2 admins

zoranb · #1 March 6th, 2006, 05:17 PM

There is a mac with 2 admin accounts named John and George, they both have the Remote Desktop ability canceled. Is there a way that someone (a remote company admin (root) or anyone else able to see what the admin is doing in his machine? Can a admin account that has unchecked all the suspicious checkboxes be spiyed upon?

ElDiabloConCaca · #2 March 6th, 2006, 05:36 PM

Not in a general sense, no.

In a broader sense, it depends on what you mean by "see what they're doing." Do you wish to actually "see" what they're doing, like where the mouse pointer is, what they're typing, and what is on their screen? Without Remote Desktop (or some sort of VNC process/server), no, you cannot do that.

If ssh is enabled on the machine, though, you can simply ssh into the computer and identify the current processes running under the suspected username. That'll tell you what programs they're using, but won't tell you exactly what they're doing with those programs.

All in all, I think the answer is "maybe" depending on what information, specifically, you would like to gather. Please elaborate on exactly what you're expecting (or would like to "see") and we can help you determine whether it's possible or not.

zoranb · #3 March 7th, 2006, 01:20 AM

Yes what i mean is to have a view of the desktop, like remote desktop, and see what one is doing, where one is pointing at etc. Also i must say that the original admin account was one of the two, John, George was created after. Can this mean that there is a possibillity that they might not be equal? I mean that since John can create other admin accounts and be the "mother" of things, can it have more power over accounts? Say like beeing Root?

zoranb · #4 March 10th, 2006, 10:58 AM

ElDiabloConCaca · #5 March 10th, 2006, 10:59 AM

Yes, VNC will do what you want. You need to install a VNC server on the machine you wish to view, and a VNC client on the machine you wish to view from.

I recommend osxVNC as a VNC server, and Chicken Of The VNC as a VNC client, both available from versiontracker.com.

zoranb · #6 March 10th, 2006, 11:29 AM

can those vnc apps be hidden somewere in a G5 desktop? how can i see if one is already installed?

**fryke** · #7 March 10th, 2006, 11:33 AM

Activity Monitor?

Btw.: Both admin users have the same rights and can do the things root can by using sudo. There's no priority of one on the other.

zoranb · #8 March 12th, 2006, 07:38 AM

what is sudo?