Syncro Mac Agent

Knowledge Base Agents
1

Table of Contents

Feature Matrix against the Windows Agent
macOS versions supported
How to install the Mac Agent
How to enable Splashtop access on a Mac
How to uninstall the Mac agent
Silently install the Mac Agent
Deploy the Mac Agent using a script
Restart the Mac Agent
Managed antivirus integrations supported
Backgrounding Tools support
Script Module support
When does the Mac Agent launch—at startup or when the user logs in?
Native 3rd Party Patch Management

 

Feature Matrix against the Windows Agent

Feature Windows Mac Agent
Native Checks - Blue Screen √ N/A
Native Checks - Antivirus Installed √ √
Native Checks - Application Crashes √ N/A
Native Checks - SMART Failure √ √
Native Checks - Low Disk Space √ √
Native Checks - Firewall Enabled √ √
Native Checks - HDD Fragmentation √ √
Native Checks - Device Manager Issues √ N/A
Event Log Monitoring √ N/A
Resource Monitoring (CPU/Memory) √ √
Agent Status (Online/Offline) √ √
Patch Management (Operating System) √  
Application Management (Third Party) √  
Service & Process Monitors √  
Managed AV - Bitdefender √ †, ‡
Managed AV - Webroot √ ‡
Managed AV - Emsisoft √ N/A
Native Splashtop RMM Remote Access √ √
Backgrounding Tools √  
Agent Icon with Menu - Customizable icon/menu √ √
Agent Contact Form √ √
Chat √ √
Scripting Engine - Powershell √ N/A
Scripting Engine - VBScripts √ N/A
Scripting Engine - Batch files √ N/A
Scripting Engine - Bash (Mac)   √
Scheduled Scripts (on Policy or manual schedule) √ √
System Checks - External Monitoring (ping/http) √ √
Remote Control - "Bring your own" TeamViewer √ √
Remote Control - "Bring your own" ScreenConnect √
Remote Control - "Bring your own" Splashtop √  
Agent Silent Install √ √
Agent Auto Updating √ √

† Requires macOS Full Disk Access Permission at Install
‡ Does not support silent uninstallation

 

Q: What macOS versions does the Mac Agent support?

A: Just like Apple, we'll ensure that the Mac Agent supports the current version and the prior three versions. Currently, our agent supports Ventura (13), Monterey (12), Big Sur (11), Catalina (10.15), Mojave (10.14) and High Sierra (10.130), Sonoma (14).
The Mac Agent supports the Apple M1, and M2 processor.

 

Q: How do I install the Mac Agent?

  1. Navigate to the Customers tab.
  2. Search for a customer and click their name.
  3. In the upper right, click New > RMM Agent Installer.
  4. If desired, change the Policy Folder.
  5. Click the Mac (PKG) radio button.
  6. Click Get RMM Installer.
  7. When it finishes downloading, double click the SyncroDesktop-[[XXXXX]].pkg file to launch it.
  8. Follow the installation prompts.
  9. During the installation, you will likely be prompted to enable Full Disk Access (Mojave 10.14 and newer) and/or Screen recording (High Sierra 10.13 and newer) permissions. Next to Full Disk Access, click Enable.
  10. If it does not automatically open the Security & Privacy settings, click Provide permissions.
  11. In the Security & Privacy settings, you will see a SyncroMSP setting. Click the checkbox to its left to enable it.
    1. If you do not see SyncroMSP listed inside Full Disk Access, click the + below the list (you may need to unlock the lock in the lower left first to do this).
    2. Click the drive selector at the top and select Macintosh HD.
    3. Click Library > Application Support > SyncroMSP > SyncroMSP.
    4. Click Open.
  12. Go back to Syncro and, if it is there (it likely won't be on macOS 10.13 and 10.14), by Screen recording click Enable.
  13. If this Screen Recording dialog appears, click Open System Preferences.

     
  14. Just like you did for Full Disk Access, check the box to the left of SyncroMSP for Screen Recording.
  15. Once you have enabled the permissions, the Provide permissions dialog will change to your logo and you may close it.

 

Q: How do I enable Splashtop access on a Mac?

A: If you have enabled our native Splashtop integration on an asset policy for a Mac (as shown below), you will need to enable several permissions within macOS. Note that these security settings cannot be configured remotely—you must change these settings locally before being able to establish a remote session.

 

Q: How do I uninstall the Mac agent?

A: Just like the Windows Agent, deleting the Mac asset from your Syncro account will trigger a remote uninstall of the agent.

You can also uninstall it locally as follows.

  1. Launch Terminal.app.
  2. In Terminal, run the command:
    sudo syncro uninstall
  3. You'll be prompted for the User password. Once entered, the uninstallation process will begin.

 

Q: How do I silently install the Mac Agent?

