Question

Best tool for remote users who lock themselves out of their Windows laptop?

Asked by: amigan_99

Anyone have a good solution to help their remote Windows laptop users when they lock themselves out of their laptop?  

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Asked On
2009-11-09 at 11:56:20ID24884685
Topics

Windows Vista

,

Windows 7

,

Windows Networking

Participating Experts
5
Points
500
Comments
14

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Answers

 

by: arixsinPosted on 2009-11-09 at 12:09:06ID: 25779483

I use a free service called LogMeIn from www.logmein.com to remotely access their PC. All the computer needs is access to the internet. Very handy.

 

by: McKnifePosted on 2009-11-09 at 12:12:59ID: 25779511

Of course the question is: in your case, do they still have internet access without being able to logon.
If yes, some remote control software will do, like remote desktop. If no, there is only the way to give them access to another local account that you setup already with a strong password.

 

by: amigan_99Posted on 2009-11-09 at 12:19:46ID: 25779567

One option is you can log into VPN via PPTP and that way you are on the network.  So you could reset the password.  I've used this in the past but I'm not fond of PPTP and not sure if these pre-logon with PPTP is even available in Vista or Win7.  

Yes McKnife - we could put another account on the machine and just hand out that password as needed - when we run into this situation.  

 

by: andossPosted on 2009-11-09 at 14:45:15ID: 25780945

Yeah until we moved to AD we just had a local system administration group, if a user forgot their password you can still connect to their PC via VNC etc then login using the sysadmin username/password and reset the users local account.

Not the ideal situation for you as it would mean changing your pc/laptop images but maybe something to keep in mind for future.

 

by: senadPosted on 2009-11-09 at 20:48:50ID: 25782493

 

by: LarcenIIIPosted on 2009-11-10 at 07:24:21ID: 25786244

I think andoss has the best Idea. He's right not ideal, but neither is the situation.

 

by: amigan_99Posted on 2009-11-10 at 12:07:59ID: 25789224

So Dameware/pcAnywhere are good ideas except that...a user that's locked out of their system is not going to be able to determine their own IP address.  (e.g. via whatismyipaddress.com).  And second Dameware is a security hole.  Is there anything out there where you could have your laptops - a service that "phones in" to a server in your DMZ.  And then you could control them centrally if needed?

 

by: amigan_99Posted on 2009-11-10 at 12:41:52ID: 25789591

arixsin: Does logmein allow you to access your users systems without knowing the user's IP address and without their being able to get to their own GUI?  It sounds like that's the case but just verifying.

 

by: amigan_99Posted on 2009-11-10 at 13:34:05ID: 31651989

I looked into this solution.  This definitely does what we're looking for.  Thanks.

 

by: LarcenIIIPosted on 2009-11-10 at 13:44:42ID: 25790222

Weird, I don't think Logmein would help at all. They need access to the internet browser, sooo that won't work.

VNC, however, you can connect to them and see the login screen. But hey, what the heck do I know?

again, Logmein Will NOT let you connect to the user without getting to the gui. Unless you preinstall it on the computer, in which case I think VNC+VPN is better.

I like control, so that's prolly where my opinion is coming from.

 

by: amigan_99Posted on 2009-11-10 at 13:55:47ID: 25790312

My understanding is logmein Pro is an agent that phones home to logmein servers.  So that even if the user forgets their password the logmein service will allow me to the laptop.  So they say.

 

by: andossPosted on 2009-11-10 at 14:41:00ID: 25790710

Logmein Pro is most certainly not free though as described. While VNC is if you only need to support Windows clients.

You would also still need some form of admin account on the local machine to be able to reset user passwords anyway.

 

by: amigan_99Posted on 2009-11-10 at 15:23:32ID: 25791052

To use VNC the user would have to tell us their IP address and they'd have to open their firewall home firewall.  If they're locked out of their system - these are non-starters.  LogmeinPro is like $40 to $50 per laptop per year depending on how many you cover.  

Having an admin account on the users machine is OK.  We just don't want to have to tell the user what the admin user password is.

 

by: LarcenIIIPosted on 2009-11-12 at 09:09:47ID: 25806421

And if they cannot login, how can they setup an internet connection?
Most hotels and conferences  have instructions on how to setup their internet, which require user desktop interaction, and if they have one of those little pcmcia ATT or Version cards, they also require a desktop app that needs the connection to be made from there, but If they CAN get connected, VNC with VPN will work with any remote IP address, without you knowing it.

And no yearly fees. Just FYI

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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