Support Remote Computers with Zoho Assist

At Tech DC we occasionally provide remote computer support and take over someone’s desktop to fix a problem. My favorite tool for this is the previously mentioned UltraVNC SingleClick. This requires the remote user to click on an executable to allow me to view their desktop.

A new tool that I started using is Zoho Assist. This is web based remote login software similar to GoToAssist or LogMeIn Rescue, but far more reasonably priced. Unlike UltraVNC SingleClick, Zoho Assist works on PC, Mac, and Linux (SingleClick is PC only) and everything can be setup from a web browser (SingleClick is far more complicated and requires the support person to understand firewalls, port forwarding, and dynamic DNS services). Zoho Assist is free with limited features allowing 5 sessions a month, enough for most people helping a few friends and family. The price for the full service is $12/month.

The person you are supporting has to either click a link in an email you send them or go to join.zoho.com and enter the Session ID for the session you created. Then Java is often automatically installed on the supported computer and the person has to click a series of OKs and Nexts. But overall it is a simple process that you can walk most people though on the phone.

I still recommend UltraVNC SingleClick for advanced support needs for PCs. But for something quick and simple, Zoho Assist is a great service.

VNC Port Forwarding for FiOS

Because setting up VNC with a router is tricky, I thought it would be helpful if I wrote up how to do it with the popular FiOS Actiontec router based on my recent VNC set up for a small business in Arlington, Virginia.

FiOS

FiOS is a high speed fiber internet service offered by Verizon and popular in northern Virginia. In November 2005, Verizon chose Herdon, Virginia as the second city to get FiOS after Keller, Texas. While Verizon is now stopping its expansion of FiOS into new cities, they just launched FiOS in Washington D.C..

VNC

VNC is an open source free system for remotely sharing desktops, great for remote tech support or just working on your office computer when you’re somewhere else.  See my old post on the benefits of VNC.

While there are many other services for remote computer administration that are simpler to set up and punch through a router automatically, I prefer VNC because it’s free and works great once it’s configured. Also, since VNC is a popular protocol, there are clients and servers for every computer, including PC, Mac, Linux, iPhone (a VNC server is available for jailbroken iPhones and VNC clients are available from the App Store), Andriod, and more.

Setting up VNC with a FiOS Router

This is the standard FiOS router by Actiontec.

Here are the steps to set up Port Forwarding for VNC on the Actiontec router:

  1. Log into the router by typing 192.168.1.1 into a web browser. The default login is admin and password1.
  2. Once logged in, click on Firewall Settings at the top and click Yes to proceed.
  3. Click on Port Forwarding in the left Menu.
  4. Create a rule by clicking Add. Below is what a created rule looks like. You need to add a protocol and add a port for that protocol. The default VNC connection uses port 5900 and the TCP protocol.
  5. Click Apply. In this example, the rule will then forward everything for port 5900 to the computer at address 192.168.1.152. For simplicity, I have the office computers all using static local IP addresses.

Multiple VNC Computers and Rules

In the case of this office, I set up multiple computers with VNC. For each one, I used a different VNC display number (configured in the computer’s VNC server software). The default display is 0, which corresponds with using port 5900. For the next computer, I set up VNC to use display 1 which corresponds with port 5901. Similarly, the other computers use display 2 with port 5902 and display 3 with port 5903. I then set up a forwarding rule as above for each computer. The port forwarding list then looks like this:

Dynamic DNS

In order to access the computers remotely, you should have a free account with Dnydns.org or another Dynamic DNS service. This allows you to use yourcompanyname.dyndns.org to connect to your computer instead of having to know the IP address of your router which is changing regularly. It gives you all the benefits of a static IP address without the cost. The Dynamic DNS service can be updated automatically with your current IP address from the FiOS Actiontec router.

Click on Advanced at the top, then Dynamic DNS on the left menu to set this up as shown here:

VNC and DynDNS for Remote Desktop Support

Connecting Remotely with VNC

One of my favorite software tools to use at Tech DC is VNC. If I have a client in Maryland, D.C. or elsewhere in the world when I am in Virginia, I can use VNC to take control of their computer in order to remotely diagnose problems or provide user training.

VNC stands for Virtual Network Computing. It was originally developed by AT&T Labs in Cambridge, England. It is open source and free. There are many “flavors” of VNC that use the VNC protocol. My favorite for Windows is UltraVNC because it has the added feature of allowing file transfers between the two machines. VNC exists for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

VNC has two parts. There is the VNC Server which serves up the image. And there is the VNC Viewer which views and controls the server computer.

DynDNS.org

One limitation is that VNC requires a static IP. This is where DynDNS.org helps. Most home internet connections have a dynamic IP address, meaning that the IP address changes occasionally. DynDNS.org creates an address such as “yourname.dyndns.org” that is always mapped to your latest IP address, so it is as if you have a static home IP address.

UltraVNC’s Single Click

It takes extra time to setup, but Single Click is a great tool that can be built at UltraVNC. It is a small executable file that someone can click on in order for you to take over their computer. This makes it simple for the person you are connecting to. It also has the added benefit of not needing to configure their router to forward port 5900 to their computer. Single Click is only available for Windows computers.

All Free

VNC is free and DynDNS has a free service that is all you need. You can purchase other remote connection tools that are sometimes easier to set up such as GoToMyPC.  But if you can configure them, VNC and DynDNS should provide everything you need to connect to remote computers.