{"id":558,"date":"2026-08-21T11:45:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T10:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/?post_type=ht_kb&#038;p=558"},"modified":"2026-08-21T11:45:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T10:45:18","slug":"how-to-enable-rdp-on-windows-servers","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/articles\/how-to-enable-rdp-on-windows-servers\/","title":{"rendered":"How to enable RDP on Windows Servers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>After installation, by default RDP is disabled on a Windows VPS server, we would recommend leaving the default setting and use the built-in control panel to administer your server, however if you wish to enable it the process is described below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Login to your customer portal with your portal email address and password.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"601\" height=\"759\" src=\"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-561\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-1.jpeg 601w, https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-1-238x300.jpeg 238w, https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-1-40x50.jpeg 40w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 601px) 100vw, 601px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click on the VPS Tab, select the server from the list.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"602\" height=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image.jpeg 602w, https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-300x210.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-50x35.jpeg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click on Control Panel on the left hand side, then select the server you wish to manage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"602\" height=\"327\" src=\"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-559\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-2.jpeg 602w, https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-2-300x163.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-2-50x27.jpeg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click the &#8216;Ctrl-Alt-Delete&#8217; and enter the username &#8216;Administrator&#8217; and the password you set during the final stages of the installation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Once the desktop has loaded type &#8216;Server Manager&#8217; in the search on the task bar and launch &#8216;Server Manager&#8217;.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"602\" height=\"437\" src=\"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-562\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-3.jpeg 602w, https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-3-300x218.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-3-50x36.jpeg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Dismiss the message that appears and select local server from the left hand pane.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"602\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-28.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-563\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-28.png 602w, https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-28-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-28-50x32.png 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click on &#8216;Disabled&#8217; to the right of &#8216;Remote Desktop&#8217;.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"602\" height=\"345\" src=\"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-29.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-564\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-29.png 602w, https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-29-300x172.png 300w, https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-29-50x29.png 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click on &#8216;Allow remote connections to this computer&#8217; and click OK.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"602\" height=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-30.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-565\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-30.png 602w, https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-30-300x174.png 300w, https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-30-50x29.png 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Click OK and RDP will be enabled.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to reduce the chances of brute force attacks, we recommend changing the default RDP port, a guide for which is available here: https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/articles\/change-the-default-rdp-port-in-windows\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After installation, by default RDP is disabled on a Windows VPS server, we would recommend leaving the default setting and use the built-in control panel to administer your server, however if you wish to enable it the process is described below. In order to reduce the chances of brute force attacks, we recommend changing the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"ht-kb-category":[6,2,24],"ht-kb-tag":[50,36],"class_list":["post-558","ht_kb","type-ht_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","ht_kb_category-vps-cloud","ht_kb_category-servers","ht_kb_category-control-panel-os","ht_kb_tag-vps","ht_kb_tag-windows"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to enable RDP on Windows Servers - Support Centre - Simply Hosting &amp; Servers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.simplyhosting.com\/support\/articles\/how-to-enable-rdp-on-windows-servers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to enable RDP on Windows Servers - Support Centre - Simply Hosting &amp; Servers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After installation, by default RDP is disabled on a Windows VPS server, we would recommend leaving the default setting and use the built-in control panel to administer your server, however if you wish to enable it the process is described below. 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