Remote Desktop is a Microsoft collaboration software program that is designed to allow computer users to connect to other computers across the Internet. The application can be used to connect to your home computer while on the road, or to allow technicians troubleshoot issues from a remote location. Although the power to share and collaborate with the application is significant, the program has to be manually configured in order for a computer to be shared across the Internet for security reason. After a computer has Remote Desktop enabled, it can then be accessed remotely with the correct configuration information from other computers using the Windows or Mac OS X operating systems.

How to Enable Remote Desktop on the Host Computer

Step 1 – Select the “Start” and “Settings” menu options followed by choosing the “Control Panel” icon.

Step 2 – Open the “System” application by double-clicking the program icon on the subsequent window.

Step 3 – Choose the “Remote” menu tab in Windows XP followed by choosing the “Allow Users to Connect Remotely to this Computer” menu options. For Windows Vista and Windows 7, select “Remote Settings” and under the “Remote Desktop” choose one of the options available to permit remote connections to the computer.

Step 4– Select the “Select Users” in Windows Vista and 7 and in Windows XP, “Select Remote Users” to designate users that may connect to the computer remotely.

Step 5 – Click the “Ok” menu button and the computer will now be configured to accept remote connections.

How to Open a Remote Desktop Connection

Step 1 – Choose the “Start” menu button followed by “Programs,” “Accessories,” and the “Remote Desktop Connection” menu options.

Step 2 – Enter the computer name or IP address for the computer to open the Remote Desktop session with followed by choosing the “Connect” menu button.

Step 3– Enter your user name, password, and domain (if required) on the subsequent menu prompt followed by the “Ok” menu button.

Step 4 – Conduct operations on the remote desktop view of the remote computer as desired.

Step 5 – Choose the “Shut Down” or equivalent menu option from the Remote Desktop file menu. Select the “Log Off” menu option when prompted followed by the “Ok” menu button.

Remote Desktop is also produced for the Mac OS X operating system. In order to connect to another computer using Remote Desktop on a Mac, the only difference is in how you launch the program application which can either be listed under the computer’s programs or in the application dock depending on how you have your OS X desktop arranged. Once launched, the program can then be used to connect to Windows or OS X computers that have the Remote Desktop program installed.