Remote Support

One of the greatest advances that I believe has been made in the way I manage and administer IT is that of remote support tools such as Terminal Services and especially a tool called Logmein Rescue, the link is here: https://secure.logmeinrescue.com/HelpDesk/Home.aspx

The allows me to publish a URL, in this case http://www.logmein123.com to users, such that when they get a problem they go to that web address, punch in a 6-digit number I give them and hey presto within a minute or two I have almost complete control of their desktop. Now, what used to be a frustrating hour of ‘describe what’s on the screen’ and ‘are you sure you clicked the button’ becomes a simple case of ‘give me a few minutes and I’ll have it sorted for you.’. This is a win for me and a win for them.

This is a great bit of technology. If I had to be negative in any way, it is the warnings that pop up prior to accessing the site. This isn’t a bad reflection on the software or interface just a state of the world we are in. ‘Do you really want to launch this application?’ and ‘Open or Save this applet?’ get in the way a little especially for inexperienced or first time users. Wouldn’t it be great to forego all that but I guess that’s the price you pay for being secure.

Anyway, it’s a great tool. It costs around $800 per year for unlimited use and to be honest, I couldn’t live without it.

  • Nigel Goodwin

    Hello Jason

    the name’s Nigel and I have recently started a small part-time company offering support and training to home users and small business in Oxfordshire, England.

    I landed on your blog whilst doing a google search on log-me-in remote support.

    I t had a near-enough-now date stamp and so I thought I would contact. Only discovered LogMeIn yesterday and I have already tried to connect to a customers PC.

    $800 a year converts to about £400 per year. I am currently trialling the full pro version which expires after a month and turns into the free version.

    Do you know what is the difference between the free version and the pro version? I have recently also tried trials of Remote Support (XP) and Crosstec Remote Support – both too limiting or troublesome.

    I will bookmark your blog and check back 2morrow.

    Best Wishes

    Nigel – http://www.cptutor.com

  • Jason

    Nigel, Hello. The price of $800 is a typo sorry about that – it is actually $1188 a year which (at todays exchange rate) equates to around £599 per year.

    I came across the product because we started out by using RemotelyAnywhere which was a great product but needed prior installation on the client machines. The beauty of this product is that it only downloads an applet as and when it’s needed.

    There is a feature comparison here: https://secure.logmein.com/go.asp?page=productcomparison but I believe the free version only lasts two weeks?

    I know that the version I use has a detailed reporting section and allows the creation of technician and administrator accounts.

  • Anonymous

    the free version has no expiry date. this product in genuinely free!

  • Anonymous

    Hi! I think Nigel is mixing up LogMeIn Rescue with LogMeIn Free & Pro. Rescue is a remote support tool, whilst Free & Pro are intended as remote access tools. All are excellent tools and the Free version is really free. Rescue has a free trial, but is a paid-for product. There is no free version.

  • Jason

    Thx for the feedback Anonymous. There is a comparison between the various versions here:

    https://secure.logmein.com/go.asp?page=productcomparison

    Jas.

  • Andy Hawkins

    I must admit I too am big fan of LogmeIn. I run a computer services company in rural New Brunswick, Canada and we use a combination of the free version of LogmeIn and LogmeIn Hamachi to provide comprehensive remote support to our clients.

    After browsing the forums of LogmeIn we were able to use AutoIT to create a login script that we can email clients that will set them up as part of our support network. So far we have solved problems for client in the UK, America and Canada. It truly is a great product.

  • stanemte

    OK, LogMeIn is a good tool, but there are some downsides:
    1. The free version isn’t right for remote technical support, because it needs installation which gives extra headache.
    2. They have a special version for remote tech support, but it cost $129 a month, and this is quite a sum for such a service.
    With a Remote Support Tool such as Techinline Remote Desktop — I won’t have such issues. And you pay only $20 a month for unlimited use, or $40 for 20 session.
    You’ll only need an internet connection and a browser. No need to install anything on your PC. And right away you’ll have a ready-to-use remote desktop access environment. You can easily use it to get access to Remote Support. And no fuss about…

  • Jason

    Thanks for the tip stanemte, actually since this post I’ve moved away from Logmein and onto NTR Support.

    Mind you the big problem with all these applications that don’t need installing on PC’s anymore is the IE drop down yellow bar that confuses users time and time again. Also, the language in the ‘do I download it or save it” and “do I run it or open it?” – it’s all too much for users and needs to get much much simpler.

    Jas.

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