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Access Service Server Warning

As of SimpleHelp v4.3, Remote Access Services that connect to a SimpleHelp server presenting a different server ID will warn technicians in the technician console with the following:

Different Server Warning

When a Remote Access Service connects to a SimpleHelp server for the first time it identifies the server using a unique ID. If the server ever reports a different ID the Remote Access Service will no longer trust the server. A server's ID may change if:

  • The address of the SimpleHelp server has been compromised, and a malicious user has installed a second SimpleHelp server on the same address in order to gain access to your Remote Access Services.
  • The SimpleHelp server has legitimately been upgraded or reinstalled.

Remote access services that do not trust the SimpleHelp server may exhibit any of the following symptoms:

  • The machine is listed with a name of the form SG_1234567890 signifying that the service is not willing to share its details with the SimpleHelp server.
  • When attempting to connect to the remote machine the session window appears but never progresses past the "Waiting for remote machine to connect" message.

Fixing Server ID Issues

The SimpleHelp server keeps its ID in a file called serverkeys.dat in the configuration directory within the SimpleHelp installation directory. If you are migrating or reinstalling your SimpleHelp server you must make sure to restore your configuration backup prior to starting up the new SimpleHelp server instance. Once the server is started with the correct ID the Remote Access Services will trust the server again and will allow connections.

Fixing an Incorrectly Installed Remote Access Service

When a Remote Access Service is configured, the technician enters in one or more SimpleHelp server addresses that the service will use to register with. Each time a new address is added the Remote Access Service will store the address alongside the server ID for that address. If you have installed a Remote Access Service and configured it prior to changing the server ID then you can force the Remote Access Service to trust the new server using these steps:

  • On the remote machine, configure the Remote Access Service.
  • Remove the server address, and save the configuration.
  • Add the server address again, and save the configuration.

This will force the Remote Access Service to query the server again to retrieve its valid ID.

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