When accessing your business computer from a remote computer using Windows Remote Desktop protocol, you can set it to public or private mode. Public mode is a security feature that limits the security information stored on the remote station. It also limits the amount of time this information can be stored.
What Remote Desktop Is
The Remote Desktop protocol allows you to use your business computer when you are away from the office. If you are traveling or at home and you need to access files from your business computer, you can use documents and applications without having to copy them to a laptop or portable medium, such as a stick drive. Windows Remote Desktop is available on systems with Windows XP Professional edition; Windows Vista Business, Ultimate or Enterprise edition; and all versions of Windows 7. You can set this feature to public or private.
When your Windows Remote Desktop is set to private, your remote computer may store passwords and bitmaps in a cache. This often saves time when logging into password protected applications, such as your email program. However, when running in public mode, your remote computer does not cache bitmaps and passwords. This means the remote computer does not remember them, and you must type in a password every time you log in to these applications.
Setting Remote Desktop to Public
To set your Remote Desktop session to public, open the Start menu in the bottom left corner of your screen and select "All Applications." Click the "Accessories" icon, then select "Run." In the "Open" box, type "mstsc" followed by a space, then "/v:" and your business computer's IP address. Type another space, then "/public." Your command string should look something like this: "mstsc /v:184.108.40.2069 /public." Click "OK."
When to Use Public Mode
It is safe to set your Remote Desktop to private mode when you are on a computer you use often -- for example, a computer located in your home or place of work. Computers located in public places, such as coffeeshops, hotels, and similar locations, are at much more risk. In these instances, you should set Windows Remote Desktop to public mode to reduce the chances of unauthorized access to your computer.
- Goodshoot/Goodshoot/Getty Images