Connecting with WorksLink: Common Questions
How a WorksLink session is established, what device IDs and access codes each do, whether you need a VPN, and how unattended access works.
Updated
The questions below are the ones people actually get stuck on in the first hour. If the terminology is new, start with what remote desktop is.
Does WorksLink need to be installed on both computers?
Yes. Both the controlling machine and the machine being controlled need WorksLink installed and running. This is normal for remote desktop software — a session is a conversation between two programs, not a website you visit.
What is the difference between a device ID and an access code?
These get conflated constantly, but they answer different questions:
- Device ID — which machine to connect to. Fixed per installation. It is an address.
- Access code — whether you can connect without approval. It is a credential.
Starting a session needs only the device ID. Whether you also have the access code is what determines if the other side has to click accept.
What are the two ways to connect?
| Request-based | Access code | |
|---|---|---|
| Controller enters | Device ID | Device ID + access code |
| Remote user | Must click accept | No response needed |
| Fits | Helping a colleague or customer | Servers, shared terminals, your own desktop |
Request-based keeps a human in the loop and is the safer default. Access-code connections are more convenient and put more weight on credential hygiene — see the remote desktop security checklist.
What are the actual steps?
- On the remote machine, install and run WorksLink, then share its device ID (and the access code if you want to skip approval).
- On your machine, install and run WorksLink and enter that device ID.
- The remote user clicks accept — or, if you supplied the access code, the session starts without any response from their end.
Do I need a VPN to use WorksLink?
No. WorksLink establishes its own encrypted connection and does not require a VPN.
This matters more in practice than it sounds. When you are supporting someone on a home or mobile connection, “first connect to the company VPN” is usually the step where the whole process stalls.
How do I reach a machine when nobody is in front of it?
Use unattended access. Once it is configured on the remote machine, you connect with its access code and nobody needs to approve the session — the model for servers, shared terminals, meeting-room PCs and your own office desktop.
Unattended access is the more useful mode and the one that carries real risk: it is the only connection type where a leaked credential means a machine is handed over. How to scope it in an organisation is covered in remote desktop for internal IT operations.
Can several people control the same machine at once?
It depends on the plan. The “concurrent sessions” row in the comparison table refers to how many devices one account can control simultaneously:
- Free: 1 — one machine at a time
- Personal and above: unlimited
Overall concurrency is additionally shaped by how many channels you have licensed. Channels are the billing unit, but the site does not spell out how channels convert to concurrent sessions, so confirm that with customer support before buying. Full plan differences are on the pricing page.