Does everyone need to use the MSI installer? What if I want an EXE?
Do I understand correctly that every customer needs to install the msi in order for me to remotely connect to them? It’s a hurdle – they often are not an admin and thus cannot install it.
I could use group policy to push it out to members of my domain, but not all customers are.

Instant Housecall offers two download options for your customers:
MSI: Also called the “standard” installer
EXE: Also called the “safe applet”
It sounds like the EXE is the one that you’re looking for. You can find that by clicking “Download safe applet” in your support portal. If you’re using direct download links, add “&mode=safe” to the download URL to get the safe applet.
A few notes about each installer that will help you with your decision in which one to use.
Standard MSI
- Includes “install once as admin, run unlimited as standard user”. That means that you can install it on your user’s machine with administrator privileges (via group policy, physical presence or some other means), and then your customer can request remote support later without needing to know the administrator password. This is a great feature in corporate locked down environments
Includes all features (we’ll contrast that with the safe applet below)
Safe applet EXE
- The safe applet is a minimal install and will ask your customer whether they want to “Install the Instant Housecall service”. If your customer doesn’t have administrator privileges, answer “N” to this question. The service is a Windows service that gives you access to advanced features like reboot and reconnect. You should install it whenever you can, but when you can’t, you’ll still be able to view and control your customer’s PC using the safe applet.
You can find more details here: http://instanthousecall.uservoice.com/forums/227074-general/suggestions/4806325-connecting-to-computer-that-has-virus-won-t-insta