I’m trying to find a good solution to connect to a remote Mac mini in my office from my personal MacBook. I already use ssh and that works fine, but my question here is specifically about being able to access the Mac mini as a Remote Desktop, i.e. something very similar to Screen Sharing app bundled in macOS.
I have two problems with Screen Sharing that I have not been able to solve:
1- In normal circumstances Screen Sharing will request someone on the Mac mini to accept incoming connections. This is obviously not good, since I will be away in my home trying to connect remotely so it’s impossible for me to also accept the incoming connection at my office.
2- Even if I manage to connect with Screen Sharing, in normal circumstances the Mac mini becomes unlocked. If someone physically present at my office were to pry on the display (or physically attach a display in case one is not connected already since this is a headless Mac mini), they would be able to see everything I’m doing and have access to the Mac mini, because Screen Sharing leaves it in an unlocked state.
So ideally, I would like to be able to establish a Remote Desktop connection that didn’t require a manual accept on the remote, and that left the remote locked (so a virtual screen access). Any suggestions?
+1 on Jump Desktop. I am currently writing this on my Mac mini remotely, connected via Jump Desktop to it.
Jump Desktop has included this option:
But be aware that this is a software-based solution Jump Desktop is providing. It may or may not fail without you knowing if it is working or not at the exact moment. This is not me saying that Jump Desktop is unreliable, but if you are accessing a computer remotely, it is the normal behavior that a physically connected display is showing what is coming through whatever cable and that locally connected input devices can input stuff. With the Privacy Mode option enabled everything should work like you are intending. But I would not trust this feature 100%, if it is severely mission critical to absolutely be sure that what you are doing cannot be seen in your office. There may be a bit of paranoia involved on my end, I won’t deny that.
Apple’s Screen Sharing app has this virtual screen feature, but it only triggers if you try to login on a remote Mac where a different user is already logged in and actively using the computer that moment.
What would be nice is if I could initiate a virtual screen from Screen Sharing, even if the remote Mac is already locked. This way, it would stay locked on the remote side, while I am accessing it.
I used ARD for a long time to support our Macs but gave up on it several years before I retired in 2018. IMO it’s shameful Apple still charges money for it. Its 2.2 star rating is only that high because of its long history.
I suggest you check it’s most recent ratings before you decide on Apple Remote Desktop.
