With 2017 coming close, now is that traditional moment we seize to draw conclusions, come up with new year resolutions and try to predict what’s coming next. Even though there’s been only one fundamental shift this year, one could hardly argue that 2016 hasn’t been tough for some of the remote desktop software vendors – take the massive hack of Teamviewer accounts as an example.
Now let’s take a farewell look at the four key remote desktop industry trends of the outgoing year.
Teamviewer gets hacked
At the end of May Teamviewer experienced its worst PR nightmare following a breach of a significant number of user accounts. First, the company tried to deny that the hack had actually happened despite numerous user reports on Reddit, then blamed customers for assigning bad passwords and being “careless”. However, in a few days the company chose to apologize by saying that one should take extra care when using a tool like Teamviewer, but in the end it didn’t stop users from looking for more secure alternatives to the application.
“Microsoft tech support” scams
Fake tech support calls have been a trending topic on most IT forums for quite a while. Luckily for the industry, in 2016 scammers utilized all the same tools and schemes they’d used before making it easier for vendors to shut them down and share valuable information with users to prevent future attacks.
Read more about our latest experience in fighting scammers, or check this guide on how to protect yourself from typical support scams.
LogMeIn merges with GoToAssist
Here comes the shift! On July 26 LogMeIn announced that the Citrix’s GoTo family would be merged with the company’s existing product portfolio. As the vendors mentioned in a joint press release, “this combination is a winning outcome for all parties”. However, it’s still unclear whether “all parties” include users who might not like another annual price increase that much.
GoToAssist dumps its Day Pass option
As of December 16 GoToAssist decided to discontinue its Day Pass offer which had provided users with full access to remote support features for a limited period of 24 hours. This option was widely used by technicians who needed a cost-effective solution for remotely fixing family and friends’ computers, or providing ad-hoc support to customers.
Although many users may think they’re now left without a viable alternative to Day Pass, there’s still an option. Techinline remains the only remote desktop vendor offering flexible per-session plans for ad-hoc remote support, and if you happen to be a former Day Pass user – go check them out and be sure to try our application for free!