Configure Client Logon Information for Remote Desktop Services Connections

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2

To connect remotely to an RD Session Host server, the user must provide credentials to be authenticated and for the RD Session Host server to determine what actions the user is authorized to perform.

By default, a connection will use the logon information provided by the user, which the user provides when using Remote Desktop Connection to connect remotely to the RD Session Host server.

Instead of using the logon information provided by the client, you can specify the logon information to be used for the connection on the Log on Settings tab in the Properties dialog box for the connection.

You can also specify that a user is always prompted to provide a password when connecting to the RD Session Host server, even if the user has configured Remote Desktop Connection to use saved credentials when connecting to the RD Session Host server.

Use the following procedure to configure the logon settings for a connection.

Membership in the local Administrators group, or equivalent, on the RD Session Host server that you plan to configure, is the minimum required to complete this procedure. Review details about using the appropriate accounts and group memberships at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=83477.

To configure the logon settings for a connection

  1. On the RD Session Host server, open Remote Desktop Session Host Configuration. To open Remote Desktop Session Host Configuration, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, point to Remote Desktop Services, and then click Remote Desktop Session Host Configuration.

  2. Under Connections, right-click the name of the connection, and then click Properties.

  3. In the Properties dialog box for the connection, on the Log on Settings tab, configure the logon settings as appropriate for your environment, and then click OK.

Note

If the Always prompt for password check box is selected and dimmed, the Always prompt for password upon connection Group Policy setting has been enabled and has been applied to the RD Session Host server.

You can also specify that a user is prompted for a password when connecting remotely to an RD Session Host server by applying the Always prompt for password upon connection Group Policy setting. This Group Policy setting is located in Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Remote Desktop Services\Remote Desktop Session Host\Security and can be configured by using either the Local Group Policy Editor or the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). Note that the Group Policy setting will take precedence over the setting configured in Remote Desktop Session Host Configuration.

For more information about Group Policy settings for Remote Desktop Services, see the Remote Desktop Services Technical Reference (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=138134).

For more information about Remote Desktop Services, see the Remote Desktop Services page on the Windows Server 2008 R2 TechCenter (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=138055).

Additional references