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Remote Access Services

How to Set up VNC on a Mac and Fix Common Issues

Last Updated: March 21, 2024 Fact Checked

Enabling VNC

Connecting with vnc, troubleshooting.

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA . Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,226,497 times. Learn more...

Connecting to a Mac with VNC lets you log in remotely and control the desktop. To use VNC, you'll need to enable it on the Mac that's accepting connections (the host), which is easy with macOS's built-in Screen Sharing and Remote Management tools. This wikiHow guide teaches you how to set up VNC on a Mac and log in remotely using a VNC viewer on any device.

Quick Steps

Open System Settings and select Sharing .
Select Screen Sharing and check the box.
Click the Info icon (the "i" in a circle).
Select VNC viewers may control screen with password .
Select All users from the "Allow access for" menu.
Click Done .
Use a VNC viewer on another device to connect to this Mac.
Perform these steps on the Mac you want to connect to .

If the VNC connections you're accepting are coming from users with the Apple Remote Desktop app, you'll need to select and enable Remote Management instead. Not that most other VNC viewers will not work if Remote Management is enabled, and you cannot enable Screen Sharing and Remote Management at the same time. [2] X Research source
Check the box next to VNC viewers may control screen with password , then create a unique password others can use to connect to this Mac. For the Screen Sharing option, which is used by most VNC viewers, this is the only option others can use to connect to this Mac.
If you want to allow those who connect with a VNC viewer to also control your Mac's screen, check the box next to "Anyone may request permission to control screen" as well.
If you're using Screen Sharing so non-Mac devices can connect with VNC, select All users from the "Allow access for" menu—this allows people to connect via VNC using the password you set.
If you're using Remote Management, you can choose Only these users to select specific user accounts that can connect. This option is best if those connecting are using Apple Remote Desktop and have user accounts on this Mac.
To see the VNC connection address for this Mac, click the small "I" in a circle next to Screen Sharing. It should look like vnc://example.address. [3] X Research source
On Windows or Linux, try TightVNC Viewer, a free, open-source VNC viewer that makes it easy to connect to a Mac with VNC. [4] X Research source
You can also try RealVNC , a VNC Viewer that works on Windows, Mac, Linux, Raspberry Pi , iOS, and Android. The Lite version is free for personal use. [5] X Research source
Remote Ripple is another free VNC viewer that works on Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone, and iPad. [6] X Research source

Step 2 Enter the address of the Mac you want to connect to.

1 Check the firewall settings on the server Mac. TCP port 5900 must be open for a Mac to accept VNC connections. [7] X Research source If it's not open, nobody will be able to connect with their VNC viewer.
On the VNC server, go to Apple menu > System Settings > Sharing , remove the checkmark next to "Remote Management" if present, and then check the box next to "Screen Sharing."
If you set up your connection preferences for Remote Management (allowed users, passwords, etc.), you'll need to set them up again for Screen Sharing.
In some cases, your VNC viewer may actually require Remote Management instead of Screen Sharing. In this case, do the opposite—turn off Screen Sharing, then enable Remote Management. [8] X Research source
3 Make sure the VNC server isn't asleep. If the Mac you're trying to log into is asleep, it cannot accept VNC connections. You can adjust your Mac's sleep settings in System Settings > Battery (MacBooks) or System Settings > Energy Saver (Mac desktops). [9] X Research source
4 Use a VNC password instead of a user account. If a user cannot connect to the Mac with their username and password, create a VNC password and use that password to connect instead.

Expert Q&A

Remote Management offers plenty of customization options for managing multiple Macs. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
To keep your VNC-enabled Mac secure, only accept local connections and establish an ssh tunnel from the client machine. This way, all VNC packets between the client and server will be encrypted. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/remote-desktop/virtual-network-computing-access-and-control-apde0dd523e/mac
↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/turn-screen-sharing-on-or-off-mh11848/mac
↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/find-your-computers-name-and-network-address-mchlp1177/14.0/mac/14.0
↑ https://www.tightvnc.com/faq.php#macosx
↑ https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/plan/lite/
↑ https://remoteripple.com/
↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/change-screen-sharing-connection-settings-mac-mchl67d5398b/mac
↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/remote-desktop/set-up-a-computer-running-vnc-software-apdbed09830/mac
↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/set-sleep-and-wake-settings-mchle41a6ccd/14.0/mac/14.0

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Tips & Tricks

Troubleshooting, access the vnc client in mac os x & create a screen sharing app shortcut.

How to Access the Screen Sharing VNC Client in Mac OS

The fastest way to access Screen Sharing, the VNC Client in Mac OS, is through Spotlight:

Hit Command+Spacebar to bring up Spotlight, then type “ Screen Sharing “ and hit Return

This instantly launches the Screen Sharing application on the Mac, which is the built-in VNC client that comes with all Macs.

If you’re wondering, the local location of the app is not within the Applications or Utilities folders, instead it’s buried at the following path:

/System/Library/CoreServices/Applications/Screen Sharing.app/

If you use VNC to connect to remote computers often, you might want to create an easier way to access the mostly hidden Screen Sharing app. That’s what we’ll show you next.

How to Create a Shortcut for the Screen Sharing VNC Client in Mac OS X

This is the easiest way to create a simple shortcut:

From the Mac OS X Finder, hit Command+Shift+G to summon the “Go to Folder” window and enter the following path:

Locate the “Screen Sharing” app contained in the CoreServices directory, then drag & drop it to the Dock or to Launchpad

For demonstration purposes, we went with a shortcut placed into Launchpad:

Create a VNC shortcut for quicker access

You could alternatively make an alias and place it in the /Applications folder or elsewhere, but usually the Dock or Launchpad is sufficient enough. It can now be found in Launchpad through search, though unless the app is placed in /Applications/ it will still not be found in the wider Spotlight search.

