Accessing your server via Remote Desktop (Windows OS)
The Windows Server operating system is most often accessed and managed through a protocol called RDP, or Remote Desktop Protocol. This provides you with a graphical interface of your Windows Server that looks and acts just like a standard Windows OS, like the one you have on your Home PC.
You’ll be able to log-in to your HostVenom VPS that’s running Windows Server 2019/2022 using the credentials provided to you in the VPS Welcome email sent to you by HostVenom at the time of purchase.
You’ll want to use the credentials and IPv4 address provided in the “Server Details” section of the email, shown in the image to the right.
Using the credentials provided in the aforementioned email, you can log-in to your VPS’s RDP server using the Windows RDP client on your Windows PC by following the steps outlined below.
First, you’ll want to launch the Remote Desktop Connection application. You can do this by opening the start menu on your Home PC and typing “Remote Desktop Connection” into the start menu. If you have a search bar directly in your taskbar, that can be used as well.
As you start to type the name of the program into the Start Menu, you should see the program appear in the results in a similar way to the image on the right. You can then either click on the entry in the list, press enter to launch the currently selected item, or press the Open button on the right side of the start menu.
The windows start menu with “Remo” typed into to the search field, showing the “Remote Desktop Connection” program as the first result.
Once you open the Remote Desktop Connection application you should see a window that looks similar to the image shown on the right, with an empty computer address and a “none specified” username.
You’ll want to enter the IPv4 address contained within the VPS Welcome email you received from HostVenom into the computer field and click Connect.
The Windows Remote Desktop Connection application with the computer text field / drop down selected and empty. There are two buttons at the bottom, “Connect” and “Help” with a “Show Options” toggle on the bottom right.
After clicking Connect you’ll be presented with a login screen. The login screen will try to use the credentials of your current Windows user by default, so you’ll want to click on the More choices option at the bottom of the window and select Use a different account. This will allow you to enter both a username and password instead of just a password. You’ll need to enter the username and password provided by the VPS Welcome email you received from HostVenom.
You may get a warning during your first connection to your Windows 2019/2022 server saying that the remote computer could not be identified. This is normal *for the first connection***** and has to do with the certificate used to prove that the server is the server you’re wanting to connect to.
Since you haven’t connected to the server in the past, and the server’s certificate isn’t registered with a 3rd party, your computer is relying on you to say that you want to trust this connection. The only time you should be worried about this warning is when it shows up when you are connecting to a Windows 2019/2022 server you’ve connected to before.
Otherwise, click the “Yes” option, confirming that you do trust the certificate and would like Windows to remember that choice.
After entering the credentials, you’ll want to click OK. This should connect you to the RDP server that’s running on your Windows 2019/2022 VPS and will open a new full screen window similar to the one shown on the right.
On the first connection, HostVenom VPSs will have the Windows Server Manager open, which is used to interact with and configure your server remotely. You can close this application using the close button in the top right corner, just like on your Home PC running Windows.
After closing the Windows Server Manager, you should see the default windows background and a Windows taskbar.
The default Windows 10 background and the Windows 0 taskbar with the search bar enabled.
Since the RDP session looks just like a standard Windows client, it may be difficult to tell the difference between your PC and the RDP session. There are a couple of ways you can easily tell though.
When you move your mouse to the top of an RDP session, a thin blue bar will appear with information about the session and the standard close/minimize/maximize window icons. You can “pin” this bar so that it’s always visible by clicking the push pin icon on the left, and drag the bar across the top of your monitor in order to see content that may be hidden behind it.
The styling of your Home PC and the RDP session are independent, so you can change the theme of one or the other so that applications and the taskbar make it more obvious which one you’re currently viewing.
The RDP session can be temporarily “minimized” by moving your mouse to the top of the screen to reveal the blue status bar. On the right side of the bar you’ll have the standard close/minimize/maximize window icons that appear on most Windows applications. Clicking the _ icon will minimize the RDP session to your PC’s taskbar as a normal application and you can re-open it by clicking on it in the taskbar like you would any other application.
You can fully exit the RDP session by moving your mouse to the top of the RDP session’s screen in order to reveal the blue status bar. Then you can click the X icon on the right of the bar. You’ll be prompted with a message similar to the one shown in the image to the right, which you can disable with the checkbox. By clicking OK, you’ll exit the session but leave the programs you have running open on your VPS.
