Software rec: TeamViewer

[arduinna]

A few weeks ago, I stumbled over a program called TeamViewer, which gives you remote access to another computer. CNET gives it five stars, or "spectacular".

It's free for non-commercial use, and lets you do all sorts of things. You can use it to control another computer; you can use it to invite people to look at your screen in an online meeting; you can use it to transfer files back and forth without having to first upload them somewhere. The only requirement is that both systems have it installed and are online. (Obviously, faster connections and more modern OSes are going to have better results.)

The default setup gives you a user ID number that stays the same, and generates a random password every time you launch the program. You give that password to whoever you want to have access to your system, then when you end the session, the password is deleted.

You can also set it up to have a permanent password, so anyone can access that computer at any time if they know the user ID and pw. (You can do this during installation, or at any point thereafter by choosing a specific pw for that computer.)

One of the things I wanted it for was to be able to help my dad with small computer problems. I used to be able to walk him through things, but that's harder now, and my default had started to be "okay, write down the entire message and I'll take a look the next time I'm out", which isn't really great for a lot of stuff.

So I installed TeamViewer on his system the last time I was out there, which is when I discovered the permanent-password option, which was a source of great joy for me. I hadn't been looking forward to coaching him through opening the program any time I had to help him.

He called me a few minutes ago to say he had this crazy message on his screen from "A-V-G" about a "trojan horse found", and said "That doesn't have anything to do with me, right? I can just blow that off?"

And I said, "You know what? Let me try that thing I showed you..."

Opened up my laptop, opened up TeamViewer, opened up the list of "my computers" and clicked on his computer where I'd added it and its permanent password, and boom, there was his screen on my laptop, with the AVG threat-detection screen. Instead of having to listen to him read every word on the screen trying to get him to the "remove to vault" option, I just clicked it, and now am running a scan on his system from my living room, while he's off mailing a check.

If he didn't have a permanent password, I'd have asked him to launch TeamViewer and read me his numbers, so I could plug them in to my connection screen.

The remote-controlled computer has full functionality the whole time: if you need someone to show you what steps they took, they can do so while you watch. There's a little bubble in the lower-right hand corner of the remote-controlled screen so they know someone's there, with tools (toggle control permission off/on, chat window, etc.).

The session can be ended from either side. Once the session ends, a notice pops up on both computers that this was a free session, asking you to "like" it on Facebook/G-plus, giving an option to buy a license, or clicking "okay". This is a little annoying on the one hand, but clicking okay takes care of it, and the message means no one can sneak onto your system without your being aware that someone has done so.

I highly recommend this if you do tech support for anyone, or want to do any sort of remote collaboration. Or even if you want to do things like control the media player on your desktop from your laptop in the other room...

There are even mobile versions for iOS, Android, and Windows 8/RT.

Download it from the TeamViewer site instead of CNET, though, to avoid CNET's annoying third-party add-on crap.

Comments

[heresluck]

...I am boggling right now at how much easier this is going to make phone conversations with my dad.

[arduinna]

It was so easy!! And easier for him, too, since he didn't have to worry about trying to understand this completely alien crap, and get all frustrated and angry in the process.

\o/

[heresluck]

Exactly -- I find that when the computer makes him mad, I am somehow the one that gets yelled at. Heh.

[arduinna]

Heh. Mine doesn't yell at me, but he starts getting very stabby at the keyboard, and clicking angrily around the screen at god knows what, leaving me to figure out what sort of new damage he's doing and how to fix it. All the fault of "this damn thing", of course!

[morgandawn]

I've been using this for the past few years with my mom and it is great.

[reginagiraffe]

Oooohhh, how useful!

If my mom used the computer more, I'd definitely look into this!

[arduinna]

I admit, my original goal was to find a way to stream things from my desktop to the Apple TV I got for Christmas using my iPad, without having to keep going into the other room to set things up. *g* But the tech support aspect turned out to be way cooler and more useful!

[siria]

... yeah, I know what I'm going to install on my mother's laptop the next time I'm home. Bless you.

[arduinna]

My dad has already started telling people in his retirement community about it. I just hope they hear it as "you can ask YOUR kid to do this", and not "you can ask MY kid to do this"...

[the_shoshanna]

That looks very cool. Bookmarking, thanks!

[arduinna]

It is so awesome. Even just to be able to grab files from another machine without needing flash drives! It is to swoon.

[cesperanza]

Thank you thank you from a woman who had this conversation two days ago. "But my VIEW menu is gone. Except sometimes its back." "When it's back, are you still in the same program? Lots if programs have a view menu." "How do I know what program I'm in?" "What does it say in the upper left hand corner of the screen?" "It says FINDER, and see, the VIEW is back." "Right, that's the VIEW menu in the FINDER; you are looking for the VIEW menu in Word. Can you get into Word?" "How do I get into word?" "Can you click on a word document? Or on the W in the dashboard below? Does it say Word in the upper right hand corner now?" AND ON AND ON AND ON MARGIE.

[arduinna]

I feel your pain!! My dad doesn't know what a browser is, or what Firefox is. He uses Mozilla, you see. (I have no earthly idea why that's the name that stuck, but for years now, it's been Mozilla, and blank stares for Firefox.)

And when I ask him to read me the screen, he reads THE WHOLE SCREEN.

And the reason I had to go out and "look at "his computer this time? He wanted to forward a joke to his sister, and couldn't figure out how. Comcast changed its webmail interface (or he just forgot). So I drove an hour out to sit there and say, "okay, you see this row of little pictures? The single green arrow going left says Reply, and the double green arrow going left says Reply All, and next to that is a green arrow going right with no words. It's stupid that there are no words, but this one is for Forward, and that's what you click to forward an email."

On the one hand, he's incredibly computer literate for an 86-year-old, especially considering that nothing about computers has ever made any sense to him at all. But otoh, omg. I am so happy to have a shortcut!

[natmerc]

Thanks for the tip. I'm going to check it out.

[arduinna]

I hope it's useful!

[eviltammy]

So, I should set this up and send you a password... Is that what you're saying?

[arduinna]

Hee! You can if you want, although honestly, you know as much as I do about the basics. I'm literally using this to do things like click "remove to vault" and run scans and show my dad how to forward an email.

What you might want it for is to move files over to your netbook without having to use the external, or to do things like monitor a virus scan or download from your netbook without having to walk back and forth all the time.

That's the sort of thing I was actually looking for when I found this - the remote tech support was just a lovely bonus! Mostly I wanted a way to control a media player from a different room. *g* /lazy