Screen Sharing app shortcut made in Mac OS X

Now with the shortcut created, you can just launch the app and enter the remote hosts IP, host name, or you can use the common notation of specifying a username (and password, though thats bad practice to expose passwords in plain text) with IP and protocol like so: vnc://username:[email protected]

Connect to a remote VNC server in Mac OS X with Screen Sharing app

This is an alternative to using the the “Connect to Server” keyboard shortcut or the Safari launch approach .

As mentioned, the hidden Screen Sharing app is a complete VNC client, and though it’s not necessarily the most full featured app in the world it is more than adequate for connecting to and controlling any remote machine running a VNC server, whether that’s another Mac with Screen Sharing enabled, or even a Windows or Linux box. There are a variety of Preference options available, including the ability to encrypt all network data between the connected machines, toggle whether or not to control or observe the connected computer, scale the screen or show the connected machines in full size, adjust the quality based on the network connections, and whether or not to scroll around on the screen.

Screen Sharing preferences for the Mac VNC client

One particularly great feature of the newer versions of this Screen Sharing app in Mac OS X is the ability to transfer files from Mac to Mac just by dragging and dropping them between the connected screens , giving you simple remote file access through the familiar user friendly interface of the Finder, if you use that often then this app shortcut will probably be particularly helpful to you.

Do note that Screen Sharing.app is simply a client, and if you’re looking to configure the server end of things you’ll need to set up remote Screen Sharing through Mac OS X System Preferences to enable the VNC server on a Mac. Once that is enabled, it allows you to connect to a Mac remotely and control it’s screen from other Macs, Linux, Windows, even an iPhone or iPad as long as it has a VNC client.

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Launch Mac VNC Screen Sharing Client from Safari or Finder
How to VNC from iPad or iPhone to Mac for Easy Remote Access
How to: Connect to your Mac Remotely through VNC
Remote Control a Mac with Screen Sharing in Mac OS X

» Comments RSS Feed

I believe to connect to non-Mac machines, i.e. linux and windows, they must be running a vnc server. Also, I have OS 10.6.3 and it appears to only allow screen sharing to other OS X machines. A newer version of OS X must be required to connect to non-Mac computers.

The biggest downside of Screen Sharing is it doesn’t support copy/paste from Mac to Linux (exactly in this direction). Not very useful when you have to retype some long command or log file.

FYI in Yosimite it’s in /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications. Not that that’s confusing at all…

help me how to remove the screen sharing shortcut app from launchpad.?

You don’t really need a shortcut; all you have to do is Cmd-Tab over to Finder and hit Cmd-K to get the “Connect to Server” dialog.

Exactly. You can enter ‘vnc://machine-name’ or ‘vnc://ip-address’ and the Screen Sharing client is automatically launched. Works like a champ!

how do you enter your password in the command?

I am glad this is included in OS X for a pinch, but I still prefer Real VNC or Chicken of the VNC

Both are free, here’s the most compatible.

http://www.realvnc.com/download/viewer/

CotVNC has way too many bugs and is generally a pain the a$$ to use. i prefer screen sharing because it’s much faster and has better compatibility with many VNC servers. compared to Screen Sharing, the Chicken VNC is terrible. the only feature that might make up for the otherwise beta-like feel of the program is the list of servers that you can save for future use… then again, i could just save a .vnc file with ScreenSharing and have a quick shortcut to my favourite VNC servers right on my desktop…

in summary: CotVNC sucks, ScreenSharing is best!

xoxo, lukas

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MacOS X best VNC Client

Best VNC Client for MacOS X … or how to remote control a computer!

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VNC , a tool that allows you to remotely access the desktop of a computer, has a long history and has been available in many shapes and forms. Not entirely surprising, plenty of free VNC Servers and VNC Clients are available for Windows and Linux, but the selection for MacOS X appears rather limited.

Sure, there are a lot of VNC clients for MacOS X … but hardly any of them are free,… but why install yet another application when you already have a VNC Client and Server installed?

In this article, we will use the build in VNC Server and VNC Client … it comes with your Mac … for free!

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A little VNC background info

VNC, or Virtual Network Computing, was originally developed by the Olivetti & Oracle Research Lab (doesn’t exist anymore) which later spun off an organization called RealVNC in an attempt to keep VNC available.

VNC is a graphical desktop sharing system that allows a user to remotely control another computer, by seeing the screen of that computer on their own computer and using their own keyboard and mouse to control the other computer. For remote display, simply put, VNC keeps sending screenshots to the VNC client as JPEG pictures by means of the so called RFB protocol. The JPEG compression can be changed based on the available bandwidth – sometimes resulting in very poor image quality when bandwidth availability is very limited.

Microsoft RDP is not VNC …

Personally I prefer RDP , Microsofts’ Remote Desktop Protocol, but MacOS X does not support RDP as a server protocol.

RDP seems more robust and the graphical display or the remote computer’s screen typically are much better. The better image quality is because RDP is “semantic”, meaning: it’s aware of controls, fonts, etc. which means that these controls will be drawn by the client application thus sending much less data to the client application and a much cleaner display of the screen of the controlled computer.

Note : You can get a free RDP Client from Microsoft so you can remotely control Windows PC’s.

For VNC to work you will need a VNC Server and VNC Client.

How VNC works (simplified)

In the illustration above:

A is the HOST computer, which is running a VNC Server application. This will be the computer that will be remotely controlled.

