Curtain Mode Buggy?

Hi!
Is anyone finding Curtain Mode to be buggy lately? We seem to be having problems with client machines locking up, losing the ARD connection, or losing client menu control. The biggest problem is when the client machine becomes unresponsive, forcing us to physically power down the computer.
I found an Apple Support article that instructed users to not use Curtain Mode during login, but to activate it after login has occurred. We've found this to be true as well and have been doing this for some time. However, recently (maybe since the 10.5.5 update?) there seem to be more glitches.
I'm sorry I don't have more specifics, as I haven't been able to identify a repeatable sequence of events to make the client lock up. Anyone else having similar problems?
Thanks!

I would love to do a quick test to see if I can see what you do.. but I've already upgraded to 10.5.6. I would suggest trying to update your Admin system and a single target to 10.5.6 and see if it makes a difference for you.

Similar Messages

Force curtain mode during screen sharing

We have an interesting use case. Under normal circumstances when someone goes to connect to a remote Mac OS device with screen sharing the device's screen keyboard and mouse still work. Most sites I've been to have recommended "Pay $80 and get Apple Remote Desktop". We actually do have a license for it here and use it for admin tasks (like, Hey... let me share your screen and help you out with your problem). However, we have another use case... We have a lot of iMacs here at the office. In the event of a snow storm the user wants to work from home. So they set up an SSH tunnel into my network and do a screen sharing session. Another user actually comes in to the office that day and can see everything the person is doing on their iMac (and actually do things to the screen themselves). Our compliance manager is having a fit because of this. Now, I can't force all my users to go out and buy ARD for their personal devices. Even if we did, I can't prevent them from using their normal screen sharing app to connect to their machines instead of ARD. So, ARD isn't an option.
So, I'm hoping there is another solution to the problem. Questions...
* Where are the ARD plist files and is there a setting that says "Always use Curtain Mode when connecting to this machine". I can probably use Profile Manager to force Remote Management (versus screen sharing alone) and set the ARD plist file to force curtain mode.
* Is it better to use "Remote Management" or "Screen Sharing" to accomplish this?
* Any other alternatives?
Thanks,
Scott

Hi.
How did you fix your problem? I have the same issue where the option to "switch to control mode" is greyed out. I have 4 macs at home with the same set up"it looks like the same set up" and it only happens on my new iMac.
I appreciate your help.
Yvon.

Curtain mode not available

Hello, I'm new to ARD ... running ARD 3.0 Unlimited, created an install package an installed on the target PowerMac G4 running OS X 10.4.8, opened the services ARD, Remote Login, and File Sharing (FS for general use) services in the firewall, and I can monitor or control the client reliably.
I did create an admin account for ARD in the Package utility - this user has all possible rights but I didn't allow VNC or Guest request.
When I try to use the Curtain Mode while in Control Mode the Curtain Icon is greyed out, mousing over says "Curtain Mode not available for "mac name"", and when I try to directly connect via Curtain Mode I get the error "Could not change to Curtain Mode, (2nd line) an error occured on this computer"
Pretty vague, anyone know what's needed for Curtain Mode to be available/work? - thanks - KR

Thanks for your comments Brian - I'll answer each:
Curtain mode should work on any system running 10.4 and ARD 3.
KR - that's my understanding. All the systems are running OS X 10.4.8 and see below on ARD version...
Have you upgraded the client (G4) to 3.x? 2.x is the default installation.
KR - good question, I created the client package via Create Client Installer in ARD and manually installed it on the G4. This should have upgraded the ARD client to v3, right? I haven't found a way to verify the ARD client version (suggestions gladly received!) except the recorded version number in com.apple.ARDAgent.plist - which lists 3.000000 as the version, which I'm assuming means v3.0
Is the G4 headless? Curtain mode only works on machines with monitors attached.
KR - that's good to know - the G4 does have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse attached. Along those lines the G4 has the factory installed video card and the LCD display is in 1280x1024 res. I tried 1024x768 res, same result...
Also, in case it makes a difference - I have the Sharing/Firewall on, Services Personal File Sharing, Remote Login - SSH, Apple Remote Desktop, Apple Remote Events, and Network Time allowed. The Macs are in my lab, all on a 100BaseT hub with no firewall or NAT in between each other.

