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Simple, Free Web Remote PC Control?

Posted by timothy on from the remote-viewing-the-cia-way dept.

MeatballCB writes "Hey folks. Being the 'technical' guy of the family, I often get calls from friends and family members when they're having PC issues. Most of these folks are not technical, so trying to troubleshoot problems over the phone can often be a challenge. Anyone know of a simple-to-use and (preferably) free service that would allow for remote viewing/control of their PCs? I know there's WebEx and GoToMyPC, but I hate to pay for something I'd use once every two months. I also know about VNC, but trying to walk someone through opening up ports on their router that thinks their Internet is broken when their homepage gets changed is not realistic. Anyone know of anything that would be easy to set up and use?"

26 of 454 comments (clear)

  1. logmein.com by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's a free service for home use. QED.

    1. Re:logmein.com by Smivs · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's a free service for home use. QED.

      It works well, too, but can be a bit slow. Also like most VNCs there is no audio support but for remote troubleshooting it should be fine. Give it a go. Find it here

      --
      Smivs on the intertubes!
    2. Re:logmein.com by El+Capitaine · · Score: 4, Informative

      Logmein, certainly. Free, and works well.

      Also, OP stated that he gets calls from 'friends and family members'

      While this would work fine for family, installing logmein that allows you access whenever you want is probably not a good idea for friends, and they would probably dislike it.

      If they are running Windows 7, its extremely easy to walk them through
      - Hitting the start button,
      - Typing 'Windows Remote Assistance' in the search bar
      - Clicking 'Invite someone you trust to help you,'
      - Clicking Easy Connect and having them recite the letters on their screen.

      Works in Vista too, but the added option of Easy Connect in Windows 7 that gives a a password for connection instead of using an invitation file makes it really easy for the technologically illiterate to allow you to connect. Just another very easy-to-use option.

    3. Re:logmein.com by davester666 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Do you guys REALLY dislike the idea of going upstairs to help your parents with their computer so much that you need to use some complicated remote control setup instead?

      And the exercise from climbing the stairs will do you good as well!

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  2. LogMeIn by hroo772 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm a big fan of LogMeIn Free. It's pretty easy to setup, and it gives you access to the pc through any browser. You don't have to worry about port issues or anything. I think it's what you should really look into using.

    1. Re:LogMeIn by andy666 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Often, if I am eating chinese food for dinner, lomein, for example, I'll use logmein to login to my work computer. The manual in german was very controversial, as it was called "logmeinkamp". Then there was the porn that it came with as a "trojan", titled "Me Log is In ".

    2. Re:LogMeIn by Tibia1 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Wait a second, you told this guy to post this story, didn't you? You're all from logmein, taking part in a ridiculously good adveratising scheme... and your probably paying th- [gets shot]

  3. Teamviewer by Myrkul23 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I've found that teamviewer is the easiest way to connect without having to go through setting up port forwarding

    1. Re:Teamviewer by pwilli · · Score: 3, Informative

      I also use Teamviewer. It's free for noncommercial use, does the whole port forwarding stuff for you. You don't have to know the IP-Address of the target PC - just a unique ID number and a (temporary) password. The servers of the company will keep track on which ID belongs to which IP-Adress, which very convenient for people with dynamic IPs. This feature can of course be turned off, if you want to do this stuff yourself. It also has a included chat-program to allow you to exchange messages. Good to keep the phone bill small.

  4. UltraVNC single-click by um_atrain · · Score: 5, Informative

    UltraVNC single click. Its a reverse VNC, designed for this purpose. They double click the executable, and then automatically connects to your listening client.

    Its customizable so you can make it look professional if needed. They only have to run the file, it does everything else.

  5. VNC is the way ... by Tux2000 · · Score: 5, Informative

    ... you just need to know that your friends (and family members) DO NOT need to mess with their routers. Just YOUR router needs to open a single port (5500/tcp) and forward it to your workstation. Make your friends run the VNC server as usual, start the VNC client on your workstation in LISTENER mode, tell your friends to select "add new client" from the VNC server icon context menu, and make them enter your IP or dyndns address into the popup dialog.

    (Technically, this swaps the roles of client and server on the TCP level, but VNC still behaves as expected.)

