Solved LogMeIn vs Teamviewer

[Atomcrusher]

Hope to get expert opinion here ...

I am in South Africa, and have an ASUS Win 8.1 64-bit laptop.
My 93-year-old Father is in the UK and has a HP laptop running Win 8.1 64-bit

He uses his laptop mainly for e-mail, and creating MS Word documents, and web browsing, and Skype

I'm on Skype with him almost daily, and every day he has a new problem that he expects me to solve, but his very limited knowledge of PC settings, and PC maintenance, together with his lack of ability to properly define the issues he has with his laptop, and to explain to me exactly what problems he experiences, frustrates both of us.

I'm going to suggest he downloads & installs a program like LogMeIn (or perhaps some other equivalent), so that I will be able to remotely take control of of his laptop, and perform the simple maintenance tasks such as:

• setting up file associations
• Checking that he has latest OS & program updates
• OS & System maintenance
• etc. etc.

Now for my main concern ... here in South Africa, data is slow, and expensive! I only have a 4 Mbps ADSL line, which is the max our exchange supports, and I have a 20GB per month capped data allowance. I usually achieve DL speeds of around 3 Mbps for download, and uploads of only 0.4 Mbps

So, to my questions ...

If (and it's a big IF) I can coach him into downloading and properly installing software such as LogMeIn or Teamviewer or equivalent ...

• Whose data allowance will be used if I find he needs many apps / programs updated or installed? Will it use his data connection in the UK, or my (expensive & limited) data connection in South Africa?

• Which software is recommended to take control over his laptop, from my laptop in South Africa?

 

[midou35000]

Hi Atomcrusher,
We had a nice world cup out there at 2010 and its better than brazil's one, also WOW!!! being 90 years old and having the knowledge to surf the web is a professionality already, kidding my grandpa is 70 years old and he is a programmer .
Ok enough lets go to your problem i have exactly the web page that will help you but you need your granpa to get his IP adress for you.
Here you go:Access and control any PC or laptop from anywhere in the world using Windows Remote Desktop - PC Advisor
Hope that helps.

 

[adamf]

I'd use TeamViewer. I use WebEx also but TeamViewer is much simpler.

Once you log on to his PC and take control if you download something it comes out of his allowance not yours. You do not download his apps or updates to your PC - it doesn't work like that. All that comes out of your allowance is the (compressed) data required to show his screen in your internet browser which is not much. Your internet speed should also be fine.

 

[JDobbsy1987]

I 2nd Teamviewer.

Once you connect via Teamviewer could create yourself a password so you can connect whenever you need, that way when he requires assistance you don't even need him to provide you with the passcode as you would already have a permanent one.

This guide will help show you how to set that up - http://www.teamviewer.com/en/res/pdf/first_steps_TV7_unattended_access_en.pdf

Regards,
Jamie

 

[Atomcrusher]

Many thanks to midou35000, and adamf for the feedback & recommendations ... ( and for the assurance that all my data allowance will not be depleted!)
I'll give it a try, but will obviously need to coach my father first on how to download & install Teamviewer .. think the other suggestion using Windows Remote Desktop may be too complicated for my Dad ... the thought of me trying to explain to him what an IP Address is just makes me terrified

 

[Julio Cortez]

Here you go:Access and control any PC or laptop from anywhere in the world using Windows Remote Desktop - PC Advisor
Hope that helps.

It highly depends on the network setup of the "controlled" side though.
And I don't believe that the OP's father would agree to fiddle with his router's NAT/port-forwarding settings. Neither could the OP as I believe that hardly any router have remote management turned on by default, and turning it on again requires fiddling with the router's settings (and on top of that it's something I wouldn't really suggest, I'm a bit paranoid over here).

Probably TeamViewer is the way to go.

Oh, well, it looks like you beat me to it

 

[Atomcrusher]

Here you go:Access and control any PC or laptop from anywhere in the world using Windows Remote Desktop - PC Advisor
Hope that helps.

It highly depends on the network setup of the "controlled" side though.
And I don't believe that the OP's father would agree to fiddle with his router's NAT/port-forwarding settings. Neither could the OP as I believe that hardly any router have remote management turned on by default, and turning it on again requires fiddling with the router's settings (and on top of that it's something I wouldn't really suggest, I'm a bit paranoid over here).

