Hi. My name is Patrick Regan. Welcome to Introduction to Remote Access Technologies, where we define Remote Access and discuss the various ways to connect to computers including Remote Desktop Protocol, Remote Assistant, Quick Assist, Secure Shell and Virtual Network Computing. For those who are going to take the A+ exam, there are practice questions at the end of the video. If you have not already, subscribe to the PatHasYourBack channel.
Remote access technologies enable users to access and control a computer or network from a remote location, typically over the internet. There are several types of remote access technologies: A Virtual Private Network (VPN) creates a secure, encrypted connection over the internet between a user's device and a private network, allowing the user to access resources on that network securely. VPNs are commonly used by remote workers to access company resources securely.
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) allows a user to remotely connect to and control another computer over a network connection. This is often used for technical support, accessing office computers from home, or managing servers remotely. SSH (Secure Shell) provides secure, encrypted communication between two computers over an insecure network. It's commonly used for accessing and managing servers remotely, especially in Unix-like systems. There are many third-party remote access software tools, such as TeamViewer, AnyDesk, and Splashtop, which allow users to remotely access and control computers and devices. These tools often provide additional features like file transfer, remote printing, and screen sharing.
Web-based Remote Access services offer remote access through web interfaces, allowing users to access their files, applications, or desktop environments from any web browser. Examples include Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, VMware Horizon, and Microsoft Remote Desktop Web Access. Remote access technologies are vital for businesses to enable remote work, for IT support to troubleshoot issues remotely, and for individuals to access their home or office computers from anywhere with an internet connection. They are essential for flexibility, productivity, and connectivity in today's digital age. The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is a proprietary protocol that was developed by Microsoft to connect to another computer over a network connection using the same graphical interface that you would use if you were sitting in front of the physical server.
RDP uses TCP port 3389. Typically, you would access computers running Windows remotely using the Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) program, which would allow you to connect to a Remote Desktop Session Host or to a Remote Application. It is usually used to administer computers remotely, including managing services, updating systems, installing software, running programs and utilities and reboot systems. With Remote Desktop Connection, you can be logged into multiple computers at the same time and if you have multiple monitors, you can have one on full screen on each monitor.
Desktop Services (RDS) allows users to access a remote computer just as if they were sitting in front of the computer. Within a Window, the user has a Start button, desktop, applications, and folders as well as access to local resources such as the user’s local drive and mapped drives. By default, Windows Servers support up to two remote sessions at once, while Windows 10 and 11 only supports one remote connection. Windows 10 and 11 home editions do not include RDP.
For servers, if you need additional users to access the server, you have to install a Remote Desktop Licensing server, and then add licenses based on either the number of devices that can connect to the RDS server or the number of concurrent users. To connect to a computer using RDP, you would use the Remote Desktop Connection program. Normally, you would type a computer name or IP address in the computer text box, and click Connect. To see more options, you would click Show Options. General tab allows you to specify the remote computer and user name to connect to. At the bottom of the tab, you can save the current connection settings to an RDP file or open a saved RDP file.
The Display tab controls how the remote desktop appears on the client computer, including the size of the remote desktop in pixels (including the full screen option), use of all monitors for the remote session, and the number of colors. You also have the option to use all of your monitors. The Local Resources tab allows you to control which client resources are available to the remote session. The Experience tab specifies which display options are available for a remote connection. If you select LAN (10 Mbps or higher), all options are selected. However, if you select a faster option than what the network actually is, your remote session may be slow or have a choppy display.
Microsoft Remote Assistance (MSRA) is a Windows 10 and 11 feature that enables an administrator, trainer, or support person to connect to a remote user’s computer, chat with the user, and either view all of the user’s activities or take complete control of the system without traveling to the user. It is designed for collaborative troubleshooting and support, where one user assists another user in resolving issues on their computer. Similar to Remote Desktop, it uses the Remote Desktop Protocol, (TCP port 3389). Remote Desktop is used to open a session with a computer, whereas Remote Assistance is used to view and interact with a user session remotely.
