Thinking Fish Assist

What it is

Thinking Fish Assist lets a Thinking Fish engineer see and, with your permission, use your computer or phone so we can fix things quickly. It replaces AnyDesk for our customers.

• Nobody can connect unless you give them your ID and click Accept(or you have agreed to unattended access for a computer we manage, see below).
• You see everything we do, and you can end the session at any moment.
• Connections are end-to-end encrypted and go through our own server in London.

Windows

1. Go to thinking.fish/assist and click Download for Windows.
2. Open the downloaded file (ThinkingFishAssist-windows-x64.exe).
3. Windows may warn you. If you see a blue box saying "Windows protected your PC", click More info, check the app name is ThinkingFishAssist, then click Run anyway. This happens because the app is new; it does not mean anything is wrong.
4. If Windows asks "Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?", click Yes.
5. Thinking Fish Assist opens. Read us the 9-digit number under ID.

You do not need to install it. If we ask you to, click Install in the app and follow the prompts; it then starts with Windows so we can help you faster next time.

Mac

1. Go to thinking.fish/assist and download the Mac version. Most Macs from 2021 onwards have Apple silicon; to check, open the Apple menu, choose About This Mac and look at Chip.
2. Open the downloaded file and drag Thinking Fish Assist onto Applications.
3. Open it from your Applications folder. If macOS says it cannot check the app, open System Settings, Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway.
4. The first time, the app asks for two permissions so we can see and use your screen. Click each button it shows, and in System Settings, Privacy & Security switch Thinking Fish Assist on under:
   • Screen & System Audio Recording (to see your screen)
   • Accessibility (to move the mouse and type)
   macOS may ask you to quit and reopen the app afterwards.
5. Read us the 9-digit number under ID.

Android

1. On your phone or tablet, go to thinking.fish/assist and tap Download for Android.
2. Open the downloaded file. If asked, allow your browser to install unknown apps, then tap Install.
3. Open Thinking Fish Assist, go to the Share screen tab and tap Start service. Allow screen capture when asked.
4. So we can tap and type for you, turn on Thinking Fish Assist Input when the app takes you to Accessibility settings.
5. Read us your ID from the Share screen tab.

During a session

• When we connect, a small window shows who is connecting. Click Accept. If you were not expecting us, click Cancel.
• That window stays open while we are connected. It shows what we are doing (screen, file transfer) and has a Disconnect button. Closing it ends the session straight away.
• We may send you a chat message or ask to transfer a file; you will see it on screen.

Unattended access (computers we manage)

For computers we look after under a support agreement, we may ask to set up unattended access so we can fix things without disturbing you, for example out of hours. We only do this with your agreement.

• We install Thinking Fish Assist as a service and set a long, private password that only Thinking Fish engineers hold. It is never shared outside Thinking Fish.
• You can still see when we are connected: Thinking Fish Assist opens a session window (it may sit minimised in the taskbar) showing who is connected, with a Disconnect button.
• To stop unattended access at any time, tell us, or uninstall the app (see below).

Staying safe

• Thinking Fish will never cold-call you and ask for remote access. If someone calls claiming to be from us, your bank, Microsoft or your broadband provider and asks you to install a remote-control app, hang up and call us on 020 7100 2222.
• Never read out the password shown in the app. We connect using your ID and you click Accept.
• Only download Thinking Fish Assist from thinking.fish/assist.

Removing it

• Windows: if you only ran it, just close it (and delete the download). If it was installed: Settings, Apps, Thinking Fish Assist, Uninstall.
• Mac: quit it, then drag it from Applications to the Bin.
• Android: press and hold the app icon and choose Uninstall.