Back to My Mac User Guide

This guide shows you how to use MobileMe over the Internet to access a remote Mac with Mac OS X Lion installed, a Time Capsule, or an external hard disk connected to an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express base station.

Overview

Retrieving a file from your Mac when youre away from home may seem like a challenge, but its simple with Mac OS X Lion and a MobileMe subscription.

Back to My Mac uses Bonjour networking technology so that when youre on the road, youll see your other computers in the Shared section of the Finder sidebar, just as if you were at home. You can even access the files stored on your Time Capsule or a hard disk connected to an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express base station with 802.11n technology.

Internet

There are two main ways to connect to your remote computers with Back to My Mac:
File sharing. Browse the entire hard drive of your remote Mac, Time Capsule, or

external hard disk connected to an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express base station and drag files and folders to your local Mac. For example, youre on the road but you need a Keynote presentation thats on your Mac at home. Simply connect to your remote Mac, find the file you need, and drag it to the Mac that youre using.
Screen sharing. Control your remote Mac just as if you were sitting in front of it.

Open applications, edit documents, and more. For example, you want to add photos to your MobileMe Gallery while youre at work, but your iPhoto library is on your Mac at home. Screen sharing opens a window displaying the desktop of your remote Mac. In the screen sharing window, open iPhoto on your home Mac, select the photos, and publish to your MobileMe Gallery.

Safe and secure

To make connecting to your Mac over the Internet secure, Back to My Mac uses advanced authentication and data encryption technologies to help prevent unauthorized access to your data and protect it during transit. For more information, see Security at the end of this guide.

What You Need for Back to My Mac

Basic requirements: A MobileMe account
A broadband Internet connection (screen sharing requires a 300 kbps or faster

bidirectional network connection between computers)

For computer-to-computer file sharing or screen sharing: two or more Mac

computers with Mac OS X v10.5.8 (or later), each configured for use with the same MobileMe account
To access files on a Time Capsule, an AirPort Extreme, or AirPort Express base station:

One or more Mac computers with Mac OS X v10.5.8 (or later) and a Time Capsule or an AirPort base station with 802.11n technology and an external hard disk attached. Each computer and device must be configured for use with the same MobileMe account. Your Time Capsule and AirPort base station should have firmware version 7.5.2 (or later), and your Mac needs to have AirPort Utility 5.4.2 (or later) installed. Home network requirements: If you have a home network with one or more Mac computers, a Time Capsule, an AirPort Extreme, or AirPort Express base station is recommended.

Time Capsule

AirPort Extreme Base Station

AirPort Express Base Station

Back to My Mac works best with home routers that fully support either NAT Port

Mapping Protocol (NAT-PMP) or Universal Plug & Play (UPnP). If you're not sure whether your third-party router device supports NAT-PMP or UPnP, review the user documentation that came with it, contact your ISP (if your ISP provided the device), or contact the manufacturer for information about enabling NAT-PMP or UPnP.

Set Up Back to My Mac

Follow the instructions below to set up each of your Mac computers and home network devices to work with Back to My Mac. Enable Back to My Mac on each Mac: 1 Make sure you have the latest Mac OS X software by choosing Apple menu > About This Mac, and then click Software Update and install the necessary updates.

2 Choose Apple menu > System Preferences. 3 Click MobileMe.

4 If youre not already signed in, sign in using your MobileMe member name and password. Remember to use the same MobileMe subscription information on each Mac.

5 Click the Back to My Mac button.

6 If Back to My Mac is not already on, click Turn on Back to My Mac. Enable sharing on each Mac you want to access remotely: 1 In the Back to My Mac pane, click Open Sharing. 2 If screen sharing and file sharing are not already enabled on the Mac youre setting up, select the checkboxes for screen sharing and file sharing.

Important: For added security, you should select the Only these users button in the Allow access for section, and add your user name to the list. To do so, click the Add button (+), select Users and Groups from the left column, and choose your user name from the column on the right. Set up your home network: To use Back to My Mac on a home network, Apple recommends a Time Capsule or an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express base station with NAT Port Mapping Protocol (NAT-PMP) enabled. Alternatively, you can use a third-party Internet router with Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) technology enabled (check the documentation that came with your router), and skip the instructions in this section. 1 Open AirPort Utility 5.4.2 (or later) in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder. 2 Click Manual Setup. 3 Click the Internet button. 4 In the NAT section, verify that Enable NAT Port Mapping Protocol is selected.

5 Click Update, if needed. 6 Quit AirPort Utility. Set up Back to My Mac on your Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme, or AirPort Express base station: If you plan to connect to a remote Time Capsule or external hard disk connected to an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express base station, you need to set up Back to My Mac on your remote device:

1 Open AirPort Utility 5.4.2 (or later) in the Utilities folder in your Applications folder. 2 Select the Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme, or AirPort Express base station from the list on the left. 3 If the version is not 7.5.2 or later, click Update Firmware. 4 If necessary, enter your password for the device, and then install the updates. 5 Click Advanced in the toolbar, and then click MobileMe. 6 Type your MobileMe member name and password. 7 Click Update to apply the changes, and follow the onscreen instructions. Set up Wake on Demand: If you have a compatible AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express base station or Time Capsule (with firmware 7.5.2 or later), or Apple TV on your network, you can set up your computer to automatically wake when you want to use Back to My Mac to access it from another computer. 1 If the computer youre setting up is a portable, make sure its plugged in and open (or connected to an external monitor). 2 Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, and then click Energy Saver. 3 Click the Power Adapter button. 4 Select the Wake for network access, Wake for Ethernet network access, or Wake for AirPort network access checkbox, and then click OK. The options differ depending on the capabilities of your Mac. For example, Wake for network access appears if your computer can be woken using either an Ethernet or AirPort wireless connection.

