I’m seriously thinking about installing a program on my Mom’s computer that will let me troubleshoot it remotely.
Has anyone used/can anyone recommend either join.me, LogMeIn, or GoToMyPC?
Does anyone recommend anything else? 
I have had very good experience with LogMeIn. It’s free and has pretty complete functionality, with extra features available as a paid option. I have used join.me but never thought of it as a remote troubleshooting tool, although I suppose you can use it that way (I think of it a presentation tool). I use LogMeIn on an iPad to access my work computer remotely without having to cart a laptop around.
VNC. Virtual Network Computing
There are both free and paid versions. It’s secure, and will give you desktop control of her machine. It can run resident at startup, and can be set so that you will have to log in to the remote session, and she will have to release mouse control to you (as an additional security measure). It’ll also work through router firewalls, and there are iphone and android apps for it.
Regards,
-Bouncer-
TeamViewer. I use it for my mother and a couple of friends that live across the country. Full version free for non-commercial use.
Most of them work fine but I will give another vote for LogMeIn because that is what I use most often.
Teamviewer. Hands down. I use it, I love it, always recommend it when these threads come around.
Teamviewer worked best for me so I’ll give it another affirmative vote.
Thanks, everyone! I like the sound of VNC – an Android app is good – but will definitely need to check out Teamviewer.
Darnit, I did three or four different searches before I started this thread! :smack:
Ah, well. Thanks!
Another vote for Teamviewer.
I happen to use VNC because I can get free software for all of the different operating systems I use and they all work together. I use RealVNC on Windows XP, TightVNC on Windows 7, and whatever VNC software that came with Fedora on my Linux box. The programs each have their quirks, the Linux version being the most quirky (and the only one I really had to fiddle with to get working properly) but now that they are all set up properly they all work well together.
Some anti-virus programs consider VNC connections to be a security risk and will disable them by default. You may need to set exceptions or otherwise fiddle with your anti-virus to make it all work properly.
Also, since it seems like you will be going across the internet, you may need to fiddle with the router settings on the server side so that it forwards the incoming VNC connections to the correct computer. I am assuming you will install the VNC server on your mother’s computer then use a VNC client to connect to it. Depending on how her network is set up, if you try to access it remotely your computer may only be able to see the router, and may not be able to see what is on the network behind it (which may be only your mother’s computer and nothing else). This is why you may need to fiddle with the router to make it work.
ETA: Can’t speak about the other software mentioned in this thread because I’ve never used it. I don’t know if VNC is better or worse than the others. All I can tell you is that it does work.
This is the major disadvantage to VNC; Teamviewer and LogMeIn connect automatically through NAT.
Definitely Teamviewer, since it’s the easiest to use: tell the other person to click on the icon and tell you the password that displays.
Another vote for Logmein. We use the corporate version, and its a blessing. In my personal life, I have one paid license, and then all my family and people I do support for have the free version. Its truly amazing when you need it.
A vote for teamviewer. I will add that my buddy Tomas who is one of the network engineers for a major ISP in Norway hooks me up with TLC for my computer and this is what he always uses. I have never had any issues with it, it is free for me as a nonprofessional, and there is the option for either a permanent ID number to exchange or a temp one so you are only on the hook for a single log in session.
My company uses LogMeIn Pro for remotely connecting occasional telecommuters to their office workstations, and for us IT guys to connect to remote data center servers. Some of us use LogMeIn Free to connect from work to home computers.
I tried to get a Pro subscription for my father-in-law so I could help him when he has trouble – yet know access would still be secured via passwords and invitation-only sessions. It was too much of a PITA for him.
But relatively recently the LogMeIn people released **Join.Me **and it’s been a great success.
It’s a website – the name is the URL – and a host can go there and set up a session, then send the session ID numbers to any number of remote users who can then go to the site and enter the ID numbers as well. The remote participants see everything happening on the session host’s desktop.
My company uses it in conjunction with conference calling services to run massive meetings that include remote participants who can see what everyone else sees during the presentation.
I use it with my In-Laws to advise them on computer troubles – usually calling via cell-phone while watching the screen and telling Mom or Dad what to do. They get a better sense of control that way, and tend to remember the instructions better when they do it themselves.
Most importantly, there’s no footprint left behind. That takes care of the security concerns I had. When the session is over, the host closes his/her browser or stops the session and the session ID becomes useless. The next time we need to solve something, we start a session with a brand new ID number. [The host has the option to keep a link to Join.Me on his desktop, but it’s not required.]
–G!
The Problem’s Plain to See!
Too Much Technology!
. --Dennis DeYoung (Styx)
. Mr. Roboto
. Kilroy Was Here
Recent convert to Teamviewer here, we just bought a paid version for remote customer support.
Yeah, Teamviewer here as well.
I run it on my homeserver and connect to it seamlessly through my work’s proxy. Whenever I need it, I can just mail my family the direct support link from their website. After that they just have to tell me the ID & password and I can clean up their viruses.
Edit: you can also use their website to take over a screen.
I’ve used Teamviewer to help my mom and my father-in-law and I’ve been very happy with it. The only problem I have is keeping my mother from touching her mouse when I’m trying to deal with her computer - she’s got satellite internet, so it’s a bit slower than broadband, and it takes a few seconds for things to happen. She gets impatient and starts clicking stuff… :rolleyes:
You can select to disable input in the options.
Teamviewer. Absolutely. I have non English speaking folks in India using it to do work off my home server. They have no problems with it.