Glossary · Protocol

RDP

Remote Desktop Protocol

In plain language

A tool that lets you use your office computer from another place as if you were sitting at it.

The metaphor

Like a long cable running from your home desk to your office keyboard and screen: you work remotely, and anyone who finds the cable's far end can reach your desk too.

Going deeper

How it works

The remote computer sends its screen to you and receives your keyboard and cursor.
Leaving it open to the whole internet is one of the most common ways ransomware gets in.
It belongs behind a VPN and a login with a second step.
Strong passwords alone do not protect it.

What can go wrong (example scenario)

A four-person accounting office opened remote desktop on the firewall so the owner could work from home. Within weeks, attackers were guessing passwords against it day and night, and one finally worked.

How WILDCARD handles it

Network covers the firewall that decides whether remote desktop can be reached from the internet.

In practice

A bookkeeper reaches the office PC through the VPN, with no open port on the firewall.
A dental office retires a forwarded remote desktop port after a security review.
An owner uses a remote-access tool with MFA in place of an exposed server.

A question owners ask

Is it safe to leave remote desktop open so I can work from home?

Not directly on the internet. Put it behind a VPN with a second sign-in step.

Where WILDCARD handles this

Network

Firewall managed and monitored
Switches kept current
On-prem Active Directory auth

Start with Network

Related terms

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