Probably TeamViewer is the way to go.

Oh, well, it looks like you beat me to it

I have taken heed of your post, and my father would have no idea how to change his ADSL router properties / settings. I have asked him to download and install Teamviewer and to provide me with the access password ... time will tell if we can get it right. At 93 years old he sometimes forgets what my, and his own, name is!

But I have to admire any 90+ year old who had the guts to dump his previous Desktop PC running Win XP, and buy a HP Laptop running Win 8 ... he even managed to perform the 8.1 update

 

[topgundcp]

Your father does not need to install teamviewer. From teamviewer.com, just tell him to download the version for the instant customer support as shown below. It is one single executable and all he needs is to double click to run then ask him for the teamviewer ID and password.
NOTE: the teamviewer ID will be permanent for his PC so you might want to save it for future access.

 

[JDobbsy1987]

That is a very good point/idea, i much prefer having it installed and then you can set up 'Unattended Access' and connect whenever he needs to without his father needing to do anything.

The untended access can be done over teamviewer so as soon as he connects once he can set that up and then in the future he will be able to connect without getting the passcode etc... as he will have a static password.

 

[Atomcrusher]

@ opgundcp & Jdobbsy

Appreciate the heads-up .. this seems an easier option for him

 

[Atomcrusher]

@ opgundcp & Jdobbsy

Appreciate the heads-up .. this seems an easier option for him

This is the email I have just sent him

I think it is time I was able to connect to your PC, and check settings, etc., so that I can fix some of the issues you are having.

Please have a look at the link below (open the link using your browser) and read through it to get a basic understanding of what you need to do to enable me to connect to your laptop.

http://www.teamviewer.com/en/res/pdf/first-steps-spontaneous-support-en.pdf

(Remember that you can press the CTRL key and + key ( ..should be on the lower left of your keyboard) to enlarge the text on the document that will open from the above link .. this will make it easier to read.)

I would need to download & install the full Teamviewer package software onto my PC ..... and you would need to download & install the software as described in Step 2 of the tutorial, i.e. download here:

http://download.teamviewer.com/download/TeamViewerQS.exe make sure you remember where o n your PCyou have downloaded that file to

Then you would need to "run" the download file to install it

It will generate an ID, plus a Password, which you will need to write down and keep, as I would need the ID, plus the password to access your PC

 

[JDobbsy1987]

Another solution to installing Teamviewer maybe to send him an installer from ninite.com

just go to http://ninite.com >> Select TeamViewer >> Click Get Installer

All he needs to do is double click the installer and it will download and install teamviewer automatically



You can obviously select other software too if you wish.

Regards,
Jamie

 

[Atomcrusher]

@ JDobbsy1987 ... great link .. thanks. I had forgotten about ninite.com. I used to use it and it was on my old XP machine

 

[topgundcp]

http://download.teamviewer.com/downl...amViewerQS.exe make sure you remember where o n your PCyou have downloaded that file to

Then you would need to "run" the download file to install it

Normally the download will be in: C:\Users\[Username]\downloads folder. This version of Teamviewer is a single executable, just run it, does not require installation.

FYI, This is how I help friends around the country with their problems. Myself, I installed the full version so I would have all theirs ID's available and all they need is to give me the 4 digit password to access their PC's. It is more secured than to have them installed the full version which will add extra service running in theirs PC's all the time.

 

[JDobbsy1987]

It is more secured than to have them installed the full version which will add extra service running in theirs PC's all the time.

It's obviously a user preference thing but i have never had or known anyone that has had an issue with Untended Access.

I use it on my family's machines as there are many times i have fixed an issue they have told me about when they are not at the computer, i just find it a lot better when connecting to them all the time, if it's just a one off then i would go with the stand-a-lone executable.

 

[Atomcrusher]

Useful info .. again, thanks for the help

 

[andrew149]

Other software is probably similar, but here is how I would have some join a remote support session using TurboMeeting: 1) Go to TurboMeeting Multi-Function Web Conferencing Appliance (for instance), 2) Click "Join Meeting", 3) Enter the meeting id (optional password) and your name and click "Join Meeting". The install begins automatically.