As remote environments continue to grow in size and complexity, managing devices, users, and sessions efficiently has become just as important as establishing a reliable remote desktop connection itself. In ISL Online, remote desktop software is used for both unattended remote access to managed devices and on-demand remote support sessions, covering a wide range of IT administration and support scenarios.
Over the past year, ISL Online focused on reducing friction in daily remote access and remote support workflows, whether that meant giving administrators better visibility, enabling unattended remote access on more mobile devices, or improving performance during demanding sessions. The updates released this year build on each other, resulting in a more predictable, flexible, and user-friendly remote desktop experience.
Centralized Computer Management for Remote Access Environments
One of the most important new features was Computers Administration, which introduced a new Computers tab in the Administration section of the web portal.
This feature enables account owners and domain administrators to centrally manage all remote computers registered under their domain, including computers added by other users.
From a single interface, administrators can:
- View a complete overview of all registered computers
- Rename computers and change ownership
- Move computers between groups
- Share specific computers with individual users or user groups
- Manage access rights
- Add tags for easier organization
- Export computer data to CSV
This central overview makes it significantly easier to maintain structure and control as the number of managed devices grows.
Computer Group Administration
Alongside this, ISL Online introduced Computer Group Administration, allowing administrators to create and delete groups directly from the Computer Groups tab using Quick View. Computers can be added or removed from groups quickly, making large environments easier to manage and keep organized.
All Your Computers in One Place
Get a clear overview of unattended computers and access them quickly from your ISL Online administration dashboard.
Start Free TrialUnattended Remote Access to Android Devices
Unattended remote access to Android devices was one of the most anticipated improvements. With the introduction of the Universal Add-On, ISL Online expanded remote viewing and control to a much wider range of Android devices. When the ISL Light app is launched on a compatible Android device, users are automatically offered the Universal Add-On via Google Play, simplifying setup process.
Once installed, Android devices can be added to the Computers tab and accessed remotely from a computer for maintenance or support.
The Universal Add-On:
- Enables real-time screen viewing and full remote control
- Is not a standalone application and works in conjunction with the ISL Light app for Android
- Requires accessibility permission to be granted by user
- Supports Android 8.0 (Oreo) and newer devices
Additional improvements introduced during the year included signature verification (ensuring only ISL Light can use the add-on) and expanded keyboard support, including Unicode input, navigation keys, and system controls.
We have written a detailed blog post on how to set up unattended remote access to Android devices with ISL Online.
Local User Consent for Android Remote Access
To increase transparency and control, we added local user consent options for Android remote access.
From the operator’s side, it is possible to configure:
- Whether a notification is shown for an incoming connection
- A notification timeout
- The default behavior if no action is taken after the timeout
On the Android device, the remote user sees a notification when a supporter attempts to connect. They can accept or deny the connection directly on the device. If the connection is rejected, the operator is informed immediately.
Similar local consent options are also available for computers via ISL AlwaysOn, aligning behavior across platforms.
Browser-Based Remote Desktop Sessions with ISL Light for Web
ISL Light for Web (beta) makes it possible for operators to view a remote desktop directly from a browser, without downloading or installing the desktop application. The client side still requires the ISL Light Client to be downloaded and run in order to establish the connection.
This option is particularly useful for:
- One-time support sessions
- Environments with restricted installation permissions
- Faster session starts with fewer setup steps
Sessions can be started or resumed in the browser from both the Sessions and Computers pages in the web portal. New configuration options allow administrators to enable or disable browser-based sessions in their admin dashboard as needed.
While the web version offers a convenient alternative when simplicity and accessibility are the priority, it does come with certain limitations. Features such as file transfer, clipboard sharing, and session recording are not available. In addition, the browser version does not support screen sharing from the client side, meaning the client cannot share their screen during a web-based session.
Security and Authentication Improvements with SSO
Security remained a key focus in 2025, especially for organizations managing multiple domains and users.