B is the CLIENT computer, which is running a VNC Client application. This is the computer that will control the other computer remotely.

1 is the stream of screenshots of the desktop of the computer that is going to be remotely controlled. The screenshots are send over a network connection so that the VNC Client software can display the desktop pictures.

2 is the stream of mouse moves and key strokes from the Client, send over a netwokr connection as well, so that the server can actually execute the,

VNC Server or Enabling Screen Sharing

The VNC Server is the application running on the computer, or device, which screen is being shared. This can be your Mac, a Windows or Linux PC, or even an Android tablet, or iPhone (jailbreak needed to run Veency, the VNC server for iOS).

The main purpose, besides login and other security gimmicks, is to provide access to the computer that is running VNC server by sending “screenshots” to the client, and to translate incoming mouse movements or keyboard strokes.

MacOS X has a VNC server build in … which can be ENABLED or DISABLED in the “System Preferences”.

Click the icon in the upper left corner and from the menu that opens, choose “ System Preferences… “. In the System Preferences click “ Sharing “.

You’ll see a list of services you can enable. The one to enable the VNC Server is called “ ScreenSharing “, Apple’s lingo for “VNC”, which can be referred to as “Apple Remote Desktop” as well.

MacOS X – Enable build in VNC Server

Once you check the box in front of “Screen Sharing”, the little light on the right will go from gray to green and the text will state that Screen Sharing is switched on (see picture below) – Your VNC Server is running and this computer can now, optionally, be controlled by another computer.

To access the your computer, from another computer, simply enter the indicated IP Address (see also: Home Network Basics ) in your VNC Client of choice. In the illustration above the IP Address is 192.168.1.101 (in your setup this IP Address is very likely different).

Using a regular VNC Client …

When you’re planning on accessing your Mac using a regular VNC Client like ThightVNC or RealVNC (so, not the provided Screen Sharing tool from Apple), then: 1) make sure to click the “ Computer Settings… ” button and 2) in the dialog check the “ VNC viewers may control screen with password ” option and enter a password.

Screen Sharing for regular VNC clients

A VNC Client is the otherside of the story. It is the program on the computer that is controlling the other computer. It’s main purpose is to display the “screenshots” of the controlled computer, as send by the VNC Server, and to send mouse moves and keyboard strokes to the VNC Server on the computer that is being controlled.

There are lots of VNC Clients out there, and strangely enough … they charge money for something you already have on your computer.

Note : RealVNC is free and has a very suitable VNC Client, but why install more software if you don’t really need to?

MacOS X, if I’m not mistaken since 10.4, has a VNC Client installed already. It’s tucked away pretty good though – not sure why Apple did that.

Option 1: Use Safari

This is probably the easiest way to open the VNC Client called Screen Sharing. This only works with Safari.

Simply open Safari and enter “vnc://” followed by the IP Address of the VNC Server, for example: “vnc://192.168.1.109”. Press ENTER when done and the Screen Sharing app opens.

MacOS X – Open VNC Client through Safari

Option 2: Use the Screen Sharing App directly

The Screen Sharing app is hidden in the folder “/System/Library/CoreServices/” or “/System/Library/CoreServices/Applications” and to get there you can use Finder. From the Finder menu choose “ Go ” “ Go to Folder… ” and enter “ /System/Library/CoreServices/ ” (without the quotes) in the dialog that opens. Finally click the “ Go ” button, and in the file list you’ll find “ Screen Sharing ” (or “Screen Sharing.app”). Double click the app and a window will open, asking for an IP Address:

Screen Sharing app asking for an IP Address

Enter the IP Address of the VNC Server and click Connect and the screen of the remote computer will be shown and can be controlled right from your desktop. When connecting to another Mac, you will most likely be asked for a password.

Tip : You could of course make an alias of the “Screen Sharing” app and copy the alias into your utilities folder (“ Applications ” “ Utilities “).

Location of Screen Sharing.app changed as of Mojave

Thanks to Alan: The location of the Screen Sharing app seems to have changed as of MacOS X Mojave to the following locations (still valid under Catalina!):

/ System / Library / CoreServices / Applications

Remote Control through the Internet

It is possible to use VNC remotely – meaning for example while traveling control your computer at home, or control the computer of your mom helping her with her computer. Like I said: it is possible … but I wouldn’t recommend going through the hassle when you can use easier, free and much more secure services like LogMeIn and Team Viewer . No need for Port Forwading or putzing with your firewalls.

Personally I prefer LogMeIn , as it seems less complicated to get started. But once you’re familiar with it, Team Viewer offers a very good service as well. I would recommend Team Viewer for those of you who use remote control to assist others frequently. LogMeIn however, I would recommend if you more often remotely control your own computers.

Both LogMeIn and Team Viewer have clients for mobile devices as well, like for the iPhone, iPad and Android devices – allowing you to remotely control your home computer from your phone or tablet. Obviously this is great when traveling. Controlling your remote computer takes a little getting used to, but it most certainly works.

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There are 20 comments. You can read them below. You can post your own comments by using the form below , or reply to existing comments by using the "Reply" button.

very interesting. thanks!

I controlled my jailbroken iPhone 5s using Screen Sharing app, but I’m having trouble understanding the gestures. They work, but it would be nice if there was a defined list of them. Please help.

Quann Moses">Quann Moses

As far as I know, Screen Sharing (your iPhone screen on a Mac or Windows screen) is “view only”,… Can you post a link of where you got the app,..? Or are you referring to running VNC Server (veency) on your iPhone?

Yes I am using Veency which I downloaded from Cydia. I am using screen sharing app on my MacBook running OS X El Capitan to actually interact and control the iPhone.

