I work for an education company and need to provide occasional basic technical support to students, such as helping with Microsoft Office or formatting essays. Our previous IT provider had a simple web-based setup where a student could visit a support page, enter a code, and allow us to connect without much configuration. I'm not sure which software they used, but it may have been similar to AnyDesk.
I currently use TeamViewer, but guiding less confident users through downloading and configuring QuickSupport can be difficult. There are also concerns about TeamViewer's security, and connecting to Apple devices often requires several privacy and screen-recording permissions before access works.
The students use their own personal Windows, Mac, phone, and tablet devices. These are ad hoc support sessions, so I cannot install or configure anything in advance, and most students will never need support. I'm looking for the simplest secure option possible, preferably one that works through a temporary code or browser link. Support for mobile devices would be useful but is not essential.
2 Answers
MDM products such as Jamf can make support and permissions much easier, but they are intended for devices your organization manages from the beginning. They are not a practical fit for students’ privately owned computers that only need occasional help. For this situation, choose a reputable attended-support product with a short-lived session code, clear consent prompts, strong authentication, and good audit logs, then prepare a short guide showing Mac users exactly where to approve the required permissions.
For personal devices that you cannot prepare ahead of time, you will probably want a temporary, user-launched support tool rather than a remote-management agent. However, there is no way around the operating system’s security prompts. On macOS especially, the student will still need to approve screen recording and accessibility or remote-control permissions. A web link or code can make downloading easier, but it cannot bypass those protections.
That matches my experience. The main improvement is linking users directly to the relevant macOS settings pages, since finding the privacy controls manually can take longer than the remote-support download itself.