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TeamViewer says its unattended Remote Access works with no configuration required. How does this work? How does a connection attempt initiated by a "client" computer locate the "host" computer?

I have no experience with TeamViewer and am evaluating it because a customer wants to use it.

(I am familiar with using Windows RDP on computers located in enterprise networks, as well as remote hosts located behind firewalls in networks with frequently changing public IP addresses for their Internet connections.)

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Probably only a partial answer (I don't know about the "unattended" bit), but Teamviewer is different to RDP setup in that all connections are routed through Teamviewer servers - thus both the client and server computers connect to Teamviewers servers, and Teamviewer bridges the connection - this means it works fine behind (most) firewalls as both sides are initiating outbound connections, and it can handle changing public IP addresses easily.

Of-course, this comes at a price - speed (although I confess that I find Teamviewer surprisingly responsive when I have had occassion to use it), and, although they claim its encrypted, it must still be possible for Teamviewer to decrypt and intercept connections [ I'm not saying its trivial or that they do actually do this routinely ]

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  • I see. Thanks. It looks like encapsulated through Http if it's going to work in most environments.
    – Old Geezer
    Apr 18, 2016 at 9:29
  • Pretty sure it uses its own protocol on top of UDP rather then HTTP. It would get through most firewalls as they allow outbound connections and then related connections back - since each endpoint is initiating a connection to the server, both pass through a typical firewall. (It does not make sense to use HTTP - that runs on top of TCP which is less suitable then UDP - think freezes and slowdowns relative to UDP, and HTTP was not originally designed for persistent connections) Also ttp://security.stackexchange.com/questions/14280/how-does-team-viewer-establish-a-remote-desktop-connection
    – davidgo
    Apr 18, 2016 at 9:38
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Problem is that the remote host that is mentioned is NOT reliable. I have several PC with multiple accounts on it that simply will not connect unless someone FIRST logs in and double clicks on the app.

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  • The OP is talking about unattended access solution which is installed as a Windows service.
    – Burgi
    May 31, 2016 at 8:08
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"Unattended" and "no configuration" - those don't go together. You can install TV as service, which starts at boot, but you have to configure that, enable it, and set a password.

No configuration is an option. On Windows you can download an exe file that doesn't need installation. When TV starts up, it created a unique ID code for the computer, and a password. The ID stays the same all the time. The password changes. I don't know if the ID stays the same when you decide to install. In fact, when you install, you don't need to configure it. All you need is the ID and password.

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  • Thanks. I think the "configuration" in no configuration refers to the need to configure firewalls, port forwarding, setting up some form of dynamic DNS, etc.
    – Old Geezer
    Apr 18, 2016 at 9:42
  • OK, that sounds reasonable, and then it's yes.
    – SPRBRN
    Apr 18, 2016 at 9:49

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