Help! Connect to Mac and FTP files back home

[Ftpwannabe]

I have an employee who uses a MacBook pro in the field. I want to be able to connect to that Mac when it is on the Internet and FTP certain files, or copy them back to the central location. I'd like for it to be stealthy so he doesn't have to answe any prompts or be at the Mac. I am familiar with dynamic dns services but since he will be connected in different ways, there is no way for me to use rdp. Any suggestions are helpful!

 

[ActionableMango]

I have an employee who uses a MacBook pro in the field. I want to be able to connect to that Mac when it is on the Internet and FTP certain files, or copy them back to the central location. I'd like for it to be stealthy so he doesn't have to answe any prompts or be at the Mac. I am familiar with dynamic dns services but since he will be connected in different ways, there is no way for me to use rdp. Any suggestions are helpful!

If he is using a company-owned laptop, you should consult your IT department.

If he is using a personally-owned laptop, this action is probably illegal.

 

[GGJstudios]

I'd like for it to be stealthy so he doesn't have to answe any prompts or be at the Mac.

This sounds suspicious to me. If the MBP is owned by you or your company, there's no need to be "stealthy". If not, you're talking about accessing someone else's computer without their knowledge or permission, which isn't something we condone or help with in this forum.

 

[milbournosphere]

You could setup a VPN tunnel to get a connection (sftp, vnc or otherwise) to the laptop...but what you're suggesting does sound kind of shifty. I assume you're a windows shop since you dropped the wonderful 'rdp' term...the mac should operate just fine with a vpn server hosted on a wintel box.

If the laptop is privately owned, what you're doing would be illegal for sure. If it's company issued, your IT guy should already have admin rights on the system, which should make this a piece of cake. But it still sounds shifty.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I think people are making way too many assumptions here.

I honestly read the OPs description of "stealthy" as meaning he'd like the laptop connection to be done in the background, and not require attention and confirmations from the guy in the field when he's in the middle of something else already. Perhaps it was incorrect and I'm just naive, but I assumed this was all with the knowledge and understanding of the employee in the field. I wouldn't leap to the conclusion that the OP is up to something nefarious.

Unless assumptions and conclusion leaps are true, solely what the poster asked in the OP is not illegal. There is nothing illegal about FTPing with another machine via some pre-established protocol/setup that doesn't require explicit permission with every connection.

Unfortunately, I don't have solutions or suggestions to offer. I just wanted to chime in before we bust out the pitchforks and torches. I think we should at least give a guy on the internet the chance to clarify what it is he'd like to do before we assume he's up to no good. Especially if it's a legit employer/employee situation, I could see all sorts of situations where this kind of implementation would be handy for BOTH people involved. Who knows- the OP may even own both machines. Nothing says otherwise.