pc remote control

Conroy Bumpas

basicly i work for a very small company and as im the only person under the age of 45 im incharge of the pc's


the problem is i get calls from the other shop because they cant load word. or a windo is half or the screen or somthing and they can put it right. problems a monkey could solve. but because they are all old. they dont know how to start programs or close windows etc.

my lastes problem today is that the guy on teh other end of the phone cant minamise a virus scan window. i cant get hin to find the little minamise icon. im actuly going to have to drive 10 miles to go and do it. they are that pants on head retarded.

dos anyone know of any cheep as free way. of remot controling there machines? andy software i can download thats ok . and secure from misuse etc?

mooshoepork

On my ipod I use a program called ...VNC? I think?

Have a look into that. I think it works with computers too.

oldsak

Yeah, we used VNC when I worked in IT. It's a great tool.

Grobian

As you are on Windows: Windows XP has Remote Login builtin. While you cannot see their desktop while they work on it, you can at least do some administrative stuff on the remote PC. I think Vista even has real desktop sharing now.

Conroy Bumpas

soz i forgot to mention that

na im on 2000

this vnc thing looks good. problem is id have to go to the other shop to install it?

anyone know of any web based or anything like that?

Hlubocky

Unless it is built into Windows 2000, you will have to install the server software on any machine you want to remote control no matter how you look at it. There might be web-based VNC clients, but that doesn't get around the need for the server install.

Casual

You can remote control PC's through MSN. My buddy has done it for me a couple of times when I've needed remote assistance. Can't tell you how thought but google will probably tell you what you need to know.

voldaran

logmein.com. It is free(for non-commercial use). I use it all the time, it is perfect for your needs. Best part is, it is web based, you can control your computers from any machine that has internet access(after installation of a web add-in)

vonPoonBurGer

You have several options here as I see it:

• Upgrade to Windows XP, basic remote desktop and remote assistance stuff built in. You'd need to pay for XP licenses, deploy the upgrades, and configure the PCs to enable both the remote desktop and remote assistance features.
• Install a free version of VNC on all PCs you'll need to connect to. There are remote installation scripts out there, or you can just drive to the remote office to do the one-time install.
• Get a single-user license for DameWare Mini Remote Control. This is a great remote control app that has far more features than the free version of VNC, including the ability to remotely install itself and/or remotely start the remote service, all automatically. It's honestly worth the money. VNC Enterprise Edition is a little cheaper per license and looks to have the same features as DameWare, but I've only used the free version of VNC myself. Either of these tools cost less than a hundred bucks, the need is clearly there, and they'll clearly pay for themselves by allowing you to spend more time solving problems and less time driving between offices. You should be able to easily make a case for purchasing one of these.
• Use a web-based or instant messaging tool. I honestly wouldn't recommend this for a company network. It represents a potential security risk, since you're opening up company PCs to potential attack via a public website or IM service. I use LogMeIn.com for supporting family members, and it's great tool for that, but I really don't think it's appropriate for a corporate environment. Also, you're really not supposed to be using the free version of LogMeIn.com in a corproate environment.

I've done a lot of remote support, and I'd honestly recommend paying the money for DameWare or VNC Enterprise. It's certainly possible to duplicate the remote install/configuration/activation functionality they offer, but their automation of the entire process is worth the price of admission.

Nakatomi2010

I don't know how, but I know that you can setup a VNC listner that listens on a certain IP and port and you can tweak an exe to phone home and request help. My company uses them as a support tool to assist in supporting clients of whom are not here. I've grown to like it over time since it's a pinch to implement, and with this phone home .exe we use I just have em' visit and site, download and run, then I can gain control. Close the window and you've lost control...

Honestly VNC would be your best bet though, my wife needed to use a program specifically on her lapto at home, I installed VNC and had her up and running in about 10 minutes, both install on my end and hers...

Fallingman

Logmein.com

I use this as my IT support for my family. You do need to log in on the PC in question and download something - but I was able to lead my grandfather through it - so I'm sure you could do it too.

Free - cross platform - browser based.