Help Desk

Apple Remote Desktop Client Configuration

IT may occasionally offer to remotely help staff with their computers using screen sharing software like Apple Remote Desktop. This article describes Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) setup on the client computer as well as some options for the software and privacy tools.

Enabling Apple Remote Desktop on the client computer

1. Go to the Apple menu and select System Preferences.
2. Click the Sharing icon.
3. Click the checkbox to the left of "Remote Management."
4. Click every checkbox in the dropdown window that appears and click OK. These options can be changed in the future by selecting the "Options…" button in the lower right corner of Sharing preferences when Remote Management is highlighted.
5. "Allow Access" to the right should be set to "All users." The client computer should now be visible to the ARD administrative program.

Note: The user can optionally uncheck "Remote Management" in the list of sharing services in order to insure privacy. 

Notification when an ARD administrator is viewing the computer

1. Go to the Apple menu and select System Preferences.
2. Click the Sharing icon.
3. Select Remote Management.
4. Click the "Computer Settings…" button to the right.
5. In the window that appears, check "Show Remote Management status in menu bar". 
6. A binoculars icon will appear in the upper right near the clock. When an ARD admin views the screen, a boxlike screen will appear around the binoculars.