The previous installment if this article looked at two remote administration tips. The first one showed you how to remotely lock a computer and the second presented an alternative method for remotely shutting down a computer. In this installment, I will show you some additional tips you can use when remotely administering a computer.

Remote Administration from Windows 98
In order to remotely control a Windows XP computer from a computer running Windows 98, you must install the Remote Desktop Connection client software. This software must be installed if you are running any of the following operating systems: Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000.

You can find the Remote Desktop Connection client software on the Windows XP CD (either Windows XP Professional or Home edition). If you are running Windows XP you do not need to install this software because it is installed by default. In any case, you can install the software by inserting your Windows XP CD. From the Welcome page, click Perform Additional tasks. Select the option to Setup Remote Desktop Connection.

Prevent Users from Connecting to your Computer
Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 all support Remote Desktop. As you already know, this allows users on a remote computer to connect to your computer and access resources as though they were physically seated at your desk.

If you have no intention of using Remote Desktop, you should disable this option to increase security on your computer. If you occasionally use this feature, you may even want to leave it disabled and only enable it when you need to use it. You can easily disable Remote Desktop on your computer. Simply right click My Computer on your desktop and click Properties. Select the Remote tab and remove the check beside the Allow users to connect remotely to this computer option. Once you click OK, users will no longer be able to connect to your computer.

[tags]security,prevention,windows xp,diana huggins,remote administration[/tags]