In this day and age online shopping has become a customary practice. Still consumers are often wary of looming threats such as credit card fraud, identity theft, or the hassle of getting a refund on returned merchandise. As a dependable merchant we offer buyers a hassle free, secure system to purchase ScreenConnect. Our preferred method is Google Wallet (Google Checkout is transitioning to Google Wallet) but we also offer a product order option. We standby Google Wallet’s mission to “help online merchants sell more by providing a fast, convenient, and safe online shopping experience for their buyers”.

Credit card fraud and identity theft have attracted heavy media coverage over the past 10 years as online shopping has become more popular. To combat these threats Google Wallet promotes a secure, encrypted transaction. Google claims, “Your bank account details and credit card information, which are stored in a single location on our secure servers, are only accessed when needed to complete transactions.” Additionally Google performs industry-standard Address Verification System (AVS), Card Verification Value (CVV), and a list of other checks to prevent credit card fraud. Due to these securtiy checks quite often consumers have to wait for their order to process (up to 24 hours). For more details on Google Wallet take the buyer experience.

We hope you have overall positive experiences when purchasing goods online. We realize that on occasion customers are not 100% satisfied their purchase and realize after the fact the product does not meet their needs. We believe that the customer should always be happy and that is why we have a return policy. Documented under ScreenConnect Terms: If you are not completely satisfied within 30 days of your purchase you can return ScreenConnect for a full refund. Simply contact our sales team and we can issue a refund via the method of your original payment.

A third party Windows virtual private server (VPS) allows one to run a virtual, private copy of Windows on a network and host applications. There are several vendors to choose from when selecting a VPS that differ vastly in cost, uptime and speed.

Speed is an important characteristic of any network. Over an entire 12 month period in August 2010 to July 2011, Compuware conducted speed tests of multiple popular cloud providers. Compuware used its own proprietary software, CloudSleuth, that bases tests on response time (response time is the total time elapsed while downloading both web pages in the multi-step test transaction) and availability (availability measures the percentage of test transactions that completed successfully out of the set of transactions attempted) from different nodes around the world. Each backbone node runs four test transactions per hour against each target application instance. Compuware admits the test is not perfect, as it is limited by factors such as location, but it may be a good starting point for customers trying to decide between various cloud services.

Uptime and cost are also valid concerns when selecting a VPS provider. A reliable network such as Amazon EC2 claims to have an Annual Uptime Percentage of at least 99.95% during the Service Year. Other more affordable solutions may have more downtime associated with their networks. When considering a VPS vendor price is a contributing factor. Amazon EC2 released Micro Instance late last year as a budget conscious choice. From discussions in the ScreenConnect Forums we can see some of our members suggest TrustVPS for a little over $10 USD/month.

When choosing a VPS host service there are many factors and providers to consider. Once you’ve opted for a VPS vendor you can refer to the ScreenConnect guide for moving an installation to a different server.  If you have thoughts, suggestions or experience with VPS servers and your ScreenConnect install please share them with other users in the comment field.

We recently got wind from some Bomgar users of the plan to discontinue support for the Bomgar B100. The B100 was a favorite of small business IT support professionals. Bomgar is offering the B100 customer’s a conversion to the B200 and it’s pricing even if they don’t need the capacity of the B200.

"After June 28, 2013, maintenance will no longer be available for the B100 hardware nor any licenses running on the B100 hardware platform. Until then, current maintenance will allow customers to receive software upgrades, hardware warranty, and technical support.

We know many of you rely on your B100, and we encourage you to upgrade to a B200 appliance to continue realizing the benefits of Bomgar. "

Much of the Bomgar community is understandably upset over the decision. At ScreenConnect we’ve always been behind what we stood for the in the beginning- catering to the small business and niche IT community. We offer an affordable solution with a one-time price point to a wide customer base. If you are a Bomgar customer and are looking for alternatives you can trial ScreenConnect free for 30 days. Please refer to our getting started guide, our user forum, and contact sales or support if you have any questions.

The ScreenConnect community has been buzzing about a Linux server install for quite some time. As you know, here at ScreenConnect we listen and answer our customer demands!

