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.