Set up the Mac Snow Leopard (10.6) Firewall to Allow Screen Sharing

If you think Screen Sharing is configured correctly, but you can't connect to your Mac and share the screen, there may be a problem with your firewall settings. To check your current firewall settings on Snow Leopard (10.6) Mac to confirm Screen Sharing is correctly configured:

Check your Mac's Firewall Status

1. Open System Preferences
2. Click Security
3. Click the Firewall tab.
4. Check the Firewall status, on or off?.
5. Click the lock to make changes.
6. Enter your password.
7. If required, click [Start].

Review Open Ports

1. On the Firewall tab, click [Advanced...]
2. If required, uncheck Block all incoming connections
3. Screen Sharing should appear near the top of the list of configured services.
4. Confirm that Allow incoming connections is selected for Screen Sharing
5. Click [OK] to confirm the settings.

If problems persist and you still can't connect, turn the firewall off (follow the steps above to Check your Mac's Firewall Status)  and then try to connect again. If you still can't share your Mac screen, the problem is not the firewall settings.