Connect to a Windows VPS with Remote Desktop

Connecting to a Windows VPS with Remote Desktop

A Windows VPS is used through Remote Desktop (RDP) on port 3389. Connect with your server's IP address, the username Administrator, and the password you chose when ordering. Then, before anything else, install updates and restrict who can reach Remote Desktop — an open RDP port is found by password-guessing bots within minutes of a server going online.

From Windows

Press Win+R, type mstsc, and enter your server's IP address. Choose More choices → Use a different account, sign in as Administrator, and accept the certificate prompt the first time.

mstsc /v:203.0.113.10

From macOS, iPhone or iPad

Install Microsoft's Windows App (the successor to the Microsoft Remote Desktop app) from the App Store, add a PC with your server's IP address, and use Administrator and your password as the credentials.

From Linux

Remmina is the friendly option on most desktops. From a terminal, FreeRDP works too:

xfreerdp /v:203.0.113.10 /u:Administrator /dynamic-resolution
# FreeRDP 3 on newer distributions names the command xfreerdp3

First: Updates

Open Settings → Windows Update and install everything, rebooting as often as it asks. Images are built periodically, so a fresh server is rarely fully patched on day one.

Then: Close Remote Desktop to Strangers

The strongest simple step is to allow RDP only from addresses you use. In PowerShell (as Administrator), replace the example with your own public IP — separate several with commas:

Set-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Remote Desktop" -RemoteAddress 198.51.100.7
Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Remote Desktop" | Get-NetFirewallAddressFilter

You can do the same outside the server with the firewall on your server's page in the dashboard: add the Remote Desktop preset and limit it to your address. It is applied before traffic reaches Windows, and it shows your current IP address to copy.

If your home address changes often, put RDP behind a VPN instead: set up WireGuard, then allow RDP only from the VPN's range. Either way, keep the browser VNC console in mind — it gets you back in if a rule shuts you out.

And: Lock Out Password Guessing

Use a long, unique password, and set an account lockout policy so repeated failures pause the account. Run secpol.msc, go to Account Policies → Account Lockout Policy, and set a threshold (for example 10 attempts) and a lockout duration (for example 15 minutes). In the same place, set Allow Administrator account lockout to Enabled: depending on the Windows version and updates, the built-in Administrator account can otherwise be exempt from the policy, and it is the account bots try first. Network Level Authentication, on by default, should stay on.

Common Questions

What are my username and password?

The username is Administrator. The password is the one you set when you ordered the server. The server's IP address is on its page in your dashboard and in the email that said it was ready.

Why do I get a certificate warning?

Windows Server signs Remote Desktop with a certificate it made for itself, so your client cannot verify it the first time. Check the name matches your server, accept it, and your client remembers it.

I locked myself out with a firewall rule. Now what?

Open the server in your dashboard and use the browser VNC console. It is a screen and keyboard attached to the virtual machine, so it works whatever the network or firewall is doing.

Does changing the RDP port make it secure?

It cuts the noise in your logs, because most bots only try 3389, but it is not protection on its own. Restricting who may connect, or putting RDP behind a VPN, is what actually keeps people out.