Remote Assistance Facts
Remote Assistance Facts
With remote assistance,
A person needing help (called a novice or a requester) sends a help request to a friend (called an expert or
a helper).
The expert answers the request, and a communication session is established.
During the session, the expert sees the novice's desktop, and both novice and expert can exchange
messages.
At any time, the expert can request to take over and control the novice desktop (with permission).
To initiate a remote assistance session:
Select Ask for Remote Assistance in Windows Messenger. The expert replies through Windows
Messenger. No password is required.
Send an e-mail through the Help and Support tools (if the infrastructure is configured appropriately). The
expert receives the e-mail and opens the attached request file and supplies the password to initiate the
session.
Create a Remote Assistance file through Help and Support tools and load it to a network share (if the
infrastructure is configured appropriately), or send the file in some other way. The expert opens the
invitation file and supplies the password to initiate the session.
Keep in mind the following details regarding Remote Assistance.
Both the novice (person requesting assistance) and the expert (person giving assistance) computers must
be running either Windows XP (either Home or Professional) or Windows Server 2003 and Windows
Messaging.
A Remote Assistance session is initiated by sending an assistance invitation. The invitation includes
information that allows the remote user and computer to make the connection, exchange messages, and
take control if necessary.
Generally, the novice must initiate the invitation. If Active Directory is used, the expert can initiate the
Remote Assistance connection.
Invitations require a password (unless Instant Messaging is used) and have an expiration time. Expired
invitations cannot be answered.
The helper cannot copy files from a user's computer. The user must explicitly send any files the helper may
need.
The user can take control the computer at any time by pressing the Esc key, Ctrl+C, or clicking Stop
Control.