Remote Assistance

[Guest]

Hi I have been taking control of an elderly relative’s computer on a regular
basis to help sort out problems, defrag and up date things. I now seem unable
to do so since he has changed ISP. At the same time he also loaded 2007
Norton Internet Protection software. I have been reading through some of your
forums to see what might be the problem and I have ruled out the tick in the
Allow Remote Assistance in properties of My Computer. I have also been
looking at the RA file in notepad and notice that when I was successful in
taking over the RCTicket was as follows
RCTICKET="65538,1,86.141.64.169:38860;192.168.1.2
Whereas now it is
RCTICKET="65538,1,192.168.1.64
Is this significant. I have tried to edit the ticket to the old format
without success.
I have got him to switch off the Norton but this seems to make no
difference. We had no problems before this "upgrade" to NIP. I have been in
touch with Symantec and they confirmed how to disable Norton but still no
luck. Do
you think that the NIP is the more likely or should I pursue the more
complicated
Ticket theory?
Thanks
Charlie3110

 

[Guest]

Thanks gentlemen. I think I will try to use Kurosh's advice to try to sort it
with with Norton still on as it has always worked well before with Norton. I
am not 100% clear on what I now should do as I have said we are both getting
on a bit and my knowledge although vastly superior to my cousin's is still a
bit out my depth putting Kurosh's advice into practice. I can do it and will
do it but I need you to lead me down the path a bit. So if I save the invite
to disc and then open it with Notepad I then need to edit this to his IP
address after finding out what it is from whatmyIP? I presume I then save
that and is that it? Will it then work as before and will it alter the info
needed permanently so that every time he invites me I can take access or do I
need the edit every time? When he changed ISP they sent him a new wireless
router. Is this relevent?
Thanks
Charlie

 

[Guest]

Further to my last reply I have opened his latest ticket in Wordpad and this
is it
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="Unicode" ?><UPLOADINFO
TYPE="Escalated"><UPLOADDATA USERNAME="Jiggy"
RCTICKET="65538,1,192.168.1.64:3389;049644720363:3389,*,3qrT4H6a7h6sFEfPTIdyfoaVTSCdC/d0oKPENaUxp44=,*,*,aMYW22U/qA89jkLalVm3kWKk+2Q="
RCTICKETENCRYPTED="1" DtStart="1175020526" DtLength="60"
PassStub="HQ+3WuMcZGxjHV" L="0" /></UPLOADINFO>
now what bit do I need to change? he is not there now but for example using
whatismyIP I find that mine is 86.132.51.210. What do I change with this and
where do I put it and save it?
Thanks
Charlie

 

[Guest]

Hi Charlie,

As I had an interest to figure this out for my clients' sakes, I delved into
this further, and I think I have a pretty good grasp as to what's happening
now.

That's right. Once you have your cousin's public IP address, you edit the
invitation file with Notepad. Using your example from below, there's a part
of the invitation that reads:

RCTICKET="65538,1,x.x.x.x:xxxxx;192.168.1.2

The part you want to change is right after the "1," -- by making "x.x.x.x"
the current public IP address, and "xxxxx" some random number (not sure how
relevant this part is ... you can try the previous number you had, "388860",
or try "3389"), you then save the file, and it should work if you try to open
it. You may also need to forward port 3389 from the new router to your
cousin's private IP address. The private IP address can be found by going to
Start > Run, and typing "cmd", then OK, and typing "ipconfig" and ENTER.

Using this method, you need to make the edit every time. Both the public
and private IP addresses are dynamic (in your cousin's case), so they can
change -- everytime you want to connect, you need to be sure the current
public IP address is in the invitation file, and that the router is
forwarding port 3389 to his computer (private IP address).

By playing around on my end (to try to figure out why the public IP address
was showing up in some invitation files and not others -- similar to how you
had it previously, but not now), I was able to figure out that Remote
Assistance requires the router to be UPnP-compliant (and enabled) to get the
public IP address information automatically. You can check and see if your
cousin's router is UPnP-compliant -- if so, you can probably enable the UPnP
functionality, and it will start working as it did before. I'm guessing the
previous router he had was UPnP-compliant, and enabled. I have a Linksys
router, and I had to both enable the UPnP funcationality, and allow users to
modify the configuration -- after doing that, the public IP started appearing
in my invitation files automatically.

Hope that helps.

