Best Alternatives To Remote Assistance And Remote Support

Helping people sort out PC problems remotely – or getting help yourself – isn’t difficult, and best of all Windows comes with all the free tools you need.

Windows Remote Assistance lets another user see your PC’s entire desktop and optionally take control of your mouse and keyboard. 

Although the Windows Remote Assistance feature is quite powerful, an even more flexible option exists in the form of UltraVNC. UltraVNC is commonly used as a support tool to take control of other computers that are used on the same local network. But it can also be used like Remote Assistance to take control of a remote computer via the internet or used solely to view the screen of another PC. 

Just as with Remote Assistance, remote sessions with UltraVNC must be confirmed by the person whose computer is being connected to, helping them to avoid unwanted connections from malicious users. UltraVNC can be downloaded free from www.uvnc.com and, while it’s more complicated than Windows Remote Assistance, it is also far more powerful and can be put to a variety of uses. It’s definitely worth a look for experienced users. 

Paid-for help:
There are numerous commercial remote access applications available, such as Gotomypc  (www.gotomypc.com), I’m in Touch (www.01com.com/imintouch) and Log Me In (www.logmein.com), but most of these are aimed at getting access to your own PC from a remote location, rather than giving someone remote support. But Gotomypc does allow you to let someone else take control of your PC (and chat to them) and costs £11.99 per month. If you wanted to set up a small remote access and support network for, say, a club or organisation, a Gotomypc Pro subscription is cheaper at just over £110 per PC per year (monthly plans are also available) and allows you to act as a central administrator for users. Those products aimed purely at remote support, such as Log Me In Rescue, are generally business-oriented, with prices to match – a monthly subscription to Log Me In Rescue costs £76, but this lets you support unlimited users. Log Me In Rescue doesn’t require the PC you’re assisting to have any special pre-installed software – a small file is sent to the remote PC that allows communication just for the duration of the session.