This section describes the Virtual Assist feature from both the technician and client point of view.
• Using Virtual Assist from the Technician View
• Using Virtual Assist from the Client View
Virtual Assist is a remote support tool that enables an administrator or help desk technician to assume control of a user’s PC or laptop to provide remote technical assistance. With the user’s permission, the technician downloads the executable to the user’s computer, then gains instant access to the computer to diagnose and fix a problem remotely.
There are two versions of Virtual Assist, the User/Customer View and the Technician View. The customer is the person requesting assistance on their computer. The technician is the person providing assistance.
Note As of release version 10.6.0, both user and technician must be running the same version of the Virtual Assist client, due to incompatibility with earlier versions.
Virtual Assist is fully supported on Windows platforms. Virtual Assist is certified to work on Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 7 SP1. MAC OS and Linux clients are supported as standalone executables with full functionality. The Technician App is only supported on Windows systems.
A Virtual Assist session consists of the following sequence of events:
1. The technician launches Virtual Assist from the WorkPlace.
2. The technician monitors the Assistance Queue for customers requesting assistance.
3. The customer requests assistance by one of these methods:
– Logging into the WorkPlace and clicking on the Assistance button.
– Receiving an email invitation from the technician and clicking on the link to launch Virtual Assist.
4. The Virtual Assist application installs and runs on the customer’s system.
5. The customer appears in the Virtual Assist Assistance Queue.
6. The technician clicks on the customers name and launches a Virtual Assist session.
7. The technician’s Virtual Assist window now displays the customer’s entire display. The technician has complete control of the customer computer’s mouse and keyboard. The customer sees all of the actions that the technician performs.
8. If at anytime the customer wants to end the session, they can take control and click on an End Virtual Assist button in the bottom right corner of the screen.
9. When the session ends, the customer resumes sole control of the computer.
Using Virtual Assist from the Technician View
Technicians can connect to the SSL VPN appliance through two methods:
• If you are on the same LAN as the appliance, you can connect directly using the appliance’s internal IP address.
• If you are not on the same LAN as the appliance, connect through OnDemand Tunnel, and then point your browser to the appliance.
Note If you already have the Virtual Assist client installed, you can launch it, then log in through the client interface. However, as the Virtual Assist client will not prompt for a password change, do not use this method with a new technician user account where the “User must change password at next login” option is enabled.
• Installing the Virtual Assist Application
• Selecting a Virtual Assist Mode
• Configuring Virtual Assist Settings
• Launching a Virtual Assist Technician Session
• Performing Virtual Assist Technician Tasks
• Using the Virtual Assist Taskbar and Tab Controls
Installing the Virtual Assist Application
To launch a Virtual Assist session as a technician, perform the following steps.
1. Log in to the appliance management console and click Virtual Assist from the main navigation page.
2. Under the Downloads heading, click the Download link for the technician application.
3. A file opening dialog box appears for the VASAC.exe file. Click Save File.
4. An Open File - Security Warning pop-up window displays for the application. Click Run.
The Virtual Assist client installs and launches. For the login procedure, see Launching a Virtual Assist Technician Session.
Selecting a Virtual Assist Mode
When you first launch Virtual Assist, by default it will be in customer mode. To change the mode, perform the following steps.
Note Virtual Assist is not supported on Macintosh PCs software version 10.6 or 10.7. Instead, clicking the Assistance button opens a blank window.
1. Click Change Mode to select one of four possible modes.
The four Virtual Assist modes are:
– Customer - Select this mode to request support. For information on customer mode, see the Using Virtual Assist from the Client View.
– Unattended - Select this mode to receive support help while you are away from your computer. You will be prompted to enter a password, which the technician can then enter and assume control of your system without further confirmation from you. For information on unattended mode, see the Using Virtual Assist in Unattended Mode.
– Technician - Select this mode to service customers by remotely controlling their systems. For information on technician mode, see Launching a Virtual Assist Technician Session.
– Virtual Access - Select this mode to make your computer remotely accessible at all times from the Secure Mobile Access appliance.
2. Click Change Mode again to login with the selected mode. You may be presented with additional screens, depending on the mode selected.Secure Mobile Access WorkPlace User Guide
Configuring Virtual Assist Settings
The Virtual Assist Settings window can be accessed either by clicking the Settings button in the top left corner of the application window or by right-clicking on the Virtual Assist icon in the taskbar and selecting Settings.
The Virtual Assist Settings window has three panes:
• Proxy Settings - Allows users to configure a Proxy server to access the E-Class SRA appliance. There are three options for configuring proxy settings.
• Automatically detect settings - To use this setting, the proxy server must support Web Proxy Auto Discovery Protocol (WPAD), which can push the proxy settings script to the client automatically.
