Remote Incident Manager (RIM)

How you acquire and install Remote Incident Manager depends on your use case and configuration, but in any case the process is quite straight forward.

Typical Installation for Individuals

There is only one installation package to use, whether you are offering or receiving assistance.

1. Download Remote Incident Manager
2. Run the downloaded file.
3. If you have user account control enabled, press Alt+Y to approve the installation.
4. Once the file is launched, the installation will automatically commence. There are no next buttons to worry about. Just sit back, relax, and let it do its thing. Within seconds, the program will be installed and will launch automatically.
   1. The Welcome screen will allow you to choose how you will primarily use RIM. If you only plan on receiving support, press the “Receive Help Now” button. If you plan on providing support, click the “Provide Help Now” button. This decision is not final, as the mode can always be changed from within the application.

That’s all there is to it! A desktop shortcut will be automatically created to aid in subsequent launches of RIM. Additionally, RIM sets up a multipurpose global hotkey (Windows+Shift+Backspace) which, among other things, automatically launches the program from wherever you are.

Unattended or Prompted Access Installer

If the person providing assistance has provided you a custom installer, you will be advised of this when the installer launches. This is because this installer will automatically configure RIM for what is known as either unattended or prompted access. This is what will allow the person helping you to initiate a session with your computer without you having to enter a keyword. We will cover these types of sessions indepth later on in this manual.

Installing without Administrative Privileges

The Remote Incident Manager installer will always attempt to obtain administrator privileges. In environments where administrator privileges are unable to be obtained, the installation of RIM will be performed within the scope of the current user account, rather than at the system level.

Running without admin does not result in any limitations on the controller side of RIM. There are, however, limitations you will encounter on the target machine.

• RIM only runs when the Windows user that installed it is signed in.
• RIM doesn’t run on the Windows sign-in screen.
• RIM has no access to the secure desktop; this means no access to UAC prompts, or to the sign-in screen when unlocking the machine.
• Remote keyboard input doesn’t work if the focus on the target is in an elevated application, or even an application running with the Windows UI Access flag, such as an installed copy of a screen reader.
• The option to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete doesn’t work.

As a controller, you will be able to attempt a re-installation of RIM with admin privileges during a session.

Silent Installation

You’ll want to do this when deploying RIM to multiple machines. Simply use the /S command line parameter in your deployment script. Note that it is case-sensitive, so a capital S is required.

Installing a Server Profile

If you are receiving remote support from an organization who has a private RIM server, they will have sent you a link to a configuration page on that server. Once you click this link, you will arrive on a page that will provide instructions on how to install this server profile into your copy of RIM. Note that RIM must be installed in order for the profile to be added, thus the page will provide links to the installers if you have not yet installed RIM.

Additional Considerations for Windows Servers

To install RIM on your Windows Server, connect to the server via RDP. In order to get the most stable connection experience, we recommend using the Remote Desktop app from the Microsoft Store.

Obtaining Sound and running Narrator

For Windows Server distributions prior to 2022, you will need to manually enable sound before launching Narrator. Do the following once connected:

1. Press windows key+r.
2. Type cmd and hit enter. Wait about ten seconds.
3. Type:
   net start audiosrv
   and hit enter.

In any case, press CTRL+Windows+Enter to enable Narrator. If everything worked properly, you should get speech.
You can now follow the install procedure as described above. Please note that for Windows Server distributions prior to 2022, if you need sound for subsequent connections via RIM, you will need to install a virtual sound output device on your server. The free version of Virtual Audio Cable should suffice.