Make "Curtain" mode default in Apple Remote Desktop?

Two issues with ARD and looking for a way to overcome:
How can I have Curtain mode enabled by default as soon as I connect to my machine at work?
How can I force my machine at the office to get locked (or have the user logged out, or at least switch to the login screen) if ARD gets disconnected because of a network interruption?
The second one is especially annoying because it leaves my office Mac unlocked to everybody if my network dies for some reason.
Thanks!
René

Curtain mode can be risky. if you curtain a computer and then loose your connection; you may not be able to reconnect to the computer. At that point the computer has to be physically restarted to get the computer out of curtain mode.
Have you considered using logmein? You can configure it so on connection, the physical screen disbale (similar to curtain mode). And if your connection drops out, it will lock the screen and re-enable the display. That way you can ether remote back into the machine or sit down at the machine and unlock the display.
unlike ARD, logmein rarely requires any kind of firewall configuration. You don't have to worry about your WAN IP address changing. And logmein has an iPad app!

Can curtain mode in ARD be set to not fail open?

Hello,
Apple Remote Desktop curtain mode seems to fail open by default: if you have curtain mode enabled, and the ARD session disconnects, the remote desktop reverts to an unlocked desktop.
Can ARD be set to fail closed? ie: if the connection drops or the app closes/crashes, then the remotely controlled screen should ideally revert to a locked desktop, if not by default, then as a user-selectable setting.
Would anyone happen to know whether this is currently possible, or if it will require a Feature Enhancement Request?
Thanks,

You could assign their MAC addresses a static record on your local DNS server. That way, when you scan the network in ARD, you'll see them under the DNS Name tab.

Change Curtain Mode Image

Can any one direct me to the image file of the Remote Desktop Curtain Mode image? I would like to replace it with one of my own. Is this possible? Any help would be appreciated. Than you!

You can change the lock screen (in lock mode not curtain mode... effectively the same thing you can still control it oddly enough),
I don't know if you can get rid of the text (unless you changed the screen to white and kept the image size the area of the screen.).
Create a picture using a graphics program, such as AppleWorks.
Save the picture in PICT, TIFF, GIF, JPEG, or any other QuickTime-compatible static image format.
QuickTime-compatible movies or QuickTime VR objects cannot be used.
Name the picture "Lock Screen Picture".
Copy the "Lock Screen Picture" file to /Library/Preferences/ on the client computer.

Curtain image does not appear in Curtain Mode

Although, ARD 3 has been touted to put up a nice red curtain image in place of a lock whenever Curtain Mode is implemented, for some weird reason, all I keep getting is the lock image.
Is it just me, or is everyone experiencing this?
Does anyone know a solution..?
Thanks to Steve I've managed to overcome the custom Locked Screen Picture issue in ARD 3 (http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2221150&#2221150) but it would be nice to see the curtain as well.
Thanks in advance!
PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.3)

ARD does not put a curtain up. It will only put a lock up. Butl the curtain idea is still there in that it will let you still work on the computer so the user can't see what you're doing.
I was at Apple HQ this week and they demo'd this feature and the demo didn't have the curtain either. I think they just didn't implement the curtain image.
There may be a hack to implement it but I haven't been pressed to figure it out yet. An idea would be to replace the lock image resource with a copy of the curtain image resource and call it the same name as the lock image resource. It may not work and might show up incorrectly. (not full screen)

ARD curtain mode problem

I've got a problem with the current version of Apple Remote Desktop at work.
Whenever I activate "curtain mode" on a remote machine and then disconnect without first disabling curtain mode, I can't reconnect or control the remote machine (or login locally) without doing a local hard reboot on it.
ARD is running on a machine with 10.5.8 and remote machine is running 10.4.11.
Has anyone else experienced this issue?

While I have not forgotten to disconnect, but have had a prior version of ARD crash and ended up with the exact same results. It seems that the remote system is locked to that particular session from the Admin ARD machine as relaunching ARD still would not let me connect.
Security wise it is nice, but not being able to connect even from the same Admin system is a royal pain.
What version of ARD are you running?

