Remote Desktop and Screen Sharing on Mac
There are several ways to “remote” into a computer from your Mac. This document explains two ways of doing so. The first is Microsoft RDP (downloadable from Self-Service or cloudapps.byu.edu), and the second is Mac’s built-in “Screen Sharing” application.
Microsoft Remote Desktop
1. Download Microsoft RDP from Self-Service or from cloudapps.byu.edu
2. Set up a VPN (if you need one):
It is important to distinguish between a VPN and the Remote Desktop Gateway Server (rdgw.byu.edu). The gateway is everybody to use (it goes through DUO) – student, faculty, employees. It is the way your computer’s information gets routed over the internet to campus. A VPN, however, is only available for full-time employees, part-time employees, and those who contact the IT service desk. Not all services require access through a VPN, only services that function through the CPC-Provo Data Center. To know whether or not you need a VPN for your application, see OIT’s VPN FAQs (https://it.byu.edu/kb_view_customer.do?sys_kb_id=e5253e100a0a3c0e427396a16906 f795&sysparm_language=&sysparm_nameofstack=&sysparm_kb_search_table=&syspar m_search=vpn).
If you know you require a VPN, please follow the steps at the link below to request access from OIT: https://it.byu.edu/it?id=sc_cat_item&sys_id=8bb11a740a0a3c0e28efe64283cf7a8f
That said, you will most likely not need a VPN to access your computer if you remote through the gateway.
OIT will have you access your campus resources through VPN using the Palo Alto GlobalProtect Client. Follow the steps found at this link: https://it.byu.edu/it?id=kb_article&sys_id=09460af4db6b84901f061cb51b9619a8
This is a link where you can download the VPN client: https://gp-cmps.byu.edu/global-protect/getsoftwarepage.esp
There are other links found at the https://it.byu.edu/it?id=kb_article&sys_id=09460af4db6b84901f061cb51b9619a8 link with installation instructions. Once you’ve downloaded the client, AND been approved by OIT, you can connect the portal like so:
3. Change gateway settings to route your computer’s traffic through rdgw.byu.edu
First, follow the steps found at the link below:
https://it.byu.edu/it?id=kb_article&sys_id=bc78ecee4f577e00aa42d49f0310c7d6
Microsoft RDP might look different on your Mac than it looks in the documentation found at the link above. If that’s the case, it might also look like this – here’s a few other screenshots to help you set up the gateway settings:
Click Preferences
Click Add
Add Gateway
Next, add a computer connection to your Remote Desktop app:
Click “New”
Enter your computer’s name appended with Select from the drop-down the “.byu.edu” name of the gateway configuration you just set up in the previous steps
Follow these same steps to add any number of computers to your Remote Desktop list of connections. Also optionally you may choose to enter your computer’s IP address instead of the computer name like so (the x’s should be numbers): NOTE: to find your computer’s name on a Mac:
On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Sharing. The computer name for your Mac appears at the top of Sharing preferences.
To find your computer’s IP address on a Mac:
On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Network. The IP address appears beside the label “IP address:”
NEXT: from the list of connections in Microsoft Remote Desktop, double-click on the computer you want to connect to. Then enter your NetID (preceded by “BYU\ ”) and your password. Then press “OK”. You should now connect to the remote computer and see its screen. Mac “Screen Sharing” Method
4. Set up Sharing in System Preferences
Open System Preferences -> Sharing Turn off Remote Turn on Screen Sharing Management
With screen sharing on, you can see that other computers can now access your computer via the address“vnc://
5. Connect to a Mac from your Mac
FIRST: Request a VPN. The reason for this is because VNC (Mac Screen Sharing) is a protocol that requires a VPN. Follow the steps from the previous section to set one up.
If you are connecting from your Mac to another Mac, you need to configure the same settings you just configured above on the remote Mac. Allow access for “Only these users,” add yourself as a user with the ‘+’ icon, add a VNC password for the remote machine (explained above) and then click “OK.”
Here are three methods you can use to remote from a Mac to another Mac. NOTE: If both computers are logged in using the same Apple ID, the screen sharing session starts. If they’re not, you are prompted for a username and password of the user that is allowed for screen sharing.
See https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/share-the-screen-of-another-mac-mh14066 So, to connect from your Mac to another Mac: Method #1:
Click “Connect to Server”
Enter the IP or hostname of computer (
Method #2:
Hit “Command+Spacebar” on your Mac and type “Screen Sharing” and press Enter
Enter the IP or hostname of computer (
IMPORTANT: When you get to this login box, the credentials here are NOT necessarily your NetID and password (unless you used your netID and password to set up your work computer). These credentials are the User Name and Password you use to login to your computer . This login box is asking you to log into the computer itself, not the BYU network. Also you do not precede the User Name with “BYU\”, just enter it normally. Method #3:
“Connect using the name: Click the Finder icon in the https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/aside/glosc3855c74/10.15/mac/10.15 to open a Finder window. In the Locations section of the sidebar, click Network, double-click the Mac you want to share, then click Share Screen. If no items appear in the Locations section of the sidebar, hold the pointer over the word Locations, then click Show.”
See https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/share-the-screen-of-another-mac-mh14066
If you are connecting from your Mac to a PC, and want to use “Screen Sharing,” you need to go about things differently. I would highly recommend just using the desktop app “Microsoft Remote Desktop,” explained in the previous section of this document as it takes care of the technical details of connecting to a PC from a Mac. But if you insist on using the screen sharing option to connect to a PC, there are ways to do this by downloading programs like “VNC Server” to the PC, which then allow you to remote in from your Mac. If this interests you, please contact your system administrator to get this up and running.
If you are connecting from your Mac to a Linux Machine, there are simple ways to do this, but it does require installations on the Linux end. Please contact your system administrator to get this up and running.