ISL Online expanded Single Sign-On (SSO) and SAML support per domain, allowing organizations to configure authentication individually for each domain. New organization login settings made it possible to:
- Define organization-based login flows
- Customize login layouts
- Control how users select or enter their organization during authentication
Additional SAML username remapping options were introduced to allow existing ISL Online users to be correctly matched with user accounts coming from the identity provider when SSO is enabled. This ensures that existing users, permissions, and history are preserved during the transition to SSO, while new users can be created without requiring this remapping step.
These changes give organizations greater flexibility while maintaining consistent and secure authentication practices.
Learn more about how to implement SSO in ISL Online remote desktop software.
Better Privacy and Usability with Black Screen Improvements
The Black Screen feature on Windows 10 and 11 received a significant technical update in 2025.
The implementation was redesigned to improve performance and compatibility, using a transparent window approach and modern Windows APIs. This resulted in:
- Smoother remote sessions
- More reliable privacy protection
- Better compatibility with desktop duplication drivers
Administrators can now also disable black screen functionality when needed, and related settings were reorganized to make configuration clearer and more intuitive.
More Comfortable Sessions with Dynamic Screen Resolution Changes
To improve usability during remote sessions, ISL Online extended the Change Screen Resolution feature to the ISL Light Client for Windows.
Operators can now:
- Match the remote screen resolution to their local monitor
- Manually select a more suitable resolution
- Configure resolution per monitor in multi-monitor setups
All changes are temporary and automatically revert when the session ends, ensuring the remote user’s environment remains unchanged.
ServiceNow Integration for Streamlined Support Workflows
For teams using ServiceNow, ISL Online released the official ISL Light integration for ServiceNow. This integration is currently available only for on-premises or managed private cloud users.
This integration allows support agents to:
- Start and manage remote sessions directly from ServiceNow tickets
- Automatically pass ticket details into sessions
- Invite clients using built-in ServiceNow communication tools
- Track session status and log session details back into the ticket
By keeping everything in one interface, the integration reduces context switching and helps teams resolve issues faster.
View the ISL Online integration in the ServiceNow Store
Expanding endpoint management capabilities with PDQ
ISL Online joined forces with PDQ, a leading provider of endpoint management and IT automation solutions. This collaboration allows users to combine remote access with automated endpoint management in a single workflow.
PDQ Connect, a modern tool for managing remote and local devices, helps teams automate deployments with prebuilt and custom packages, gain essential inventory insights, patch vulnerabilities automatically, and support end users with built-in remote desktop.
Major Desktop Streaming and Performance Improvements
Behind the scenes, ISL Online made substantial improvements to desktop streaming last year.
The ISSC desktop streaming plugin was fully updated, resulting in:
- Faster and smoother desktop sharing
- Better performance in high-DPI environments
- More accurate region and application sharing
- Improved whiteboard rendering across platforms
Several legacy components were removed or replaced, including outdated codecs and libraries, paving the way for future performance enhancements.
Meetings (beta): Expanding Beyond Remote Support
Meetings (beta) were introduced with a new interface and core collaboration features.
Available directly from the web portal, Meetings (beta) include:
- Camera and microphone support
- Screen sharing with full stream control
- The ability to give or revoke keyboard and mouse control to participants
- The option for viewers to request screen sharing
- Chat and participant management
- Whiteboard tools
- Video background options
Meeting history is now stored centrally, providing better visibility into past sessions. While still in beta, Meetings represent a step toward broader collaboration use cases alongside remote support.
Looking Ahead
The improvements covered in this Year in Review reflect ISL Online’s continued focus on stability, transparency, and usability. By strengthening administration tools, expanding platform support, and refining core technologies, ISL Online continues to evolve to meet the practical needs of modern remote access and support environments.
For a complete list of updates, improvements, and security fixes, visit the What’s New section on the ISL Online website.
Explore ISL Online in your own environment and see these improvements in action. Start a 15-day free trial.