Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.work_remotely (
More info?)
sorry Candace.
when i first recommended you try this group, i really thought you would
get some intelligent answers, not guesses and links to useless web pages
that describe how to install and use it (which was not your question to
begin with).
hoping to answer your original question (how secure is it ?), here is my
best understanding of what little info i have gathered. in cases where
all inbound traffic for port #### is forwarded straight into the PC, the
hardware firewall/router adds no protection whatsoever from attacks
directed to port ####. but users with dynamic IP addresses have no
alternative, when using Remote Desktop Connection. However, since you
have static IPs at both ends, the solution to this problem is as easy as
setting up your firewall to respond to Nobody on port 3389, except the
static IP address of the remote PC.
since every hacker knows Remote Desktop Connection listens to port 3389,
another step you could take to increase your security would be to change
the port RDC listens to, according to instructions in MS Knowledge Base
article Q187623. this only addresses security of inbound communication.
Secunia.com indicates the encryption used by Remote Desktop Connection
is vulnerable, because the encrypted representation of the character is
the same every time you type it. See
http://secunia.com/advisories/7118/ Therefore, you do not want to use
RDC to transfer info about proprietary company data or your personal
identity. Secunia.com also indicates a vulnerability that could crash
the Remote Desktop service on XP Pro, if a maliciously crafted packet is
injected when the login screen is drawn during negotiation. See
http://secunia.com/advisories/7121/
if any communication between PCs involves transmittal of proprietary
company data or personal identity, then you would be safer using a
Virtual Private Network connection on both PCs, because the encryption
is much better. Nothing i could see in Secunia.com indicates a
vulnerability in Remote Desktop Connection that would put your PC files
at risk, or allow an attacker to take control of your PC.
once a client logs into the remote PC (your office or home PC), then
security is only as good as the permissions and rights of the account
used to log in with. therefore, you want to limit the permissions and
rights of the account used to log in with. for example, you might want
to only allow log in with a Limited Account, that prevents changes to
file/folder ownership, prevents installation of programs, prevents
changes to your Windows system folder, etc., only allowing execution of
programs and modification of files within the account's personal profile.
Candace Sparks wrote:
> Is remote desktop connection secure? I have a firewall router at home and
> at the office.
>
> Thank you for your help in advance!
>
> Candace Sparks
>
>
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