How can i tell if i am being observed in curtain mode

How can I tell if I am being observed in curtain mode by another user?

If your system has been set into curtain mode via ARD, the screen would be blanked out and there'd probably be a message, or at least an icon bouncing around the screen. It's pretty obvious.
Regards.

Curtain Mode: Client on remote computer too old

Hello there, I'm new to ARD 3 and I am accessing an Intel machine in Thailand from our base in California. When I attempt to use curtain, I keep getting a message saying that the client on the remote machine is too old?! It is brand new and so is all of the software on it. What am I doing wrong?

Upgrade the client software by choosing "Upgrade Client Software" from the "Manage" menu.

My iphone 5's lock button is broken, and i believe its on "curtain mode" siri works ect... but i dont know how to make the screen turn on again

My iphone 5 randomly froze so i used my accesibility button to lock the scre because my lock screen button is broken. After i locked it it wouldn't turn back on. The screen is off but i can still hear notifications and Siri. I dont know how to make it work. help?

See: https://ssl.apple.com/support/iphone5-sleepwakebutton/

ARD Curtain To Windows

Hello, I'm Very Young And Most People My Age Wouldn't Even Know What Apple Remote Desktop Is. I'm Looking To Become a I.T Professional When I'm Older But Anyways Lets Get To The Point.
I'm Using Apple Remote Desktop 3.3.2 And I"m Remote Controlling My Windows Xp Computer. It All Works But Some Features Are Not Avalable Such As:
Curtain Mode
Dragging Files Onto The Desktop
Unix Command
Shutdown,Restart,Sleep,Logoff,Power On And Wake
Send Message
lock Screen
I really Wanna Do These Features To My Windows Computer.
I'm Only Doing This For Educational Purposes

Hello, Daniel, and welcome to the Discussions;
If you only want to connect to a Windows system, you wasted your money on ARD (presuming you didn't pirate the software). None of those commands will work with a Windows system. They require the ARD client which is only available for Macintosh systems. All you will get when using Apple Remote Desktop with a Windows system are the VNC functions of Observe and Control. If you want those other types of functions, you will need to look for a solution that works with Windows.
BTW, it's not necessary to capitalize the first letter of every word. It just makes it harder to read what you write. Capitalizing the first word of each sentence, or a proper name, is sufficient.
Regards.

Curtain vs. locked screen

Hello
I don't see difference betweeen curtain mode and locked screen mode. In both of cases I can manage the "curtained" or locked clients.
Would anybody explain it?
Thanks a lot.

I could be wrong, but I believe that the only difference is that Curtain locks the screen and then automatically puts you into Control mode, whereas Lock just locks the screen.

ARD client disconnected from ARD under leopard after using curtain

I have just noticed a problem that occurs when I put a client under curtain mode under leopard....the client disconnects from the ARD console and remains in the locked state until I go over and manually restart the system...anyone else having this issue

Sorry, I hadn't noticed that someone replied...Geez you would think they would get this stuff corrected...Do you know if there is going to be an improved ARD in the future. I manage a lab and apple tools are better and more reliable but still have a long way to go....
Glen

Can I have access to Standard Users accounts if I am an Administrator?

I run a department with 4 Mac minis. Before today they all had a generic user and a common password. Using ARD I could access all of them at any time.
Its been determined that we need to set up individual users on these machines. If the individual user changes his password, I no longer have access to the machine.
All of the users are set up as Standard Users
I have an Administrator user on every machine.
Is there a way I can open my Admin user while they are logged in? Even in Curtain mode?
Is there a way, I can see and control their desktop without their password.
I need to install, update and make changes to software on these machines, but I want them to have passwords so they can keep their private company email on there.
Any suggestions?
Im running OS 10.9
The other macs are running 10.6.8
all ARD versions are 3.5.4

Nevermind! I fixed my own problem.
Delete the computers in ARD "All Computers" (take note of the IP addresses first)
Go to the scanner and search for the IP address.
log in with the Administrator UN & PW.
You now have access.

Curtain Mode Buggy?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for