How To Access Remote Desktop Through VPN

Do You Need A VPN Or Rdp

That depends on whether youre a business or an individual user.

If youre a business:

• Use a personal VPN like NordVPN to provide your employees with secure and private internet access when they work in public spaces or travel abroad
• Use an internal VPN to provide your employees access to a secure central server that contains files they need to do their jobs
• Use an RDP if you need your employees to access and use a central system from remote locations. This can be the case if the central system features software or technical capabilities that cannot easily be duplicated or distributed to your remote employees
• Use an RDP if you need IT technicians to access remote employees computers for maintenance and troubleshooting tasks.

If youre an individual user:

• Use a personal desktop VPN like NordVPN to access the internet securely and privately
• Use a personal VPN to stream your favorite content while you travel or work abroad
• Use a personal VPN for extra features that make the Internet a safer place
• Use a personal VPN to evade online surveillance and censorship

There are few uses for an RDP for individual users. These would be highly specific cases where the user must access a home computer or must allow a trusted friend or colleague to access their own computer.

Unless youre a business system admin with special requirements, youll probably be looking for a VPN. NordVPN will keep you secure, allow you to change your location, and provide you with a ton of other benefits.

Use The Remote Desktop App To Access Your Pc

You can try any free remote access tools to use your PC remotely, but only a few have a mobile app. Well demonstrate how to access Remote Desktop using Microsofts Remote Desktop app available on Windows, macOS, Android, iPhone, and iPad.

Open the Remote Desktop app and tap the plus icon in the top-right corner.

Then, type in your PC Name and Windows user account details. Next, you may toggle on other options like Clipboard,Microphone,Storage, and others.

Hit Save in the top-right corner to finalize all changes.

After this, tap on the card with your PC name to start a remote desktop session.

That it! Keep in mind that you should disable Remote Desktop if you dont plan to use it for a while.

Where And When Should A VPN Be Used

VPNs, or virtual private networks, were born out of a need to provide a connection to remote workers that behaved much like a local area connection. This network extender was intended to be used over a public network, such as the internet, and uses encryption to keep the session safe and secure. The technology operates at the network level and typically provides a user with access to servers and machines that are only accessible within the corporate firewall. For the average remote corporate user, this is all they need. Their connection replicates what they would have if they were sitting at their desk at work but provides no additional functionality beyond access.

For internal support staff who need to provide support for other employees, this type of connection works fine since all the resources they need access to would be provided as part of their employee onboarding .

Read Also: How To Install Ipvanish VPN On Firestick

Pros And Cons Of Remote Desktop Access

Pros:

Several benefits make remote desktops an excellent choice for businesses of all sizes:

Productivity Remote desktop access allows employees all over the world to access desktop resources that they need, without having to be on premise. This will increase productivity, and help prevent common issues that might arise when people are working remotely like not having enough computing power, or not having access to the files they need.

Savings Having remote desktops means you can adopt a BYOD policy for workers who are away from the office, which will allow you to save money that would typically have gone to providing additional laptops or cell phones.

Access Remote desktops allow you to access your desktop data from anywhere in the world, which means you dont have to be as dependent on flash drives. Its still a good idea to back-up information especially before heading out on a big work trip but a remote desktop means that even if you forget your flash drive, you can still get the job done.

Cons:

Remote desktop access is not overly secure because in most cases it is only protected by a password so if an employee is working remotely on unsecured public Wifi, hackers could easily snoop on their browsing session and gain access to that password. Or if an employee is careless with their password and shares it with friends or coworkers, unauthorized users could easily access that users remote desktop and cause deeper issues.

When And Where Does It Make Sense To Implement

Additional capabilities were needed to be able to access any or all of an enterprises desktops without needing credentials on each machine. Most remote desktop sharing tools provide an encrypted tunnel much like VPNs, usually using SSL or similar methods, and then enable a take-over of an existing users role, which eliminates the need for separate credentials. This can be really handy if you need to use your local desktop with programs only resident there. Or if a support representative needs to show a user how to use an application or program on their machine. There are also often other features built into a secure desktop sharing platform for monitoring and recording a session, but this is usually optional.

You May Like: Opera VPN Kodi

Rdp & Rd Gateway Vulnerability Risks

On November 5, 2019, The FortiGuard Labs team recommends that customers immediately apply the latest patches from Microsoft for CVE-2019-0708 on any affected machines, and where possible, also disable RDP completely. BLUEKEEP RDP ATTACKS ARE STARTING: .

