Remote Control

[danny-pcs]

I'm looking for a remote control tool that'll help us support one-off non-technical customers. It should be as easy as possible for them (nothing to install and configure) and they should be the ones "in control" of the session (i.e. start/terminate the session whenever they like).

Any recommendations?

[nick_asg]

Take a look at Mikogo (http://www.mikogo.com/en/) and CrossLoop (http://crossloop.com/).

You do have to install software, but I've found it to be very simple. Best yet, it's free. There is always WebEx to look into as well.

[danny-pcs]

Thanks for you help Nick, Mikogo looks promising and I haven't checked CrossLoop yet.

[digitalminds]

You should also check out GotoAssist Express at: http://www.gotoassistexpress.com/. The remote support software will allow rebooting into safe mode and being remotely connected. Performance is great!

[LeCutus]

I have been looking at the same sort of technology recently.

Tried using the Zolved system (www.zolved.com) with no real problems. Its also free and based on OpenSource Technology.

Also been looking at the InstanyHouseCall system (www.instanhousecall.com) but that can work out expensive if you have more than 5 connections per month.

Hope this helps.

[Belose]

+1 for GoToAssist Express

In addition to what digitalminds mentioned above (and what I find extremely useful) is Unattended Support.

Great product, but it comes at a price.

[lpopejoy]

TeamViewer. It rocks. No installation on the client side (as in ActiveX - just a simple EXE download from your website.). Unattended remote access possible... Dead simple to use...

[e-ssential]

Dameware is a great piece software. It support ADS integration. It has user roles and a gateway. The gateway can be install in the DMZ (or not) depending what you are looking for. You can manage who has access to a site where you can organize your customer and computers.(ummm security and control) They even has a trial period and use perpetual licensing. The only issue I encounter though was that in order to start a session, the user must give you permission. If you provide managed services, this may or may not be good. In our case, we provide different SLA agreements. If a customer request after hour services (such as Upgrade and Auditing) then we must take over the pc remotely. At which point it is game over for us and damewe. They told me that in the next release that will be fixed. I like managing who has access to my customer's desktop. You never know. Technicians come and go and you never know what they can do to your customers' little "puters" when they leave ... YUP. Go on and check them out!

[stsanford]

Used to use UltraVNC SingleClick, which was a decent free solution. It's for PC only though and it doesn't play real well with Vista, so I recently went Bomgar. It's not as good as I would like in terms of reporting, you can't link to an individual host and save a shortcut to Commit, which I would love, but other than that, it's awesome, you can "pin" a client so that you can get back unattended, works with Macs, Linux and Windows clients. Not bad. Certainly not cheap, but not bad....

[aaspeer]

I currently use Bomgar. It was a one time fee for the box, and although I have stopped paying for their support, they do offer support with free express exchange if you have any issues with the hardware. What I think is so great about it is the fact that I own the hardware and I control it.

Austin Speer
Onward iT

[wtbservices]

This may be of interest if you are just about to purchase something. I recently did the trial for LogMeIn Rescue. It is a really nice full featured product but... It is a bit pricey and it is designed around the concept of a tech siting there continuously taking one remote support call after another.

After the trial was over a sales guy called to see how things went. I mentioned that it was a much more than we needed for the volume we had (about 4 or 5 remote sessions a day). Many of it's time tracking and tech tracking features would be useless to us. He told me that he couldn't say much right now but what we needed was in development and testing right now. He said that he would call me back after the first of the year and if we could wait that long they might have a perfect fit.

We can get by with what we use now for another month and a half and having used LMI before it is worth waiting to see what they have to offer.

[sapsford]

logmein rescue wins
costs $100 or so a month
i charge each customer $10 when i use it - for the priviledge of quick support
means i can bill in 15mins
also you can build a custom app that is installed on their computer for future reference
pays for its self 4 x per month

[wtbservices]

More info on the new LogMeIn program.
They have a free beta up that you can use to test it out at http://www.logmein.com/express. It is a bit clunky and talking a customer through getting it going and getting you connected can be a challenge.

