SFTP built in.

Simon · 02:42 AM

Why bother with SFTP when all you need is the SSH connection? Secure copy runs over SSH.

scp userName@remoteMac.somewhere.com:~/someDocument.txt ./
will copy someDocument.txt on your remote Mac's ~/ to ./ on the local Mac.

scp someFile.txt userName@remoteMac.somewhere.com:~/Desktop/
will copy the local file someDocument.txt to the remote Mac's desktop.

You can use regular paths. The colon separates the URL from the path. All you need is to turn Remote Login on in Sharing and make sure port 22 (SSH) is open on the remote Mac.

shifuimam · Aug 21, 2009, 08:39 AM

I realize that, but SFTP can be a bit less daunting for users who aren't comfortable with using a command line for file copies.

carterx · Aug 21, 2009, 11:42 AM

I used Logmein.com myself but I'm hearing good things about TeamViewer - Free Remote Access and Remote Desktop Sharing over the Internet

turtle777 · Aug 21, 2009, 11:46 AM

Originally Posted by carterx

I used Logmein.com myself but I'm hearing good things about TeamViewer - Free Remote Access and Remote Desktop Sharing over the Internet

If that's anything like Webex, it would be rather clumsy in achieving what the OP wants to do.

He would have to use VNC fist to start the Teamviewer app, and then he could share the files.

I think that either SSH or Searchlight would be much more convenient.

-t