Best Wishes,
Kurosh

 

[Guest]

Thanks for that speedy reply Kurosh and I am going to study this in depth. I
am on the edge of my knwoledge base and capabilities but I am willing to try
anything. I like the bit about changing the router to be UPnP-compliant but I
don't know what you mean and how to change it. If you could expand on this
bit somewhat i would really appreciate it. I thank you wholeheartedly for
your efforts so far and I will soldier on until we crack it or I get over my
head.
Thanks again
Charlie

 

[Guest]

Hi Charlie,

First off, I wouldn't open it in Wordpad. You may introduce formatting
changes, which would cause problems. Best to use Notepad.

Secondly, you'll need to have him send you a new invitation. The one he
sent you is set to expire after 1 hour.

When you have the new invitation, you'll want to change the part that reads:

"RCTICKET="65538,1,192.168.1.64:3389;049644720363:3389"

It will look something like
"RCTICKET="65538,1,86.132.51.210:3389;192.168.1.64:3389;049644720363:3389",
except instead of "86.132.51.210", it will be his public IP address. The
only part I'm not clear about is how relevant the port is (i.e. "3389") -- as
I mentioned, you will probably have to have his router point that port to his
computer. You can try different port numbers (like "38860"), but it may only
work with 3389 and that port forwarded properly. I think the reason it works
with seemingly random (i.e. "38860") port numbers is because that's part of
the UPnP functionality -- it automatically redirects incoming connections to
the right port (i.e. 3389) on the right computer. That's something you'll
need to test though.

After you save the file (doesn't matter where -- can be on your desktop),
you just open it, and it will attempt to open a Remote Assistance session
with your cousin.

Best Wishes,
Kurosh

 

[Guest]

Hi Charlie,

Best thing to do is to check with the new ISP about the wireless router's
features. There should be a manual somewhere (on CD or book) with the new
router that explains all its features. If it is UPnP-compliant, it will say
so, and tell you how to enable that functionality. If not, possibly the ISP
has another router they can offer which is ... or your cousin can get one
himself (i.e. a Linksys router).

Hope that helps.

Best Wishes,
Kurosh

 

[Guest]

Thanks again for your speedy reply. I don't know what time it is with you but
if you are in the States then you are an early riser. I am in the UK and it
is 1040 here. Back to business. Slip of the keyboard with the brain I am
using Notepad.
I will take what you have written now and try to get through this. My cousin
will be home soon and i can get him to send me a new invite. I can also drvie
down there with my laptop and try to do it next to his PC. I can sned myself
an invite from my laptop to my desk top and open it with pproblems but I must
try it the other way round to suit his situation.
Once again thanks and I will keep you informed. Any further thoughts from
you then please add as I will monitor this site to see any more info.
Thanks
Carlie

 

[Guest]

Kurosh I have got him to try something and that is to change the new router
to his old one and everything worked fine as it used to. The problem is that
this router has a habit of dropping out and at first he though that this was
his ISP letting him down and that is why he changed ISP for a better
financial as well as download rate. The new ISP provided this new router that
has caused all of the problems and we had plans to use the old router
permanently but if it drops out....... I was cleaning up his PC just now when
it dropped out. What is the difference that the new router brings and is it
easy to get the invitation through the new router to be successful without
too much trouble?
Thanks
Charlie

 

[Guest]

Hi Charlie,

Actually, I'm in Canada, and I hadn't yet gone to sleep. When there's
something on my mind, I tend to work away at it until it's resolved. After a
few hours sleep, I'm back in the saddle.

Connecting to your computer (i.e. desktop to laptop) or being next to his
computer is much easier with Remote Assistance, because you don't go through
routers when you do that. That kind of connection works most of the time.
However, that's not practical. The real problem you're facing is what we've
been discussing -- how to ensure you get his public IP address and are able
to connect to his computer remotely.

Since Remote Assistance works with the old router, it proves what we were
discussing -- the old router probably has UPnP-compliance, and is enabled for
that. If the connection is dropping with the old router, you have to decide
if that's acceptable or not. For me, it wouldn't be. The difference is that
the new router is either not UPnP-compliant, or UPnP is not enabled
(properly) on the new router. This is what you need the manual / ISP to
confirm. If you can enable UPnP on the new router, you should be able to use
it just like the old one. Otherwise, you have to do the steps I suggested
already -- manually edit the invitation files when they come in to include
his public IP address, and ensure that port 3389 on his router is pointing to
his private IP address.

Here is an article about supported ways of using Remote Assistance:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301529/

I'm not sure how you are connecting to your cousin's computer, but if you
haven't tried this already, you might want to try the "Windows Messenger"
option. This bypasses the need for port 3389 to be open / forwarded on his
router, which is one less problem anyways. More details about this are in
the above article.

Let me know how you make out.

