I just found out about ShowMyPC. I had to call into support for one of our app servers at work and the tech used this software to remotely control my machine.
That’s no big deal. I’m sure most of us have done this. What got me was that this was totally free.
Since I don’t really consult anymore 90% of my remote troubleshooting calls are from customers like "wife", "mom" or "mother-in-law". 🙂 I don’t like the idea of spending a monthly subscription fee so that I can help troubleshoot my family and friends.
So my current strategy is I have hamachi installed on all my personal machines and those of my families. I then use RealVNC to jump in whenever they need me. It’s been working great. however, the setup is a pain, especially if the user needs help right away.
The next time I’ll be trying ShowMyPC. As the website says it’s a free alternative to GoToMyPC and such.
To use it just go to their website. For your users they click on the top link:
You simply click on the 2nd link (it’s really just the same target):
Once you click Run you get the following dialog:
Your user clicks the Show My PC Now button and a random password is generated. They tell you this password over the phone.
You click the View a Remote PC button, type in the password, and that’s it!
This is a great tool for quickly helping out simple problems and impromptu calls.
Of course they do have premium features that they charge for, such as branding, using your own secure SSH server, etc. But for helping out with a quick and dirty question like "my printer isn’t working" this is great.
I still like my hamachi setup for when I need to get into a computer that is unattended or for more advanced features. I’m sure others of you have similar setups with your program of choice. But maybe the next time your 4th cousin who doesn’t know how to use the digital camera your 3rd cousin just got them, you can start up ShowMyPC and get them up and running.
ShowMyPC.com – Instant Desktop Sharing and Access Remote PC Free