Bandwidth issues and slow connection speeds have always plagued remote support applications. These problems create painful delays between what the guest and host are respectively seeing on their computers. In best case scenarios, both parties are seeing the mouse movements and applications opening at approximately the same time. However, in less ideal conditions, hosts could be seeing a lag time of five to ten seconds or longer. This lag creates a frustrating experience for both parties and results in a waste of valuable time.

Many remote support tools on the market have tried to correct this nuisance by modifying the color depth of the data shipped from the client PC to the host. In other words, these tools take the high-resolution color screen of the guest computer and remove colors, making the appearance a bit more “cartoony.” Another quality settings method will bypass color all together, returning the guest’s screen image in full grayscale. By making these quality changes, a remote support tool can transmit less data, effectively reducing the impact slow connection speeds have on the remote support session.

Up until ScreenConnect 1.7 we have primarily focused on improving the software to better handle the packets of data sent from the guest to the host. But with 1.7 we have made huge strides forward, allowing more control and access to the quality settings of ScreenConnect.

ScreenConnect 1.7 has three color quality settings: high, medium, and low. The high quality setting displays the guest’s remote screen in full color, while the low quality setting displays the screen in complete grayscale. The medium color setting, however, is a sort of hybrid of the high and low quality settings. With the medium color setting enabled, ScreenConnect’s screen capturer will first send screen changes in grayscale mode. Then, when there are no more screen changes to send, ScreenConnect will send the true color information. Interestingly, color and grayscale elements can be displayed on the host’s screen at the same time; a video may be playing in grayscale while the rest of the desktop is in color. This provides improved performance over slow connections while still maintaining some color information. By default, ScreenConnect 1.7 will begin in high color mode and should ScreenConnect’s message queue fill up, the program will automatically switch to medium mode.

ScreenConnect 1.7, a stable release, is now available for download. Test it out for yourself at http://www.screenconnect.com.

Our support team has received a few questions about HIPAA regulations and our remote support software. Some of the questions relate to compliance concerns, while others ask how well our tool can help achieve internal objectives. To assist those customers who need to comply with HIPAA regulations, here is a short summary of HIPAA and how remote support software plays a role in compliance with the act.

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) was introduced into legislation in 1996 and is broken into two main parts. Title I works to make sure people can maintain health coverage as they change or lose their jobs. Title II handles electronic transactions and the security and accessibility of private and potentially sensitive information.

So how is this related to remote support? If you or your company accesses or allows access to computers or servers that house the private medical records of individuals, then you need to be taking the proper precautions to make sure those records remain secure. For the most part, the responsibility is on the owners of the data to ensure the data is stored securely behind firewalls and that proper processes are put in place to access the information. For consultants or employees who would be using remote support to access a computer, your main responsibility is making sure the software you use is encrypted to prevent cryptographic attacks. Additionally, you also must make sure your staff is trained on your own processes to deal with proper use of passwords, following guidelines for security, and utilizing common sense. Your staff must also understand what information they can access and items to avoid in the course of supporting or accessing remote computers.

Is ScreenConnect compliant with the regulations put forth in 45 CFR (all related parts)? The basic requirements on remote support software are data security, accessibility controls, and the protection of the integrity of all data. As a user of ScreenConnect, all the data is securely encrypted during the session to prevent a man-in-the-middle-attack, a form of eavesdropping that allows an attacker to relay and intercept messages between two parties. The ScreenConnect administrator can establish username and password access to prevent unauthorized users of the software.

• ScreenConnect is self-hosted – Security is more easily controlled than tools that transfer data through third party servers located all over the world.
• We are a true remote support application – Each connection requires the permission of someone located at the target computer. This provides additional control and accountability and falls in line with HIPAA requirements for “Access Control”.
• Each user must login via a username/password – The security of these logins is controlled by the ScreenConnect administrator. However, as long as each user is using a unique login, they are abiding by the guidelines of HIPAA.
• Encryption of data – ScreenConnect encrypts data via a AES-256 cipher, which is a well regarded encryption method. One of the primary functions is to protect against a man-in-the-middle attacks.
• Guest Login – Guests are given a password by the host to initiate the session, further securing the “encryption of data” and the prevention of cryptographic attacks.
• Integrity of data– Additional tools and methods are available to further refine your data integrity and/or auditing. Screen recording, SSL security implementation, and integrated chat keep all information in one place under our AES encryption.

We hope this brief overview answers some questions, but feel free to chime in your thoughts in the comments!

Choosing a remote support solution from the hundreds of software applications available can be daunting. Some solutions are free, some charge you monthly fees, some are already integrated into software you use today, and others are installed on your own server or workstation. It is not an easy choice, but here are a few tips from our team to help.