Credentials
You’ll be able to log-in to your HostVenom VPS that’s running Windows Server 2019/2022 using the credentials provided to you in the VPS Welcome email sent to you by HostVenom at the time of purchase.
You’ll want to use the credentials and IPv4 address provided in the “Server Details” section of the email, shown in the image to the right.
Connecting
Using the credentials provided in the aforementioned email, you can log-in to your VPS’s RDP server using the Windows RDP client on your Windows PC by following the steps outlined below.
RDP Application
First, you’ll want to launch the Remote Desktop Connection application. You can do this by opening the start menu on your Home PC and typing “Remote Desktop Connection” into the start menu. If you have a search bar directly in your taskbar, that can be used as well.
As you start to type the name of the program into the Start Menu, you should see the program appear in the results in a similar way to the image on the right. You can then either click on the entry in the list, press enter to launch the currently selected item, or press the Open button on the right side of the start menu.
The windows start menu with “Remo” typed into to the search field, showing the “Remote Desktop Connection” program as the first result.
Once you open the Remote Desktop Connection application you should see a window that looks similar to the image shown on the right, with an empty computer address and a “none specified” username.
You’ll want to enter the IPv4 address contained within the VPS Welcome email you received from HostVenom into the computer field and click Connect.
The Windows Remote Desktop Connection application with the computer text field / drop down selected and empty. There are two buttons at the bottom, “Connect” and “Help” with a “Show Options” toggle on the bottom right.
Login
After clicking Connect you’ll be presented with a login screen. The login screen will try to use the credentials of your current Windows user by default, so you’ll want to click on the More choices option at the bottom of the window and select Use a different account. This will allow you to enter both a username and password instead of just a password. You’ll need to enter the username and password provided by the VPS Welcome email you received from HostVenom.
Certificate
You may get a warning during your first connection to your Windows 2019/2022 server saying that the remote computer could not be identified. This is normal *for the first connection***** and has to do with the certificate used to prove that the server is the server you’re wanting to connect to.
Since you haven’t connected to the server in the past, and the server’s certificate isn’t registered with a 3rd party, your computer is relying on you to say that you want to trust this connection. The only time you should be worried about this warning is when it shows up when you are connecting to a Windows 2019/2022 server you’ve connected to before.
Otherwise, click the “Yes” option, confirming that you do trust the certificate and would like Windows to remember that choice.
Server Manager and Desktop
After entering the credentials, you’ll want to click OK. This should connect you to the RDP server that’s running on your Windows 2019/2022 VPS and will open a new full screen window similar to the one shown on the right.
On the first connection, HostVenom VPSs will have the Windows Server Manager open, which is used to interact with and configure your server remotely. You can close this application using the close button in the top right corner, just like on your Home PC running Windows.
After closing the Windows Server Manager, you should see the default windows background and a Windows taskbar.
The default Windows 10 background and the Windows 0 taskbar with the search bar enabled.
What is RDP and what is your PC?
Since the RDP session looks just like a standard Windows client, it may be difficult to tell the difference between your PC and the RDP session. There are a couple of ways you can easily tell though.
When you move your mouse to the top of an RDP session, a thin blue bar will appear with information about the session and the standard close/minimize/maximize window icons. You can “pin” this bar so that it’s always visible by clicking the push pin icon on the left, and drag the bar across the top of your monitor in order to see content that may be hidden behind it.
The styling of your Home PC and the RDP session are independent, so you can change the theme of one or the other so that applications and the taskbar make it more obvious which one you’re currently viewing.
Exiting or minimizing the RDP session
The RDP session can be temporarily “minimized” by moving your mouse to the top of the screen to reveal the blue status bar. On the right side of the bar you’ll have the standard close/minimize/maximize window icons that appear on most Windows applications. Clicking the _ icon will minimize the RDP session to your PC’s taskbar as a normal application and you can re-open it by clicking on it in the taskbar like you would any other application.
You can fully exit the RDP session by moving your mouse to the top of the RDP session’s screen in order to reveal the blue status bar. Then you can click the X icon on the right of the bar. You’ll be prompted with a message similar to the one shown in the image to the right, which you can disable with the checkbox. By clicking OK, you’ll exit the session but leave the programs you have running open on your VPS.
Updated on: 13/11/2023
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