Securing communications between Web browser and Microsoft Terminal Server

Securing communications between Web browser and Microsoft Terminal Server

How can I secure the direct communication between a Web browser on the Internet and a Microsoft Terminal Server that is behind a firewall?

After installing the Web based component for the Microsoft Advance Terminal Services on an IIS server that is behind a firewall, I enabled SSL on the server to secure the initial communications from any Web browser on the Internet. However, the subsequent communication from the Web brower is directly to the Terminal Server and is no longer secured by SSL. I would like my users to securely connect to the Terminal Server using any Web browser they can get access to while traveling.


    Requires Free Membership to View

    SearchSecurity.com members gain immediate and unlimited access to breaking industry news, virus alerts, new hacker threats, highly focused security newsletters, and more -- all at no cost. Join me on SearchSecurity.com today!

    Michael S. Mimoso, Editorial Director

    By submitting your registration information to SearchSecurity.com you agree to receive email communications from TechTarget and TechTarget partners. We encourage you to read our Privacy Policy which contains important disclosures about how we collect and use your registration and other information. If you reside outside of the United States, by submitting this registration information you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Your use of SearchSecurity.com is governed by our Terms of Use. You may contact us at webmaster@TechTarget.com.

My guess is that your firewall is blocking port 3389, which is for the Remote Desktop Protocol. As for encryption, Terminal Services does not actually use SSL. If you read the documentation available at Microsoft's Web site, it describes both the required port and a description of how it does encryption.


This was first published in October 2001