Looks like they are attempting a direct competitor to GotoAssist Express but it just doesn't have the same features. I need to get this expense in under the 2009 tax year so I am going to go ahead with GotoAssist Express and then revisit the options next December.

[Yaredo]

I second Sapsford.
It is just smart

[wtbservices]

If anyone here is a member of The ASCII Group they are finalizing a deal with LogMeIn to get a discounted rate for its members.

[natrat]

now i've used logmein rescue i second that. its AWESOME. also expensive depending on your volume. From another thread:

For remote support I'm now using LogMeIn Rescue, which is expensive but utterly brilliant. I'm paying for it with another local firm to halve our costs until i get the volume of remote work to justify its expense. It's over $1000 a year which isnt much when you do heaps of paid for remote work but i don't quite have the volume yet. You can do a 30 day trial, check it out. You can reboot customers machines and auto log back on, get to safe mode, log off as one user and log on as another, and the session can be started lots of ways, my fave is giving the customer a 6 digit pin and they go to logmein123.com and type it in and thats it, i can connect.

[sgtinc]

GoToAssist Express gets my vote. Hard to beat the single technician license. Even tougher if you did beta testing for them and git it for even less.

May not be as slick as LogMeIn but definately less expensive. Easy for customers to user - www.fastsupport.com, enter their name ans support key you give them and run the software.

[springcity]

Go To Assist Express is the best one. I have used LMI Rescue and use VNC SC. GTA Exp is cheaper than LMI and supports up to 8 sessions @ a time.

[g2computersolutions]

I vote for: http://www.screenconnect.com/

You get to OWN IT, install it at your own place, and simply have the user click on a link to give you control.

[pyro77]

We still use Crossloop once in a while, but the popups to register are getting more annoying. Ultra vnc worked well in the days of xp. Mikago takes too much effort to reliably manage clients.

www.screenconnect.com pricing seems pretty reasonable to me but we have had some issues connecting to Mac computers with from our PC's. Rebooting into safe mode for virus removal/etc works great!

Logmein and GTA are out for us because it is nice to be able to actually pay off a program and make some extra money. The Teamviewer software sounds interesting as you can keep a client list and login as needed without any interaction from the other party!

[sgtinc]

I tested ScreenConnect and I am seriously considering dropping the GotoAssist Express in favor of it. It is not as slick of an interface but it is very functional. I want to test a couple of the other options as well but if you have not checked it out yet, it is worth a look.

I have tested internally on Windows, Mac, and Linux and they all worked for me. We also gave it pretty extensive testing with my clients (mostly on Windows) and once I had it set up correctly, it worked pretty much flawlessly.

[lpopejoy]

We tested it too, but it seemed like the screen refreshes were about half the speed of what we currently use (TeamViewer). It had the feel of VNC based solution. Perhaps it has improved a lot since then, and if so, it would be a very nice solution. Very low cost is a big plus!

[pops1000uk]

I use REMHELP http://www.gidsoftware.com/remotehelpdesk.htm
EXCELLENT software and you can set it up so that the client connects to your office (ignoring firewall rules) Very cheap to!
You can also design your own screen etc...

[crazyjncsu]

ScreenConnect got really fast with one of their releases a few months ago. True color was the quickest of any solution we tested. And they added a greyscale and hybrid mode that kicks in for slow connections. I can't say enough good things about this product. I'm kicking myself for paying so much for so long for gotoassist, etc

[nattivillin]

I will have to have my techs give screenconect a go. Pricing looks nice.

[racassel]

Recently ran across AMMYY.COM. Interesting and quick, free access. Very affordable customization capability. Odd database of tracking PC's but it works good. Set up your own router or use public routers for connecting.

[bkendall]

I use SimpleHelp. It is easy to setup, simple to use for clients, and there is no monthly fee. I wrote a blog post on it here: http://bradkendall.ca/?p=130

Brad Kendall
www.bradkendall.ca
bkendall@ccrtech.ca

[natrat]

Looks nice, but one of the great features about products like LogmeIn Rescue is that you don't need to set anything up on yours or anyone elses router - it allows technicians to connect to clients from wherever they happen to be with an internet connection. this has proved very important for me in particular when i'm away form the office for extended periods. Of course I could remote in to my office then remote to the client but multiple remotes starts to get a bit slow and messy and the web based ease of Rescue makes it perfect for roaming staff. It's just a shame about the cost.