On September 27, 2018, The Public Service Annoucement warned CYBER ACTORS INCREASINGLY EXPLOIT THE REMOTE DESKTOP PROTOCOL TO CONDUCT MALICIOUS ACTIVITY, outlining issues around outdated RDP versions with flawed encryption mechanism, unrestricted access to the default RDP port

On January 14, 2020, CERT Coordination Center released Vulnerability Note VU#491944 on MICROSOFT WINDOWS REMOTE DESKTOP GATEWAY ALLOWS FOR UNAUTHENTICATED REMOTE CODE EXECUTION: . Microsoft RD Gateway in Windows Server 2012 and later contain two vulnerabilities that can allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges. the flaws lie in handling of fragmentation. This vulnerability is exploitable by connecting to the RD Gateway service listening on UDP/3391.

Resolution For Sonicos 62 And Below

The below resolution is for customers using SonicOS 6.2 and earlier firmware. For firewalls that are generation 6 and newer we suggest to upgrade to the latest general release of SonicOS 6.5 firmware.

How to Test this Scenario

• When using GVC

Don’t Miss: Do VPNs Work For Pokemon Go

Resolution For Sonicos 65

This release includes significant user interface changes and many new features that are different from the SonicOS 6.2 and earlier firmware. The below resolution is for customers using SonicOS 6.5 firmware.

How to Test this Scenario

• When using GVC

• When using NetExtender

How To Ensure Better Productivity With VPN Access Vs Remote Desktop Access

You might find yourself in a situation where youll need to access corporate data from a different location. Searching over the internet, youll find VPN and remote access. Analyzing these two different solutions can be a little tricky.

Often, people think of VPN and remote access as two different terms with the same meaning. These methods are both used to remotely control and access a server. Yet, they differ in a lot of things. In this article, youll learn more about the difference between the two solutions. Discover which among these two is right for you.

Also Check: How To Use Opera VPN

How To Enable Remote Desktop On Windows

For security reasons, Remote Desktop is disabled by default on all Windows computers. However, you can easily switch it on to access your computers desktop remotely if you want to.

You can only access Windows Professional and Enterprise systems remotely

The RDP client for accessing other Windows desktops is included in all editions of Windows. However, the server part is only available on Professional and Enterprise versions. As a result, anybody can initiate a remote desktop connection on Windows, but they can only ever connect to a computer running Windows Pro or Enterprise.

Bearing that limitation in mind, below we will explain how to set up a PC for incoming connections and how to connect to that desktop remotely using a Windows 10 PC. Please remember that by default, Windows Remote Desktop will only work on your local network. To access Remote Desktop over the Internet, you will need to use a VPN or port forwarding on your router.

Connect To Your Host Pc Remotely

Now that your computer is set up to receive incoming RDP connections, you can use any Windows PC on your local network to connect to it. To do so, just follow these simple steps:

Also Check: Does A VPN Work On Mobile Data

Set Up A VPN Connection On The Client Pc

For OpenVPN

In case you need a more straightforward solution for remote desktop services, Mikogo can help you have high-secured protection of your computer. Or, you can give a try to the following article for another software solution regarding this issue.

To summarize, you can remotely connect to another PC using Remote Desktop from anywhere in the world with the help of a VPN and a router that has native support for VPN connections.

Its a much safer solution than the alternative, where you have to expose the network to the Internet by setting up port forwarding mode on your router. By connecting to a VPN before making the Remote Desktop connection, you encrypt all data traffic and protect it from any eavesdroppers.

Besides, if you get equipped with a powerful VPN client, you can access blocked websites, evade geoblocks, unblock unavailable Netflix catalogs, reduce your ping while gaming, and much more. If youre interested in crypto, you can also use a VPN for Bitcoin trading and mining.

Remote Desktop Connection Using VPN Connection

Hello there,

Can anyone help me with the below issue please,

For some reason, i couldn’t connect to my work remote desktop computer. However, i can connect this from my laptop. Recently got a new Desktop so, wanted to connect to my work virtual computer from my desktop.

Can someone please help me.

Report abuse

Read Also: How To Setup VPN On Samsung TV

Enable The Remote Audio And Microphone Devices Over Rdp

If your VoIP application isn’t detecting your microphone input or audio output, the first thing to check is your RDP client settings.

1. Open advanced RDP settings

In your Remote Desktop Connection window, press Show Options to access the advanced settings menu.

2. Switch to the ‘Local Resources’ tab and open remote audio settings

You’ll find the option underneath the Remote audio heading and the sub-text Configure remote audio settings. Press the Settings… button to continue.

