does anybody know how to be a host software download or program? i would like to have a friend help me straighten out my pc remotely. i had it b4 when i had a service person install it for me. DOES ANYBODY RECOMMEND IT?

Have a look at RealVNC. Small, easy to use

http://www.realvnc.com/

I use VNC on all of my PCs and servers at the office (approximately 50 of them, mainly Windows 2000). It's a fantastic lightweight bit of software, particularly the latest versions. Best of all, it's free (although they do ask for a small donation if you find it useful ..... and it's well worth it). When you compare VNC to Symantec PCAnywhere, which is something like £70 a licence, it's a cracking little utility. And it does work over the Internet, though obviously not quite as quickly as on an office network.

When you install VNC, there's an option to run it as a service and to start the service at the end of the installation. You'll need to do that. When it starts up, it will prompt you to enter a password. I would strongly recommend that you put in a secure password if you'll be connected to the Internet whilst it's running - you don't want hackers taking over your system!

Get your friend to install VNC as well and then get him to type in your IP address into his VNC 'browser'. You can find out your IP address by hovering over the little VNC icon down by your clock once you've got it running and you're connected to the Internet. It will be something like 12.345.678.90.

You can download it from http://www.realvnc.com.