A: To install the agent silently, you may use the Terminal command:

touch /tmp/syncro-noui && sudo installer -target / -pkg /path/to/installer.pkg

Or, you can add the suffix .noui. to the PKG file name before running the installer
(Example: SyncroDesktop-[[...]].noui.pkg).

At some point, the Screen Recording permission will need to be enabled. Should the customer attempt to include an image of their screen from the Agent Contact Form with the Screen Recording permission disabled, they'll be prompted to enable it in the 'Security & Privacy' settings prior to submitting the form. The Asset Screenshot Thumbnail will not be displayed on the Asset Detail page for any agent with the 'Screen Recording' permission disabled.
 

Q: How do I deploy the Mac Agent using a script?

A: You will need to find the Policy’s Token ID from the download URL and use it in a script.

  1. Navigate to the Customers tab.
  2. Search for a customer and click their name.
  3. In the upper right, click New > RMM Agent Installer.
  4. Select the desired Policy Folder.
    Get RMM Agent Installer
  5. Click the Mac (PKG) radio button.
  6. Copy the token's GUID at the end of the URL.
  7. Close the dialog.
  8. In the script below, replace TOKEN_GUID with the GUID you copied. It would look like this:
    POLICY_ID=e782da9b-6829-30c1-17f4-84a89d4ba3c

Here is an example script that could be pasted into your existing deployment workflow. Modify as needed.

#!/bin/bash
POLICY_ID=TOKEN_GUID
echo $POLICY_ID > /tmp/syncro-deploy-id && \
/usr/bin/curl -L1 https://production.kabutoservices.com/desktop/macos/setup?token=$POLICY_ID -o
/tmp/SyncroDesktop.pkg && \
/usr/sbin/installer -target / -pkg /tmp/SyncroDesktop.pkg && \
/bin/rm /tmp/SyncroDesktop.pkg && \
/bin/rm /tmp/syncro-deploy-id && \
echo "Syncro Agent Installed!"

 

Q: How do I restart the Mac Agent?

A: Use the following command to restart the Syncro Mac service:

sudo /usr/local/bin/syncro restart

 

Q: What managed antivirus integrations does the Mac Agent support?

A: The Mac Agent supports remote installation of our Bitdefender and Webroot integrations if enabled. The agent does not currently support remote uninstallation of either antivirus, but we're currently investigating support for this for both the Bitdefender and Webroot integrations. For now, the managed antivirus will need to be manually uninstalled from the endpoint.

Note: In order for Bitdefender to function correctly on a macOS system, you will need to grant Bitdefender 'Full Disk Access' in the macOS 'Security & Privacy' settings after install. More information on configuring Bitdefender for macOS here:
https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/14812/

 

Q: Are Backgrounding Tools supported?

A: Backgrounding Tools will not be supported in our Mac Agent. Currently, our TeamViewer integration is supported and we have planned improvements to our remote access functionality which may be included as part of the Mac Agent sometime in the future.
 

Q. Is the Script Module supported?

A. Yes, the Script Module is supported for Mac Scripts run on the Mac Agent.
With the Mac Script File Type selected, a ‘Mac Script Quick Help’ section will appear at the bottom of the Script page, documenting the Syntax of the available Module Commands:

Mac Script Quick Help

Selecting the Mac Script File Type will also automatically inject the ‘#!/bin/bash’ shebang (string) if your Script Editor is empty. However, the shebang is completely optional as the Mac RMM Agent will default to running the script as Bash either way:

#!/bin/bash shebang

 

Q: When does the Mac Agent launch—at startup or when the user logs in?

A: The new Mac agent will launch at startup regardless if a user logs in or not.

 

Q: Does the Mac Agent have Native 3rd Party Patch Management?

A: This is not currently planned for the Mac Agent. For users looking to perform Managed software installation for OS X, Munki is a popular option. More information on getting started with Munki: https://www.munki.org/munki/

1 Like
3

Looking at the MAC agent. Don’t see anywhere in the policy that has settings for patching/updating the OSX. Policy only has drop down for Windows Critical/Windows non-critical. And no way to “Install Update Now”. Help!

2 Likes
4

Patch management is not supported through our Mac agent.

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5

@Andy is macOS updating on the roadmap? What more is on the roadmap for the Mac side of things in Syncro?

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6

When you say “macOS updating” what do you mean by that?

7

I’m also looking for this. I want to have the ability to update Mac OS through Syncro.

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8

When you say updating do you mean the OS specifically?

9

There is no OS Patching for macOS through Syncro.

10

Scheduled OS updating would be a huge benefit, patch management for other systems like Office/Adobe etc. would be a big help but in my opinion OS updating would be huge.

4 Likes
11

If there is NO Mac OS patch management, nor Third-Party patch management for standard software like Office/Adobe, etc. WHAT EXACTLY is the POINT of the RMM client?

1 Like
12

Scripting, monitoring/alerting, asset tracking, and remote access to name a few.

5 Likes