[pyro77]

After using ScreenConnect for the last two months, we still love it. Works great on Mac as well (which we are seeing more and more of). Another similar software I found that may work and is slightly cheaper is: showmypc.com .

[Hattontech]

If you have a fixed base of clients, I have found LogMeIn Central to be really cost effective.

For the yearly subscription (300 USD) you can have an unlimited number of computers with the LogMeIn host software installed.

I have one ignition licence on the main support pc, ($20 after discount) and 2 pro licences for logmein.

The ignition client gives you a nice frontend to connect to any pc on your LMI central account.

The free logmein does not allow file transfer, sound or remote printing, but you can move licences around at will, aka if I need file transfer on a pc, i transfer the pro licence to it, do the job, and then transfer it back into the pool of 2 licences.

It also has user and group support, so you can allow a client\user to access their own pc, via LMI, and they cannot see any others.

LMI central also lets you create install packages, per client with web links to install, or msi/exe packages - This lets you auto add the pc to a specific group, define computer name, etc, etc.

https://secure.logmein.com/US/products/central/

If you google for logmein coupons, you can get upto 50% discounts on it, making it $150 a year!

http://www.retailmenot.com/view/logmein.com

There are also coupons for LMI pro licences as well, dropping it from <> $80 to $50 or 60




The other day, I had a customer call me to say his 3G dongle wasn't working, buy was in Sydney (300Km away) - I got him to go to McDonalds, jump on their wifi, and i remoted in from there, and fixed it. LMI works over any link that allows HTTP....

It's not as flexable as Rescue or similar, as it needs to be installed - but very quick and reliable..I use joinme to get in, then install the LMI host software, when dealing with a technically challenged client.


There's my 5 mins :-)

[-David-]

Natrat your right It's just a shame about the cost.

I would love to use logmein Rescue but the price is stupid.

around 1000 - 1200 € a year

[hayden]

LogMeInRescue is the best thing since sliced bread. We use it on our helpdesk and have a bunch of licenses. It's only worth while if you are doing many remote calls per day.

I'll say this again though, nothing comes close. I tested many products before I purchased LogMeIn about 2 years ago. It is a huge cost, but I wouldn't think about it like that. Think how much your clients will love you for seamless, instant support...

The custom app you can build is win. Build as msi, deploy to domain. Also auto updates.

[Arcadia Computer, Inc.]

We use Logmein Central. Got a great introduction price of $199.99 for the first year. I realize the software must be setup on their computer prior to us remoting in, and we install it on everyones manchine before they leave (with their permission).

For new customers we were using CrossLoop but it was becoming difficult for our older clients. Then I was introduced to www.join.me. This service is amazing. You and the customer go to join.me and th customer clicks on 'Share' and the software auto-loads and gives them a code for you to type in. Perfect!

[drlogic]

We use TeamViewer and are very happy with it. We install TeamViewer Host (which now support Mac OS X) on servers (mostly) for unattended support.

We are looking at Bomgar because it allows you to transfer support sessions between engineers, and it stores videos of support session which are useful for training and when there are disputes with customers. Also, because all communication goes through the devices, it is more secure.

[compuwatcher]

SimpleHelp is what we use, it is Java based, cheap and brandable.

[Passer]

I've seen it mentioned a couple times, but we use ScreenConnect as well. It works great for us. Switched from GoToAssist about a year ago and haven't looked back - was paying way too much for that. The intial setup was a little shaky as we had to get them to help with port forwarding and it was flagging my AV- but after that has worked great. Also, drlogic, SC released the tech transfer feature a couple releases back. We have an unlimited license so have utilized that feature quite a bit, very nice. They are continuing to build the software as it is younger than something like Bomgar and GTA, but they seem to listen to their users and have a good forum (community) for support.

[networkconcepts]

We use ScreenConnect also and never looked back.

Tyler Pritchard
MCSE, MCSA, MCDBA, CCNA
Network Concepts

[hayden]

drlogic: LogMeInRescue does all that.