Tapping into your home network from work or when on the road isn't always as easy as you might like it to be.

 

WHAT YOU NEED
> Mac OS 10.3 or later
> Internet connection (cable or DSL recommended)
> AirPort Extreme Base Station or similar router (optional)

 

Don't you just hate it when know-it-all magazine or website writers drop bombs like, "Just log into your home Mac from work"? Depending on your network setup, remote access can be a pain to set up - and a security risk if done incorrectly. Here's how to get into your Mac from afar the right way.

 

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Step 1: Connect Directly

 

If you plug your DSL or cable modem directly into your Mac, you set everything up in Mac OS X's System Preferences. Select System Preferences from the Apple menu, and click Sharing; in the Services pane, decide how you'd like to access your Mac (straight Mac- or Windows-based Personal File Sharing, more-secure Remote Login, FTP Access, and so on). Highlight a service in the Service list, and click the Start button to enable the service. Next, click the Firewall tab, click the Start button to lock everything down, and then check the appropriate boxes to enable the specific services you turned on.

 

If you don't use a router, all of the magic happens in System Preferences.

 

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Step 2: Dude, What's My IP?

 

Now you need to lay a breadcrumb trail so you can find your way in from points unknown. If your ISP provides a static IP (one that's always on and never changes), simply use that number in another Mac's Connect To Server dialog (in the Finder, select Go > Connect To Server) to log in. If your account provides a dynamic, changing IP, you'll have to note your current IP address and hope you don't lose the connection. Either way, in System Preferences, click Energy Saver, and then click the Options tab. Check the Wake For Ethernet Network Administrator Access and Restart Automatically After A Power Failure boxes. Then, go to System Preferences > Network, select Network Status from the Show pull-down menu, and jot down the reported IP address.

 

You can't access your Mac if it's shut down. (Duh...)

 

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Step 3: DMZ for You and Me

 

To access a Mac on a home network that uses a router, you need to designate that Mac as the DMZ (demilitarized zone)-or Default Host in AirPort Extreme parlance. Launch the AirPort Admin Utility (/Applications/Utilities), log into your Base Station, and click the AirPort tab. Click the Base Station Options button, check the box labeled Enable Default Host At, keep the default setting (10.0.1.253), and click OK. If you're using a dynamic-IP account, click the Internet tab, check the Always Stay Connected box, and click Update. After the Base Station refreshes, note the IP address reported in the Configure TCP/IP section-that's the server address you'll use to connect from afar.

 

Once you enable a default host or DMZ, the router's firewall will let you right in.

 

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Step 4: Router Runaround

 

Now set your Mac's IP address to match the designated default host address, so that when you enter your Base Station's or router's IP address (from step 3), the router automatically forwards the traffic to the default host Mac. Open System Preferences > Network, and select Built-In Ethernet from the Show menu. Select Manually from the Configure IPv4 menu. Enter 10.0.1.253 in the IP Address field, leave the Subnet Mask at 255.255.255.0, and enter the router's IP address on your local network. AirPort Extreme uses 10.0.1.1; Belkin and D-Link routers use 192.167.0.1; consult your router's manual for help. Finally, enter a DNS Server or two-get some from your ISP.

 

The router expects a specific IP address, which you can force on any connected Mac.