Supporting Windows 7 Users with Remote Assistance
- 10/7/2009
Summary
Remote Assistance has been enhanced in Windows 7 and Windows Vista to provide better performance, improved usability, NAT-traversal flexibility, and increased security. Best practices for implementing Remote Assistance in an enterprise environment include the following:
Use Group Policy to enable users of targeted computers in a domain or OU to receive offers of Remote Assistance from Help Desk personnel.
Use Group Policy to enable the Remote Assistance exception in the Windows Firewall.
Use Group Policy to deploy scripts to enable users to run the Msra.exe executable if you want to customize how they launch Remote Assistance sessions—for example, to upload an invitation to a network share monitored by support personnel.
If all of your support computers are running Windows 7 or Windows Vista, use Group Policy to encrypt Remote Assistance tickets to hide sensitive information such as users’ IP addresses and computer names.
If corporate policy requires Remote Assistance records for auditing purposes, use Group Policy to enable Remote Assistance logging on your company’s desktop computers and run scripts to periodically move both Helper and User Remote Assistance logs to a safe storage.
To meet corporate privacy and security requirements, use Group Policy to customize the text message that users see before they allow the Helper to view their screens or share control.