Tech Tip Tuesday: Team Viewer

I’m sure that some of you reading these tech tips are the “go-to” person for tech support among family and friends.  I’m also sure that, among those family and friends, you have one that’s difficult to deal with when you’re trying to solve a problem – either because they really don’t understand technology, or simply because they get frustrated or mad that they can’t get the issue resolved faster.

Fortunately, there’s an option that lets you get in and solve the problem – possibly without having to guide the user to do anything super technical.  TeamViewer, a popular remote access software vendor, offers their software free of charge for personal use, making it the perfect tool for the friend or family member that has to do occasional tech work.

Go to http://teamviewer.com, and click the big green Download TeamViewer button in the center of the screen.  Run the installer, and make sure that you leave the default “Basic Installation” and “Personal/Non-commercial Use” options selected.  You’ll want to do this on both computers – the one of the person needing help and the one providing it.  Once the install is finished, TeamViewer will display a nine digit user ID and four digit password.  The person needing help will give this to the person helping, who can enter this information on their copy of TeamViewer and get connected instantly.  From there, it’s like you’re sitting in front of the other computer!

jay