What's New in SimpleHelp 5.3

See what was new in the previous release SimpleHelp 5.2.
SimpleHelp 5.3 introduces a number of improvements and enhancements over SimpleHelp 5.2. Below are a few of the more important changes.

Faster Windows Screen Capture

Improvements in screen capture performance on Windows. 
  • Sessions are now more responsive, particularly when small changes occur on the remote machine.
  • Screen blanking on Windows is now more reliable, particularly in multi-monitor setups.
  • Bandwidth utilisation is reduced by up to 30% from 5.2.

Access Tags

Tags allow you to label remote access machines in the Access tab to make them easier to manage, filter and identify.​
  • Create, order and apply tags to Remote Access Services.
  • Filter machines by tags.
  • Trigger alerts on tagged machines.
  • Automatically apply or remove tags using alert actions.

New Supported Systems

The following system are now supported for all bundled applications.
  • Native support for ARM-based macOS machines.
  • Windows 11.
  • macOS Monterey.
  • Linux ARM32 and ARM64 support.

Mobile Device Support

iOS and Android support apps that allow customers to connect to your support server from a mobile device.
  • Users can connect to a server using a server-specific connection code configurable in the Administration tab.
  • Support for in-session chat, image sharing and mobile device screen sharing.

Share Session Recordings

A new session encoding implementation means you can easily share session recordings with users.
  • New controls in the History tab allow you to specify which recordings are encoded.
  • Administration tab controls allow you to set useful encoding defaults.
  • Encoded videos can be shared with users, and video in most media players (and browsers).

Security Enhancements

A number of changes make SimpleHelp more secure.
  • Remote Access Service installations are now only modifiable by system administrators.
  • CIDR support for IP restrictions make it easily to specify what networks should be allowed access.
  • Automatically ban IP addresses and accounts after a certain number of failed logins.
  • Network restrictions for Server Administrators and Remote Work users (along with Technicians).
  • Ability to disable tools system-wide.
  • More granular Web API permissions to control access for API tokens.

Toolbox Improvements

Technicians can now choose the context under which a tool will be run on a remote machine.
  • Running tools as the service user, in the service session, allow administrators to make changes that will not interrupt the user.
  • Running tools as the logged on user allow administrators to make changes for a specific user.
  • Tools on macOS can now be run as the root user.

... And More

  • Alert severities allow you to grade alerts, so that you can easily tell when severe alerts trigger.
  • Users can now request a code via email instead of using app-based authentication (if both are enabled).
  • The Remote Work application can now be renamed.
  • Technician comments can now be required.
  • Three column layout in the Access tab takes advantage of wider displays.
  • Support for tool duplication in a toolbox.
  • Additional Web API endpoints to rename or move remote machines.
  • Adds support for newer Linux installations with multiple X server processes.
  • A revised macOS service framework makes the Access service easier to install, and more reliable.
  • Mapped Drives are now visible in Access sessions.
  • Technician groups can be duplicated, or create from pre-configured templates.
  • Technician groups can inherit permissions and settings from other groups.
  • Tools can now be disabled system-wide.
  • New Administration Recording settings give you better control over what sessions are recorded, and when they are encoded.
  • Alert trigger and reset scripts now have access to the Scripting API.
  • Website Alert's can now be configured to ignore SSL errors when checking a site.
  • New permissions reports allow administrators to easily see which users and groups have access to machines.
  • Server Events are now generated when submitted MFA codes are incorrect.
  • Let's Encrypt certificates now bundle the self-signed root.
  • Improvements to detect screen size changes more quickly.
  • Improved support for Pi and Pi64 detection and installation.
  • Better support for wallpaper restoration on macOS.
  • Saved searches in the Access tab can now be renamed, and can be configured with a custom icon.
  • Improved video playback controls.