Remote Access GuideSimpleHelp allows you to access remote unattended computers, this guide explains how
The Remote Access ServiceIn order for a computer to be made available at all times its necessary for SimpleHelp to have a service running on that computer. To set this up just point a browser at the /access page on your SimpleHelp server to download the Remote Access installer, then run it.
This will open up a configuration app where you can set a name for the shared computer, set permissions to disable monitoring or require a machine-specific password, and configure an HTTP proxy if necessary. You can also add groups and sub-groups to categorise it in the list of computers in the Technician client. The following settings can be configured for each remote access service:
SimpleHelp services include additional security settings:
MonitoringOnce set up your computer will appear in the Access tab in the technician client. From here you can see a wealth of information including charts and expandable screen thumbnails all updated live.
Silent and Headless InstallationThe default behaviour when the Remote Access Service is downloaded is for the Remote Access Configuration application to launch. This application allows you to start the Remote Access Service. Simply executing the Remote Access executable will not automatically start the service.
There are two common cases where this is not desirable behaviour:
The Remote Access Service supports silent installation, configuration and startup of the service to work around these limitations. There are two ways to silently install the Remote Access Service:
Silently Installing using ParametersInstallation parameters can be passed in on the command line. The minimum required parameters to automatically launch a Remote Access Service silently are:
where:
Additional documentation on silent installation parameters are included in our Pre-configuration Article. Silently Installing using Pre-Configured BinariesPreconfigured binaries are downloads of the service from the SimpleHelp server that contain settings and instructions to install silently built in. There is no need to pass in command line parameters with these binaries.
To create a Preconfigured Binary use the highlighted control in the Access Tab: You will be presented with a configuration UI that is very similar to the Remote Access Service configuration. Here you can configure multiple different services, each with different configuration settings.
Once configuration is complete use Mass Deploy to deploy the service across multiple machines, Download to download a preconfigured binary, or Copy Link to copy the link to the download into the clipboard.
Controlling macOS PermissionsmacOS Mojave (10.14) and Catalina (10.15) introduce security permissions that control whether SimpleHelp sessions are able to view and control the machine. SimpleHelp 5.2 includes security controls to detect whether the Remote Access Service has these permissions, and the request them if they have not already been set. The Security tab of the Remote Access Service Configuration application is shown below.
![]() Under the macOS Permissions section two permissions are listed.
Screen Recording - if enabled Technicians will be able to view other applications on the desktop from within a SimpleHelp session. You can request permissions at any time by using the corresponding Request button. Common QuestionsThe following pages answer some common questions we get about Remote Access:
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