• Consider your budget – How much can you afford to spend, if anything, for your remote support solution? Each product will have pros and cons for your environment. Over the long term, what will the financial impact from licensing costs, support, employee training, and implementation be?
• What features do you really need? – Remote support software has increasingly become a me-too environment, with companies throwing hundreds of features at users to validate higher costs. Do you really need a laser pointer or the ability to share smiley faces with your customers? Create a list of what features you must have, and then create a high want list of features that could be useful to you.
• Security Concerns – In some environments it is not ideal to run your remote support sessions through third party servers located somewhere off-premises. Government organizations, military contractors, or anyone with increased security concerns should consider on-premises solutions versus hosted options.
• Free Versus Paid – There are free remote support software tools on the market, but most have some drawbacks. A few software solutions will not work with customers running Linux or MAC computers, and others do not support Windows. Some tools work wonderfully if the computer is on your domain, but the tools’ protocols do not work well with certain firewalls or proxy settings. One solution requires a payment of 15% of the fee you charge customers for support. Most free tools are free for a reason: they either lack certain functionality, or they may require specific settings or software implemented on your client PC before a connection can be made.

When selecting a remote support solution, also consider feedback from friends and online discussions. Our remote support solution is ScreenConnect, a self-hosted application that requires no monthly charges. Whichever software solution you choose, by considering these four points, you can be sure to select a software tool that will match your business needs.

One of the biggest questions we get from prospective customers: how many licenses do I need? With ScreenConnect we try to keep the answer as simple as possible, but it does raise some questions that we thought were worth addressing. Below are a few points to consider when you are choosing how many licenses to purchase of ScreenConnect or another tool.

1. Size of your support team – Although this seems pretty straightforward, it’s easy to overlook small nuances. For example, you may have ten support engineers, but how about product managers or other experts? They may occasionally jump in on a session to help out a customer or remote field employee. You should consider groups other than support, such as R&D, marketing, and IT, that could also benefit from a remote support solution.
2. How often will you use the tool? – Are most of your calls resolved via the phone or email? You may not need as many licenses as you think. A quick conversation with your support team can identify the possible usage levels.
3. Will every employee be using the software at the same time? – Typically, all of the members of your support team are not hosting remote support sessions at the same time. This means you may not need a license for every potential user. ScreenConnect works under a community license structure; if you have five licenses, you may run five sessions concurrently. Other tools are linked with a specific user or IP address. Those tools require you to purchase more licenses for your team, yielding a lower return on investment since you are not using the licenses all the time.

Generally we recommend that you purchase one license for every three users, depending on your usage model and budget. ScreenConnect can be purchased as individual licenses or as an unlimited license. But what if you want to purchase individual licenses now and an unlimited in the future? Never fear! No matter how many licenses you purchase today, we will credit your initial purchase(s) towards the unlimited license price.

Has your team ever complained about the confusing issue submission form?

Have you had to alter how you’d like to handle certain issues due to the constraints of your software?

Do you have an issue tracking solution for facilities, software development, IT, HR, product management, and your help desks?

There are many issue tracking solutions available, but most are designed specifically to work within a certain department or group. For example, software development has a host of industry-specific solutions. These solutions can be tweaked or modified to marginally work for other teams, but inherent limitations persist due to the software’s designs.

IssueNet was developed with an object-oriented architecture that allows teams to completely customize all facets of the software to meet their specific needs. The options are endless and quite exciting when you consider the opportunities. For example, each issue type can have its own form, workflow, users, and notifications. Additionally, a single database can be used between all the solutions to allow better communication between teams, making implementation quicker and easier. Take a look at what an object oriented issue tracking can do for you! http://www.elsitech.com

Recent reports published by IDC and Gartner have outlined suggestions for big impact items that can make a huge difference in IT departments without breaking the bank. In the report, “Rationalizing the IT Support Services Budget for 2009: Three Things Enterprises Should Investigate”, the IDC specifically outlines datacenter virtualization and remote support solutions.

Why would these two items be at the top of their list?

Our guess is the quick return on investment (ROI) that can be realized after the implementation of a remote support solution. For any remote support software tool, the ROI can typically be seen in four to six months. However, for some of our ScreenConnect customers, we are seeing ROI immediately after purchase; one enterprise level customer replaced a monthly remote support solution with ScreenConnect, and the software paid for itself several times over in the first month!

ScreenConnect is a great remote support utility that provides a high ROI through its one-time purchase, flexible design, and rich feature set. Since ScreenConnect is self-hosted, there are no recurring monthly costs or hosting fees to incur. Few tools in the remote support software arena offer the features and the price tag of ScreenConnect. Remote support doesn’t have to be expensive, it just needs to work. http://www.screenconnect.com

Staying on top of our customers’ needs is priority number one for our team. By listening and responding to our customers’ comments and suggestions, we strive to make ScreenConnect a better remote support product. We have released nearly twenty feature enhancements, all directly related to customer feedback, in less than twelve months. In our latest build, ScreenConnect 1.6, we have improved the communication path between host and client by creating a more visually stimulating addition to the task bar; with this new feature, the host can easily determine if and when the client has joined the session. We have also improved our file transfer, chat, and IE compatibility in this latest release.

ScreenConnect is a self-hosted remote support product that provides the features of a monthly subscription service in an efficient, cost effective package. Learn more about ScreenConnect by visiting http://www.screenconnect.com.