Specifically, I wanted the lock screen picture to be a kernel panic picture, but no one would believe the kernel panic was real if below the picture were the words "Screen locked by..." After rooting around in the application, I found what I was looking for.
Here's how to do it:
- Make sure Apple Remote Desktop is not running, and navigate to the folder containing the application.
- Control-click on the application and choose "Show Package Contents" from the pop-up menu.
- In the window that opens, navigate to Contents/Resources/English.lproj (or whatever language you're using).
- Find the file "LockScreenTask.strings" and create a backup copy in a safe place.
- Open the original "LockScreenTask.strings." If you have the Developer Tools instaled, it will open in Xcode; otherwise, you can open it in TextEdit.
- You should see the following:
/* Localized versions of task strings */ taskString = "Lock Screen"; taskDescription = "Lock Screen"; longTaskDescription = "Lock screens on target computers"; actionString = "Lock Screen"; lockedByString = "\r\rScreen locked by %@"; lockedByStringNoText = "Screen locked by %@"; defaultPictureName = "Lock Screen Picture"; // Task progress kLockScreenRequestingOne = "Locking screen"; kLockScreenRequestingMany = "Locking screens"; - Change the line lockedByStringNoText = "Screen locked by %@"; to lockedByStringNoText = "";. Now "Screen locked by" will not appear when you lock the screen of a client computer if you don't type a message, but it will still appear if you do.
- If that's not sufficient, replace the line lockedByString = "rrScreen locked by %@"; with lockedByString = "rr";. Now the "Screen locked by..." message won't appear even if you send them a message.
- Save your work, launch ARD, and you're done.
[robg adds: I haven't asked the author, but if I had to guess, I'd say that this knowledge was used in a prank to make someone believe they'd had a kernel panic. I'm certainly not against a good prank, but if you're in a position of network admin with Remote Desktop control, you should be very careful about how and when you pull such stunts :).]

