By George Norman
Added on 09 Nov 2009(1079 Views)



If you do not know what Remote Desktop can be used for, here’s the lowdown: with Remote Desktop you can access your desktop from a remote location, like for example when you go visit some friends or relatives in another town. As handy as this feature may be, it is disabled by default in the latest version of the Microsoft developed operating system, Windows 7. You will have to turn this feature on yourself. It is not a difficult process. All you have to do is follow the step-by-step instructions presented below and you should be just fine.

Here is what you have to do to turn on Remote Desktop in Windows 7:

Step 1. Minimize all open windows and applications. Better yet, close them all.

Step 2. On the desktop, right click the My Computer icon. From the dropdown menu that appears select Properties.
If you do not have a My Computer icon on your desktop click the Start button (Windows orb from the bottom left hand side of the screen) -> right click Computer -> select Properties.

Step 3. In the left hand side of the window, Under Tasks click the link called Remote settings.

Step 4. Locate the Remote tab and click it (the last one to the right, after System Protection, in the System Properties window that just popped up ).

Step 5. In the Remote Desktop section choose one of the following
Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop (less secure) – this option allows you to connect remotely to your desktop even though you use a Windows XP or 2k machine to do so.
Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentification (more secure) - this option allows you to connect remotely to your desktop from another computer powered by Windows 7 or Vista.

Step 6. Click Apply -> click OK and you’re done.

Tips and warnings
  • Only certain Windows 7 versions feature Remote Desktop: Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Business, and Windows 7 Ultimate.
  • Windows 7 will automatically create firewall rules for Remote Desktop.
  • If you want to turn on Remote Desktop in Vista, follow the instructions presented here.




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Tags: Microsoft, Windows 7, Remote Desktop

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