Change the duration of a Remote Assistance invitation in Vista

By default, a Remote Assistance invitation expires six hours after it's created. For the best security, reduce the expiration time if the expert can respond quickly to your request.

Conversely, you might need to create a longer lasting invitation if you don't expect your chosen expert to be available during that time. To modify the duration of invitation files you create:

1) Open System in Control Panel (In the Start menu Search box, type system )

2) In the Tasks list, click Remote Settings (requires administrator privileges)

3) On the Remote tab, click Advanced, on the next page Specify the amount of time that you want invitation files to remain valid.

You can specify the time in minutes, hours, or days, up to a maximum of 99.

Don't make your invitation lifespan longer than necessary. Although there are several protections in place to prevent its misuse, a Remote Assistance file is an invitation to connect to your computer. It's best to keep the window of opportunity as small as possible. Note that when you close the Remote Assistance window on the novice's computer, you effectively cancel the invitation, regardless of the time.

Tags: remote assistance,security

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