Remote Assistance windows 7 settings. Use in Windows XP

05.05.2019 news

Yesterday, "VKontakte" in one of the groups of system administrators was a "survey" of who uses what for remote administration (connecting to the desktop of users) in Windows. I said that I use Windows tools called "Remote Assistance", which even a gray IP is not afraid of. After that, several people wrote to me in a personal, asking me to tell how to use it (remote assistant). Also, I was surprised that many admins do not know this. So it needs to be fixed ;)

What? Where? How?

Wikipedia quote: "A "remote assistance" feature that allows advanced users and technical staff to connect to a Windows XP computer over a network to resolve problems. The assisting user can see the contents of the screen, have a conversation, and (with the permission of the remote user) take control into your own hands."
Remote Assistance has been available in Windows since Windows XP. It is also part of the Home Edition. It uses the RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) protocol, i.e. this is almost the same as remote desktop, only the user sees all our actions on his screen. Which is also convenient for remote learning;)

Use in Windows XP

The user and the administrator must have the "Help and Support" service running (or set to the "manual" startup type) (starts automatically by default). Also, the user in "Control Panel" -> "System" -> "Remote Access" should have a checkmark "Allow remote assistance connections to this computer", and in "Remote Assistance Options" (called by the "Advanced..." button) - "Allow remote control of this computer" (how things are going with the default settings, unfortunately, I do not remember).

What actions should the user take

Option 1.
The user needs to call for help and support. This can be done from the Start menu or by pressing the Win+F1 key combination. In the help and support window, you need to click on the "link" "Connection invitation for Remote Assistance" (first from the top), then "Send invitation". Here you can choose several options: by mail, file or via MSN (Windows Messenger / Windows Live Messenger). The first two options are suitable if the user and administrator are on the same network, or if the user has a white IP. If the user has a gray IP, then you need to select "Start Windows Messenger". Here you will need an account in MSN (Windows Live), which you can. After logging into Windows Messenger, you need to find the administrator in the contact list, highlight his name and click "Send invitation". After a few seconds, the administrator will receive an invitation to Windows Messenger (Windows Live Messenger) to connect to the user.

Option 2.
The user's computer must have Windows Live Messenger installed, which can be (for our purposes, just select "Select programs to install" and then uncheck all boxes except "Messenger"). After logging in to Windows Live Messenger, you need to find the admin contact in your contacts list and double-click on it. A chat window will open (as in ICQ), in which you need to press and release Alt so that the menu bar appears, select "Actions" -> "Request remote assistance" in it (menu). After a few seconds, the administrator will receive an invitation to Windows Messenger (Windows Live Messenger) to connect to the user.

What steps should an administrator take?

In principle, none;) It is enough to wait for the invitation and accept it :)
Unless, of course, we assume that the administrator will most likely have to explain to the user how to send an invitation.

But what about Win7?

Here the picture is already a little different... The fact is that starting from Win7 a slightly different mechanism is used, which is called Easy Connect. This means that both computers (user and administrator) must be on Win7, Windows Live Messenger must be installed, and the user's router must support peer-to-peer name resolution and UPnP. Otherwise, you will not be able to connect to a user with a gray IP through Remote Assistance.
In order to connect to a user with a gray IP through Remote Assistance, the following services must be running: "Remote Desktop Server Configuration", "PNRP Protocol", "PNRP Computer Name Publishing Service", "Remote Desktop Service" (preferably, as both for the user and for the admin) 1 .
You can use Option 2, described for Windows XP, to enable the Remote Assistance features in Win7. You can also call the Remote Assistance Wizard directly, for this you can use any of the following options (you must first start Windows Live Messenger and sign in):
1. Open "Start" and in the search box type "msra" (without quotes) and then press Enter.
2. Open "Start" -> "Run..." (or press Win+R) and type "msra" (without quotes) and then press Enter.
3. Open "Start" -\u003e "Help and Support" (or press Win + F1), in the search bar enter "remote assistance" (without quotes) and press Enter. Next, select option 3 "Get help with computer problems using Windows Remote Assistance", then - "Request help using Easy Connect" and then - "Click to open Windows Remote Assistance."
All three of these options will open the Windows Remote Assistance window. Now the user must select "Invite someone you trust to help" and then "Use Easy Connect", after which it will be possible to select an administrator from the contact list and send him an invitation. The administrator, in turn, must select "Help the one who invited you" and then "Use Easy Connect", after which, when the user sends him an invitation, he (the administrator) will see it and be able to accept it.

