Windows Remote Assistance

Windows Remote assistance enables someone on a remote computer who you have specifically given authorization to connect to your computer to help you out in a situation involving software, settings, drivers, etc. The help given to you is via the Remote Desktop Protocol used by a few other remote control applications such as remote desktop or terminal services. Remote Assistance allows you to give your permission for someone to help you by being able to view your screen and take control of your mouse and keyboard functions. This can be useful for someone to show to how to fix something or operate some software.

To open Remote Assistance, open cointrol panel, then open programs, open Maintenance, then open Windows Remote Assistance.

You will see the following window upon running for the first time.

Above, you have the ability to invite someone to help you or alternatively to help someone out with their pc problem. To invite someone click Invite someone you trust to help you.

As a security precaution, the computer is not automatically set up to send invitations. To do this, click on the link in blue which will open up the remote settings box. If you already have enabled the computer to send out invitations, you will see the window titled 'How do you want to invite someone to help you?'

Allowing remote assistance connections has not be enabled yet, to enable this, tick the box next to Allow Remote Assistance connections to this computer and then click the OK button at the bottom of the window.

Now you will see the screen above once you have enabled sending remote assistance invitations, you have the option to either use e-mail as the means to send the invitation or to save the invitation as a file to be given directly or through instant messenger or even e-mail at a later time. We have chosen to Save this invitation as a file. To do so click Save this invitation as a file.

You are now given the option to save the file in a specified location of your choice. Choose this location by either typing it out into the path and file name field or by clicking browse and entering the path a filename through the browser.

Next, you must enter a password which must be confirmed again below it. This is the password you will be giving to the person helping you in order to access your computer. Make sure that you choose a complex password that is not easy to predict or guess. You may also want to choose a password that you have not used before for any accounts or logins as this password will be given to the helper and may compromise other accounts (such as e-mail) by doing so.

When you have finished choosing the password and have confirmed it, click Finish.

Remote Assistance will wait for a successful connection to your computer before starting up the remote session and you will then be able to chat to the helper as well as change a few settings for Remote Assistance and also choose whether the helper will get access to take control over your desktop instead of just being able to view it when the session first starts.

If you were to help someone else you would go through the same program by opening Remote Assistamce and choosing the 'Offer to help someone' option, which would ask you to enter the location of the invitation file as well as the location of the computer you are going to help (the name of the computer or IP address).