• Use automatic configuration script - If you know the location of the proxy settings script, select this option and enter the URL of the script in the Address field.
• Use proxy server - Select this option to enter the Address and Port of the proxy server. Optionally, you can enter an IP address or domain in the Bypass Proxy field to allow direct connections to those addresses that bypass the proxy server. If required, enter a User name and Password for the proxy server. If the proxy server requires a username and password, but you do not specify them in the Properties window, a NetExtender pop-up window will prompt you to enter them when you first connect.
• Optionally, you can click the Internet Explorer proxy settings button to open Internet Explorer’s proxy settings page.
• Connection Profiles - Displays all of the Virtual Assist connection profiles that have been used on this computer. To remove a profile, select it and click the Remove button.
• Connection Settings - Allows users to customize how they are identified in Virtual Assist and the default settings of Virtual Assist customer sessions.
• Display Name - The name that will be displayed in the user queue. By default, the users E-Class SRA username is displayed. If no user name is available, the system will use “vauser.”
• Additional Information - Optional field to provide additional information.
• Auto View Only - Specifies that Virtual Assist sessions will initially launch in View-Only mode instead of Trusted mode, which is the default.
• Active Mode - Specifies that Virtual Assist sessions will initially launch in Active mode instead of Trusted mode, which is the default.
• Full Color/Gray Scale- If you specify Auto View Only, you can also choose whether to display the Virtual Assist window in full color or gray scale (black and white).
Launching a Virtual Assist Technician Session
To launch a Virtual Assist technician session to remotely assist customers, perform the following steps.
1. Launch Virtual Assist and select the Technician Mode.
2. Click the Change Mode button at the lower right. In the Server pull-down menu, select the IP address or domain name of the appliance.
3. Enter the Username and Password for the technician account on the appliance.
4. Click Login.The Select Domain window displays.
5. Select the Domain that the username is configured for and click OK.
6. The Virtual Assist standalone application launches. The Technician toolbar appears.
You can also access the Technician toolbar by clicking on the Assistance button in Workplace
7. Click the Viewer icon to expand to the Virtual Assist desktop.
The technician is now ready to assist customers.
Performing Virtual Assist Technician Tasks
To get started, the technician logs into the E-Class SRA appliance and launches the Virtual Assist application from the Home menu.
Note Each technician can only assist one customer at a time.
By default, the Virtual Assist window launches with the Virtual Assist toolbar at the top; the rest of the window is dedicated to the customer’s screen.To display the most common panes, either click Expand or click View > Classic Layout. This will display the following panes:
• Email Invite
• Logging
• Chat
• Service
You can also use the Invite, Chat, and Service buttons on the toolbar to initiate these functions.
From the Virtual Assist application, the technician can assist customers by performing the following tasks:
• Using the Virtual Assist Taskbar and Tab Controls
1. To invite a customer to Virtual Assist, use the email invitation form on the left of the Virtual Assist window. If it is not displayed, click the Invite button in the toolbar. A popup window will appear.
2. Enter the customer’s email address in the Customer E-mail field.
3. Optionally, enter Technician E-mail to use a different return email address than the default technician email. Some mail servers require that an email address be entered, and that it be on a valid domain.
4. Optionally, enter an Additional Message to the customer.
5. Click Invite. The customer will receive an email with an HTML link to launch Virtual Assist.
Customers requesting assistance will appear in the Assistance Queue, and the duration of time they have been waiting will be displayed.
A pop-up window in the bottom right task bar alerts the technician when a customer is in the assistance queue. The customer queue is also displayed in the Service window.
1. Double-click on a customer’s user name to begin assisting the customer.
2. The customer’s entire desktop is displayed in the bottom right window of the Virtual Assist application.
The technician now has complete control of the customer’s keyboard and mouse. The customer can see all of the actions that the technician performs.
Note After taking control of the user’s system the Technician cannot access functions that require administrator privileges unless the user logs in with administrator privileges. In some cases, it is necessary for the user to complete a task before the Technician can continue.
During a Virtual Assist session, the customer is not locked out of their computer. Both the technician and customer can control the computer, although this may cause confusion and consternation if they both attempt “to drive” at the same time.
A small tool bar is shown in the bottom right of the screen. The top bar changes to indicate Trusted (blue), Active (green), and View Only (gray).
The tool bar contains the following customer options:
• Status (Trusted/Active/View Only)- Toggles between modes to indicate the current status. Trusted indicates the whether the customer’s site is in a Trusted zone, and Active indicates the customer is currently being assisted. In View Only mode the technician can view the customer’s computer but cannot control it.
• Chat - Initiates a chat window with the technician.
• End Virtual Assist - Terminates the session.
