Is there a free web conferencing service?

Question

I'm looking for a free service that will let me do one-on-one conferencing. I need something that will allow screen sharing that can be accessed by both host and visitor. I don't need to be able to record sessions, have integrated audio, or anything fancy.

I know Skype now has screen-sharing, but not all of the clients I need to do remote support for use Skype, and I can't force them to. It would make things much easier if I could just provide them with a conference URL to go to that would let me view their screen as they perform an action that's giving them trouble.

Remote control of the client's computer would be a plus, but is not necessary.

I know that most of the big services (webex, livemeeting, gotomeeting, etc.) have free trials, but I'm looking for a service I can stick with. It's fine if there's a limit to how many conferences I can have per week or month.

Answer 1

I use http://join.me for ad-hoc screen sharing. It works like this:

1. Host visits http://join.me and starts a session by downloading and running a small program (does not require administrative privileges).
2. Host program generates a 9-digit code that must be given to visitor.
3. Visitor visits http://join.me and enters 9-digit code he received from host. The shared screen appears in the browser (I believe they use Flash).
4. If desired, host can grant control to visitor.

http://join.me supports multiple visitors on a single host. It does not include audio, but you said you didn't need that.

Answer 2

SkyFex is a purely web based solution that provides remote desktop access. There is no installation requirements per se, apart from browser plugins.

They provide a free and paid for service. A Summary of what is available for each package is below.

Answer 3

AnyMeeting is a completely free web conferencing service and let's you meet with up to 200 people per meeting and has other features that no other free service offers. www.anymeeting.com

Answer 4

Another good software for this purposes is OnlineVNC. It's well adapted for Windows 7/Vista and has 32bit/64bit variant of installation. It is absolutely free.