You can control multiple Macs from a single computer either locally or virtually over the Internet. It is easy and free. Best of all, it is platform independent, so if you want to control your Mac using a PC or Linux based computer you can (provided you can find a VNC client for your computer.) In this example, we will assume you are using a Mac to control a Mac.

First off, MacOS X has a built in firewall. You will need to turn it off to make this work.

1. Go to the Blue Apple Menu
2. Choose System Preferences
3. Choose Sharing
4. Choose the Firewall tab and turn it off

Secondly, you need to allow for Remote Desktop access on your target computer.

1. In Sharing, choose the Services tab
2. Check off Apple Remote Desktop
3. Enable an Account that will be allowed to access the computer remotely (hint, you need to click on the access privileges button and assign a password)
4. Close Sharing

Next, you need a VNC client. Some cost more or less money. For this purpose we will choose Chicken of the VNC, a free open source VNC client. You can download Chicken of the VNC at http://sourceforge.net/projects/cotvnc/.

Once you have Chicken loaded on your computer, fire it up

1. Open Chicken of the VNC
2. Under Connection, choose Listen for Server (if you are trying to access locally)
3. Your computer should appear in the VNC Login window
4. Choose your computer and enter your password for the account enabled in the second set of instructions
5. It should pop open your remote desktop.

I'll post the instructions for accessing your computer over the Internet later.

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