What is remote support?
Remote support allows us to remotely control your PC from our
offices. Once the software is connected, we can see your computer
desktop on our PC and when we move our mouse, your cursor moves.
We can also cut and paste things and transfer files. Basically
everything we could do if we are at your offices sat in front
of the PC.
What do I need to have remote support?
The software will work with almost any PC but not Apples Macs.
Its specific requirements are:
- Windows 98, 2000, XP, and Server 2003
- Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator 4.0 or later
- A computer always connected to the internet via broadband
Is it safe?
To prevent unauthorized access, our remote access software requires
us to enter two separate passwords. The first one is to access
our remote access software and the second one is either your
normal PC login details or a password created by us. So there
is no way anyone can access your PC without knowing both passwords.
Secondly whilst remotely controlling your PC the software uses
the same encryption level as you normally get when accessing
an internet bank account, so they is no possibility of anyone
snooping on the connection.
What about if we use firewalls?
Aside from telling the firewall to allow our software to connect
to the internet, we don’t usually have any problems with
firewalls.
Can engineers remotely control my PC at anytime and how will
I know if they are?
With our main type of software, we can basically access your
PC whenever its turned on. We can supply a type of software
where you have to initiate the connection to us, but that is
more expensive since it is more difficult for use to schedule
a time to repair a particular machine. In regard to how you
know we are fixing your PC, you get a little box come up on
your PC telling you that someone has logged in.
Which is better, remote or onsite support?
Let's term better first. If you look at it from purely a cost
perspective then remote support wins. IT engineers are expensive
and typically spend 3-4 hours a day driving when working onsite.
If they work remotely, they can spend a full day fixing problems
and there are no transport costs. This results in lower support
costs.
But in terms of what the engineer can actually do, then remote
support is much more limiting – you can't replace a hard
drive remotely. One thing that most people don’t realise
is that a good engineer uses all his sense, not just sight.
It's possible to detect a power supply failure by smell and
a failing hard drive by sound.
The best type of support is a combination of the two. Use remote
support to either fix or diagnose the fault, then use onsite
support if it’s needed.
View the Simon Says archive
here
