accessing another mac over the internet

[jonnyfolk]

I live in Europe and run an imac G3/400 with OS 9.2. My mother, bless her cotton socks lives in Australia and has bought herself a Mac (not sure of type but can find out) running Mac Os X.something. Unfortunately she doesn't know anything about it and seems to have constant problems.

I was wondering if it is possible for me to go online and hook into her computer so I could do stuff like set up email accounts and a messenger service so we can chat online, and generally go in and have a look if she's got a problem.

If necessary I can upgrade to Os X to do this or put other software on if it helps to get the job done.

What are my options/chances?

[JeffCGD]

Apple remote desktop Allows you to control their machine remotely.

[ElDiabloConCaca]

I second the suggestion of Apple Remote Desktop -- plus, the ARD client should already be installed on her machine. She just needs to check a few checkboxes in the System Preferences, and off you go. Bad part is that ARD is a few hundred dollars.

If you know anything about the command-line, you can do a lot of maintenance and software upgrading and what-not via the command line. You can even repair her permissions via the command line. This would just require an SSH connection to her machine, again, requiring one or two clicks in the System Preferences.

What kind of internet connection does your mother have? ARD works best on broadband connections, but will work (VERY slowly) on a dial-up connection. Probably too slow to use at all. You'd also need a way of finding out her IP address.

It would take a little work, but very possible if it's something you're willing to invest either time or money into.

[andychrist]

jonnyfolk, why not just get your mum to join this forum for help?

[Jef]

You can also use Timbuktu from Netopia.

But beware: it's not always easy to connect over the internet due to routers. Try those applications before you buy them!

[bobw]

Both ARD and TimBukTu will connect easily over the internet, with or without using routers. If you're using routers, you just need to foward ports to the machine, easy to do. Both, will also connect to and control a PC now, the newest version of ARD makes this possible, with the PC running a free VNC server.

VNC is also a free way to control your Mothers machine. You can get both client and server from http://www.versiontracker.com

[Jef]

In the past I've never succeeded in it, only when both computers had a public IP address. Even messing with the router didn't work (but this can be my knowledge problem or the router's problem).

Anyway, if you need to instruct your mother on configuring her router, it won't be easy.

Do you need to connect to the router's IP when it's behind a router?

[bobw]

I connect to both a Mac and a PC behind a router over the net, no problem.

If his Mother has a router, it would be fairly simple to instruct her how to set it up.