Is it unsafe to use remote desktop over the internet?

[bledd]

If I'm just using remote desktop (on a different port) forwarded from the router, is this unsafe?

-Both sites are trusted (ie, home and office) so no foul play will go on at either site.

I used to use hamachi to handle this, can someone explain if it is dangerous to do it the way that I am now.

Thanks


Also, both machines are fully patched W7 boxes, I see the option for 'Network Level Authentication', should I enforce this? Does anything need to be altered on the router?

 

[booyaka]

I use teamviewer to access my server at home. doesn't require any port forwarding/opening at all and is very simple to use.

 

[bledd]

I'm well aware of teamviewer, logmein, vnc etc

Just wondering if/why it's unsafe to do what I'm doing

 

[tntcoder]

Yep, modern & patched version should be fine.

It uses 128-bit crypto for secure sessions and uses decent authentication.

Might be worth firewalling to allow only a whitelist of IPs to connect though.

You shouldn't need to touch the router to use NLA.

 

[PistolPete]

I'd be tempted to lock down access to specific IPs and change the default RDP listening port, or use port translation in the router to save you having to change the listening port on the machine itself.

 

[J.B]

Just make sure that you have set both machines to only use strong encryption as this can open up the chance of a man in the middle attack and set up the connection encryption free. Not a massive risk to the average home user but best to assume the worst case scenario with these things.

tntcoders whitelist of IPs is also a good idea assuming you know where you will be connecting from.

 

[wesley]

Is it possible to use teamviewer on a machine without needing a person logged in ?