Using Remote Assistance

Remote Assistance is used to give or receive assistance remotely. For example, a friend or a technical support person can access your computer to help you with a computer problem or show you how to do something. You can help someone else the same way. In either case, both you and the other person see the same computer screen. If you decide to share control of your computer with your helper, you are both able to control the mouse pointer.

To use Remote Assistance, first you invite a person to help you, using email or an instant message. You can also reuse an invitation that you have sent before. After the person accepts the invitation, Windows Remote Assistance creates an encrypted connection between the two computers over the Internet or the network that both computers are connected to. You give the other person a password so that he or she can connect. You can also offer assistance to someone else, and when that person accepts your offer, Windows Remote Assistance creates an encrypted connection between the two computers. To start a Remote Assistance session and to create invitations, click All Programs, select Maintenance, and select Windows Remote Assistance.

To allow a user to remotely access a Windows 7 computer, you need to enable Remote Desktop or Remote Assistance through the firewall.

To enable Remote Assistance from the GUI, do the following:

1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Maintenance, and then click Windows Remote Assistance. This launches the Windows Remote Assistance screen. You can also click Start and type assist in the Start menu search box.
2. To get help, click Invite someone you trust to help you.
3. Select one of the following options:
   • Save This Invitation to a File: Selecting this option enables you to save your Remote Assistance invitation file to a folder. This folder can be a location on your computer or an available network Share.
   • Use E-mail to Send an Invitation: Selecting this option launches your default email client. A message is then created with an attached invitation file.
   • Use Easy Connect: Selecting this option creates and publishes your Remote Assistance invitation file using a 12-character password that you must communicate to whoever is helping you.

If you need to help someone, open Windows Remote Assistance and select Help someone who has invited you.