Quann">Quann

I have no setup to test this right now (no jailbroken phone at the moment).

I did however found this ( source ), I hope this is useful:

Mouse controls When using a mouse with Veency you have the following abilities with the mouse: Left Click – Tap the screen at the cursor position Left Click and Drag – Swipe (distance is a factor) Right Click – Home button Middle Button (Button 3) – Lock button Scroll wheel down- Activate/Deactivate music (Play/Pause) On the lock screen – You can move the mouse, when your iDevice is locked, to unlock it. You can imagine that the cursor is your finger on the touch screen, you can “tap”, “push/hold down” or “swipe” with the mouse as if you were touching the screen. I don’t know if/how any multi-touch gestures are implemented, so please bear that in mind. I find it helpful to set the mouse speed almost to the max, otherwise it seems to take a long time to cross my iPod’s screen. This does seem to make the movement of the cursor a little more jerky though.

Hello Hans,

Its me again. I agree that RDP is far superior to VNC, and faster too. I uses it extensively on the RASPI and one of the first things I load when bringing up a new Pi is the XRDP server.

I usually use: sudo apt-get install tightvncserver xrdp -y

Have you tried this on MACOS (i.e. the OS formerly known as OS X) ? When I get a chance I amy try it, I generally use back to my mac on the rare occasions that I need to get from my MBPr to the desk computer. I think that RDP would be better. How about Team Server between Macs. I recently had a problem with my firewall router,and the support guys used that to see what the problem was (as usual it simply required tightening up the nut behind the keyboard) and it seems to work as well as RDP.

anyway Regards, enjoyed the article.

Barry">Barry

Hi Barry!

I have not tried this on macOS (I believe that’s how it’s written, versus the old Mac OS X haha). Anyhoo ,.. Not sure if RDP is supported when accessing the Mac. Or did you mean using an RDP client to access your machine? In that case: yes I tested it with the Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac utility (free,and can also be found in the Apple Store ) and it works!

This is an old article but I still believe it works. This is a link to install XRDP (RDP Server) on MacOS. It looks like it works for 10.12 As for MacOS Catalina & MacOS 11 it may not work, may be an X11 Thingy. Someone who knows Mac and is more of a developer than I might shake it out.

Forgot to include link … https://github.com/neutrinolabs/xorgxrdp/issues/78

Barry Berg">Barry Berg

Yep you are right it is macOS…. Stand corrected. I Have used the RDP client extensively on OS X (including El Capitan) & IOS going to a Raspberry Pi running xrdp. It works perfectly, and does not have many of the usual warts and wounds that VNC seems to have. Its a seamless install on the apple side (with the clients downloaded from the respective app store) and with apt-get on the RSAPi. I just never tried to install xrdp which runs on debian/Ubuntu based Linux, so it should run on the Mac. When I get a chance I’ll have to try it, unless someone beats me to the punch :-) :-)

For newer mac os Catalina // Mojave etc. The location is /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications

Ahmed Masud">Ahmed Masud

It looks like in Mojave they moved the screen sharing app. It is now in “/System/Library/CoreServices/Applications”. If you get around to updating this story you might want to include that. Thanks for this article!

There are vnc viewer apps for both iOS and Android tablets (and phones if you don’t mind a small screen). I routinely use the Android bVNC app (there is a free version with nag) to control my Mac mini…

Kalman Reti">Kalman Reti

Hi Kalman Reti!

Your Comment …

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OUTDATED, NO LONGER SUPPORTED - ApplePi-Baker is a free MacOS X application for Raspberry Pi user, - for flashing SD-Cards (IMG) or prepare NOOBS SD-Cards." class="article">ApplePi-Baker v1
ApplePi-Baker v2 for Raspberry Pi
Beat Saber Song Renamer
OUTDATED, NO LONGER SUPPORTED - Boblight Config Maker is a free application to create Boblight Config files, - and runs under Windows, MacOS X or Linux." class="article">Boblight Config Maker v1
OUTDATED, NO LONGER SUPPORTED - The last (for now) version of Boblight Config Maker" class="article">Boblight Config Maker v2
BootCamp CD Eject
OUTDATED, NO LONGER SUPPORTED - Quickly connect network shares on Mac OS X with ConnectMeNow, - a small and free drop down menu for the Mac menu bar, - which supports SMB, AFP and CIFS." class="article">ConnectMeNow v1 (MacOS X)
OUTDATED, NO LONGER SUPPORTED - A free utility to quick and easy mount network shares or setup SSH connections - supports SMB,AFP,NFS,WebDav,FTP,SSH,SSHFS." class="article">ConnectMeNow v3 (macOS)
ConnectMeNow v4 (macOS)
FourCC Changer
MacOS X Image Resizer
OUTDATED, NO LONGER SUPPORTED - miniWOL is a free and small Wake on Lan application, - simple and easy to use, for Mac OS X and Windows, - which lives in the Menubar (Mac) or Systray (Windows)." class="article">miniWOL v1 - Wake On LAN
miniWOL v2 - Wake On LAN
OUTDATED, NO LONGER SUPPORTED - MovieScanner is a free application which uses FFProbe and SQLite to retrieve movie/video details like codecs, tracks, subtitles, etc." class="article">MovieScanner v1
MovieScanner v2
OUTDATED, NO LONGER SUPPORTED - Tool that helps your rename your TV Series video files." class="article">Rename My TV Series v1
Rename My TV Series v2
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New Downloads