To ensure that a support person does not jump into a user session without proper authorization, you can send an invitation using one of the three methods: Save this invitation as a file – Use this option to save the invitation as a file that you can send to a user via an attachment, copy to a disk, or send over the network. Use email to send an invitation – Use this option to send the invitation to the sender through email. Of course, you cannot use this option if you do not have a configured email program, such as Microsoft Outlook. Use Easy Connect – If the local network uses the Peer Name Resolution Protocol (PNRP), which requires IPv6, you can use Easy Connect.
The Windows 10 or 11 system will start listening for incoming connections without an invitation. Instead, you only need to share the unique password. Microsoft Quick Assist is a remote assistance tool built into Windows 10 and 11 that allows users to provide or receive remote technical support over the internet. It enables two users to connect their computers remotely, with one user (the helper) being able to view and control the desktop of the other user (the helpee) to troubleshoot issues, provide assistance, or demonstrate features. It allows for easy connection, remote control annotation and drawing, file transfer, session recording, and security.
You can use the Web version of Quick Assist on MacOS. Quick Assist web app supports Mac with newer versions of Safari. If you go to the Microsoft Quick Assist web page on your Mac, you’ll see the following interface asking you to enter the 8-digit security code that was provided to you to get assistance Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is a widely used remote desktop technology that allows remote control and viewing of another computer's desktop environment over a network connection. VNC is commonly used for tasks such as remote technical support, accessing office computers from home, and managing servers to any system with an Internet connection. The VNC client connects to a computer running VNC server. Unlike Remote Desktop and Assistance, VNC is available for various operating systems including Windows, macOS, Linux, and Unix-like systems, making it versatile for remote access between different types of machines.
Popular implementations of VNC include RealVNC, TightVNC, UltraVNC, and TigerVNC. Many of these implementations are open source. Remote management on macOS refers to the ability to remotely access, control, and manage Mac computers over a network connection.
MacOS provides several built-in features and tools for remote management, allowing administrators or users to perform various tasks on remote Mac systems including: Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) Screen Sharing Secure Shell (SSH) On MacOS, you can enable and use screen sharing, which allows support personnel to connect to your system to help troubleshoot the system remotely. Screen sharing allows you to share the screen on someone else's Mac device, while Remote Management allows you to view and control the device remotely. You can't have both Screen Sharing and Remote Management on at the same time Secure Shell (SSH) is a cryptographic network protocol used for secure remote access to a computer or server over an unsecured network, typically the internet. SSH provides a secure shell environment, allowing users to remotely log in to a server and execute commands as if they were physically present at the server's console. Secure Copy Protocol (SCP) and Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), also known as SSH File Transfer Protocol, uses SSH to securely transfer files between the client and server.
These utilities provide secure alternatives to traditional FTP (File Transfer Protocol). While it provides the capability to connect to a computer with the remote systems command prompt similar to Telnet, it is encrypted. SSH supports various methods of user authentication, including password-based authentication, public-key authentication, and more advanced methods like multi-factor authentication. Public-key authentication is often favored due to its stronger security. Certain accounts should be disabled in SSH, such as the root account.
You should remove password-based authentication and you should limit access to SSH by IP address. For security, using public-key or MFA is preferred. PuTTY is a free and open-source terminal emulator, serial console, and network file transfer application. It supports several network protocols, including SSH, Telnet, rlogin, SCP, and raw socket connection. PuTTY is widely used on Windows operating systems to establish secure shell (SSH) connections to remote servers or devices.
It's particularly popular among Windows users who need to access Unix/Linux servers or network devices via SSH. WinSCP (Windows Secure Copy) is a popular free and open-source SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, S3, and SCP client for Windows. It allows users to securely transfer files between a local Windows computer and a remote server or host.
