Review of Techinline Remote Support Software

Techinline Remote Support Software is a remote support tool that enables instant, secure and trouble-free connections over the web between remote computers.

Techinline Remote Support software is aimed squarely at support teams which need to provide remote desktop support. It allows a support team to view remote desktops and if necessary take control over the desktop in order to resolve any issues. There is no need for pre-installed software and this makes it an ideal remote control application for support departments.

The remote user goes to FixMe.it or techinline.net from where the Techinline remote support application is downloaded and installed. This is done automatically by the browser - or as automatically as it can be given that browser security requires the user to confirm the install. Annoyingly the first time I did this I had to restart my browser (FireFox) and then return to the website where it then generated the unique client-id that I needed. This is the client-id which the remote viewer (typically the support department using Techinline) will need in order to view and control the desktop. The support user logs into their own account via the techinline.com website, and after entering the client-id can chat, view or share desktops. Interestingly the desktop viewing can be either way, so support can view or take control of the client desktop or it can be done the other way round - in both cases it is the support user selects which. The support user even has the ability to "reboot and reconnect". The entire process is quite painless and works seamlessly through firewalls.

One thing to be aware of is that if no connection is made within 30 minutes then the support session will automatically close. This is not a problem when using Techinline to assist with support issues, but does make it less usable in other remote desktop scenarios - for example it would not be practical to connect to a work PC from home if your journey home took more than the 30 minutes for the session to timeout.

Techinline supports some distinct features not usually found in other remote control software:

• Techinline can be customised to display your company name and logo. This means that when using it for support it can be made to appear as your company's remote support application instead of appearing that your support department is making use of a third party product. So it appearance is important then this is an extra feature in favour of Techinline.
• It can automatically reconnect after a reboot, without requiring a remote user to re-establish the connection.

Jump to how this review has been carried out

How this review has been carried out

Techinline has been reviewed under a number of number of common criteria. Each of these criteria are also applied to the other remote control solutions that have been reviewed. The criteria are:

• Operating Systems Supported
  • Ease of Installation
  • Client Software Required
• Capabilities
  • Maximum Connections
  • Console
  • View/Update Options
  • File Transfer
• Security Considerations
  • Firewall Considerations
  • Security: Encryption of Traffic
  • Single/Multiple Passwords/Accounts
• Where To Get It From
• Recommendations

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Operating Systems Supported

Techinline can be used to control a PC that is running any version of Windows since Windows 2000, supporting both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

Ease of Installation

Installation is very straight forward and intuitive. This is because Techinline uses a browser plug in, and installation of a browser plug in is virtually automatic - requiring only confirmation from the user that the user is happy for it to go ahead. This makes it easy to install for notice or expert alike.

Client Software Required

At the client end the client needs only a browser. On navigating to the techinline.net site a plug-in will be installed (if it hasn't already been installed) and once the plug-in is available a client-id will be visible. For older operating systems which don't support plug-ins (Windows 2000 for example) it prompts to instead download a standalone application. Helpfully it provides the option to email the client-id.

It is a similar for the support team using techinline. The support user would go to techinline.com (yes it is a different) from where a browser plug-in would be installed (or for older operating systems a standalone application would be downloaded), and after entering account details and the client-id the remote session can be connected to.

Capabilities

What capabilities does Techinline allow?

Maximum Connections

Maximum number of connections:    1

Techinline is intended for use in support roles, where there is no need for more than one connection.

Console

The console is the desktop used when someone logs in locally to the computer.

Does Techinline allow you to control the console:    Yes.

View/Update Options

Techinline supports a number of options:

• Chat. This is text based chat (no sound or video) and is the initial mode when a connection has been made. It serves to allow instructions to be shared.
• View remote desktop. This allows the remote desktop to be viewed but with no interaction, so the remote user has full control.
• Control remote desktop.
• View local (support) desktop.
• Remote control of local support desktop. This allows the remote user to control the local desktop.
• Reboot and reconnect. Reboots the remote PC and then reconnects.

File Transfer

Does Techinline allow you to transfer files between the local and remote PCs?   Yes

Techinline shares the clipboard between the local and remote PCs. Copying of files is simply "copy" on one PC and then "paste" on the other. So its just like copying files. Be aware that copying of large files may take a while, but this does allow the copying of both files and folders.

Security Considerations

Security should be a prime consideration when using any remote control software, especially when using over the internet or from a remote pc other than your own.

Firewall Considerations

Ports:   N/A

Firewalls stop incoming connections (unless the appropriate port has been opened), but do not in general stop outgoing connections. Techinline makes use of this to avoid any firewall issues. From the host PC (the PC that is to be controlled or viewed) Techinline makes an outgoing connection to the Techinline servers. Because this is an outgoing connection it will not be blocked by the firewall. At the client end (where you want to control the PC from or view the PC from), Techinline makes a similar connection. Thus the PC that is being controlled and the PC that is doing the controlling/viewing both establish outgoing connections (to the Techinline servers), avoiding any normal firewall issues.

This makes Techinline ideal if you need to work around a firewall - especially where you have no control over the configuration of that firewall.

It does also mean that Techinline is not suitable when working on an isolated network which has no connection to the internet.

Security: Encryption of Traffic

Techinline encrypts all traffic using 128 bit SSL encryption. SSL is the same technology used to encrypt browser based communications.

Single/Multiple Passwords/Accounts

When connecting to a PC using Techinline you need the client ID, which is a 6 digit number generated on the client.

Licenses for Techinline are available in two types, a subscription license or a per-session license:

• Subscription license
  The subscription license allows for an unlimited number of sequential sessions during the subscription period. Each license allows for "sequential sessions", not parallel sessions. So whereas you can use it as many times as you like during the subscription, it cannot be used for two or more separate sessions at the same time. So if you are likely to need multiple sessions at the same time then you will require more than one subscription license.
• Per-session license
  A per session license allows you to buy a fixed number of sessions. Each time you use Techinline you use (or spend) one of those sessions. When you run out of sessions you then need to buy another per-session license. The per-session license does allow multiple sessions at the same time (although each will use up one of your purchased sessions allowance).

For further details and prices see: http://www.techinline.com/BuyNow.aspx

Where to get it

Techinline Remote Support software can be obtained from www.techinline.com. You can also get a 15 day free trial, allowing you to evaluate it against your own needs before making a commitment.

Recommendations

Techinline Remote Support software is well suited for support departments, as its installation and use has been streamlined with support in mind. It is not so well suited to remote working (so controlling say a work pc from home).

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