Conclusion and Conclusions

Some of you, dear readers, may say: "Damn ... So much haemorrhoids!". Yes, at first glance it is. But it is worth considering that the necessary settings that I described above are already enabled by default, and they can also be set for users through group policies. In my last job, I used Remote Assistance regularly, especially to help users in remote branches and out of town. In order not to explain every time to the next user what actions he needs to perform so that I can connect to him, I made an html file with instructions and screenshots on the web server and gave the user a link to this instruction with the words: "Read this little instruction, everything is there in pictures and with comments, and follow the steps described so that I can connect to your computer and provide you with prompt assistance. We also used Windows Live Messenger as our corporate chat, so it was installed on every computer.

PS: You can also use programs such as VNC, SSH, TeamViewer, Skype for remote administration. For the latter, gray IP is not terrible. For the first, for example, there is a "proxy" that you can put on some of your server and connect through it. And SSH itself is already a proxy (more precisely, a socks).

PPS: The described actions, for the most part, I wrote from memory, because. I don't have vents at home. Therefore, there may be small inaccuracies. If you notice them, please let me know in a personal or in the comments.

PPPS: I also omitted some steps, because. I see no reason to paint everything in detail, but I can simply not remember something. After all, this post is for admins and advanced users, not for dummies ;)

Hello to all readers of my very young blog!!!

Remote Assistant in is a very convenient thing for the most curious novice users who have an experienced “computer” friend, and other users who often need help.

Remote Assistance is a standard program that helps to connect a third-party, remote user to your computer. Once set up and connected, the assistant can see what's happening on your screen and share information about the problem. This utility was created to facilitate communication and assistance between the "injured" and the "healing".
So, in operating systems and Windows Vista, there is a Msra.exe file. He is the "Remote Assistant".
By the way, you can run it using the console (command line). Today we will look at the launch options in the console.

Launching Remote Assistance with a parameter is very easy:
1. Open the command line,
2. Enter "Msra.exe".
3. After "Msra.exe" put a space and write the parameter, not forgetting the "/".
The result should be:
C:UsersUserNamemsra.exe /expert.
You can see the visual result in the screenshot:

*Screenshot*

Let's start with the /getcontacthelp address option.
This option launches the Helper in help request mode with the Easy Connect feature and an address from your helper connection history. These addresses are located in the RAContacthistory xml file, which is located in the Users directoryUsernameAppdataLocal. It looks like a string of 40 characters with a postfix.RAContact.

Continue with the /saveasfile path password option.
With this parameter, "Remote Assistance" starts in the mode of asking for help, creates a password-protected invitation file in the directory written in path. The path folder can be either network or local. The user must have permission to create a file in path. You need to name the invitation file and create a password that will consist of at least 6 characters.

Now let's talk about the /novice option.
This option launches the Assistant in Ask for Help mode, offering the choice of sending an invitation via Windows Mail or saving your invitation to a separate file.

Let's move on to the /email password parameter.
Also launches Remote Assistance in request mode and automatically creates a password-protected invitation attached to a message in the default email client. The password must also be at least 6 characters long. After starting in this mode, the client will open a window with a letter, where the user must write down the e-mail of his "healer", and then send a message.

And now the /offercontacthelp address parameter is next.
Starts the Helper in service offer mode with Easy Connect and an address from your Helper connection history. The address is in the RAContacthistory file, which is in UsersUsernameAppdataLocal.

The /offereasyhelp address option.
This option launches Remote Assistance in Help Mode with the Easy Connect feature. Upon opening, you will be prompted to enter a 12-character password used to connect to a user in need of assistance.

Continue with the /geteasyhelp option.
It launches the "Helper" in the mode of asking for help with the "Easy Connect" function. After the invitation is published, the user in need of assistance will be provided with a 12-character password, which is needed to successfully connect with the assistant user.

The /openfile path password option.
This option launches Remote Assistance in offer-to-help mode and opens an already prepared invitation file. The user must have permission to open the file. This file can be located in a network folder or on a local computer.

And finally, the /offerRA computer option.
The option launches the Helper in offer-to-help mode and uses DCOM to open the Helper on the computer it connects to. After creating a connection, it establishes a session. The computer name can be used as a local hostname, DNS, and more.

