Step 1. Move On In

If you're setting up a lot of clients (as in, more than five), see "Super-Easy Setup." Otherwise, make the rounds to log in to an Administrator account on each of the client (that is, networked) Macs and open System Preferences' Accounts pane. Click the lock to authenticate and then click the plus sign to add a new account. Provide a name and password for the new account and make sure to check the box labeled "Allow user to administer this computer." Be sure to use an identical name and password on each of the client Macs. Now open the Energy Saver pane in System Preferences and, under the Options tab, check the box labeled "Wake for Ethernet network administrator access." Remember, you have to do this on every single client Mac - this is where the suggestions in "Super-Easy Setup" come in handy.

That's not too demeaning for your minions, is it?

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Step 2. Seize the Keys

…Or call this step 1A, since we're still on the client Macs. Open the Sharing pane in System Preferences and click the Services tab - surprise, the ARD client software came preinstalled on OS X (10.3.9 and later). When you check the box next to Apple Remote Desktop, the configuration sheet should appear - if it doesn't, click the Access Privileges button. Enable your new user (created in Step 1) in the list on the left side of the window and then check the boxes on the right to designate what that user can do remotely when logged in via Remote Desktop.

You can do just about anything remotely - and stealthily if you want.

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Step 3. Add Remoter Desktops

Back on the admin Mac (the one on which you installed ARD), click the Scanner icon to find your local-network victims, and drag their respective icons to the All Computers icon. To add far-off Macs, select File > Add By Address and type the remote Mac's IP address, username, and password into the resulting sheet and click Add. If you're the type to treat onsite and remote employees differently, click the plus sign at the bottom-left corner to add a new list to ARD's left-hand pane. The new list's name is already highlighted for you to type in a name, so do that. Then select the All Computers list and drag some clients into the new list. As your empire grows and you accumulate a long list of lists, select File > New Group to add a folder to the list, into which you can stash common lists for organization and mass-management.

You can add machines outside of your local network if you know their IP addresses.

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