3. Tick ‘Record from this computer’

While you’re there, ensure Play on this computer is ticked and press OK. At this point, check your VoIP application to see if the ‘Remote Output’ input and output devices are available. If they still aren’t working, continue to the next step.

4. Add roles and features to your server

In the Server Manager, click Add roles and features under the Configure this local server heading.

5. Enable Remote Desktop services

Move through the Roles and features wizard, selecting Role-based or feature based installation and then your server. On the find Server Roles screen, find Remote Desktop Services. Tick it and press Next three times.

6. Choose the Remote Desktop service roles to install

To ensure your microphone and audio function correctly, we recommend ticking Remote Desktop Connection Broker, Remote Desktop Gateway, Remote Desktop Session Host, and Remote Desktop Web Access.

7. Enable the Windows Audio service

Looking for a fast Windows RDP for VoIP? to BitLaunch today.

Set Up A Single Pc For Remote Access

RELATED:How to Forward Ports on Your Router

The process is pretty straightforward if you just have one PC you want to make accessible over the internet. The PC on which you set up Remote Desktop is already listening for traffic using the Remote Desktop Protocol . Youll need to log into your router and have it forward all traffic using TCP port 3389 to the IP address of the PC running Remote Desktop. Since routers have different interfaces, its impossible to give instructions specific to you. But for more detailed help, be sure to check out our in-depth guide to port forwarding. Here, were just going to run through a quick example using a basic router.

First, youll need to know the IP address of the PC running Remote Desktop that you want to connect to. The easiest way to do this is to fire up the Command Prompt and use the ipconfig command. In the results, look for the section detailing the network adapter connecting you to the Internet . In that section, look for the IPv4 address.

Next, youll log into your router and locate the Port Forwarding section. Exactly where that is will depend on what router youre using. In that section, forward TCP port 3389 to the IPv4 address you located previously.

You now should be able to log into Remote Desktop over the internet by connecting to the public IP address your router exposes for your local network.

RELATED:How To Easily Access Your Home Network From Anywhere With Dynamic DNS

Don’t Miss: What Are The Two Types Of VPN Connections (choose Two)

Enable Port Forwarding On Your Router

Port forwarding simply maps the port on your router’s IP address to the port and IP address of the PC you want to access.

Specific steps for enabling port forwarding depend on the router you’re using, so you’ll need to search online for your router’s instructions. For a general discussion of the steps, check out wikiHow to Set Up Port Forwarding on a Router.

Before you map the port you’ll need the following:

• PC internal IP address: Look in Settings > Network & Internet > Status > View your network properties. Find the network configuration with an “Operational” status and then get the IPv4 address.

• Your public IP address . There are many ways to find this – you can search for “my IP” or view the Wi-Fi network properties .

• Port number being mapped. In most cases this is 3389 – that’s the default port used by Remote Desktop connections.

• Admin access to your router.

  Warning

  You’re opening your PC up to the internet, which is not recommended. If you must, make sure you have a strong password set for your PC. It is preferable to use a VPN.

After you map the port, you’ll be able to connect to your host PC from outside the local network by connecting to the public IP address of your router .

You might also consider setting up a static IP address on your PC so the internal IP address doesn’t change. If you do that, then the router’s port forwarding will always point to the correct IP address.

How To Enable Cisco Anyconnect VPN Through Remote Desktop

When users are trying to get connected to VPN from Remote machines. They are getting below Err. Some one could help me in fixing this issue by command line.

“VPN Establishment capability from a Remote Desktop is disabled. A VPN Connection will not be established“

Thanks

Hi Sachin,

Please refer the below document for more information.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/vpn_client/anyconnect/anyconnect30/administration/guide/anyconnectadmin30/ac13vpnxmlref.html#wp1070852

Hi Sachin,

Please refer the below document for more information.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/vpn_client/anyconnect/anyconnect30/administration/guide/anyconnectadmin30/ac13vpnxmlref.html#wp1070852

Any documents that detailed this for FTD/FMC ? I am not sure if this is even allowed on the FTD ?This is the case with the Firepower as well. Is there a similar workaround for the FTD/FMC ?

It’s an AnyConnect VPN profile issue. Those are used on both ASA and FTD devices. The only difference is there is not a profile editor built into FMC and you have to edit them using the standalone profile editor and then upload to FMC .

Interesting…Marvin can I make a specific profile for some users to permit this > but still keep the more restrictive profile in the FTD ?

Recommended Reading: How To Use Windscribe On Firestick