Techbulb

Unless you get stuck with some major work on the PC, you do not realize how fortunate you are when your PC works smoothly with no problems! But when you are not able to solve the problem, even after a wasting a huge amount of time, you get really frustrated. You start call your friends and experts for help on the phone. Finally, when they say that the problem can be solved unless they come and see the PC, you start thinking about what to do NOW!

So when you think you are a victim of a similar situation, do not panic! There is a feature in Windows XP known as “Remote Assistance” which can help you out in these cases. With this feature, you can invite someone that you trust, such as a friend on the network or the Internet to access your computer to help. Since the helper can see your screen, and communicate via a chat box, he or she can guide you through the problem. And if the task is too difficult for you to carry out, he can take control of your computer and solve the problem himself, although it will require your permission.

If your technician is busy elsewhere and there’s no one around to come and help you, Remote Assistance is the best way to seek help. Getting help is not the only function of Remote Assistance. If you’re an expert at Windows XP, you can also be a helper and offer assistance remotely to someone who needs help.

Remote Assistance is one of the methods of working remotely on a PC. Here, the main objective is providing assistance to solve problems on the remote PC. Windows XP has another feature called Remote Desktop which allows you to have access to a Windows session that is running on your computer, when you are working at another computer. Imagine how convenient it would be if you could connect to your work computer from home, and have access to all your files, applications and network resources. If you’re a student you could use the Remote Desktop to connect to your home computer from college. You can also use it at home if you want to access the Windows session running on a PC in a room from a laptop or a PC in some other room. Once connected to the host, using Remote Assistance or Remote Desktop is a child’s play. But you need to follow quite a few steps to establish a connection with the host. The workshop in the following pages will step you right from enabling and configuring the remote services to finally establishing a remote connection with the host PC for both Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop. Before you start off, you need to do the following:

1. Make sure your anti-virus definitions and engine are up to date.
   
2. Make it a point to disable Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop after you are done with the remote session.
   
3. Use passwords wherever applicable.
   

Requesting Remote Assistance

• Before you start, go to System properties in . .. . .. Control Panel and then click the ‘Remote’ tab. Here, enable the option to’ Allow Remote Assistance invitations to be sent from this computer’. Also click the Advanced’ tab and enable the option “Allow this computer to be controlled remotely”. This is primarily applicable to those who seek remote assistance.
  

  
  

• The Remote Assistance feature allows you to ask as well as offer assistance. You can request assistance through Windows Messenger, e-mail or via a file sent as a request. Sending a remote assistance as a file is the most convenient method as it can be used on the network as well as the Internet.
  

  
  

• To request assistance, first run the ‘remote assistance’ application from ’start menu | programs’. This will bring up the Help and Support Center window which will guide you through the process. Select the option ‘Invite someone to help you’ and on the next screen, select the third option which says ‘Save the invitation as a file’.
  

  
  

• Enter your name in the field provided so that the receiver knows who has requested assistance. Also to lessen the chance that someone gains fraudulent access to your PC, you can specify a password and a timeframe for accepting the invitation. Save this invitation as a file and send it to the helper via e-mail or file transfer.
  

  
  

• You can also request assistance from any of the contacts who are online on your Windows Messenger contact list. You should ensure that the person assisting you is trustworthy and is willing to help you. To request assistance, start a chat conversation with the person. Click on “Actions” and select the option “Ask for remote assistance”.
  

  
  

• As soon as the receiver double clicks the file sent as a request or accepts the invitation sent via Windows Messenger, he will get a message asking whether he wants to connect to your PC. When he accepts your invitation, you will get a dialog box stating that the user has accepted your invitation.
  

  
  

• When the connection is established, the Remote Assistance window opens. It’s like a chat window using which you can chat with the receiver and describe the problem you are facing. He or she can see your entire screen and watch what you are doing.
  

  
  

• If the receiver can’t help you through chatting, he can take control of your PC so that he can attempt to solve the problem by himself. Your helper has to click on the ‘Take Control’ button. He won’t gain control over your PC unless you grant him the permission.
  

  
  

• If the helper is your friend and you find him playing around with your PC after granting him permission to take control of the PC, you can stop him by clicking on the ‘Stop control’ button in the Remote Assistance window. It is advisable to do so when you are away from your PC.
  