ConnectMeNow4-v4.0.16-macOS-arm64.dmg - Click here to download this file - Counted Downloads: 8129 - Last update: 2024-04-10 - File Size: 3 MB">ConnectMeNow4-v4.0.16-macOS-arm64.dmg Date: 2024-04-10 - Size: 3 MB Version 4 of ConnectMeNow - A tool for more convenient mounting of network shares under macOS. This is the Apple Silicon version (not suitable for Intel).
ConnectMeNow4-v4.0.16-macOS-x86-64.dmg - Click here to download this file - Counted Downloads: 5893 - Last update: 2024-03-13 - File Size: 3.5 MB">ConnectMeNow4-v4.0.16-macOS-x86-64.dmg Date: 2024-03-13 - Size: 3.5 MB Version 4 of ConnectMeNow - A tool for more convenient mounting of network shares under macOS. This is the Intel version which works on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.
miniWOL-v2.1.4-arm64.dmg - Click here to download this file - Counted Downloads: 2094 - Last update: 2023-08-01 - File Size: 1.2 MB">MiniWOL2 MacOS (64 bits Apple Silicon) Date: 2023-08-01 - Size: 1.2 MB miniWol is a simple, but effective application to send Wake On LAN to network devices. This is the signed 64 bit MacOS ARM (Apple Silicon) version.
MovieScanner2-2.2.3-Windows-32bit-setup.exe - Click here to download this file - Counted Downloads: 6251 - Last update: 2023-04-12 - File Size: 18.6 MB">MovieScanner2-2.2.3-Windows-32bit-setup.exe Date: 2023-04-12 - Size: 18.6 MB A small application that uses FFProbe to scan your video files and logs these details in a small database. This is the 32 bit Windows version.
MovieScanner2-2.2.2-Linux-GTK-64bits.tar.gz - Click here to download this file - Counted Downloads: 2804 - Last update: 2023-04-11 - File Size: 29.2 MB">MovieScanner2-2.2.2-Linux-GTK-64bits.tar.gz Date: 2023-04-11 - Size: 29.2 MB A small application that uses FFProbe to scan your video files and logs these details in a small database. This is the 64 bit Linux version for GTK.
MovieScanner2-2.2.2-Linux-QT5-64bits.tar.gz - Click here to download this file - Counted Downloads: 2285 - Last update: 2023-04-11 - File Size: 29.1 MB">MovieScanner2-2.2.2-Linux-QT5-64bits.tar.gz Date: 2023-04-11 - Size: 29.1 MB A small application that uses FFProbe to scan your video files and logs these details in a small database. This is the 64 bit Linux version for QT5.
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VNC Server for macOS

LibVNC/macVNC

Folders and files, repository files navigation.

macVNC is a simple command-line VNC server for macOS.

It is based on the macOS server example from LibVNCServer which in turn is based on OSXvnc by Dan McGuirk which again is based on the original VNC GPL dump by AT&T Cambridge.

Fully multi-threaded.
Double-buffering for framebuffer updates.
Mouse and keyboard input.
Multi-monitor support.

You'll need LibVNCServer for building macVNC; the easiest way of installing this is via a package manager: If using Homebrew, you can install via brew install libvncserver ; if using MacPorts, use sudo port install LibVNCServer .

macVNC uses CMake, thus after installing build dependencies it's:

As you might have Apple's Remote Desktop Server already running (which occupies port 5900), you can run macVNC via

In its default setup, macVNC does mouse and keyboard input. For this, it needs certain system permissions. It tells you on first run if these are missing; you can set up permissions via 'System Preferences'->'Security & Privacy'->'Privacy'->'Accessibility'. Note that if launched from Terminal, the entry shown will be 'Terminal', not 'macVNC'.

As its predecessors, macVNC is licensed under the GPL version 2. See COPYING for more information.

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Learn how to use the included VNC application called Screen Sharing in Mac OS X to quickly launch a connected VNC client from Safari or Finder. By typing a few commands, you can easily connect to a remote machine.

Open VNC from Safari

To start VNC from Safari, press Command + L to go to the URL bar, and then type “vnc: //” followed by the IP address of the remote machine. Hit Return and Screen Sharing will launch immediately.

You can use this method to link to specific servers on personal landing pages and internal door pages. But beware that visible links could be vulnerable to security risks.

Open VNC from the Finder

To use the “Connect to Server” shortcut from OS X Fider, press Command + K to create a connection window, and then type “vnc://” followed by an IP connection. Screen Sharing will launch immediately to the specified IP address.

If you omit the IP address and include only “vnc: //” and press Return, the Screen Sharing program will open.

Where to Find the Mac VNC Client

The Screen Sharing app is located in the CoreServices system directory, so you can’t find it through a Spotlight search. However, you can find the full application path here: / System / Library / CoreServices / Screen Sharing.app/.

Benefits of Launching Mac VNC Screen Sharing Client from Safari or Finder
Convenient method to connect to remote machines
Easy to follow instructions

FAQs About Launching Mac VNC Screen Sharing Client from Safari or Finder

What devices and operating systems support this guide?

This guide is only applicable for Apple devices running on macOS or iOS operating systems.

How can this guide help me?

This guide can help you to quickly launch a connected VNC client from Safari or Finder using the Screen Sharing app on Mac OS X.

Final Thoughts

Now you know how to use Screen Sharing in Mac OS X to quickly launch a connected VNC client from Safari or Finder. If you have any questions or feedback, please let us know in the comments or contact us directly.

Download a reliable, feature-rich remote desktop for Mac devices

Access and operate mac devices from your tablet, pc, or phone with realvnc®’s smooth and secure remote desktop software..

