How to Secure a Remote Desktop

Limit users who can log on to the host computer. Go to the host computer's system properties and select the Remote tab. If Remote Desktop is set up, the box that reads "Allow Users to Connect Remotely" should be checked. If not, check it now. Click the Select Remote Users button, and add which groups of users that can have access to the computer.

• In most versions of Windows, this will still allow users in the administrator group to access the host computer. If you want to change that, go to the Run box in your Windows Start Menu and enter

Expand the Local Policies tree and select the folder titled User Rights Assignment. Go to the "Allow log on through Terminal Services" option and remove the administrators selection from the local security settings screen. If you want to allow a specific administrator to access the Remote Desktop Connection, you can always add them through the previous step.

Set the number of password attempts until the user is locked out. While still in the local security settings section, expand the Account Policies tree and choose the Account Lockout Policy folder. This folder has three settings that you can alter--Account Lockout Duration, Account Lockout Threshold, and Reset Account Locked After. The Account Lockout Threshold option is the amount of times a person can enter the wrong password before being locked out. The Account Lockout Duration and the Reset Account options allow you to set how long a user will be locked out from the system after passing the number in the Account Lockout Threshold section. Change these to whatever is appropriate for your system.

• In order to manually unlock a user who has been locked out, go to Administrative Tools in the Start Menu and select Computer Management. In the Local Users and Groups setting, you can click on an individual user and restore their access by un-checking the Account is Disable box.