Cue the drumroll……we can confirm that we’ve had our lab rats hard at work and presently have a Linux version up and running on MONO 2.10. We are still tweaking the bugs but are confident that we will be rolling this out to our customer base in the next couple builds.

So why Linux? What advantages do Linux servers have? It is estimated that Unix-based servers comprised approximately 64 percent of the servers on the market according to an W3Techs August 2011 report. As Katherine Noyes from PC World suggests, Linux servers can have many benefits over Windows servers including “stability, security, hardware, total cost of ownership, and freedom”.  For those reasons, and more, Linux is a huge piece of the pie!  

Are you interested in setting up unattended access for each employee on your team to their workstation? To do this, we suggest basing the unattended network on an environment variable per machine. This allows all internal machines to be in a specified folder but only the tagged user can see the unattended connection associated with their profile name.

The administrator can define an environment variable, and then build an installer to contain the machine tag. An example of this would be “Desktop - %USERNAME%”, where USERNAME (whatever appears at the top when they are logged in to ScreenConnect) is the environmental variable associated with each machine. The tag filter is exactly: “Desktop - $USERNAME” and it will replace $USERNAME with their Screenconnect Username and it will match the corresponding machine. Next, the administrator should create a session group and set permissions to join sessions.

We hope this helps setting up unattended access for your work force. For more information please refer to the ScreenConnect Forum.

Role-based permissions were incorporated into ScreenConnect for security purposes. Roles are defined by administrators according to permissions that unlock functionality and features within ScreenConnect. Once created, administrators can delineate any number of roles to users based on the access needs of each individual.

Administrators have the option of using Forms Authentication (default) or Window Authentication to manage roles. An unlimited number of roles can be established on the Security Tab of the Administrator’s Page. Roles are defined by twelve predetermined permissions that are based on limits such as session access, viewing rights, and the ability to build an unattended installer. Once roles are created, the administrator can assign, edit, or delete the role.

Our team recommends a stepwise approach to establishing roles: setting a few roles with basic permissions and creating additional roles with more specific functionality. If the needs of a user change, the administrator can easily add or delete a role to the user’s profile without having to create a new one. We hope you are taking advantage of the granular role-based security feature of ScreenConnect!

With ScreenConnect 2.5 right on the horizon, we’ve divulged a few new features you can expect to see in the upcoming release. The most highly anticipated improvements are the enhancements to the toolbox. In previous builds, the toolbox was limited to the host’s windows machine. In 2.5 we’ve had a complete toolbox overhaul!

The first thing we addressed is the physical location of the toolbox. In 2.5, you have the option to store files and applications on the server as opposed to the host’s client. This allows for shared access to for important utilities and executables.  Imagine having one click access to run your favorite utility from anywhere in the world!  Furthermore, since the toolbox is now housed on the server we’ve opened it up to Mac, Linux, Android and iOS users.

Remember, the toolbox feature is unique to ScreenConnect. It is a powerful tool that allows a technician to run diagnostics on a customer machine without the need to transfer or install files. There is nothing else like it on the market and we are proud to unveil it to our entire customer base.

After a couple months of beta versions, ScreenConnect 2.4 is finally available! We are very excited as 2.4 is one of our biggest releases to date! With vast improvements to the software architecture along with a handful of highly anticipated new features we hope you have had fun playing around in the first week.

What’s new in 2.4? Probably the two biggest changes outside of performance improvements are allowing multiple technicians to join a single session and enhancements to unattended connections. Now, multiple technicians can collaborate collectively on a support session; utilizing respective skills to more efficiently help their customers. A in-depth video highlighting the multiple technician feature can be seen on our YouTube page. Additionally, changes to the unattended sessions permit users to update, rename, or remove unattended installations directly from the ScreenConnect Host Page- making the technician's life easier!

Anything else? Additionally, as stated, in 2.4 the developers looked toward the future and improved upon the software architecture to make future features and fixes run smoothly.  We hope you notice the improved performance of your ScreenConnect install as the recent changes have made 2.4 much faster than previous builds!  For a full rundown of 2.4 release enhancements and fixes please refer to the 2.4 release history.

Stay tuned as we have tons of features and improvements planned for 2012! 

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.