An easy way to help friends and family in Tutorials & Snippets

ID:47647
 
Sep 5 2008, 6:29 am
Keywords: links
So you know something about computers. And you have a friend who knows you know something about computers, and wants your help. I have good news for you!

If your friend's Internet connection is working, you can help him from the comfort or squalor of your own home. Both of the products below are free (the former for non-commercial use only) and so easy to set up that even your friend can do it.

http://teamviewer.com/index.aspx

http://www.crossloop.com/
(Note: When you run Crossloop, you're encouraged to log in or create an account, but you can look for the "skip" link to use it without creating an account.)

#1 Sep 5 2008, 6:31 am
Oh no.

You've just opened the door for members of the BYOND Help team to get a first hand look at what the problems are, with some of the more harder to diagnose issues that come up on the BYOND Help forums!
#2 Sep 5 2008, 6:41 am
Or you can use the built-in features of Windows' Remote Desktop/Assistance, Windows Messenger (or alternatively MSN)'s application sharing, etc. =P
But meh, I don't really think this is notable for the Dream Makers guild. You can also use Google to find a thousand more such programs.
#3 Sep 5 2008, 6:42 am
Most of those programs either cost money, are difficult to setup, or don't allow all the features you need.

Besides, Windows Remote Desktop/Assistance is quite difficult to get to work. Especially for a beginner or not-so-savy computer user.
#4 Sep 5 2008, 7:12 am
Cool. There is also "UltraVNC SingleClick" or whatever it's called. It's nice because it's completely independent of any third party, but it requires the person wanting to connect the other's computer a little setup, but it's a 1 time thing if you have a static address.
#5 Sep 5 2008, 7:48 am
I use Windows Remote Assistance to help a few select people regularly.
#6 Sep 5 2008, 7:51 am
Kaioken wrote:
Or you can use the built-in features of Windows' Remote Desktop/Assistance, Windows Messenger (or alternatively MSN)'s application sharing, etc. =P

I've tried these options, and felt they were either artificially restricting, or just not on par with a simple VNC client. There are also issues with the different versions of Windows not coming with the same tools. These tools are also often turned off by default, because they pose security risks.
#7 Sep 5 2008, 8:02 am
I've tried Vista's remote assistance and couldn't get it to work; but I can get either of these programs to work without any trouble. (Though I should mention I haven't tried Crossloop with Vista yet.)
#8 Sep 5 2008, 8:17 am
Gughunter wrote:
I've tried Vista's remote assistance and couldn't get it to work;

Make sure Remote Assistance is enabled on both computers. If you can host a game, you can use Remote Assistance no problem.
#9 Sep 5 2008, 8:41 am
Well, whether you can get it to work easily or not is not really an indicator of its quality. I'm not saying it's 'excellent', but it gets the job done nicely, and I've had no real issues with 'trying to get it to work' myself. Either way it just has the advantage on other programs of generally not needing to actually install/buy it first. =)
#10 Sep 5 2008, 12:09 pm
A VNC solution is usually quite nice, because Linux and VNC get on quite well, where-as Linux Remote Assistance support is somewhat lacking.
#11 Sep 5 2008, 12:33 pm
The main problem with traditional VNC is that it requires ports to be forwarded on the server, which is the computer that needs the help. This can be quite troublesome.
#12 Sep 5 2008, 1:27 pm
Yeah, you're a little damned if you do, damned if you don't. Some systems were designed to operate in a true end-to-end network environment, but unfortunate market trends with ISPs has eroded this, to save on IP block purchase.
#13 Sep 6 2008, 3:22 pm
I prefer Zolved (http://www.zolved.com/) because of it's simplicity. No installation, just an executable. Don't have to forward ports either. Free, too.
#14 Sep 6 2008, 7:04 pm
LogMeIn? Though compared to your guys' suggestions, this one is browser based. I personally like it.
#15 Sep 8 2008, 6:37 pm
Airjoe -- hadn't heard of that one. I'll check it out.

DivineTraveller -- You're right. I've used LogMeIn and it works very well. However (correct me if I'm wrong), unless you use the free version (which requires your helpees to log in under your account and password, which is in general a bad precedent to set), there is a charge involved.
#16 Sep 8 2008, 8:38 pm
Yes, that is true. The only thing that I SAW that was beneficial (and still not too utilizable for me, honestly), was the ability to pull files directly from the host computer to the guest. Though, I typically only use it from other places to show things I leave up on my computer, or stream music from my house at a friends.