Offering Remote Assistance

• After your problem has been solved, disable control and end the Remote Assistance session by clicking the ‘Disconnect’ button. The helper can also end the session by releasing control and disconnecting from your PC after your problem is solved.
  

• Apart from chatting, you can also start a voice conversation or send a file to the helper. But do so only if you are on a network or a fast Internet connection because it will consume a lot of bandwidth and there will be a serious lag making it difficult for him or her.
  

• Now that you know how to request remote assistance, the next step is to learn howto offer it. However, before offering remote assistance to someone, you have to ensure that the feature is enabled. Goto “Start | Run” and in the dialog box, type ‘gpedit.msc’. This will open up the Group Policy window:
  

• Goto ‘Computer configuration Administrative templates | System Remote assistance’. In the Details pane, double click “Offer Remote Assistance” and enable it. You can set list of helpers’ who you can ask for remote assistance.
  

• Now, click on “Start” and go to “Help and support”. Under the “Pick a Task” section, click on “Use tools to view your computer information and diagnose problems”. In the Tools section, click on the option “Offer Remote Assistance”.
  

• You will now be asked for the IP address or the name of the PC to connect to. Once entered, click on “Connect” to communicate with the other PC. When the user accepts the remote assistance request, the session is launched.
  

Remote Desktop Connection

• Before launching a remote desktop connection, you need to do set up the host computer to allow you to connect from another PC. Goto System properties in Control Panel and then click the ‘Remote’ tab. Here, enable the option to Allow users to connect remotely to this computer’.
  

• Unless you specify remote users, no one will be granted access. Click the ‘Select remote users’ button, click ‘add’ button and click ‘advanced’ button. In the ‘Select users’ dialog box, keep the ‘Ctrl’ key pressed and select the users who you would like to allow remote access.
  

• If your PC goes to standby mode, you will be unable to access it. Hence it is recommended to disable the PC from automatically entering the standby mode. It’s recommended to set the ‘Power scheme’ as Always on’ from ‘Power options’ under’ Control panel’.
  

• Unlike’ Remote Assistance’ where a user has to accept the request and grant permission, Remote Desktop connection allows the user to directly connect to the host PC. But this is possible only if all the users are logged out from the host PC. Logoff all the users so that remote users can connect.
  

• To establish a connection with the host PC from a remote PC, go to ‘Start Programs | Accessories | Communication Remote desktop connection’. In the ‘Remote desktop connection’ dialog box, click the ‘options’ button. Type the IP address of the host PC and a user name which has been allowed access.
  

• Under the ‘Local resources’ tab, it’s possible to use resources like sound and printers from the host PC on the remote PC. Check the relevant options before connecting to the remote PC. But you need a fast Internet connection or a LAN to do so.
  

• Depending on the connection speed, you can choose to enable or disable certain options which aren’t really necessary over a remote desktop connection. If your Internet connection is slow, you can disable options like desktop background and menu and window animation.
  

• Click the connect button and you will be connected to the remote PC. In a few seconds you will see the remote PC’s desktop and you can begin working on it. Unlike Remote Assistance, you cannot see what’s happening on the remote PC—it will just show the log-in screen. But you’re connected to it in the background.
  

• It is possible to copy files to and from the remote PC. But to do so, you have to enable the option to connect the local drives to the host PC in the ‘Local resources’ tab in the remote desktop connection dialog box before connecting. Mapping your local drives to the remote PC can be a bit risky.
  

• When you connect to the remote PC after enabling the option to connect the local drives on it, you will be able to see the local drives listed on the remote PC. Use this option only if you want to transfer files between the remote and local PCs
  

• After having finished working on the remote PC, make sure you click on ‘Start | Disconnect’ to disconnect from the remote PC. When you don’t require remote desktop connection, disable the option Allow users to connect remotely to this computer’ from the ‘Remote’ tab in the system properties dialog box under control panel.
  

Please note: The feature of Remote desktop connection is a very useful. Although it can get risky. It can give access to hackers and crackers, who like peeking into other people’s computers, steal information or cause harm to the remote computer. Hence, take be cautious and keep tight security on the host computer. I will recommend you to keep a good firewall and an updated antivirus, and always keep multiple backups of critical information to be on the safe side.