Using the Virtual Assist Taskbar and Tab Controls
The Technician’s view of Virtual Assist includes a Taskbar with a number of options.
• Invite - Displays the Email Invite pane.
• Chat - Displays the chat window to communicate with the customer.
• Service - Displays the service queue of customers awaiting service.
• Logging - Displays the log window.
• Viewer - Displays or hide the entire Virtual Assist window.
• Options - Displays Connection Profile and Connection Settings options.
• Expand - Displays the Email Invite, Service, Logging, and Chat panes.
• About - Displays the version information for the Virtual Assist client.
Other functions can be performed by:
• Clicking the _ button in the bottom right corner of the Taskbar will minimize the view so only the titles of the buttons are displayed, and not the icons.
• Clicking the folder icon on the collapsed Taskbar will restore the icon view.
• Clicking the x in the top right of the corner closes Virtual Assist.
• Selecting View > Tab Controls for Current Customer displays additional shortcuts and controls:
The following options appear at the top of the Virtual Assist window.
• Full Screen - Expands the Virtual Assist window to the technicians entire monitor.
• Auto Scaling - Fits the customer’s screen to the Virtual Assist window.
• Zoom - Customizes the zoom of the customer’s screen.
• True Size - Zooms to the actual size of the customer’s monitor resolution.
• Refresh - Refreshes the customer’s screen.
• File Transfer - Opens the File Transfer utility.
• Chat - Opens a chat window with the customer.
• Reboot Customer - Reboots the customer’s system.
• Active Screens - If more than one screen is in use, you can view any of the screens or choose to view all of them.
• Request Full Control - Take full control of the customer screen without requiring prompts. The customer will be asked to confirm this action.
Using Virtual Assist from the Client View
During a Virtual Assist session, you are not completely locked out of your computer. Both the technician and customer can control the computer, although this may cause confusion and consternation if they both attempt to “drive” at the same time. You can resume control when the technician is not actively typing or moving the mouse. And you can end the session at any time by clicking the End Virtual Assist button in the bottom right corner.
Click the Chat button or enter Alt-c to open an instant message style chat session with the technician.
The technician can also open a Chat window to communicate with you. To chat, type text in the Chat window and press Enter or click Send.
The customer will first need to download and run the .exe file provided on the login page.
• Initiating Virtual Assist on a Windows Client
• Initiating Virtual Assist on a Mac OS Client
• Initiating Virtual Assist on a Linux Client
• Changing the Virtual Assist Level of Control
• Ending a Virtual Assist Session
Initiating Virtual Assist on a Windows Client
To launch a Virtual Assist customer session to request help on your Windows computer, you need the Virtual Assist client application. There are two methods to access the client application:
• Log into WorkPlace and click the Assistance button.
You will be prompted to download the client application.
• View an email invitation and click on the link in the email. The Virtual Assist plugin will be installed.
The steps for the first method are described here. To download the client from WorkPlace and launch a Virtual Assist customer session to request help:
1. Log in to the WorkPlace interface.
2. If one has been configured for you, you may have an acceptable use policy agreement (AUP) displayed to you. Accept the AUP by clicking the Accept button. (Clicking Decline will terminate the session.)
3. The login screen will appear. Enter your username and password. The application will then prompt you to download the client. The first time you launch Virtual Assist, you will be prompted to install the Virtual Assist plugin and client.
4. Click on the Save File button.
5. In the plugin installation window, click Install Now. The Virtual Assist plugin and client installs on your system. You may be prompted to restart your browser.
6. You can now launch Virtual Assist either from the WorkPlace window or from a shortcut that is added your Programs list under the Windows start button.
7. Double-click to bring up the login window.
8. Enter the hostname or IP address of the E-Class SRA appliance in the Server field.
9. Click Request Support to be placed into the support queue. Your username will be your default name.
10. On occasion, an assistance code many be needed for additional authentication. In this case, the technician will provide the code. Enter the assistance code into the entry areas of the popup menu.
A ticket ID is assigned when the request is placed in the queue. Its value will be displayed in the waiting dialog, which also displays how long the ticket has been in the queue. The technician will be alerted that you are ready.
11. Click Add Information to add a description of the problem, or any other information that could be useful to the technician.
12. When the technician initiates the session, the Virtual Assist toolbar appears in the bottom right of your screen. The technician now has control of your computer.
Initiating Virtual Assist on a Mac OS Client
To launch a Virtual Assist customer session to request help on your Mac OS computer, you need the Virtual Assist client application. There are two methods to access the client application:
• Log into WorkPlace and click the Assistance button.
• View an email invitation and click on the link in the email. The Virtual Assist plugin will be installed.
