Bonjour iChat - how to IM chat inside my own network? How secure?

Hi,

Launch iChat

Go to ichat Menu > Preferences > Accounts
Highlight the Bonjour item
In the Info tab on the right Enable "Use this Account" and the Buddy List should appear.

With iChat on the other end this would then show you "Buddies" naming them as they are named in their Address Book.

To State that another way.
If your Address Book Identifies You as Dr_Vudu in the head and Shoulders icon (My card) spot then that is how you appear to your Bonjour Buddies (iChat Uses that Name.

Now as you mention there are other Bonjour able apps for Windows and Linux.
I ma not sure how or what method they use to Display a Name in iChat (when viewed at your Mac end.

Read this and check your Mac is running Bonjour Properly

You will probably need the other machine to also run Bonjour (As well as the Bonjour capable app) so that it appears as a Share in the Finder's side bar

Text chatting is then the same (Double click the line the Buddy is on the open a window)
Same for A/V chats by clicking on any green Video or Audio Icon (Or using Right/Control Click and the menu that is pulled from the (or use the) Buddies Menu)

Text Chats can be Direct IMs (Peer-to-Peer) A/V chats are always Peer-to-Peer.
A Text Chat will become a Direct IM if you send a Pic or File (If the client (App) at the other end has that Capability)

Generally speaking the router involved does not need any ports opened.
However A/V chats do still use the SNATMAP server so the A/V ports which will be open for any AIM or Jabber Buddy list get used.

iChat will not do Bonjour Chats if the Mac User Account has Parental Controls turned ON (yes this does seem silly)

All Computers involved need to be tin the same Sub net of any LAN you set up
(The first three parts of the IP need to be the same as in 192.168.1.xxx)

They can be a mixture of Wifi and Ethernet connected devices as long as the IPs are OK

This will as secure as your Wifi Network is.



10:36 PM Tuesday; January 18, 2011

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

Hi,

Maybe I should also state it the other way round.

Once several Mac are on the same subnet (Preferably the same LAN at a home Network) then they will "See" each other.
If the Finder's Preferences are set to Display Shares then they will appear in the Finder's side bar.

From there clicking on the Share open the window on the left and connects at Share level as a Guest on the other computer.
What you see will depend on what the other computer has set up as shared folders/Drives etc in System Preferences > Sharing

On the top right of that window there is now the option to "Connect As"
Click this brings up a dialogue box to enter username (Shortname form) and the Password.

To be clear in System Preferences > Sharing is the Computer Name.
It is this that will display at the other end (Or whatever .local edit you have made.)
Normally the set of any Mac take the name from the First User to Set up the Mac.
(I did this and ended up with two computers trying to call themselves "Ralph Johnss Computer" - Apple does not add the apostrophe on names ending in s)
This is how they appear as Computers in the Shares.

The Login you do as Guest gets to see at least the Drop boxes of any User Account set up on the second computer.
The Specific Login can be as any User that has an account on that computer (not necessarily the Logged in account).

You then have the same access to the second computer as they (that User Account) do.

At this point you can drop and drag any thing you want to anywhere in either direction.

Any app that is Bonjour enabled for other platforms should give you similar levels on Logging in.

As a means of "networking" your Macs it is "always On" and only needs the specific Log On to each computer.
After that the link is constantly maintained - unless one computer goes to sleep.

iChat works over the top of this.
With the Audio Only and Video chat functions you can call others to the meal table and the like.
You can Use the Screen Share to Drop and Drag files to the other computer.
You can send files as well with ichat itself (non Screen Sharing) but even with Auto Accept running on the other computer's ichat they will end up in the iChat File Transfer Folder (Downloads).

There are issues though if one computer is logged in using a Mac User Account that Has Parental Controls and the iChat Limit set.
For some unknown reason this disables at least iChat's ability to use Bonjour (they will not appear On line/Pop up in your Buddy List).

There is also a Screen Sharing app in Leopard and Snow Leopard.
It is stored in the System/Library/Core Service folder

It can be launched directly or by using the Finder's Go Menu > Go to server and typing VNC:// instead of AFP or SMB
You then get a Pop up dialogue box to log on as a User on the other computer.

This does not have the Audio Chat alongside like iChat does and if there are two Displays at the other end you can choose to view one or the other or both.
It gives you the same access as that User on that computer has.

I have not tried this to another VNC client on a PC (And I don't have a Linux computer)



9:26 PM Monday; February 14, 2011

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"