Change remote desktop ports windows 7

Brute force is a fancy way of saying trying all possible passwords. If the system never locks out the account then time is the only barrier to eventually getting you password and logging in. The first defense is to implement a good account lockout policy but that does not solve the entire problem.

Any administrator of a public facing Windows web server will notice that their server is continiously attacked by bots looking for an easy target. The bots will often lock out your accounts which can be very annoying.

To protect your system from the bots and script kiddies I always reccomend changing the default RDP port. This will not fool an intelligent attacker but it will weed out the noise. Keep in mind that the next time you want to connect to your system with RDP you will need to provide the port number.

Remote Desktop is a great built-in service first introduced in Windows XP. It allows users to remote control Windows to perform all kind of tasks. Because it is a built-in feature, it is also a bit target for hackers. As per default the feature is not active and you are also denied access with users with a blank password. The service is listening for traffic on TCP port and all hackers know that. That is why they will be looking for firewalls that allow connection on that port using all kinds of port scanners.

The best solution to avoid attacks will be to require VPN connections to access a computer behind a firewall. If that is not an option you might want to change the port that Remote Desktop is listening on. To change the listening port for remote desktop you will have to make a small change in Windows using the Registry editor regedit.

You will need to navigate to:. Edit the value: PortNumber to the new number you want instead of the default e. The next time you restart your computer it will be listening on the new port and only allow connection on that specific port.

All you have to do is to enter the new port number you want to use. To download the Fix It tool, just click on the image below.

Notice: If you are running Windows Firewall on the computer you want to connect to you will have to create a new rule allowing TCP inbound traffic on you new custom port. The next time you connect to this computer by using the Remote Desktop connection, you must type the new port. If you're using a firewall, make sure to configure your firewall to permit connections to the new port number. In this command, we'll specify the new RDP port as Skip to main content. This browser is no longer supported.

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