The client is downloaded as a compressed tgz archive. You will need to extract the archive. After the archive is extracted, you will see the Virtual Assist App folder. You can then drag this folder to the Applications folder to install the client.
You can also download the Virtual Assist client from the Appliance Management Console (AMC) on the Virtual Assist page.
Click on Assistance to access the download menu.
To download the client from WorkPlace and launch a Virtual Assist customer session to request help:
1. Log in to the WorkPlace interface.
2. Click on the Allow button. A plugin installation window displays. Click Install Now. The Virtual Assist plugin and client installs. You may be prompted to restart your browser.
3. You can now launch Virtual Assist either from the WorkPlace window or from a shortcut that is added your Programs list.
4. If the Server address is not auto-propagated in the login window, enter the Server address and click Request Support. The server address can be either an IP address or hostname of the E-Class SRA appliance.
5. Enter the hostname or address of the E-Class SRA server appliance.
6. Click Request Support to be placed into the support queue. Your username will be your default name.
You may be prompted to enter an Assistance Code
7. You may be prompted to read and accept a disclaimer. Click OK.
8. A pop-up window indicates that you are in the Virtual Assist queue. The technician will be alerted that you are ready. Your ticket ID number will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. Click Cancel to cancel the Virtual Assist request
9. Click Add information to provide the technician any additional information about your issue.
When the technician initiates the session, the Virtual Assist toolbar appears in the bottom right of your screen. The technician now has control of your computer.
Initiating Virtual Assist on a Linux Client
Note Virtual Assist is fully tested on the Ubuntu distribution of Linux. It has not been tested on other Linux distributions.
To launch a Virtual Assist customer session on your Linux computer, you can either:
• Respond to an invitation from the Technician
• Perform the steps shown below
To launch Virtual Assist:
1. Log into WorkPlace and click the Assistance button to download the client. The client will be downloaded as a compressed tgz archive. Extract the files. You will see a Virtual Assist folder.
2. Go to the command line shell. Execute sudo /install on the folder.
3. Then type VirtualAssistGUI on the command line. The application will open.
If the Server address is not auto-propagated in the login window, enter the Server address and click Request Support. The server address can be either an IP address or hostname of the E-Class SRA EX-Series appliance.
4. Enter the hostname or address of the E-Class SRA server appliance.
5. If the Server address is not auto-propagated in the login window, enter the Server address and click Request Support. The server address can be either an IP address or hostname of the E-Class SRA appliance.
6. You will be prompted to enter your user name and an Assistance Code.
7. You may be prompted to read and accept a disclaimer. Click OK.
8. A pop-up window indicates that you are in the Virtual Assist queue. The technician will be alerted that you are ready. Click Cancel to cancel the Virtual Assist request.
9. Click Add information to provide the technician with information about your issue.
When the technician initiates the session, the Virtual Assist toolbar appears in the bottom right of your screen. The technician now has control of your computer.
Changing the Virtual Assist Level of Control
There are three levels of control that a customer can grant to the technician:
• View Only - The technician can view the customer’s computer but cannot control it.
To switch to View Only mode, click the Status (Active) button. The Status switches to (View Only).
• Active - The technician can control the customer’s computer, but the customer must give permission for certain action—such as allowing the technician to reboot the system, delete files, or over-write files on the customer’s computer without the customer being repeatedly prompted for permission.
To switch from View Only mode to Active mode, click the Status (View Only) button.
• Trusted - The technician has complete control of the customer’s computer. To toggle between Trusted mode and Active mode, enter Ctrl-Alt-T.
By default, Virtual Assist sessions are launched in Trusted mode. To modify this, click the Settings button on the top left corner of the window, select the Connection Settings tab and select either Auto View Only or Active Mode.
Ending a Virtual Assist Session
You can end the Virtual Assist session at any time. To end the session, click on the Exit Virtual Assist button in the bottom right corner of the screen, or enter Alt-q. This will end the technician’s control of your computer.
Using Virtual Assist in Unattended Mode
Note Unattended Mode is supported only on Windows clients.
Unattended Mode allows customers to set their computer to be accessible by a technician at a later time when the customer will not be available to click to confirm their consent.
To set your computer for Virtual Assist Unattended Mode:
1. Launch Virtual Assist.
2. Click Change Mode, select Unattended, and click Change Mode again.
3. Select or enter the IP address or domain name of the SSL VPN server.
4. Enter a Password and click Login. The Waiting window displays and shows the length of time you have been in the queue.
5. You need to provide the technician with the password you just defined. An easy way to do this is to click Add Information and give the technician your password.
6. Click the Assistance button at the top right of the main page. If the Assistance button is not displayed, contact your administrator to enable Assistance on your WorkPlace layout.