That's all for now and see you soon...

There are many programs on the network for remote control of a computer. And all of them are somehow paid with various restrictions for the free version.

However, the Windows operating system has built-in functions that allow you to remotely control your desktop and this tool is called "Windows 7 Remote Assistance" and if you use it as described in the manual, then this is an extremely inconvenient tool. Since for each communication session it is required to create an invitation file and send it to the person who will connect.

And it's still okay if you're doing a one-time Internet connection to solve a problem. And if you need to constantly connect to the computer, then every time you ask the user to create and send an invitation file, it's overhead. Therefore, let's consider a mode that is designed to manage client machines on a local network without sending an invitation.

The standard algorithm of the program is as follows. First you need to allow control (My computer \ RMB \ Properties \ Advanced system settings \ Allow connections to this PC \ Advanced \ Allow control \ Set the time limit during which the invitation will remain open)

Now you need to create an invitation file through which you can connect to the desktop via the Internet (Start \ All Programs \ Services \ Windows Remote Assistance \ Invite someone you trust to help \ Save invitation as a file). We save the file on a public resource or send it via the Internet along with a password!

Next, launch Remote Assistance on the computer from which we will connect ( Start\All Programs\Services\Windows 7 Remote Assistance, in Windows 10 and 8, access to the assistant was removed from the menu, so you will need to run it through Run (Win + R) \ msra \ Help the one who invited you \ Use the invitation file \ Enter the password \ Next, the client must allow you to view your desktop \ Request control, to be able to control the mouse and keyboard )

As you can see, this process is quite long and not convenient. Therefore, let's set up remote assistance without the need to send an invitation file. But, this method will only work on a local network, in which you can directly connect to a computer via an IP address. If you need to connect via the Internet, you will have to generate an invitation file!

To configure remote access on all computers, I will use the domain group policy. As you already understood, I demonstrate the work of remote assistance in the virtual network that we created as a result of completing the free video course Installing and configuring Windows Server 2008R2. Although this method is designed to work in a domain network, it is also suitable for working in a workgroup or peer-to-peer network.

Let's go to the Group Policy settings (Start \ Administrative Tools \ Group Policy Management \ Domains \ office.local \ Default Domain Policy \ Settings \ PCM \ Edit \ Computer Configuration \ Policy \ Administrative Templates \ System \ Remote Assistance).

Here you need to configure 2 parameters:

Help Request \ Enable \ Helpers can control the computer;

Offer Help \ Enable \ Helpers \ Show \ Value (enter the name of the user account that will have access to connect to the computer, specifying the domain): office\sysadmin.

Now we need to apply the policy to the computers, we can either restart the workstations or force the policy update via Run \cmd\gpupdate.

Let's try to connect to the workstation, for this you need to start the "Remote Assistance" in the mode of offering help. To do this, add the /offerra key to the program name, resulting in msra.exe /offerra. It's best to create a shortcut with the msra.exe /offerra command!

We enter the IP address or domain name of the computer to which we want to connect, we allow access to the connection, and then to management! You can also launch the "Conversation" chat to chat with the user.

As you can see, with this method, no user manipulation is required, except for permission to connect and manage, and it's completely free! If you are interested in the implementation of this method in the working group, then write in the comments, if the topic is popular, I will make a video for the working group.

As you understand, in order to connect to a computer, you need to know its IP address or DNS name. If the user is weak, it will be difficult for him to explain where to look at the IP address of the machine. In this case, I use the BGinfo program which adds various parameters to the desktop wallpaper. I already did it too.

I would add the following here, in the video for this program I made a black background so that the characteristics could be seen on the wallpaper of any color. But, you can simply duplicate the address in white and black. Thus, the user will in any case see the required settings.

Windows Remote Assistance is a standard application that allows you to give a remote user the ability to connect to your computer. Once connected, he will be able to view the computer screen and share information about what is happening on the screen. The program was created primarily to make it easier for Windows users to help each other.

Remote Assistance in Windows 7 and Windows Vista is implemented by a separate executable file, Msra.exe. You can initiate Remote Assistance directly from the command line or script/batch file. The command line syntax is described below.

/novice option

Launches Remote Assistance in Help Request mode and gives the user the choice of either sending the invitation through an SMAPI mail application (Windows Mail, for example) or saving the invitation to a file. After the user has made a selection, Windows Remote Assistance starts up in connection standby mode.