VNC software recommendations Windows to Mac screen sharing?

[timlarsen]

Hi - does anyone have any good recommendations for an Apple Remote Desktop-like solution (i.e. VNC) that a windows user, say a member of our help desk, could use to simply view (and possibly control) a Mac user's screen? I've tried a few and they're all pretty bad in my opinion. To clarify, it would be nice if our help desk team could use their directory (AD) credentials to establish a screen sharing connection since they are all set to be administrators based on the way our client macs are bound. The solutions I've tried all require local credentials to allow VNC connections to work...

Thanks!

[Hexley]

We leverage Citrix GoToAssist Expert for this purpose, client/host work on both OS X and Windows.

[bentoms · Accepted solution]

@timlarsen maybe Remotix

[mattware]

Use something that has an actual client. The VNC server built in to OSX is absolute garbage.

[timlarsen]

Thanks all - although I agree that OS X's built-in VNC server is limited, we'd rather not muck up our configurations with a 3rd party service that will constantly have to run, particularly since my team is happy with ARD for 2nd+ support. We're really just looking for a clean, easy solution for our 1st level PC folks. So far Remotix is pretty slick looking - although it does not support AD authentication and will require a dedicated VNC password to be setup (thanks @bentoms for the suggestion)

[kstrick]

+1 Remotix does native mac os x screensharing, way more solid than any VNC client's i've used from windows to mac

[jaharmi]

For support purposes, you may want to look at Bomgar. It seemed good when I last saw it.

[cbd4s]

Just tried Remotix. It works great and the connnection is very fast. In comparison, its performance over the VPN network is even faster than the native screen share on premise connection. I think it's an awsome support tool and a must-to-have for sysadmins working in the Windows majority environment or simply more productive to use Windows for doing their jobs.

[ImAMacGuy]

what kind of setup is required for Remotix or bomgar? is it just install the client, does there a server that needs to be configured? is the agent install on demand (similar to dame ware on the pc)?

[cbd4s]

@jwojda From my quick testing, it works agentless just like the native screen sharing app but faster and easier. I basically installed trial on my Windows machine, connect to the Mac using its IP and account with remote management permission. There is no server involved either. No need to enable VNC.

There is an option to install and run agent on the client end and the cloud implementation as well. More details can be found on their webiste: https://nulana.com/remotix-mac/. Pretty powerful and promising. In some way, I think it's even better than Bomgar and Teamviewer.

[mack525]

Look into ScreenConnect as well.