ANSWERED Settings for using "Back To My Mac" with AirVPN

[Hellegat 1]

macOS users have an option to screenshare into other computers using a feature called "Back To My Mac" (it is a part of iCloud). I've been trying to use this feature with one of my computers connected to AirVPN but I have not been successful. I was wondering if anybody knows if there are specific settings I need to enable/disable to get screensharing to work through Back To My Mac.

 

Thank you!

[OpenSourcerer 1435]

According to the ports document from Apple, you must open ports for vnc-server. Port tcp/5900 on the receiving end if I see it right.

[Hellegat 1]

Thanks for that info. Unfortunately, I'm not too well-versed in how to set that up. If I wanted to screenshare (from an external network) into a Mac that has AirVPN client running, how would I go about making that happen? At the moment, with AirVPN default settings, I cannot connect via screenshare. But when I turn it off on the Mac, it works fine.

[OpenSourcerer 1435]

You need to forward port 5900 but it's already taken.

Alternatively, forward a random port and change the VNC port on your Mac.

[zero zero zero 0]

I was trying to get Screen Sharing back up and running over the internet with the vpn on and ran into this post, suggesting that I manually edit the Mac VNC port to accept a randomly generated port forward from AirVPN. On a whim, I decided to generate a port forward and entered the designated Mac VNC port of 5900 in the Local Port entry. I launched Screen Sharing and entered the VPN server's IP address (x) plus the generated public port (y) (vnc://xxx.xx.xxx.xx:yyyyy). I logged in and have Screen Sharing running just fine, though maybe at a little slower speed than the more direct method with the VPN disabled. I guess I'm asking, is there a reason not to do it this way? Am I compromising my security in some manner? I'm a bit of a noob with regards to VPNs so if I'm missing anything obvious, please advise.