Hi all,

I've got a question for you, but let me explain the situation first. A few weeks ago I sold three family members a PC. The thing I didn't realize at that time however was, the fact that these people are idiots. AND the fact that they would keep calling me for the most stupid problems, and even expect me to drive over there (150 km!) every so-many days to help them out with their problems. The infuriating part, is that these problems are usually extremely simple to solve (a few clicks of the mouse), and if you ask them on the phone just what they've done, the answer is always: nothing.

This is maddening! So I want to do this another way. I'd like to install some remote access software onto their PC's so that I can take over their PC from my home. I tried the XP built-in solution of 'remote help', but that doesn't seem to work. I keep getting the errors, and a connection is never established. My guess is this built in solution is probably no good, so I'd like to try something else. The first thing that came to mind was PC Anywhere, but this is a commercial package, *and* it's software by Symantec, with which I have had bad experiences with in the past...

So my question is: which software can do this good, clean and simple? Preferably free software, but this isn't required. I'm more than willing to pay a fair amount if the software is good.

Well, at the very least I've learned one big important lesson: never sell PC's to family members. The think they bought your valuable free time with it, and expect nothing less than support at any time of the say, preferably on-site.

VNC

Cheers guys! I'll give that one a try!

I've been using RealVNC as well for quite some time. It's great. Recently I decided to give UltraVNC a try. So far, it's working without any bugs. It's compatible with RealVNC, but if you are running UltraVNC on both ends of the connection, you can do some additional things like file transfer, chat and a video driver to increase speed and decrease CPU usage. I haven't tested out the file transfer or some of the other additional features though, because I haven't gotten to use it with a client that's also running it yet. Just thought I'd throw it out there for consideration though.

To get the port forwarding working through their router, just forward TCP port 5900 through to their workstation and you're done.

Alternatively, you can forward TCP port 5500 through your router and run the vnc listening viewer. Then have them add you as a client and you're connected without having to touch their router/firewall (although you still have to get them to type your hostname or ip address correctly).

One I have used is UltraVNC SC ("single click"), now renamed "PCHelpware":

http://www.uvnc.com/pchelpware/

The advantage is that it doesn't run in the background and the user just runs the executable to initiate the connection outbound to the VNC listener on your machine (ie. no port forwarding needed).

Very nice! That last option is probably all I will need, but on the other hand, I must admit the extra options of UltraVNC also look very good. Am I correct in assuming UltraVNC is 'DonationWare'?

It's GPL, so it's free in every sense of the word. They do have a donation link on their website if you feel like donating, but it's completely optional.

Cheers!

I would definitely go with using RealVNC, I have a friend who has used it and hasn't had problems, not to mention it's free. It lacks a bit in terms of professional features, but if you're using it for personal usage then it should be fine.

Website:
http://www.realvnc.com/

I use remote desktop for my personal machines, TightVNC for machines in the office and Go to Meeting for training clients on using our software.

Apart from some older machines running RealVNC, we now use UltraVNC on every workstation and server at work. Link compression and encryption are particularly useful, RealVNC didn't support them at the time.

Here's another vote for RealVNC!

If their routers support dynamic DNS (e.g. www.dyndns.org), you should definitely consider using that rather than painstakingly talking them through getting their 'real world' IP address.

There's always Fog Creek Copilot.

http://www.copilot.com/

Disclaimer: I've never tried it.

Wow, I never expected to have so many options! Thanks a lot guys!

ISP's still USE that? How awful.

I'm pretty sure that ntl-ntl/Telewest-Virgin Media and Freeserve-Wanadoo-Orange in the UK both still use them.

Just reviving this thread to say a public 'thank you' to Jonathan (JBjorgen ).
I had a bit of trouble getting UltraVNC to run, but thanks to him it all worked out in the end.

So.... Thank you John!!!