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I like to remote into my Vista Ultimate desktop computer when I'm not at home, or am using a laptop in another room. The Remote Desktop Connection utility on domain-joined Windows Vista machines won't let you use saved credentials to connect to an unauthenticated computer (you get an annoying error message: "Your system administrator does not allow the use of saved credentials to log on to the remote computer [computername] because its identity is not fully verified"). I'd like to resolve the problem by assigning a certificate (self-signed or otherwise) to Terminal Services, as suggested in this blog entry from the TS team blog. Unfortunately, the tsconfig.msc snapin isn't available on Vista, as the blog entry notes. What other options do I have for adding a certificate, or otherwise allowing me to use saved credentials?

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the tsconfig.msc snapin doesnt seem to be on xp pro either... –  djangofan Oct 21 '09 at 21:58

3 Answers 3

You can do this by Group Policy on a Vista machine. I'm not going to take credit for this, so here's an article: http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6166676.html.

The only next issue may be that the domain does not trust the certificate because it does not come from a recognised provider. I suppose you could ask for your internal CA to issue a certificate for it, but I doubt they'll allow it.

If this happens, then logmein as maniac13 mentioned is probably the way to go (unless they've blocked that too, as some organisations have been known to do).

You must have an exceptionally complicated user/pass combo for this to be a pressing issue!

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great link to article. thanks! also, after accepting the RDP FIPS certificate, you can see the certificate by running mmc.exe and then adding the "Certificates" snap-in (to see machine-wide cert store). –  djangofan Oct 21 '09 at 21:56

I won't be able to help you with your issue here, but I can recommend using logmein as an alternative. With this option you won't even need a static IP address, all you need is a web browser and you are set. and its free.

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Yes, the free version of Hamachi, or what is now called "LogMeIn" will do it without any firewall configuration required. It will create a highly encrypted tunnel that won't likely be exploited (especially if you use a long password greater than 12 chars). There are also some open source Hamachi look-a-likes such as P2PVPN or Wippien , Remobo, and some others, including the difficult to configure OpenVPN . Also, with the tunnel open you will be able to RDP to the machine , bypassing the firewall, with zero firewall config required.

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