Benefits of a remote desktop connection for Mac

With a remote desktop for Mac devices, you’re no longer limited by location or bulky equipment. Take your ideas on the road and let your imagination lead the way with RealVNC’s remote desktop application for Mac devices.

Create without limits

With RealVNC’s lightweight solution, you can complete the remote desktop for Mac download quickly and easily. After the simple installation process is finished, you’ll have a high-quality, reliable solution that doesn’t cost you valuable disk space or drain power usage.

Collaborate remotely

Whether you need to offer technical support, access on-premise databases and programs, or want global collaboration for your next big project, VNC Connect® makes it possible with features for efficiency and productivity. As well as including file sharing, remote printing, and real-time chat features, the VNC Connect remote desktop app for Mac also offers session recording and unlimited multiple-device access, ensuring that remote working will never delay or obstruct your projects.

Connect across platforms

Companies often use a range of devices and operating systems, and when home working is added, it can get even more complicated. Multi-platform support and backward compatibility save you from needing to update your tech stack with expensive new hardware before you can reap the benefits of remote access. In addition to macOS Ventura (13) and macOS Monterey (12), VNC Connect supports older macOS versions up to OS X Yosemite (10.10). Combined with RealVNC’s wide range of supported platforms , you can access a Mac remote desktop from Mac, Windows, Linux, Raspberry Pi, or mobile devices for endless flexibility, collaboration, and productivity.

Fast, secure, and reliable remote desktop software for macOS

Free from frustration.

RealVNC uses auto-optimization algorithms to adjust your connection to your network speed and deliver a reliable connection with consistent uptimes of 99.9%, even in low-bandwidth, high-latency environments. With smooth, responsive connections and exceptional image quality, you’ll always feel as if you’re sitting in front of your remote device.

Tailored user permissions and centralized control

Granular access controls and user permissions support the built-in security of VNC Connect. The easy-to-configure setup allows you to assign individual, role, or group access permissions and ensure that the right people have access to the right resources. Furthermore, with policy templates, you can simplify the admin of managing permissions and easily distribute them to the necessary remote devices.

“ RealVNC ® remote access software allows us to assist e ditors and a nimators experiencing IT problems, without needing to leave our desks. ”

Paul Reeves

Production Engineer

Secure by design

Confidently offer secure remote access throughout your organization with VNC Connect. To protect against external threats, RealVNC uses enterprise-grade security and offers a suite of admin tools that give you complete control of access across all devices.

Security is at the core of our solution – by design, we treat every connection as though it originated in a hostile environment. To safeguard against unsolicited access, an incoming connection must always be authorized from the end-user device on the Server side. Furthermore, sessions are always end-to-end encrypted at up to 256-bit to ensure total privacy.

A multi-platform remote desktop app for Mac

It couldn’t be easier to set up RealVNC Connect and start using your Mac remote desktop.

How to access a RealVNC remote desktop on a macOS device

The first step to setting up your RealVNC Mac remote desktop connection is to set up a RealVNC account. Enter your email address as your username and choose a strong password. Once you’ve verified your email address, you’ll have access to a free 14-day trial of VNC Connect and will also be able set up multi-factor authentication for your account.
The next step is to download VNC Server on the device you want to control. VNC Server is the software that captures the GUI of your desktop and transmits it to your viewing device in real time. Follow the instructions to install VNC Server on your device, and log in using your RealVNC account.
The final step is to install VNC Viewer on the device you want to use to access your remote desktop from. VNC Viewer captures input data from your mouse, keyboard, or touchscreen and sends it to VNC Server to provide you with complete remote control. Once you’ve downloaded the VNC Viewer and followed the installer instructions, you’ll need to log in using your RealVNC account details again. You will then be able to select the remote desktop you want to access from the list of connected devices in your teams. For security, you will need to verify your identity via email and log in to your Mac remote desktop using the system log in.

How to remote access a Mac from a Windows PC

With RealVNC, setting up a remote desktop for Mac on a Windows PC is no more complicated than on a Mac. As long as you have VNC Server installed on the device you want to access remotely, you can simply select Windows instead of Mac on the VNC Viewer download page. Once you have downloaded the viewer and signed in to your RealVNC account on your Windows PC, select your Mac remote desktop and start your connection.

Access a Mac remote desktop from iPhones and iPads

With remote control from iPhone or iPad devices, RealVNC offers endless flexibility and productivity for Mac remote desktop users. VNC Viewer is available on both iOS and iPadOS. Simply select the download option for your device on our website or search the iOS App Store for ‘RealVNC’ and follow the installer instructions.

Just like when using a Mac or Windows PC to control a remote desktop, you will need to log in to the VNC Viewer and will be asked to verify your identity by email. Once verified, you can follow the same steps of selecting your Mac remote desktop from the teams list and logging in with your system username and password.

Download remote desktop software for Mac devices from RealVNC

With remote working becoming the norm rather than the exception, it’s important that you can rely on the security and performance of your remote access solution. RealVNC’s high-quality, certified software for remote desktop for Mac devices is easy to download, install, and use. Try it today with a free 14-day trial.

Trusted by leading IT teams worldwide

"The fact that RealVNC Connect is compatible with a wide range of operating systems is important for our future growth. With RealVNC Connect, we can monitor a digital sign running on Android, or customer kiosks that have a Windows-based OS. Having the flexibility to work with any system makes it much easier for us to say ‘yes’ to any potential customer." - Frank Yoder, CEO

“We immediately realized the user interface was much better for us, and much more user friendly for the help desk team. Pretty soon we said, ‘Let's just switch everything to RealVNC.’” Aleks Nikolovski

“Being able to operate in two markets is really important for our business. VNC Connect allows us to do this without needing to constantly drive between Timaru to Oamaru. This is a game changer for us.” James Valentine

MiPi Support

"RealVNC® makes it really easy for me, from virtually anywhere, to use my phone or tablet to look into and fix a problem should something arise." Matt Ireland, Founder

Massage Robotics

“At Massage Robotics we don’t write programs that simply tell the robots to go from one point to the next. We create algorithms fed by databases that allow our robots to devise new routines. With hundreds of lines of code in each robot, and thousands more lines based in the cloud, RealVNC is a game changing solution for us.”

