Help: FreeNewsletter@askwoody.com

In this issue

QUICK TIP: Using Windows 10 Quick Assist in reverse

BEST OF THE LOUNGE: MS-DEFCON 4

Additional articles in the PLUS issue

LANGALIST: Finding working drivers for an older PC

PUBLIC DEFENDER: There are no USB cables any more

PATCH WATCH: You think you’ve been hacked?

BEST UTILITIES: Freeware Spotlight — DISM_GUI

ADVERTISEMENT

Spring-clean the photo albums on your PC and PHONE with Duplicate Photo Cleaner! Tired of cluttered photo albums and low storage space warnings? Duplicate Photo Cleaner will remove duplicate and similar photos from your computer and phone in a flash! Buy DPC at a special AskWoody discounted price and get 2 FREE gifts! Click here to instantly claim this exclusive discount! Duplicate photos won’t stand a chance!

QUICK TIP

By Will Fastie

Instead of helping someone with remote control, Quick Assist can be used as a demonstration tool.

The simple difference between a screen-sharing tool (Skype, Zoom) and a remote-control tool such as Quick Assist is that the latter is one-way. Once the session is underway, the roles of the two systems involved cannot be swapped.

I explained the goal and operation of Quick Assist in my previous article for AskWoody, Windows 10 Quick Assist: Fast, simple, and free (Issue 17.46.0, 2020-11-23). The goal makes clear why Quick Assist is one-way — it is intended to allow one person to help another by gaining remote access to the recipient. The person being helped retains full control of their system, while the person helping can see everything that is happening and, if given permission, can control the remote PC.

The key to this arrangement is that all the action happens on the recipient’s PC. If the helper wants to demonstrate a procedure or software feature, and has been granted control by the recipient, the helper can grab the mouse and proceed.

But what if the demonstration involves something that the recipient’s PC does not support? Suppose the helper’s goal is to demonstrate Adobe Photoshop Elements (PSE) and the recipient does not have that program? Or something that is in Windows 10 Pro and not Windows 10 Home?

Even though this kind of demonstration is not its intended purpose, Quick Assist can be used that way. It’s not much of a trick, really, and there is only one requirement — that the person receiving the demonstration have a Microsoft account.

Both parties launch Quick Assist on their respective PCs. You’ll find the utility on Windows 10’s start menu under W in the Windows Accessories folder.

The dialog to the left appears on both PCs. It is here that Quick Assist is told who is the helper and who is the recipient. And it is here that the reversal happens. The person who wishes to give the demonstration will choose Get assistance while the person viewing the demonstration will choose Give assistance.

The terminology can be confusing. The important thing to remember is that with Quick Assist, the person giving assistance is the one who views the other person’s PC. Thus to view a demonstration, that person must choose Give assistance even though that’s not what is actually happening.

From here, the rest of the connection process is relatively simple. The person “giving assistance” must log in with a Microsoft account and the person “getting assistance” (the one who is giving the demonstration) will be asked whether to grant full control or allow viewing only. The latter is the appropriate choice in this case. See my previous article for the full sequence.

Once the connection process is complete, the person who chose Get assistance can begin the demonstration, and the other person will see everything.

I do wish that Quick Assist had a built-in feature to allow switching roles while a session was active. But it is not very hard to launch Quick Assist in reverse.

Will Fastie is editor in chief of the AskWoody Plus Newsletter.

Best of the Lounge

This past week, two forum threads regarding the lowering of the AskWoody MS-DEFCON level to 4 garnered the most interest. See Install the February updates, skip that Secure boot and February updates trigger few issues.

You’re welcome to share! Do you know someone who would benefit from the information in this newsletter? Feel free to forward it to them. And encourage them to subscribe via our online signup form — it’s completely free!

Like what you see in the AskWoody FREE newsletter? Become a PLUS member! As a Plus member, you’ll receive the full newsletter, including all our great content about Windows, Microsoft, Office, 365, PCs, MS-DEFCON Alert notifications, useful and safe freeware, and Susan Bradley’s sought-after patch advice. Plus membership also allows continuous access to the complete archive of nearly two decades of Windows Secrets and AskWoody Newsletters. Naturally, Plus members have all the benefits of free membership, including access to the popular AskWoody forums. The cost? We’re supported by donations — choose any amount for a one-year membership. Every little bit helps.  Join AskWoody PLUS Today!