SimpleHelp
SimpleHelp is a remote desktop software application that provides both browser based no-installation access for support personnel and unattended remote access to available remote computers. SimpleHelp was developed by SimpleHelp Ltd.
Product Overview
SimpleHelp is remote desktop software created to enable computer companies to assist their clients anywhere in the world. It is hosted on a self-hosted web server operated by the company using the software. Both Technicians and Customers may then use a web browser to access the SimpleHelp server or a web page on the company's business website to log in and customers may request help.
Upon login, customers see and accept a disclaimer and enter their details then are then placed in a queue for the technician to activate their support session. Technicians can view customers in the queue and connect to one or more Customers to gain access and control of the client's computer.
Once connected a Technician has the ability to see the remote computer desktop, chat with the customer, transfer files back and forth as well as see and operate detailed diagnostics of the remote computer including management of processes and Windows services.
Remote computers can also be configured for unattended remote access, allowing Technicians to view a tree of 'Available' computers and connect to one or more of them to access and control them.
The software uses 448-bit encryption and supports all versions of Windows after Windows 95, Mac OS, Linux, OpenSolaris and other operating systems which are capable of running Java applets.
SimpleHelp earned a Tucows rating of 5 cows, the highest rating possible.
Technology Overview
The SimpleHelp server is Java based and will run on any Java virtual machine version 1.4 or above. As a result the SimpleHelp server can run on Windows, Linux, Mac OS, OpenSolaris, FreeBSD, AIX, HP-UX and other operating systems.
- Both the web server and remote support server share the same port which defaults to TCP port 80. This port can be configured to any number and combination of ports the company desires.
- Both the Customer and Technician client are applets downloaded from the SimpleHelp server which May Be embedded in any web page and which load in the accessing browser.
- Customer and Technician clients are almost entirely Java based which allows them to run on any operating system that supports Java applets, including Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Solaris (SunOS), and FreeBSD.
- It is possible to configure unattended access for a remote computer via an installable SimpleGateway Service application. This is installed on the remote computer and configured to 'make itself available' on one or more SimpleHelp servers.
- All session data and other sensitive information including technician logins and customer details are encrypted using 448-bit encryption.
- The SimpleHelp server does not decrypt and re-encrypt session data passed between a Technician and Customer (decryption and encryption is done exclusively on the Technician and Customer computer) leading to scalability primarily determined by the bandwidth of the server rather than CPU usage, and minimal hardware requirements for the hosting server.
Licensing
The company provides one-off purchase server licenses (rather than subscriptions) based on the number of concurrent sessions which the SimpleHelp server will support.
Product Overview
Due to SimpleHelp requiring Java to be installed on both the customer and technician's computer its claim to work as a no-installation service is not completly true. Whilst for most users installing Java is not an issue, for customers that have restricted machines (e.g. part of a ACTIVE directory network) which do not have permission to install programs SimpleHelp does not provide an alternative option which is truly 'no-installation'.
See also
- Comparison of remote desktop software
- Remote desktop software