We frequently receive questions concerning remote support for mobile devices. While we do offer mobile clients for the technician to use when supporting customers; the ability to actually control a mobile device is a bit more elusive. The two big operating systems right now (iOS and Android) along with the related mobile device manufactures limit the ability for remote support tools to control or even view the screen of their devices. The exception lies with devices that are jailbroken or rooted, this practice permits tools to be installed at the root level where they have access to control and view the display.

Several remote access solutions including Bomgar and LogMeIn Rescue provide limited connectivity to the file system, chat, and various diagnostics such as email configuration and internet settings. But remote control of the screen is restricted unless the mobile manufacturer has pre-installed the client or the device is jail broken/rooted. This is an industry wide concern, that each remote desktop/remote access/remote support solution is encountering and no-doubt looking for a resolution. These restrictions and limitations imposed by the mobile operating systems have slowed the development in our respective industry. Hopefully through the constant prodding and requests by the vendors and users, options will be implemented so all remote support companies can provide a remote support client that can be used to support these devices.

So what are our plans moving forward? We are looking at what options are available and are considering various mobile clients for our future builds. We are constantly talking with our community to determine what features are necessary and what would be nice to haves. We will continue to evaluate the mobile OS market and do our best to provide the most comprehensive and compatible remote support solution available. And when the mobile operating system providers expose the necessary components to view and control their devices, we will certainly be one of the first to release a full featured client.  If you have thoughts, opinions, or ideas about how we can improve our mobile clients for the technician and eventually the customer please contact the ScreenConnect sales staff. And if you work for Apple, Google, or one of the respective mobile phone manufacturers we would love to talk with you about how to get our ScreenConnect client installed and working so that our users can continue to help make the migration to your devices easier.

 

We are right in the thick of March Madness and very excited that two teams from the Triangle made it to the Sweet Sixteen- the underdog Wolfpack of North Carolina State University and the Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill! According to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. 2012 March Madness Report companies lost an estimated $175 million last week due to employees watching games, checking scores and managing their brackets during office hours.

It is apparent that many workers plan to follow the tournament whether the workplace allows it or not. Eighty six percent of respondents to a MSN poll indicated that they were going to keep tabs on the action. Whether you choose to call in "sick" and work from the couch or take a long lunch to catch the games at a local pub, ScreenConnect offers employees the option to work remotely. Download the ScreenConnect mobile application to easily connect with your client or work computer via your Android or Apple device.

In the Triangle we take basketball very seriously. As an incentive our office featured the NCAA tournament games on the conference room televisions. Most offices aren’t so nice. Here are our "Top 10" ways to not get caught when working remotely:

1. Utilize text and email when possible
2. Prep desk and computer to seem used
3. Turn on webcam so you can see if anyone stops by
4. Make sure and send emails consistently throughout the day
5. Route office calls to mobile
6. Prep documents earlier in the week that can be sent out for review during the games
7. Do a drive by of locations early in the week to check wifi, cellular reception, and tables with power outlets
8. If possible try to be seen at work early in the morning and again between 4:30 to 5:30
9. Don't seem to knowledgeable about the games
10. Find a location far enough from work that you don't run into your boss

Educational institutions from K-12 schools to universities allow access to their network by third-party contractors for various reasons such as maintenance or software installation and updates. Common practice is to grant access using the contractor’s remote support portal to tunnel into the school system’s network. This process is viable and secure, but in each instance, the administrator has to set permissions and securities based on the software and client. Managing each contractor connection through a different remote portal can be timely and a headache to maintain.

To offer an easier solution, many of our educational patrons employ ScreenConnect to manage access to their network. Using role-based securities, administrators can easily predetermine permissions and control security for each third-party vendor they allow into their network. The vendor connection will appear in a stored list of unattended connections for easy, one-click access and management. This saves time and puts administrators at ease when providing a secure remote access connection to their network.

ScreenConnect not only saves time for their customers, but also money. As the US economy and government face huge cuts, educational institutions are burdened and having to make budget cuts across the board. An excellent way for institutions to save money is to invest in software that doesn’t have reoccurring monthly fees. ScreenConnect is a one-time payment, once you buy it, you own it, forever! Please contact us or your local IT partner about setting up ScreenConnect at your educational institution.

Potential security vulnerabilities are huge concern when setting up and maintaining a server and server based software applications. Often support is performed by third party IT consultants or OEMs that reside outside the company firewall. Here at ScreenConnect we have some suggestions to help you with the setup and maintenance of your server.

