Administration software

To remove the administrator software:

1. Drag the Remote Desktop application to the Trash.
2. Empty the Trash.
3. Delete the ARD database from /var/db/RemoteManagement/ by executing these commands in Terminal:
   
   sudo rm -rf /var/db/RemoteManagement
   sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.RemoteDesktop.plist
   rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.RemoteDesktop.plist
   
   For Apple Remote Desktop 3, run these commands in Terminal as well:
   
   sudo rm -r /Library/Application\ Support/Apple/Remote\ Desktop/
   rm -r ~/Library/Application\ Support/Remote\ Desktop/

Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4 clients

Normally, you should not try to remove Apple Remote Desktop from Mac OS X 10.3 or later clients, because it is an integral part of the operating system. Simply disable the client in Sharing preferences, if desired.

However, if you installed Apple Remote Desktop 3 (admin or client) and wish to revert to Apple Remote Desktop 2, use the Terminal commands listed below in the 10.2 section, then reinstall Apple Remote Desktop 2.

Mac OS X 10.2 clients

To disable Apple Remote Desktop client software:

1. On the client computer, open System Preferences and click Remote Desktop. If necessary, click the lock button to authenticate as an administrator of that computer.
2. Deselect "Make Apple Remote Desktop active on this computer."
3. Deselect the checkbox of each account that was enabled for ARD. (Alternatively, you can open Terminal and use the kill command to stop the ARDHelper process, followed by the ARDAgent process.)

To Remove Apple Remote Desktop, execute these commands in Terminal:

sudo rm -rf /System/Library/CoreServices/Menu\ Extras/RemoteDesktop.menu
sudo rm -rf /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/
sudo rm -rf /System/Library/PreferencePanes/ARDPref.prefPane
sudo rm -rf /System/Library/StartupItems/RemoteDesktopAgent/
sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.ARDAgent.plist
sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.RemoteManagement.plist