5 Drag the Computer sleep slider to set the number of minutes of inactivity before your computer goes to sleep.

Your Mac will go to sleep at the sleep interval chosen, but if you need to connect to it using Back to My Mac, it will automatically wake from sleep. For more information, see Mac OS X v10.6: About Wake on Demand at support.apple.com/kb/HT3774.

Use Back to My Mac

After you set up your Mac and home network, using Back to My Mac is simple. The Finder displays your remote Mac computer, Time Capsule, or external hard disk connected to an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express base station in the sidebar, where you can connect to it with a click. Share your files: Using the file sharing feature, you can drag files from your remote Mac, Time Capsule, or hard disk to the Mac that youre using. You can also drag new files to your remote Mac, Time Capsule, or hard disk; create and delete folders; and arrange files however you like. Heres how: 1 Open the Finder window. 2 Below Shared in the sidebar, select the Mac, Time Capsule, or AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express base station to which you want to connect.

3 If necessary, click Connect As, and then type the password for the device. After youre connected, you can browse the hard drive of the remote device, and then drag any files you need to the Mac that youre using.

Share your screen: With the screen sharing feature, you control your remote Mac through a special window on the Mac that youre using. You can open applications, edit and save files, and even use many keyboard shortcuts. Heres how: 1 Open the Finder window. 2 Below Shared in the sidebar, click the Mac you want to control.

3 Click Share Screen. A new window opens, displaying the desktop for that Mac. If shared computers or disks dont appear in the Finder sidebar: If youve set up Back to My Mac on each Mac, Time Capsule, and external hard drive you want to share, and dont see them in the Finder sidebar, you might need to turn on the sidebar item. 1 Click anywhere on your Desktop to go to the Finder. 2 Choose Finder > Preferences, and then click Sidebar. 3 Make sure the checkbox for Back to My Mac (below Shared) is selected.

Important Tips
Create a good password Back to My Mac uses advanced authentication and data encryption technologies to protect your data. However, creating a good password is essential to keeping your data safe. Make sure your password:
Has at least 8 characters. A password can be up to 32 characters long. Uses a combination of numbers, letters, and symbols (for example, @, $, %). Doesnt use words found in the dictionary, number sequences (1234), or keyboard

patterns (qwerty).
Isnt the same password for multiple services or websites.

Change your password 1 Go to MobileMe at me.com/account and sign in. 2 Click Password Settings, type your current password, type your new password twice, and then click Save. 3 Update your MobileMe password in System Preferences on all of your Mac computers as well as your iOS devices. If your Mac is lost or stolen, you should immediately change your MobileMe password (at me.com/account) to prevent unauthorized access to your other computers. For more information on passwords, refer to Choosing good passwords in Mac OS X at support.apple.com/kb/HT1506. Adjust sleep settings If your home router does not fully support either NAT Port Mapping Protocol (NAT-PMP) or Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), Back to My Mac can connect to your remote computer only if it is not in sleep mode. If your computer is in sleep mode, it does not automatically wake up when you try to connect using Back to My Mac. To adjust your sleep settings, go to the Energy Saver pane of System Preferences on the computers you wish to access remotely. Set screen saver locking For added security, its a good idea to turn on Require password after sleep or screen saver begins in Security & Privacy preferences.

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In System Preferences, you can set the screen saver to come on after a short period of inactivity if youre stepping away. Check firewall settings Mac OS X Lion has a built-in firewall, which is accessible from the Firewall pane of Security & Privacy preferences. You should verify that the firewall is set to Automatically allow signed software to receive incoming connections.

If you use a third-party firewall, you may need to modify the configuration to permit Back to My Mac to function correctly. In some corporate (or managed) network environments, you may need to consult your system administrator. When you sign in to MobileMe or enable Back to My Mac, when your computers periodically update their reachability, or when a connection is established between your computers, TCP port 443 is used. For connections directly between machines, Back to My Mac may use UDP ports 500, 4488, 4500, 5678, and 49152 through 65535.

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Security

Back to My Mac uses advanced authentication and security technologies to help prevent unauthorized access to your data and protect it while it is in transit over the Internet. When you first sign in to MobileMe on a system using Mac OS X Leopard, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, or Mac OS X Lion, you automatically receive a digital certificate and private key for your Back to My Mac Encryption Certificate. When you connect to another system using Back to My Mac, authentication is performed using the standard Public Key Cryptography for Initial Authentication in Kerberos (PKINIT) protocol with the Back to My Mac Encryption Certificate. Communication over the public Internet between Back to My Mac computers is encrypted using IPSec.

For More Information

For Back to My Mac tips and troubleshooting, visit support.apple.com/kb/HT1109. 2011 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, Bonjour, Finder, iPhoto, Leopard, Mac, Mac OS, Snow Leopard, and Time Capsule are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. MobileMe is a service mark of Apple Inc. This material is provided for information purposes only; Apple assumes no liability related to its use. July 2011. 019-2111.

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