The Remote Desktop feature is installed on Windows XP Pro and Windows Server 2003, but is disabled by default (Windows XP Home and Windows 2000 Pro do not include the Remote Desktop service). On Windows 2000 Server and Server 2003, TS is not installed by default. This includes Remote Desktop on Windows XP Professional computers.

How, then, can you take advantage of the convenience of Windows Terminal Services and still protect your systems? First, make sure that terminal services is not installed (or enabled) on systems if you don’t want those systems to be accessed remotely. Securing Terminal Services Communications An RDP-TCP connection is configured for the terminal server’s network adapter, to allow users to connect. Every additional port that is opened exposes the network to the possibility of exploit. Using terminal services across the Internet will require that you open port 3389, used by the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), on your firewall. For example, SecuriTeam describes a vulnerability that can cause Group Policy to not be applied to terminal users if the number of user licenses installed is less than the number of current connections. Security vulnerabilities specifically related to Windows 2000 Terminal Services have also been reported. Your terminal server is vulnerable to the same exploits that can be used against any Windows server, so it is important first to ensure that all current security updates and patches have been applied. Because Terminal Services is used in administrative mode in Windows 2000 (and Remote Desktop is used in Windows Server 2003) to allow administrators to perform such tasks as creating user accounts and setting permissions, changing system configurations, and other highly sensitive tasks, it is logical to question the security of a terminal services session. Any feature or technology that provides a new way for authorized users to access a system remotely will also present a potential way for unauthorized users to gain access. Check out, a new resource for Windows Terminal Services and Citrix focusing on all aspects of server based computing and thin client computing.īut what about security? What are the security issues involved in using terminal services/remote desktop? Is it safe to use this type of remote connection to work on confidential or sensitive data? In this article, we will take a look at Windows Terminal Services/Remote Desktop security and the steps you can take to make your terminal server and terminal sessions more secure.Īccess and security are always at odds in the networking world.

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