Screen Sharing via ichat. Security issue?

I just watched the leopard guided tour now up on apple.com And on it the guy talks about being able to share your desktop with someone you're talking to on ichat. Sure it's a good idea, but my only thing about it is security.

Could this feature be abused to someone could gain access to your desktop this way without your permission? I know OS X is supposedly hack resistant with it's linux core and all. I know I'd rarely if ever use this feature but it got me thinking do you all think it's be a safe thing to do. And would it be possible to only give the person a portion of your desktop to look at and not the entire thing. Like a restriction.

I'm just wondering about this, that's all.

Yeah I thought about it as well

Cos it shows him saying that you can edit and save files on the other person's computer.

That seems a little weird to me, although it has many good points to it as well

Of course it could.

Obviously, you should not allow just any AIM buddy to share your screen. And you should consider blocking it at the firewall level, too. I'm not sure exactly which port(s) will need to be blocked, but that will probably be easy to determine once Leopard is available.

The same things apply to Apple Remote Desktop, VNC, and services like LogMeIn. They pose a significant risk and should be used carefully.

technologist said:

Of course it could.

Obviously, you should not allow just any AIM buddy to share your screen. And you should consider blocking it at the firewall level, too. I'm not sure exactly which port(s) will need to be blocked, but that will probably be easy to determine once Leopard is available.

The same things apply to Apple Remote Desktop, VNC, and services like LogMeIn. They pose a significant risk and should be used carefully.

Click to expand...

Agreed 100%.

If you're ever using remote technology and handling security sensitive information, make sure it's encrypted.

If you need remote access on a regular basis, invest in a cheap VPN capable router, a VPN client and your information will be extremely safe.

[DISCLAIMER: The company I work for makes OSX VPN client software, but I'm not plugging them - I just know how important a VPN is in these types of situations).

screen sharing in ichat?

My question is this. As a technician is it possible for a user who requests a sharing session to see my desktop? Considering that i'm controlling their computer to fix it?

E.g: You ask me to share the desktop. I connect to you, can you see my desktop? Or i only see your desktop like RDP?

Regards,
amv

If you are uncomfortable with iChat screen share then the other choice which works well is to use iChat for audio and Team Viewer for screen share, which is better choice if the screen you are sharing has an ext monitor as you can choose which screen to see. Looking at a 24 iMac running a 20 phillips on a 15 laptop using iChat screen share needs microscopic vision or Mirroring. Team Viewer has a different password for each session so a bit more protection. My understanding is that screen share replaces normal video feed with Unidirectional feed from screen of shared computer.