With malicious remote access attacks of the rise it is time to check your computer’s RDP configuration and apply restrictions, like turning it off, limiting users,and applying strong passwords.
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- Screens 4 0 2 – Access Your Computer Remotely Password
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Download and install the best free apps for Remote Access on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android from CNET Download.com, your trusted source for the top software picks. Open the remote machine in the RDP session and click “Preset Splits.” Select the “2×1” option. (Select another option if using more monitors). Click “OK” and then hit “OK” again to close the configuration mode. Your monitor should now be divided into two virtual monitors inside of the remote desktop session. Screens Connect is the easiest way to make a computer available for connections from outside its local network, but under certain circumstances, Screens Connect isn't a viable option. In such cases, it's still possible to connect to a computer from across the Internet. First, prepare your computer for remote access.
Lately, we’ve seen an increase in reports of malware being installed via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). This is the powerful protocol which has been letting you view a Windows desktop “over the wire” on the other side of the globe (or back at your home from the office) for over a decade now. Sadly, while RDP can serve a variety of useful purposes ranging from remote “hands-on” support to configuring and running servers, in the wrong hands it can be a remote control weapon that enables bad actors to zombify your computer and have it do their bidding.
How could this happen? If your computer is “listening” for an RDP signal (typically over port TCP 3389), and it is connected to the Internet, it will respond when a remote user asks it if it’s alive. To the remote user, they will be presented with a login screen to your desktop, often without you noticing (especially if your computer is on and you just happen to be away from it). At this point, your computer will prompt them for a password – usually. If you have a poorly configured RDP setup on your computer though, it may just let them in. If it does, it’s just the beginning of your trouble.
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What can RDP intruders do? If you have administrative privileges assigned to the user they login as, they can take your computer for an unfettered spin around the block, ranging from turning it off, rebooting it, installing software (including malware), or just having a look around to find documents of files with your critical personal information in them like banking, accounting, or other information and then spirit them off across the network to their own computers for nefarious purposes.
How do you stop all this? First thing is to know if you have RDP enabled. Total video2gif 2 1 0. That’s easy to check from your Control Panel under System > Remote Settings > Remote Desktop (under Windows 7, other operating systems vary).
Notice this test computer has Remote Desktop (RDP) disabled, which is fine for testing purposes, as nobody should be logging in remotely on this box. But if you choose to allow connections, take some time to define who you think should be connecting using the “Select Users” dialog box:
Notice the user that you are logged in as already has access (blanked out in example). When remote attackers come calling this could pose problems for an unwitting user who is logged in as Administrator. Very likely the bad guys will be looking to gain elevated access, and logging in as Administrator is a quick way to do that. If they can pair that valid User with an easy-to-guess password, they’ve got the keys to your computer’s crown jewels.
Recently, we’ve seen a spike in an RDP-based attacks using the Win32/Filecoder.NAH Trojan (also known as ACCDFISA) which attempts to encrypt files on your computer and extort money to pay the bad guys to unlock them.
Never mind the fact that it’s always a bad idea to send money to scammers in a scheme like this (especially via credit card, which virtually guarantees further fraud), the whole thing could be simply avoided by disabling the service if you don’t need it, and protecting it if you do.
Speaking of protection, aside from not using easily guessed usernames, a strong password would also go a long ways toward protecting the account. If hackers can programmatically “guess” your password because it’s based on a simple word – they will quite quickly. On the other hand, if it’s complex, meaning a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols (the longer the better), their task becomes much more daunting.
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If you need to use RDP and are more technically inclined you can change the port on which RDP “listens” for connections (the default port is 3389). Microsoft has an article on how to do this in many versions of Windows. You can also find a range of possible solutions discussed on Stack Overflow.
And on the subject of remote desktop support, stay alert for those “Windows support” people who phone and ask you to install special remote access software to allow them to “fix” your computer. Falling for that scam can end badly. For more on that, take a look at David Harley’s article here.
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Discussion
View Multiple Monitors on the Remote System
BeyondTrust supports remote desktops configured to use multiple monitors. When you first connect to a remote desktop, you will see the primary monitor in the Screen Sharing tab. If additional monitors are configured, a Display icon will appear active in the Screen Sharing toolbar, and a Displays tab will appear in the bottom right corner of the console.
Using the Display Icon
Select the Display icon to see all the displays attached to the remote computer. In this view, the remote monitors are represented by rectangles rather than thumbnail images. The position of each rectangle corresponds to the position configured for each monitor on the remote desktop.
The primary monitor appears in the Screen Sharing window by default. To change your view, click on the rectangle that represents the monitor you wish to see. You can also select View All to show all the displays attached to the remote computer in the Screen Sharing window.
If the remote computer has no additional monitors attached, the Display icon will be inactive.
Using the Displays Tab
Select the Displays tab to see thumbnail images of all the displays attached to the remote computer. The position of each thumbnail image corresponds to the position configured for each display on the remote desktop.
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The monitor currently displayed in the Screen Sharing tab will be highlighted.
The primary monitor appears in the Screen Sharing window by default. To change your view, click on the thumbnail of the monitor you wish to see. You can also select View All to show all the displays attached to the remote computer in the Screen Sharing window.
If the session is in grayscale mode, the remote monitors are represented by rectangles rather than thumbnail images. The position of each rectangle corresponds to the position configured for each monitor on the remote desktop.
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The refresh cycle of the thumbnail image is about three seconds in ideal conditions but can lag depending on connection speed and data transfer.