How to disable Remote Desktop by using Group Policy

Remote Desktop is a new feature in Windows XP Professional that allows you to connect to your computer remotely and work as though you are sitting at the console. This article describes how to disable Remote Desktop by using the computer's local group policy.

NOTE: Remote Desktop is not available in Windows XP Home Edition.

To use the computer's local group policy to disable Remote Desktop:

1. Click Start, click Run, type gpedit.msc, and then click OK.
2. In the Group Policy editor, click to expand Computer Configuration, click to expand Administrative Templates, click to expand Windows Components, and then click to expand Terminal Services.
3. Double-click the Allow users to connect remotely using Terminal Services policy.
4. Set the policy to Enabled, and then click OK.

You can also use the following procedure to disable Remote Desktop; however, if you use the preceding procedure, the following configuration is overridden:

1. Right-click My Computer and click Properties.
2. Click the Remote tab.
3. In the Remote Desktop section, click to clear Allow users to connect remotely to this computer, and then click OK.

NOTE: Remote Desktop is disabled by default on Windows XP Professional.