Introduction and Customer Benefits

Seagate Software's visual Internet Support Incident Tool (VISIT) is a revolutionary form of customer support. Now a Seagate Software Technical Support representative is only a mouse click away - waiting to solve your support issues through an interactive session across the Internet.

By using VISIT, Seagate Software is able to provide you with superior technical support including:

• Reduced diagnostic times and resolution times resulting in fast problem resolution.

• One-click access to real-time support.

• A learning experience for you, as a user, taking part in the interactive session.

• Multiple technicians participating in a single session. This makes it easy to escalate and conference with senior technicians.

• Easy access via the Internet.

• Advanced security and privacy features, which preserve your organization’s firewall security. (The VISIT allows the delivery of real-time support even when the user and Technical Support representative are behind different firewalls.)

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What is VISIT?

Seagate Software's visual Internet Support Incident Tool (VISIT) makes use of NetManage's SupportNow™ technology, which is a real-time software support tool.

VISIT brings your support issues directly to our Technical Support representatives and allows them to provide faster and more effective technical support. It allows a representative to see your application on their computer while talking to you on the telephone.

By being able to see the exact problem, a Technical Support representative can typically solve your support issues on the first call. The representative has the capability of escalating your issue by bringing another senior technician (or team) in to help solve the problem. The entire session can be recorded for playback so that you can see the solution and learn how to solve it if it reoccurs.

Using the VISIT Wizard, the representative can also view relevant system information such as your operating system, DLLs in use, and registry keys.

Summary of VISIT features:

• Interactive real-time visual support sessions.

• Easy to install and use.

• Interactive chat allows two-way communication without the use of telephones.

• Support for real-time conference escalation.

• Customer privacy controls.

• Layered security.

• Annotated session recording.

• One-click access to technical support.

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How does VISIT work?

While communicating with a Technical Support representative, you can initiate a VISIT session by installing a small client application and clicking a shortcut to open the connection.

Once the connection has been established, the Technical Support representative is able to view the desktop on your computer, and if necessary, be given control of your computer to fix the problem.

Typical VISIT Scenario

The following diagram presents a typical VISIT scenario and describes the VISIT process from beginning to end. Place your cursor over the numbers to learn more about each step within the process.

1. Telephone Seagate Software to request technical support.

2. During the call, our Technical Support representative may suggest initiating a VISIT session. If so, you can install the VISIT client program on your computer and click the VISIT shortcut on your desktop to begin the session.

3. Once you begin the session, a VISIT connection is established and the VISIT Wizard is downloaded to your computer. The first page of the Wizard opens automatically and asks you to enter some information. Once you have finished working through the Wizard, it sends the information that has been gathered to the VISIT Server.

4. The VISIT Server records your support request and the information from the Wizard, and displays them on the VISIT Call Manager Web page.

5. The Technical Support representative connects to the VISIT Server via the Internet, identifies your request, and views the support request information. The Technical Support representative then creates a read-only connection to your computer. If necessary, you can grant the representative full control of the your computer.

6. The Technical Support representative resolves your support issue.

Security Features and Privacy

At Seagate Software it is important to us that our customers are confident that their computers and associated data are secure and protected when using our state-of-the-art support tools.

Seagate Software's visual Internet Support Incident Tool (VISIT) was developed to meet the needs of the security-conscious corporation. It empowers you, our customer, to remain in complete control of the entire support session from beginning to end.

Security features include:

• Firewall support

• Proxy server support

• Secure data transfer

• Access rights

• Mouse precedence

• Single application sharing

• Recordable sessions

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Firewall support

The most common and secure way of protecting private information is with the use of a firewall system.  A firewall system is a collection of systems, routers, and policies placed at a site’s central connection to a network.

A firewall forces all network connections to pass through a gateway where they can be examined and evaluated. The firewall may then restrict access to or from selected systems, block certain network services, as well as providing other security features.

VISIT in no way compromises the security of your organization’s firewall.  It has been designed so that you and the Technical Support representative can interact and work with each other while remaining behind the security of your respective firewalls.

Some applications require one or more inbound ports in the firewall to be opened, which can compromise network security. Most system administrators will simply refuse to do this.  Rest assured that VISIT does NOT require the customer or the support organization to open inbound ports in their firewalls, thus preserving network security. 

VISIT makes use of NetManage's SupportNow™ technology, which has been tested with industry leading firewalls such as Checkpoint™, Win Route™, and Net Guardian™.

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VISIT Conference module

Both you and the Technical Support representative are able to remain behind your respective firewalls because you communicate and interact through a middle party called a Conference Module. A Conference Module is a server that is installed outside our firewall in a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).  A DMZ is a network area that acts as a security buffer between a private Intranet and the public.

The Conference Module communicates with both parties via Port 443. Port 443 (which uses the HTTPS protocol or “HTTP tunneling”) is the secured port that is open by default for outgoing connections in most corporate firewalls and is the same secure port through which all e-commerce business transactions are conducted.

NOTE:  If you can make an online purchase, you can use VISIT.

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Proxy server support

A proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary between your workstation and the Internet so that your corporation can maintain security and administrative control of Internet access.

VISIT fully supports HTTPS and SOCKS proxy servers.  The VISIT client can easily establish a Support Channel through a proxy server.  During installation, VISIT automatically configures itself to work with a proxy server if one is being used.

VISIT makes use of NetManage's SupportNow™ technology, which has been tested with leading proxy servers such as Netscape, Microsoft, and Apache.

Secure data transfer

VISIT uses a proprietary and comprehensive scrambling algorithm that encodes all data being transferred.  Bitmap images of the desktop are encrypted and then transferred securely over the Internet.

Access rights

When using VISIT you maintain complete control of our Technical Support representative's access rights at all times. The connection begins initially in read-only mode where our representative is granted Read-Only access to your computer. In order for the representative to do anything more than view the screen on your computer, you would have to grant them Full-Access.

You can switch the access rights of the representative from Read-Only to Full-Access and vice versa at any time during the support call by clicking a button.

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Mouse precedence

At any time during a support session, you can take back complete control of the session simply by moving your mouse.  This blocks the support representative from making any further changes.  Mouse precedence supercedes any access privileges that you may have already granted to the representative.  This feature ensures that you have complete control at all times during a support session.

VISIT Frequently asked questions:

Q: How safe is my data when it is transferred over the Internet?

A: VISIT sends bitmap images of your desktop and scrambles them through a proprietary and comprehensive scrambling algorithm.  It would be extremely difficult for someone to intercept that information and decode it.  The use of HTTPS, the secure protocol used for e-commerce, provides even greater protection.

Q: What will Technical Support representatives do to my computer?

A: Technical Support representatives can’t do anything on your computer that you won’t see them do. 

You can switch the access rights of the Technical Support representative from Read-Only to Full-Access and vice versa at any time during the support call. To regain control of your computer, simply move your mouse and the application automatically reverts to Read-Only mode. The support representative can still see what you are doing and make suggestions.

Q: Will Technical Support representatives be able to connect to my computer without my permission?

A: No! You are the only one who is capable of establishing a VISIT session. There is no way to connect to your computer until you launch the VISIT application and request a connection.

Q: How does this compare to an on-site service call? Wouldn’t an on-site visit be more secure?

A: We honestly believe that a VISIT connection through the Internet provides you with more security than an on-site visit. Not only that, it provides you with service that is faster and more convenient for you.

With VISIT you can have our Technical Support representative connect in Read-Only mode, and then continue with your work while he or she resolves the issue without your constant supervision.

The following table compares the features offered through VISIT and On-Site support.

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