Best Wishes,
Kurosh

 

[Guest]

Hi Kurosh
An update on what is happening and not happening! I told you that we got it
working with his old router, a BT Voyager 210, but it dropped out
occasionally so I took my old router that was the same down to his to swap
them over and hopefully put this to bed but could not get remote access with
the identical router so we swapped them back and the one that we had always
successfully used would now not work! In frustration I returned home and got
in contact with the BT support about getting their new wireless hub to work.
I thought if none of them work then let us get the most modern one to work.
After a lot of useless dialogue he went to a higher authority who came up
with this.
Into Internet Explorer address bar put http:/192.168.1.254 and enter.
Click on advanced and then on to continue to Advanced.
Type in the user name and password as 'admin' and click OK.
Click on Firewall option on left. Change the radio button to Disable. Click
on apply.
Now that means something to me as I remember when I changed my Voyager 210
for a Belkin Pre n I had to go to the IE and type an address to open up the
configuration of that.
Does this sound to you as this might be what we need as when I next travel
to my cousin's I would like to be armed with the knowledge that we are on the
right track at last.
Can you also speculate as to why the router that had worked all along worked
again once when swapped back but then would not again?
Thanksand regards
Charlie

 

[Guest]

As a rider to this the old router has decided to work again today. one of
those things so it is just about getting the new hub to work now comments on
the instructions using IE please

 

[Guest]

Hi Charlie,

Thanks for the update. Seems like some progress is being made.

What he is suggesting will work. However, it will disable the firewall
functionality of the new router. That's one less level of protection.
Ideally, you want to have two levels of firewall protection -- one software
(on the computer) and one hardware (i.e. router). By turning off the router
firewall, you are essentially allowing all communication to come into your
cousin's local LAN, helpful (i.e. Remote Assistance) or not (i.e. hackers or
malware). It is then up to his computer to decide if that communication is
allowed or not. That's where a software firewall comes in. If he doesn't
have a software firewall, I would not suggest disabling the router firewall.
Alternatively, you can at least make sure the Windows Firewall (assuming he
has XP SP2) is enabled -- that will provide a moderate level of protection.

It may take some more patience and persistance, but if you can muster it, I
would call BT back and tell them you don't want to disable the router's
firewall. Ask them if there is an option for UPnP in the router, and if so,
how to fully enable it. If you don't want to call them back (and I don't
blame you -- tech support of ISPs leaves me leary as well), you should get
your hands on the manual of that new router. If there is no UPnP option, as
I mentioned previously, you are limited to either manually adjusting the
invitation files and ensuring the router points port 3389 to your cousin's
computer, or getting another router (like a Linksys) that does have UPnP
support. However, if you don't mind the added security risk, you can disable
the router's firewall. That will resolve your problem (most likely), but
will also expose your cousin's computer to greater risk. You had best make
sure he has a very good firewall program on his computer, and it is fully
updated / patched (both the firewall and his computer), before you do that.

I'm not sure why the old router stopped working momentarily (as your new
post suggests, it's working again) -- possibly your cousin rebooted his
computer in the interim, and the UPnP functionality re-established with the
old router? Hard to say, without seeing the invitation files when it did and
did not work. Connecting remotely has many (background) steps involved --
any one of them could have temporarily been disabled for one reason or
another. The router might have been blocking external connections, UPnP
might not have been working, Remote Assistance might have been not working
properly, etc.

Best Wishes,
Kurosh

 

[Guest]

Hi Charlie,

It's been a few months since we last spoke about this topic... however, with
further testing, I thought it might be good to update you.

As I suggested before, enabling UPnP on the router is essential to getting
this to work properly over the Internet. I was about to give up on Remote
Assistance, and try to find a good software package to do this instead, but I
thought I'd try what I suggested in my second last post to you ... instead of
using the e-mailed invitation for Remote Assistance, I tried connecting to a
frined's computer (which had the same problem of the public IP not appearing
in the ticket) by using Windows Live Messenger. Voila! Problem solved. It
worked just fine.

So, to reiterate, using the invitation file (via e-mail) did not work, but
using Windows Live Messenger to initiate Remote Assistance did. The reason?
I have UPnP enabled on my router, but those I connect to usually don't...
since you have a bit more technical knowledge than your cousin, probably the
best bet for you is to enable UPnP on your router (if it isn't already
enabled), and then get you both to use Windows Live Messenger. I think that
will resolve your connection issues. Using the e-mailed ticket, both parties
need to have UPnP enabled. Using Messenger, only one side needs it enabled.
Since Remote Assistance is generally used to help those who don't have as
much computer savvy, it's reasonable to assume they won't have UPnP enabled
(or know how to enable it), so using Windows Live Messenger is the best way
to go.

Best Wishes,
Kurosh