Lesson 2: Configuring Remote Support

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If the host user decides to stop waiting or closes Remote Assistance manually at any time, the

helper will be unable to connect. After Remote Assistance has been closed on the host’s com-

puter, a new invitation is required even if the previous invitation’s validity period has not

expired. If a helper attempts to connect with a valid invitation but Remote Assistance has been

closed, the helper will receive the error message shown in Figure 8-17.

Figure 8-17

An error message explaining that Remote Assistance has been closed on the host’s

computer

NOTE

Dial-up support

Like previous versions of Windows, Windows Vista supports incoming dial-up connections. There

might be a situation where a user of a Windows Vista computer who does not use the Internet

requires Remote Assistance support. In such a situation, it is possible to use a modem to directly

connect to the user’s computer, retrieve the invitation from a shared folder, and use it to set up a

Remote Assistance connection over the dial-up link. Because the 70-620 exam objectives do not

mention dial-up at all, it is unlikely that such a scenario will arise on the exam.

The final security option is to restrict the helper using Windows Vista. Although it is possible

for a helper using Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, or Windows 2000 to provide Remote

Assistance, there are significant benefits in terms of security and performance when a helper

is using a computer running Windows Vista.

NOTE

Vista only

When taking the exam, remember this setting if you see any question that asks about helpers using

Windows XP who cannot connect to a Windows Vista computer using Remote Assistance.

Exploring a Remote Assistance Session

A Remote Assistance invitation is an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file that contains an

encrypted string. Although it is possible to edit an invitation file with a text editor such as

Microsoft Notepad, making any modifications to the file will make it unusable. Without going

too far into the complex processes of encryption, the encrypted string in the text file is part of

a key pair, the other key being stored on the host computer. Any change made to the key in the