#teamviewer #software #useful #ITprofessional #enduser #freesoftware
Every now and again we can't exactly make it to a friends house, our moms home, or just to a server we have locked away while we are at work. Canceling plans is never fun and usually ends in someone getting super ragey and you getting somewhat screwed. But if you can access a foreign computer without even leaving your seat? Time to talk about one of the coolest tools out there, that for most of us is free.
For the most part I'm a self sufficent IT geek. I sit in my chair bolstered to my desk deep in thought. Googling a word I heard, looking up some youtube video on how to program in C++ because... you know being somewhat of a geek I get interested. For me I've never encountered a situation someone needs to run to my rescue from foreign lands, but not all people are me. This is when good ole Team Viewer becomes super handy.
My grandmother for example (the one from the Microsoft scam call thread) has her computer logged in on Team Viewer whenever she logs in. Giving me immediate access if she needs help with anything. She can call me up on google hangouts on her laptop, or over the phone and ask if I'm busy. Within seconds I can be in her computer, making changes and adjustments she needs without putting pants on.
As I said above what makes it even better is its a free software for personal use. Helping out a friend, using it for your own computers, what have you its 100% free. If you surpass a certain number they'll recognize it as commercial and you'll have to pay. (Team Viewers Website, click here), the price isn't unreasonable, and if you plan on making money off of it, its better to pay the small bit of change and cover your ass anyway. Don't need any subpoenas for using software outside the EULA.
Here is how it works in short. On the left hand side of the program (post installation of course) you have a panel that says "Allow Remote Control" with an ID number and a password. Your friend calls you up and asks you for help, they provide you with the user name that you enter in on the panel to the right that says "Control Remote Computer" under the "partner ID section". You have three different options VPN, File Transfer, and Remote Control. File transfer is well... file transfer. VPN is a bit more complex, and I'll go over that in another post. We are focused on the remote control option. If you choose that it'll then prompt you for a password, which your friend or family member will provide you. Hit enter and... you're in the computer.
It'll open up their whole computer in a new window, just as if you're typing up a word document or browsing the internet, everything is right there. You just go through it as if it were your own computer. Just don't do anything stupid of course...
You can even have multiple computers set up to be permanently added. That way you won't need to ask your partner for their ID each and every time, which can be kind of annoying. As I said I have my grandmother set up on my account, so whenever she logs in, it pops up and I have full control over her computer. I believe she switched to a chromebook after she had the Microsoft Scammer completely jack up her computer though... so I have one less thing to deal with on a periodic basis.
Now as an IT guy this makes life super easy for me when my friends need my help. Hell I think I'll even give a shout out to my friend Quinton Matthew who just started out his own blog over at QuintonMatthew.com. He's not a tech wiz by any stretch of the imagination. The guy is hell bent on starting a clothing design business, and I have to give him props, as his friend who knows a bit about tech helped him out. Seeing as he lives about an hour away from me, and all I needed to do was type on my keyboard a bit, listen to some rock, and move my mouse a bit, it made life so easy setting up his new laptop.
For personal use I suggest everyone downloads a copy of this software, it has helped me help people more often then not, and when its fully set up on your home computer and you have the login credentials, you can access the file transfer FROM YOUR PHONE. Ever have a file saved on your computer that you just forgot down transfer over? Yeah you can download that direct from your desktop while you're out and about. Save storage on your phone, save the headache from going "OH GOD I FORGOT MY FILE!!!" and get yourself this software. Its free, don't ask question, just do it.
On the professional end, sure you can use this software if you so choose, really depends on what you have at work. I have a sonicwall and use VNC, but that's a whole nother story for another day. Until next time, as always, be safe my goblins.
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