How to disable Remote Desktop Windows 11 or Windows 10

Not all users are aware of the presence in the Windows operating system of a remote computer control feature called Microsoft Remote Desktop. With this tool, other users can view, modify or delete files, perform various other actions on your PC.

When you use this tool, another user takes control of your PC and can view files and drives or change system settings on your computer.

On a local network, Microsoft Remote Desktop uses the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) network protocol to connect to a computer remotely. There are options to control another PC via the Internet.

In some cases, this approach is justified to help you configure Windows and applications, to set the same settings, or in other situations. For security purposes, the user can disable remote computer control over the network in order to protect their data from unauthorized persons.

Disabling remote access will help keep confidential or private data from being accessed by strangers, and increase the overall security of your PC.

In this article, you will find several instructions with information about disabling the built-in remote computer control feature in Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems. The settings for the process to prevent remote access to the device are the same in both of these systems.

This functionality does not apply to other programs designed for remote assistance, such as TeamViewer or others. To exclude the possibility of remote control of the PC by third-party software, you just need to remove such an application from your computer.

How to Disable Remote Desktop Windows 11

First, let’s look at how to disable remote control in the Windows 11 operating system. From the system settings, you can use the easiest method to disable the Remote Desktop Connection feature.

Do the following:

1. Press the “Win” + “I” keys.
2. In the application window “Settings”, in the “System” tab, find the option “Remote Desktop”.
3. In the settings window that opens, in the “Remote Desktop” option, set the switch to “Disabled” if this option is enabled on your PC.
4. Confirm this action in the warning window.

How to Disable Remote Desktop Windows 10

Now we will try to prevent remote access to a Windows 10 computer. The Windows 10 Remote Desktop feature is similarly disabled in the operating system settings.

Do the following:

1. Right click on the start menu.
2. Select Options from the context menu.
3. In the Options window, click on System.
4. In the system settings, navigate to the “Remote Desktop” section.
5. In the “Enable Remote Desktop” option, move the switch to the “Disabled” position.
6. In the “Disable Remote Desktop?” click on the “Confirm” button.

How to prevent remote access to a computer

In Windows settings, you can disable remote connections to your device. To do this, we need to enter the properties of the system.

Go through the steps:

1. Press the keyboard keys “Win” + “R”.
2. In the Run dialog box, in the Open: box, type SystemPropertiesAdvanced (without the quotes).
3. Click on the “OK” button.
4. In the System Properties window, open the Remote Access tab.
5. In the “Remote Desktop” group, activate the “Do not allow remote connections to this computer” item, and in the “Remote Assistance” group, uncheck the box “Allow remote assistance connections to this computer”.
6. Click on the “OK” button.

Deny remote access to a computer in group policies

Like the previous settings, you can disable remote control using the built-in system tool – the Local Group Policy Editor, in which you can change many settings for Windows.

Do the following:

1. Type the expression “gpedit.msc” into the Run dialog box.
2. Press the “Enter” key.
3. In the Local Group Policy Editor window that opens, follow the path:

Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Remote Desktop Services → Remote Desktop Session Host → Connections

4. In the “Allow users to connect remotely using Remote Desktop Services” window, set the option to “Disabled”.
5. Click on the “OK” button.

Disabling the remote connection feature in the registry editor

Similar settings can be applied using the Windows Registry Editor. After making changes to the system registry, the operating system settings related to remote access to this computer will change.

Do the following:

1. Open Registry Editor .
2. Follow the path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server

3. Look for the “fDenyTSConnections” setting.
4. Right click on it.
5. In the context menu, select “Edit …”.
6. In the “Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value” window, enter “1” in the “Value” field
7. Click on the “OK” button.
8. Close Registry Editor and then restart your PC.

Restricting remote access using a .reg file

If you find it difficult to use the previous option by manually making changes to the Windows registry, you can apply the necessary settings using a ready-made .reg file. This registry file applies all necessary changes automatically. You only need to run this file.

This .reg file contains the following parameters:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server]
"fDenyTSConnections"=dword:00000001

Do the following:

1. Download the ZIP archive from the link from the cloud storage.
2. Unpack the archive using Windows tools or using a third-party archiver.
3. The folder contains two files “Disable_RDP” and “Enable_RDP”.
4. Right click on the “Disable_RDP” file.
5. In the context menu, click on the “Merge” item.
6. Confirm this operation.
7. Restart your computer.

The “Enable_RDP” file is designed to set the opposite value – enabling the Windows Remote Desktop function on the PC.

Disabling Remote Desktop Using a BAT File

This method is similar to the previous one. We need to run a batch file with the “*.bat” extension, which will change the necessary entries in the system registry.

You will need to go through the steps:

1. Open Notepad.
2. Paste the following code into the program window:

reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server" /v fDenyTSConnections /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

3. Enter the “File” menu, in the context menu, click on “Save as …”.
4. In the “File type:” field, select “All files”.
5. In the “File name:” field, give any name for this file, for example, “rdp_enable.bat”. The extension of this file must be “.bat”.
6. Click on the “Save” button.
7. Run the BAT file to make changes on the computer.
8. Reboot the system.

Article Conclusions

The Windows operating system has a built-in feature designed to remotely control a computer. Another user can control your device over a network or over the Internet. To secure your PC from remote desktop connection, you need to disable remote connection. You can do this in several ways: in the settings of Windows 11 or Windows 10, in the system properties, in local group policies, in the registry editor.