Improvements to Remote Assistance in Windows 7

As mentioned previously, Remote Assistance in Windows 7 builds on the many enhancements introduced earlier for this feature in Windows Vista. These earlier enhancements improved upon the earlier Windows XP implementation of Remote Assistance and included the following:

• Connectivity improvements with transparent Network Address Translation (NAT) traversal using Teredo and IPv6
• An improved user interface (UI) that is easier to start and use
• A stand-alone executable (Msra.exe) that accepts command-line arguments and can easily be scripted
• Improved overall performance with a smaller footprint, quicker startup and connect times, and optimized bandwidth usage for screen updates
• Enhanced security with mandatory password and integration with User Account Control (UAC)
• New Offer RA via IM scenario and an open application programming interface (API) for integration with peer-to-peer (P2P) applications
• Additional Group Policy settings for improved manageability

In addition to these Windows Vista enhancements for Remote Assistance, Windows 7 adds the following new enhancements to Remote Assistance:

• Easy Connect, a method for soliciting Remote Assistance that uses the P2P collaboration infrastructure to simplify Remote Assistance user interactions
• An improved Windows Remote Assistance Wizard that makes it easier than ever for users to solicit or offer help
• New command-line arguments for the Remote Assistance executable (Msra.exe)

Remote Assistance in Windows 7 and Windows Vista deprecates the following features that were available on Windows XP:

• No more support for the MAILTO method of solicited Remote Assistance
• No more support for voice sessions

In addition, Remote Assistance in Windows 7 has deprecated the file transfer feature that was available in Windows XP and Windows Vista. Compatibility with earlier versions is still supported, however-for example, if a file transfer is initiated from a Windows XP or Windows Vista computer, Windows 7 will accept the transfer.

For information on interoperability between the Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 versions of Remote Assistance, see the section titled "Interoperability with Remote Assistance in Windows XP" later in this tutorial.