"null modem" wrote in message
...
On 4/26/2021 12:10 PM, between "J. P. Gilliver (John)":
Looking at (free) alternatives to TeamViewer. So far have found Distant
Desktop (10-11 MB, just runs), AnyDesk Free (~3.7 MB, runs), NoMachine
(34 MB!, installs), and others.

I've settled with the free AnyDesk, myself. It only needs to be setup at
the remote system once - preferably with a pw that you pre-configure -
then you don't need the person at the remote end to participate.

..but helping a friend hundreds of miles away [with no VPN or similar].

I see that you've crossposted in win7, win10 and xp groups. AnyDesk ought
to be pretty useful in all cases.

Alternately, you can use Window's built-in RemoteAssitance. It works in a
pinch.

You can pre-create an invite, email it to your remote friend, and all they
have to do is launch it. When they do that, your pc will get a pw prompt,
which you complete with the pw that you pre-created, and then the person
at the remote end just has to "allow" access.

This page explains the feature quite well, and the preliminary steps that
may be required between participating pcs:

http://www.ctimls.com/Support/KB/How...Assistance.htm

Myself, I would just use the command-line method to generate an invite
with an established password so that your friend on the remote end doesn't
have to read the pw out to you.



I use Real VNC Viewer (on the remote client) and Real VNC Server (on the
computer that the remote client is to control). It has strengths and
weaknesses compared with Teamviewer:

Strengths

- no "commercial usage detected" false-positives (Teamviewer have got big
problems with connections wrongly being detected as commercial)

- no authorisation is needed at the server end, once you've defined the
"server" password; this can also be done in Teamviewer but it's always faff
trying to work out how to do it (the default is "ask for password every
time, and it may change periodically)


Weaknesses

- no remote sound (if you play something on the "server", the client doesn't
hear it)

- maximum of five computers per free VNC account - ie five computers that
can be controlled



Real VNC runs on most computers: I've installed the server on Windows (7 and
10) and Linux (Raspberry Pi), and the client on Windows (7/10) and Android.