I'm hoping someone can lend insight to my situation...
Back in early December I installed the TeamViewer client on a friend's computer in another state, and successfully connected to the machine once or twice thereafter. The friend then bought a new computer in late January, and "traded in" the old computer to the IT shop in the process. The manager of the shop claims to have since "wiped it clean" and is keeping it for parts. Of note: the TeamViewer client has not been installed on the NEW computer as of yet.
A couple weeks ago, I noticed that the old computer still showed as Online in my partner list; I had noticed other computers periodically go on and offline, but am unsure if I ever saw this one do the same. Finally my curiosity got the better of me and I attempted to connect to the machine. The TeamViewer client processed the request for roughly 5 seconds (showing a status of "Setting up encrypted session") before failing as the computer suddenly disappeared from the partner list. I can think of two possible explanations for this behavior:
1. The TeamViewer client on the remote computer was somehow left in an orphaned state on TeamViewer's servers, and only my attempt to connect to the machine prompted the false Online status to correct itself.
2. Someone was sitting at the remote machine at the time I connected, saw the incoming connection and shut it down with reflexes of only 3-4 seconds.
While I am reasonably confident that #2 is not the case, I'd like to hear some thoughts on #1. TeamViewer's telephone support (picked up by a real human on the first ring, by the way, I was very impressed) was unable to confirm or deny the possibility of what I had described. Has anyone else seen this, and if so, what clarification can you lend? Thanks.
