Remote Assistance

Often, we find that our Technical Services representatives can be much more efficient if we have the ability to connect directly to your server, either to watch the steps that you are going through, or to investigate your setup. Setting up this remote connection requires some networking knowledge and installing or configuring the software used to manage the connection.

There are many different ways to configure remote access. Everyone's network is set up differently, and as such, we are not able to walk you through the configuring process. A capable technician should be able to provide you with assistance in this area.

There are a variety of programs available to provide this remote access. Collect! supports the following remote access systems.

• VNC (There are many versions, but we have had success with TightVNC) - www.tightvnc.com
  
  
• PCAnywhere - www.symantec.com/pcanywhere/
  
  
• GoToMyPC - www.gotomypc.com
  
  
• Windows XP Remote Desktop
  
  
• Windows XP Remote Assistance
• Webex

Generally speaking, the server which is running Collect! will be behind a firewall. To configure remote access, you will need a technician available at your end who is familiar with installing and configuring one of the above remote access programs, and familiar with whatever firewall or router you have set up at your office. They should also be capable of setting up "port forwarding".

Let's consider, for example, if your server had an IP address of 192.168.0.1, and your firewall or router had an external IP address of 123.123.123.123. If you choose to use VNC, you would need to install VNC on the server, and then configure your router, or firewall, to use port forwarding to send any inbound connections destined for 123.123.123.123, port 5900, back to 192.168.0.1, port 5900.

Due to the number of different firewalls and routers available on the market, we cannot be familiar with the specifics of every one. If you ask the technician who set up your network to take responsibility for configuring your end, this will allow our technicians to focus on the issues you are having with Collect!.

When your technician has completed selecting, installing, and configuring the remote access server at your end, as well as the port forwarding, all we will need from you is the name of the program you are using, the IP address to connect to and a username and password for the connection.

Webex Sessions

Our contract with Webex enables us to easily set up a connection with you over the internet. You can see our screens for training and we can see yours when we need to follow your steps, troubleshoot with you, help you with a particular process, or control your machine remotely. Typically sessions last about an hour, or less. We schedule a session with you over the phone and send you an invitation with a link to use to join the session when the time comes. Then you phone in to establish the voice component and we can proceed.