As a Managed Service Provider sometimes you try to accomplish as many tasks remotely as possible to avoid the cost of travelling to site.  If you have a client who has a Mac shop you’ll probably already be familiar with Apple Remote Desktop.  Here’s how to enable ARD remotely on a Mac providing the client has already unboxed the Mac, plugged it in and created an account on it.  They will also need to enable SSH by going to System Preferences > Remote Login.

Step 1. Connect to the Mac using SSH

Connect to the client via the VPN and log in via SSH

Type in the following command in to terminal:

ssh username@xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

Where username is the Account name that has been set up and xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the fully qualified name of the Mac or IP address.  Enter the password when prompted.

Step 2. Enable ARD for All Users

Type in the following command or copy / paste:

sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/Resources/kickstart -activate -configure -access -on -restart -agent -privs -all

Typing in this command will enable Apple Remote Desktop privileges for all users on the Mac.  Once you’ve done this you will be able to connect to the Mac remotely using ARD and customize the privileges to suit the environment.