Best Security Practices for Remote Desktop Servers

Why Is RDP Specifically Targeted by Attackers?

Remote Desktop Protocol is the most widely deployed remote access technology for Windows servers. It is highly targeted because default configurations are predictable: port 3389, no IP restriction, no 2FA, and users often have weak passwords. Automated bots continuously scan the internet for servers with default RDP configurations and attempt millions of login combinations per day.

Five Changes That Eliminate Most RDP Attack Surface

IP restriction via firewall. Allow RDP connections only from your office IP and employees' home IPs. All other connection attempts are dropped at the network firewall before reaching the server. This single change eliminates automated internet-wide scanners entirely.

Change the default RDP port from 3389. Move to any non-standard port above 10000. Most automated scanners only probe common ports. This is not a primary security control but it effectively eliminates a large volume of noise.

Enable Network Level Authentication. Requires successful authentication before establishing a full RDP session. Reduces the attack surface by refusing to process connection requests from unauthenticated clients.

Account lockout policy. Lock accounts after 5 failed login attempts for 15 minutes. Makes password-guessing attacks impractical.

Two-factor authentication. Requires a password plus a time-based code from Microsoft Authenticator. Makes account compromise practically impossible even with a stolen password.

All five of these are standard configurations in M A Global Network's managed server setup. Contact our team to discuss security configuration for your server.