Windows 7 / Networking

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Remote Assistance

Both Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop allow the user at the management computer to see the desktop and applications that are present on the remote computer. The difference between Windows Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop is that a user is logged on to the remote computer and initiates the remote assistance session, whereas a Remote Desktop session is initiated on the management computer. Remote Assistance is a support tool used by help-desk staff to allow them to view the screen of the person to whom they are providing assistance. Remote Assistance reduces the need for nontechnical users to accurately describe the problem that they are having with their computers because support personnel can see the desktop directly. Unlike the version of Remote Assistance that shipped with Windows XP, the version of Remote Assistance that is included with Windows 7 does not include a voice client. If you are going to talk to the person whom you are helping using Remote Assistance, you are going to have to use another method, such as the telephone.

Remote Assistance can be used only with the permission of the person that is logged on to the remote computer. Remote Assistance invitations can be used for only a limited time, and once the Remote Assistance application is closed, it is not possible to connect to the remote computer through a Remote Assistance session. The person logged on to the remote computer can terminate the Remote Assistance session at any time. The default connection setting for Remote Assistance has the person providing assistance only able to view, but not interact, with the desktop on the remote computer. The person providing assistance can request control, which allows him to interact directly. This is useful if the person providing assistance needs to respond to a User Account Control prompt. The person receiving the assistance can return the session to view only by clicking the Stop Sharing button on the Windows Remote Assistance control. They can also block the person helping them from viewing their desktop temporarily by pausing the Remote Assistance session.

Like Remote Desktop, Remote Assistance connections can occur only when there is connectivity between the management computer and the remote computer. This means that you cannot resolve a network connectivity problem using Remote Assistance because that connectivity problem blocks a Remote Assistance connection. The Windows Remote Assistance rule is enabled in Windows Firewall when Windows Remote Assistance is enabled on a computer.

You enable Windows Remote Assistance on the Remote Tab of the System Properties dialog box. Windows Remote Assistance is enabled by default on computers running Windows 7. The advanced Remote Assistance settings, which can be accessed by clicking the Advanced button on the Remote tab of the System Properties dialog box, allow you to configure a maximum time that an invitation can remain open and to limit Remote Assistance so that connections can only be made from computers that are running Windows Vista or later.

When you start Windows Remote Assistance, you are presented with the option of configuring an invitation or responding to an invitation. When a user requesting assistance selects the Invite Someone You Trust To Help You option, she is able to choose among three options: saving the invitation as a file, using e-mail to send the invitation, or using Easy Connect. It is possible to use the e-mail option only if a compatible e-mail program is installed on the client running Windows 7. It is important to remember that, unlike previous versions of Windows, Windows 7 does not ship with a built-in e-mail application so you cannot assume that one is automatically present. You can use the Easy Connect connection method only on a local network if the Peer Name Resolution Protocol is present on a local server running Windows Server 2008 or if you want to use Easy Connect to solicit assistance over the Internet (if your router supports this protocol). Easy Connect allows you to send an assistance request without having to forward an invitation.

Not only must the person providing remote assistance receive an invitation, but she also needs to provide a password that can be given to her only by the person requesting assistance. For security reasons, this password should be provided using a different method to the one used to transmit the invitation file. If the user requesting remote assistance closes the Windows Remote Assistance dialog box, it is not possible for the remote user to make a connection, even if the invitation period has not expired. Once this dialog box is closed, Windows Remote Assistance needs to be restarted and a new remote assistance invitation issued because the previous one is no longer valid.

When the remotely connecting user makes the connection with the password forwarded to them, the person requesting assistance is given a warning that the remotely connecting user will be able to see whatever is on the desktop. Once the connection is accepted, the Windows Remote Assistance session starts. The session can be terminated by either party at any time.