Wienerberger

"RealVNC® remote access software is proving extremely useful in allowing our small helpdesk team to support staff located at sites around the whole of Poland." Nataniel Zielinski, IT Architect/IT Administrator

Remote desktop for Mac FAQs

Which versions of macos does vnc connect support.

VNC Connect offers support for all releases since OS X Yosemite (10.10).

How to download VNC Connect remote desktop software for connection to a Mac?

You can easily set up a remote desktop on a Mac by downloading VNC Server from our webpage.

We also have a web page where you can  download VNC Viewer for Mac, Windows, Linx, Raspberry Pi, and mobile devices.

Finally, you can download VNC Connect for mobile or tablet devices by searching for ‘RealVNC’ in the iOS App Store or Android Play Store.

How many concurrent sessions can I have?

If you have either a Professional or Enterprise RealVNC subscription, you can have as many concurrent sessions as you like. With Instant Support, concurrent sessions are capped per technician and vary depending on your subscription level – up to 3 concurrent sessions on Professional subscriptions and up to 10 concurrent sessions on Enterprise subscriptions.

How to set up a remote desktop on a Mac computer?

With RealVNC, setting up a remote desktop connection on a Mac computer is as easy as downloading the software and logging in. If you have any questions, we have a dedicated support page and customer service that is available over phone, email, and live chat.

Empower your organization with secure, remote access
Improve service levels for your helpdesk and support teams
Support flexible working environments for employees

Keep up to date with everything new at RealVNC ®

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Fast VNC from Windows to Mac?

I regularly need to connect from a Windows box to an OSX box over VNC.

OSX has VNC built-in as part of its "Screen Sharing" tool, but for some reason, it's much faster to connect from OSX to OSX or from OSX to Windows than it is to connect from Windows to OSX. (I use UltraVNC on Windows.) Windows to OSX connectivity is almost unusably slow, even when the two boxes are sitting right next to each other, plugged into the same router.

How can I improve performance in this case? Should I explore alternate Windows clients? Alternate OSX VNC servers? Should I use some other screen-sharing tool instead of VNC? (If so, what?)

(Note that this question is more specific than other more general questions .)

performance
remote-desktop

This is a duplicate of superuser.com/questions/164576/… There are more answers over there. – Winter Dragoness Oct 20, 2016 at 1:54
vnc-4_1_2-x86_win32_viewer.exe 10.12.200.31 FullColour=true is slower, but works well for me – gregg Jun 1, 2022 at 21:34

5 Answers 5

OS X Leopard with its own ScreenSharing client, connecting to another OS X native screen sharing server, does some negotiation on colour depth, etc., so it's transferring less data.

(You can see this effect exaggerated if you connect to an OS X system from Windows using the RealVNC client over a higher latency connection. It will take a long time to build up the screen output.)

I couldn't find a way to make RealVNC request a lower colour depth so what I did, to work around this, was run a copy of VineServer on OS X with the '-maxdepth 8' option (and '-rfbport 5901' to run it as an alternate server), and connect to that when I connect long distance (which I always do through an SSH tunnel, before anyone states the obvious.)

Products that were not mentioned in this old post:

NoMachine (free)
NuoRDS Remote Desktop for Mac ($49)
AnyDesk (€9.90 per month)

You will need to evaluate their speed for your setup, with an eye to their cost.

Does AnyDesk require to install an AnyDesk server on the Mac? I have tried to connect AnyDesk Windows to the Mac VNC server, but it doesn't work. – Basj May 28, 2022 at 9:02
Their website is strangely lacking in information about it. You could contact their Sales or Support. – harrymc May 28, 2022 at 9:13
NoMachine worked excellently for me! Thank you. – Zach Bloomquist Jun 3, 2022 at 1:12

I've switched from UltraVNC (back) to RealVNC , primarily because UltraVNC was not handling my multi-monitor server right.

I also switched to RealVNC as it provided the best speed. I'm now running 1080p over a 100 Mbit network without problems. OSXVnc was too slow, as was Apple Screen Sharing. – Adam Lindberg Apr 30, 2011 at 19:22
3 Did you use RealVNC on both client and server side? – thomthom May 27, 2012 at 18:59

I found switching to Vine Server rather than the default Apple one made a huge difference to performance.

I experienced the same thing, but could not get UltraVNC or TightVNC to match the performance I expected. I was tipped of TeamViewer and it worked like a charm. The setup configured the computers for access and after letting them accept connections over LAN I got speedy remote control with full colours.

Do note the price of those products went from $0 to $750 – Joseph Lennox Mar 3, 2015 at 23:17

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Safari on macOS 13.6.6 can no longer open to previous tabs and cannot restore all tabs from last session

I have a less than one year old Mac Studio, recently got pushed the upgrade for macOS 13.6.6 and Safari.

After the upgrade, I lost all open tabs and could not restore them. At first I thought it was only the upgrade issue, but, I opened an Apple case anyway. They offered that restoring the tabs after an upgrade was likely not possible. I tried restoring some safari files from time machine, but it did not help. Apple support told me this was expected behavior after an OS upgrade.

