Is Remote Desktop Access Secure?

Learn Ways To Leverage The Benefits Of Remote Desktop Access While Ensuring Your Corporate Network Is Safe And Secure

Is your current IT provider hard to track down and even harder to get to your office to fix network and computer problems? This is why many quality IT providers offer remote desktop support to provide quick service. It can also enable employees to access workstations remotely for troubleshooting or certain processes that must be done on specific machines, such as RAM and CPU-intensive database work.

Is Ceding Remote Access To Your Computers Safe?

The short answer is yes; usually, remote desktop access can be convenient and secure if used properly.

Benefits Of Remote Desktop Access
How To Ensure Remote Desktop Access Is Secure

Benefits Of Remote Desktop Access

 There are a host of benefits to utilizing a managed IT provider that can access your computers using remote desktop access, a few of which include:

Convenience – Many IT issues can be handled quickly and remotely, solving any IT issues you’re experiencing faster than if you had to wait for a visit from a technician. Besides, workers who need to access certain computers at any hour can do so easily.
Cost-effective – Some managed service providers charge for a technician’s travel time to get to your office. With remote access, a technician accesses your machine from a secure location and instantly can troubleshoot a wide array of issues. Of course, a truly full-service provider won’t bill you extra if travel is required.
24/7 support – Another benefit of remote support is that it can allow IT companies to offer 24/7 support, which is good news for organizations that operate around the clock or ones that can’t let machines sit idle for maintenance during working hours.

How To Ensure Remote Desktop Access Is Secure

Before you agree to have any remote access software installed on your machine, you should follow these steps to keep your corporate infrastructure and data security.

Build a working relationship – When you’re looking to hire a managed services provider, it’s important to develop a relationship that involves trust on both sides.
Ensure remote access occurs over a VPN – One of the best practices surrounding remote access is only to allow company-issued hardware to connect to the internal network via a VPN or Virtual Private Network. A VPN allows for the secure transmission of data through a remote connection.
Control administrator rights – Another important facet of securing remote access is to be sure administrator rights are only granted to a limited number of completely trusted users connecting from outside the corporate network. This helps to cut down on the possibility of a remote user adding a virus, Trojan, worm, or some malware to the internal corporate network.
Look into two-factor authentication (2FA) – Another added security layer recommended for remote access is two-factor authentication. 2FA is simply a way to force users to use two forms of authentication to verify their identity. This could include the standard username and password and a phone call, text message, or some other type of verification. This adds an additional layer of security to your network that helps to cut down on an intruder’s ability to gain access to your infrastructure.