    Tux2000

    --
    Denken hilft.
  6. $125.00 per hour by mrmeval · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It fixed my problems instantly when I quoted them my rate. I got tired of being abused by people who refused to learn how the system worked. This was a directed refusal they take pride in. I made my point that I was not longer their slave. Now they get to pay someone who likes the abuse. I would point out the relationship has a whiff of BDSM but they'd not understand that either.

    --
    I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
    1. Re:$125.00 per hour by Clover_Kicker · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What if I like my family?

    2. Re:$125.00 per hour by Anarchduke · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What if I like my family?

      $40.00 / hr.

      --
      who prays for Satan? Who in 18 centuries has had the humanity to pray for the 1 sinner that needed it most? ~Mark Twain
    3. Re:$125.00 per hour by LordVader717 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's no problem if it's an occaisonal question, but the learned helplessness that many people demonstrate is just insulting.
      When I find them a fix it usually involves a few minutes of googleing, why can't they at least do the same?

      Once a freind asked me to come over for some help and I told him to do a very simple task with clear instructions which he was perfectly capable of. He couldn't be bothered to do it.
      Am I supposed to waste my time just because that's their easiest way out?

      In future I'm just going to send them this link http://xkcd.com/627/

    4. Re:$125.00 per hour by couchslug · · Score: 3, Informative

      One great way to avoid being nagged for favors is to take extra time to do them, then do them in a way the recipient won't ask again.

      I solve most such Windows problems with a format/reinstall/no data rescue (I suspect teh virus ate it). Be nice to those who deserve nice, barter or get monies from nice folks who want too much work for free, but fuck the hell out of anyone who wants to take advantage of you. Fuck 'em with a snarl or with a smile as appropriate, but fuck 'em.

      You'll find it quite satisfying. There is a reason BOFH is so popular. It reflects things many of us would like to do. You only live once, so have some fun.

      --
      "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
    5. Re:$125.00 per hour by LordLimecat · · Score: 3, Insightful

      In otherwords do the favor in a way theyll be sorry they asked. Couldnt you just say "no" and make everyone happier?

    6. Re:$125.00 per hour by ajlisows · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Here is the thing. My "extended support network" (myself included) prides itself on being able to do things on their own. We noticed some problems with that. Me trying to fix my car and fucking it up worse, friends trying to fix simple computer problems and ending with a computer that won't boot, etc.... I'm pretty lucky actually, much of my "extended support network" has skills that I do not and that are more expensive than computer fixing. My mechanic buddy calls me? I'll drop practically everything to help him. The guy I know that does HVAC, electrical wiring, and some plumbing? I'll help him in a snap. That guy that does drywall and other home remodeling? Sure! I'm called upon more often...but I come out ahead in the end. ;)

    7. Re:$125.00 per hour by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Quite right. There are very few people who I'll do tech support for (and all of them are so important that they get it for free, but that's another topic). My parents are two such people. They fed, clothed, and raised me for 18 years without any real benefit to themselves. The least I can do is help them out when they can use a hand. I won't destroy my life just to give my parents a bit of help, but I'll inconvenience myself to very great extents to help them out. Anything less is selfish.

      --
      "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
  7. Remote Assistance by asdf7890 · · Score: 4, Informative

    For a couple of family members I support I find the Remote Assistance function (essentially Remote Desktop with a different make-up job) works fine. They have MSN Messenger (or Live Messenger, or what-ever it is branded as today) accounts as do I so all they have to do is click select "request remote assistance" from the "activity" menu. You will need to have port 3389 pointing open at your firewall and pointing to the machine you will be answering the call on though, which is a disadvantage (make sure all your passwords are well chosen!), but the other end doesn't need any open ports.

    Pre XP I had OpenVPN and VNC installed on their machines. All they had to do was open the VPN and I could take/share control via VNC. RDC/RA works better though, as it is more responsive over slow ADSL lines and does not require any setup on the machine the person is asking for support on, though for family members who I have built machines for still have the VPN installed so I can connect it if I want/need to try interact with the machine by anything other than the RA connection (accessing fileshares directly for instance, if the problem being reported is "I can see the MP3s on the main machine from my laptop" or such), but I've not needed to do that for some time.