Then I had some extensions push an upgrade via the app store. They closed safari and again tabs gone.

This made me suspect the extensions - I disabled/uninstalled. No change.

After doing this, I did some experimenting. Every time I close Safari, none of my tabs restore and I cannot reopen all tabs from last session ( that option isn’t there ) and, if I close the safari window with several tabs, then quit safari and restart it, the tabs are again lost.

My safari options specify to open with tabs/windows from the last session, but that’s not working, and the option to restore all windows from last session is now permanently greyed out.

They are in history, and I can manually restore them, but I’d been using tabs to bounce between while researching.

Anyone else observe this or have suggestions?

I suppose there’s always chrome & firefox...

Mac Studio (2022)

Posted on Apr 18, 2024 8:04 AM

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Apple touts major 60% leap in Safari and WebKit performance

Apple’s WebKit team has published a new blog post this week detailing how they’ve made significant upgrades to Safari’s performance over the last several months. The improvements come following the debut of Speedometer 3.0 in March, described as a “major step forward in making the web faster for all.”

Back in March, Apple, Google, and Mozilla teamed up to launch the new Speedometer 3 browser benchmark. The goal of Speedometer 3 is to “create a shared understanding of web performance so that improvements can be made to enhance the user experience.”

The results provided by Speedometer 3 offer more details on how the test “captures and calculates scores, show more detailed results and introduce an even wider variety of workloads.” Apple says:

The introduction of Speedometer 3.0 is a major step forward in making the web faster for all, and allowing Web developers to make websites and web apps that were not previously possible.

Apple’s WebKit team says that it has successfully improved Safari’s Speedometer 3.0 score by ~60% between the release of Safari 17.0 in September and Safari 17.4’s release in March. These improvements, Apple says, mean that developers can build websites and web apps that are faster than ever before:

With all these optimizations and dozens more, we were able to improve the overall Speedometer 3.0 score by ~60% between Safari 17.0 and Safari 17.4. Even though individual progressions were often less than 1%, over time, they all stacked up together to make a big difference. Because some of these optimizations also benefited Speedometer 2.1, Safari 17.4 is also ~13% faster than Safari 17.0 on Speedometer 2.1. We’re thrilled to deliver these performance improvements to our users allowing web developers to build websites and web apps that are more responsive and snappier than ever.

The full blog post has a ton of technical details on the work that has been done to optimize WebKit and Safari for Speedometer 3.0.

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That scary Safari malware that infected your Mac? There might be a very simple fix

I was recently visiting my parents when I got the dreaded question: I think my Mac has a virus but I thought Macs didn’t get viruses? They were obviously a little concerned and somewhat embarrassed that they could have allowed something to happen to their Mac.

First off: yes, your Mac can get a virus , though it is still somewhat rare. After all, there are far fewer viruses in the wild to attack macOS than Windows, and way more PCs than Macs in the world. But there are Mac attacks in the wild and many of them originate within a web browser.

There are plenty of ways to scan your Mac for viruses and protect it from incoming attacks. Apple even has its own built-in antivirus tech called XProtect that constantly scans for known malware. But even with all that protection, things can get through.

Still, if you’re getting messages popping up on your Mac warning you about a critical virus with scary emoji, it’s probably not a virus. There’s a good chance it’s just an application notification masquerading as a critical system alert.

In the Safari settings, you can turn individual website notifications on and off.

Here’s what happened. While browsing with Safari, my parents either clicked on an ad or were served a pop-up that brought them to the updates-mac.com site. When they got there, another box asked them if they wanted to receive notifications from the site. In a fit of clicking to get away, they somehow clicked “Allow” when asked whether they wanted to receive notifications. That told Safari that it was OK to spam them with scary-looking alerts.

Thankfully there’s an easy fix—head over to the Websites tab in the Safari Settings in the menu bar and deny permission for the site to send alerts under the Notifications tab—but had they clicked the alert, there might not have been. The truth is, these alerts aren’t just designed to annoy, they’re hoping to fool you into clicking the wrong thing or signing into the wrong box and giving access to your accounts or computer.

Apple also has a malware tracker built into macOS called XProtect and is constantly updating the OS to patch any known vulnerabilities. To limit any further damage, you can download an antivirus app , which will protect you from inadvertently installing something malicious and help you get rid of it if something gets through. But for everything else, just check your Safari notifications first.

Author: Michael Simon , Executive Editor

Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He's still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.

iOS 18 May Feature All-New 'Safari Browsing Assistant'

iOS 18 will apparently feature a new Safari browsing assistant, according to backend code on Apple's servers discovered by Nicolás Álvarez . MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris confirmed that the code exists, but not many details are known at this time.

Update: Álvarez has since said that iCloud Private Relay might not be related to this feature.

A browsing assistant in Safari could be one of the many new generative AI features that are rumored to be coming to the iPhone with iOS 18 later this year. There are already multiple iPhone web browsers with AI tools, such as Microsoft Edge with a GPT-4-powered Copilot and Arc Search , which can summarize web pages to provide concise information.

Álvarez also uncovered a so-called "Encrypted Visual Search" feature in the backend code on Apple's servers, but no specific details are known. MacRumors contributor Steve Moser last year discovered a new Visual Search feature for Apple's Vision Pro headset in visionOS beta code, which would allow users to copy and paste printed text from the real world into apps and more, but the feature has yet to launch. It is possible that Apple is planning to debut a more secure version of the feature. However, the code could also relate to the iPhone's existing Visual Look Up feature that can identify objects in photos and videos.

Apple is set to unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10 , so we should learn more about these potential new features in a few more months.

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