Consider the following scenario. You use a virtual private network (VPN) to connect a Windows Vista-based computer to your corporate network. After you connect to the corporate network, you experience an issue with your computer, and you contact your corporate helpdesk to resolve the issue. You provide the VPN IP address to the helpdesk agent. In this scenario, the helpdesk agent cannot use the Offer Remote Assistance feature to connect to your computer.

Because of security concerns, you may be unwilling to open DCOM Port 135 in the client firewall of a Windows Vista-based computer. In this situation, the Offer Remote Assistance feature may not work as expected.

On a Windows XP-based computer, you execute a Remote Assistance invitation file to connect to a novice’s computer. However, the Remote Assistance session fails. Also, you receive the following error message:

Remote Assistance
A Remote Assistance connection could not be established. You may want to check for network issues or determine if the invitation expired or was cancelled by the person who sent it.

This problem occurs if following conditions are true:

• The Windows XP-based computer has Remote Desktop Connection 6.0 (RDC 6.0) installed.
• The novice’s computer has multiple IP addresses when the Remote Assistance invitation file is created.

On a Windows Vista-based computer, you try to start the Windows Remote Assistance component by using a user account that does not belong to the Administrator group. However, you experience a 45-second delay before the Windows Remote Assistance window appears.

This problem occurs if the one of the following conditions is true:

• The computer cannot access the Internet.
• Web Proxy Auto-Discovery (WPAD) is not enabled in the network environment.