What is the best infrastructure for a secure network? Self-hosted remote support applications can be installed inside the company network and accessed via Windows or Form Authentication. Restraining the application within the LAN prevents data from being transmitted outside the company network, thus minimizing the overall security risk. Contrarily, SaaS-based remote support solutions increase the likelihood of a data breach since packets are shipped to a centralized server over the internet and back to the local technician.

What is the best method for allowing remote support, training, backups, and software updates? Administrators can grant third parties access to the central web application by way of role-based securities. Granularity can be defined by the administrator depending on the level of rights and permissions they wish to grant. Additionally, the customer has the ability to view the data being transmitted during each session to ensure safety. This provides the secure infrastructure that most companies need along with allowing access for third parties that play a crucial role in maintenance.

Japan is home to some of the fastest and least expensive fiber optic networks in the world, creating an ideal environment for remote access. Though Japan has been reluctant to adopt technologies that improve efficiency and productivity, the devastating earthquake has created a growing number of businesses who now encourage telecommuting.

This article from the BBC examines this new “work revolution” developing in Japan, changing both the home and work environments. The advent of cloud computing has alleviated many security concerns, and the costs of remote access per employee have dropped considerably.

It remains to be seen whether the implementation of telecommuting will lead to happier, more efficient workers in Japan. Do you telecommute? Has your productivity risen or fallen? Chime in below in the comments!

Our team is happy to release the latest version of ScreenConnect, version 2.0. In this update, we've added a helpful self-check area on the administration page to troubleshoot your ScreenConnect installation. We have also provided the ability for remote access, allowing access to an unattended computer.

For more new features and details on our latest update, visit the download page or ask us a question on our forum.

The ScreenConnect team is pleased to announce the release of ScreenConnect 1.9. In this latest update, we’ve added many new features, including:

• Reverse screen sharing, allowing a technician to display the contents of his screen on a customer’s screen.
• The use of .NET ClickOnce technology for all Windows machines, bypassing the use of Java Web Start.
• An optimized screen recording function, thus saving memory and CPU cycles.
• Improvements to the Android client, such as specifying the screen quality and keeping the phone awake while the phone is open.
• New drag and drop abilities in chat windows, allowing clients to drag and drop files into the windows.
• The ability to connect through a proxy server.

For more on these and other new features, visit our download page.

Have a feature request? Need some help? Be sure to stop by our forum!

 

 

We had some major enhancements with the release of ScreenConnect 1.8, but one of the most exciting was our new Android mobile phone application. The mobile phone application allows a host to connect to customers and control their computer via their Android based mobile phone.

With this new feature, a technician can troubleshoot a customer’s computer anywhere his phone has internet access: at the airport, at the coffee shop, at the library, etc. Now a technician can make quick, immediate repairs without needing a laptop. This application, available as a part of the ScreenConnect installation, can be installed on an Android smart phone simply by joining a ScreenConnect session. After that, a message box will prompt you to install the application. View the app and its features in action on YouTube.

Try it out and let us know how it works! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact us or join us on the forum.

We're proud to announce the release of ScreenConnect 1.8. This release is one of our most diverse and extensive releases since the product was launched. ScreenConnect 1.8's numerous features include the following:

• ScreenConnect technicians can now host sessions with any computer as long as an operating system is compliant with ScreenConnect's Java Web Start Host Client. This provides extensive flexibility for hosts who want to use their Mac or Linux based PC for hosting sessions with clients.
• A new custom toolbox, which allows hosts to organize and launch support applications located on the host computer to the guest computer via a single mouse click icon. Visit Youtube to see this feature in action.
• An Android  phone application that allows mobile users to connect to their client PC’s via their Android OS based smart phones. View the app and its features on Youtube.
• One of our beta user's favorite new features: our change license consumption policy. Sessions that are left open by the host no longer consume a license, resulting in an immediate 20-30% ROI improvement for most customers.
• File transfer now supports entire directory trees.
• Customization and branding of the software allows hosts to completely remove the ScreenConnect name and brand the product as required. With the 1.8 build there are now 150+ customizable fields and labels open to the ScreenConnect administrator.
  

Be sure to let us know what you think of this build of ScreenConnect!

Much thanks to our friends at www.wareprise.com for taking the time to review ScreenConnect recently. As we try to get the word out we reached out to a few key editors and technology writers to see if they would give us feedback on our product. Wareprise took it a step further and even posted their review online. It was a great surprise when they contacted us with their review, so if you get a second take a look at our ScreenConnect review http://www.wareprise.com/2010/02/25/screenconnect-a-self-hosted-remote-support-software/