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Tech Tips / Windows XP / Remote Use and Management

Remote Assistance: No invitation required

Windows XP includes a Remote Assistance feature that allows you to help others, by seeing their desktop or even gaining control over the remote computer. Remote Assistance uses the same technology as Remote Desktop but with one major difference - Remote Assistance is invite only. This means that the remote user has to send you an invitation.

But sometimes you might not want to deal with invitations on your local network. You can also configure Windows XP to accept Remote Assistance sessions without special invitations by changing a setting in the Group Policy.

1. Open Group Policy and browse to Local Computer | Administrative Templates | System | Remote Assistance.
2. Change the state of Offer Remote Assistance to Enabled.
3. Choose the appropriate setting in the enabled dialog box.
4. Click the Show button and the users or group of users allowed to use Remote Assistance without invitation.
5. Click OK.

Once you configure this option, specified users will be able to offer you Remote Assistance without invitation. However, this doesn't mean they will be able to control your system without your permission. When they connect to your machine, you will receive a prompt asking for permission. If you deny permission, they will not be able to view or control your computer.