WinSCP is widely used by system administrators, web developers, and anyone who needs to transfer files securely between Windows computers and remote servers or hosts. Its user-friendly interface, extensive features, and robust security make it a valuable tool for managing files across different environments. There are many third-party tools that can be used as Remote Access: Screen-sharing allows you to see and control a remote device, which can be used to troubleshoot or collaborate with a remote user and system. Examples include GoToMyPC, TeamViewer and Chrome Remote Desktop.
Video-conferencing allows multi-user virtual meetings with video and audio. Examples include Zoom, WebEx and Microsoft Teams. File Transfer allows you to store and share documents in the cloud: Examples include DropBox, Box.com, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive. Desktop management is used to manage end-user devices and operating systems These tools usually offer remote desktop management, patch management, software deployment, inventory management, configuration management and security management. Examples include Citrix Endpoint Management, ManageEngine, Desktop Central, Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), IBM BigFix, Jamf Pro and others.
Microsoft Teams is a collaboration platform developed by Microsoft, designed to facilitate communication, collaboration, and teamwork within organizations. It combines workplace chat, video conferencing, file storage, and application integration into a single platform, accessible through both desktop and mobile devices. Microsoft Teams is part of the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity tools and services. Microsoft Teams has become an essential tool for organizations, especially in remote and hybrid work environments, enabling teams to stay connected, collaborate effectively, and work together from anywhere.
It's used by businesses of all sizes across various industries for internal communication, project management, and virtual collaboration. Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) is a type of software solution used by Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and IT professionals to remotely monitor, manage, and support clients' IT infrastructure and endpoints and help ensure high levels of reliability, security and performance. RMM tools provide real-time monitoring, security management, asset management, proactive maintenance, patch management, and remote control capabilities to ensure the optimal performance, security, and stability of IT systems. By leveraging automation, proactive monitoring, and remote control capabilities, RMM helps minimize downtime, improve productivity, and deliver superior IT services to clients To keep RMM secure, you should limit who can connect to the RMM service and you should enable and review auditing. Question: A user contacts the help desk with assistance to configure a program. The user is using Microsoft Windows and is in a different building but on the corporate network.
Which of the following can you use to assist the user? Answer: RDP Question: You have a call from a user who needs help with a problem and you need to look at the screen with the user. Which of the following would best accomplish this? Answer: VNC Question: You are having problems with a server running Linux and the GUI is crashing. What can you use to troubleshoot this problem? Answer: SSH Question: Which of the following MacOS tools can you use to view the screen simultaneously with the user? Answer: Screen Sharing Question: You are working with a user who is using a Windows workstation and working from home. You need to simultaneous view the screen with the user. What would you recommend? Answer: MSRA Question: You need to connect to a remote user who is using her personal computer running Windows 11 and usually works from her SOHO using RDP. However, you cannot connect to the user’s computer, although you can ping the computer. What is most likely preventing the connection.
Answer: The Windows 11 computer is using Windows 11 Home edition For more information, visit these sites: In Summary, Remote access technologies enable users to access and control a computer or network from a remote location, typically over the internet. There are several types of remote access technologies: The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is a proprietary protocol that was developed by Microsoft to connect to another computer over a network connection using the same graphical interface that you would use if you were sitting in front of the physical server. Microsoft Remote Assistance (MSRA) is a Windows 10 and 11 feature that enables an administrator, trainer, or support person to connect to a remote user’s computer, chat with the user, and either view all of the user’s activities or take complete control of the system without traveling to the user.
Microsoft Quick Assist is a remote assistance tool built into Windows 10 and 11 that allows users to provide or receive remote technical support over the internet. Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is a widely used remote desktop technology that allows remote control and viewing of another computer's desktop environment over a network connection. Secure Shell (SSH) is a cryptographic network protocol used for secure remote access to a computer or server over an unsecured network, typically the internet. Thank you for watching this video. This completes the Remote access Technology series. The next series will be Preparing for and Taking the A+ Exam.
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2024-05-06