  8. Crossloop is simple by TheCow · · Score: 3, Informative

    I like Crossloop. It is setup as a Support site, but you/they don't pay anything unless you charge for support. There is a simple website to point the people to to request support.

  9. Try Mikogo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    www.mikogo.com . owned by Skype. I use it all the time.

    1. Re:Try Mikogo by Kenz0r · · Score: 4, Informative

      Since this is slashdot, I should probably mention that it's free as in beer, not as in speech. It also only works on Windows and Mac (but most Linux distributions come with a VNC server anyway nowadays).

      --
      +1 Funny Signature
  10. Re:If you're so good with IT by JWSmythe · · Score: 3, Informative

        I've used Echogent's EchoVNC. The Windows server is easy to use. The Linux one isn't quite as easy unfortunately. Pretty much set up a server somewhere public, and then both ends (me and the customer) can be behind most firewalls and get connected quickly. I don't know what feature differences are between their free trial and their pay version are, but if folks are really interested, they'll find out.

        The client lets you encode the username, password, and server right into it. For the end user, I send them to a web page and tell them to click a link. They download it and run it. It doesn't install anything, so it's real quick to get going. For me, I have the admin client installed on my PC, so I fire it up, and watch for that client to connect. Once they're connected, I start working.

        When I'm done, I close the client on their side, which of course disconnects me. It never starts again, unless they tell it to. It's nice, clean, and doesn't pollute their machine with wasted crap. They can delete the executable from their machine when they're done. No uninstall necessary.

        Even as simple as it is for the client (go to this site, click the link, run it, click ok), some people still have problems. "What do I run", or "Where did it download to". Frequently they'll ask for the password, which I tell them it's already set. For most people, it's 30 seconds to get me on. For some it can take a couple minutes, especially when they don't understand me saying "Open a browser and go to ....". It all depends on your end user.

        Needless to say, if the connection is bad enough, it's going to be pathetically slow. I was able to get onto a machine to traceroute from it, since the customer couldn't spell "tracert". It took a while, but I got enough information and told them what to say to their provider when they called.

        The only real problem I've run into is with Vista and it UAC. When it pops up, it kicks me off. If I'm doing something that runs into that, I have to ask them to click "allow", and then I reconnect. Since I'm only on client machines to fix problems, it's not appropriate for me to disable UAC.

    --
    Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
  11. Re:If you're so good with IT by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 3, Informative

    I also use reverse VNC, which is nice. You have to open up a port on our own router, have the VNC viewer listening on the right port, and then setup the reverse VNC binary to connect to your computer (ultravnc has easy programs for this), but it's reliable and pretty simple for end-users... one download, one click, done.

    I've done remote support for years through my business. I've used a custom MSI of TightVNC with the password already set, along with OpenVPN. That allows the customer to connect securely to my network, without worrying about a router and port forwarding.
    Just download the software, install, and it works. OpenVPN also eliminates the security problem of having unencrypted VNC running over the Internet.

    The UltraVNC SingleClick, though, I've just started looking at as a replacement. Built in encryption, easier install for the end user, and complete uninstall when it's finished.

    Security is still an issue, though, even with the built in encryption, because it's a static key, rather than PKI. Anybody who can download the SingleClick installer (which is anybody with an IP address) can also get the encryption key used. So it would be easy for anybody to eavesdrop on a connection and intercept all traffic.

    OpenVPN with custom certificates eliminates this (which you can generate on the fly from a PHP script, so every single customer is using their own encryption), so I'll still be using it for a lot of customers, even if I completely move over to UltraVNC SC.

    --
    "City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
  12. A wrap up of sorts... by BLKMGK · · Score: 4, Informative

    Okay seems like everyone and their brother has a different idea and since this interests me I tried to roll up as many of the interesting looking ones as possible into one posting :-) Did I miss any?

    http://www.teamviewer.com/

    https://secure.logmein.com/products/free/

    http://www.copilot.com/

    http://skype.com/

    http://www.uvnc.com/addons/singleclick.html (reverse VNC)

    http://www.crossloop.com/

    http://www.mikogo.com/en/

    http://showmypc.com/

    https://www.ntrconnect.com/

    http://www.zolved.com/remote_control

    http://www.wippien.com/ (VPN)

    http://code.google.com/p/gitso/ (reverse VNC)

    --
    Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org