Technology Trends Archives - RealVNC®

A Look Back at RealVNC’s 2023 Milestones: The Yearly Roundup

Bogdan Bele — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 17:39:02 +0000

2023 unfolded with a host of exciting enhancements to the RealVNC Connect software, as anticipated. Aside from that, we hosted a contest showcasing the creative side of our users. Plus, we offered an in-depth analysis of the remote access industry. Dive in to explore the significant landmarks that defined RealVNC’s year.

With that said, let’s dive into some of the most important moments of what has been a very busy year here at RealVNC.

RealVNC Connect: new features and enhancements

It has been a great 2023 for our flagship software, RealVNC Connect, as it has received some great improvements. Let’s look at some of them.

Presence for RealVNC Viewer

Our Presence feature provides you with a convenient way to check which ones of your cloud-connected devices are ready to connect, simplifying your workflow. If you see a green icon, it means that the device is online and open for connections. A grey icon indicates that the device is offline and not accessible. It’s a straightforward feature, that should make many system administrators’ lives easier.

Session recording on On-Demand Assist

You can now document your On-Demand Assist sessions, facilitating your audit processes and training programs. All you need to do is click the ‘Rec’ icon on the toolbar while in a session. This will record what’s happening on your screen and save it to a location of your choosing.

Native integration for Duo Authentication

Protecting your sessions with the Duo Authentication method is now easier than ever before.

Our native integration lets you directly link RealVNC Connect with your Duo account, making it quicker to set up and easier to implement.

Session logging with Audit

This feature will spare your team from a lot of admin work, by giving them a 14-day running log of key account events. Complete with timestamps and dates, you have a fully auditable, real-time log of activity. This can be exported as a .csv file or via API Access.

The 2023 State of Remote Access Report

The State of Remote Access Report is based on a comprehensive remote access survey, with over 450 respondents.

This extensive survey deciphers the technologies used to enable and secure remote access. The resulting report offers valuable insights into the practical usage of these technologies, security protocols, and their effectiveness against prevalent cyberattacks. It’s designed to give you a complete overlook of the remote access, as well as insights that will keep you ahead of your competitors.

If you haven’t done so already, download your free copy of the 2023 State of Remote Access Report here

Also, keep an eye on the RealVNC Blog and our social media presences in the new year! A brand-new report, discussing the way remote access will look and how it will be used in 2024, is on the way.

The 2023 RealVNC Raspberry Pi Prize

Thousands of people use RealVNC Connect in creative ways on Raspberry Pi devices every day. This competition was meant to recognize them and celebrate their ingenuity and creativity. It was open to anyone who had an original solution that included the use of a Raspberry Pi computer and RealVNC Connect software.

We received entries from around the world and have been extremely impressed by the creativity and ingenuity on display.

Six finalists were selected, and the judges have assessed their entries for originality & innovation, quality of design, impact, as well as the use of RealVNC Connect remote access software. The overall winner has received a prize of $1,000, while the runners up have received $500 and $250, respectively.

Shohreh Kia was the winner of the competition, with a solution that uses a Raspberry Pi connected to a camera to process real-time visual data from conveyor belts in recycling centers. Material types on the belts are identified using custom-developed algorithms. RealVNC Connect allows operators to operate the machines remotely in a much safer and healthier environment.

You can find out all about the winning solution, as well as the runners-up, on the RealVNC Blog

Happy holidays and a great 2024!

The ones discussed above are just some of the highlights of what has been a very busy, but at the same time very successful, 2023 for the RealVNC team.

We all want to thank you for using our products this year. We also want to take this opportunity to wish you Happy Holidays and a fantastic 2024! See you next year!

The post A Look Back at RealVNC’s 2023 Milestones: The Yearly Roundup appeared first on RealVNC®.

Five important takeaways from the “State of Remote Access Security” 2023 Report

Bogdan Bele — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 07:16:52 +0000

Why a “State of Remote Access Security” 2023 Report

We at RealVNC don’t take our role in the remote access market lightly. As we mentioned many times, security is at the heart of everything we do. We also ensure maximum transparency when it comes to the security of our solution. We do this through independent white box security audits, like the one done recently by respected Berlin firm Cure53. We also keep a constant eye on the current needs of remote access customers and what affects their security stance.

We concluded that there is no one better to tell us what affects organizations than the organizations themselves. That’s why we asked those important questions to RealVNC customers and non-customers.

The resulting report is probably the most comprehensive overview of remote access security ever done. The information in the report should provide you with some insights that can help you get ahead of the competition. Read on to find out what some of those insights are.

Who were the respondents?

We surveyed over 450 IT professionals, so we could get a good idea of the current state of remote access. We wanted to grasp the impact remote access has over the security stance of the respondents’ organizations.

We had respondents from no less than 62 countries. The greatest number of respondents were from the United States (46%), followed by Canada (8%), and Australia (3%).

Remote Access is used by every type of organization, regardless of industry, as demonstrated by the over 50 industry verticals represented in the report.

Five important takeaways from the report

1. Technologies Used to Provide Remote Access

Our findings revealed a wide range of technologies being used to provide remote access. Remote access, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), desktop sharing tools, and cloud-based solutions were among the most used technologies. The choice varied depending on the specific needs and resources of each organization.

2. Who’s Using Remote Access?

Remote access is not limited to any specific industry or size of business. From small start-ups to multinational corporations, organizations across the board are utilizing remote access technologies to enhance their operations and enable flexible working arrangements.

3. Who is Experiencing Cyberattacks?

Unfortunately, the prevalence of cyberattacks is widespread, affecting businesses of all sizes and across all industries. No organization is immune, emphasizing the critical need for robust security measures.

According to our survey data, the Small Business sector has experienced the smallest number of cyberattacks (as a percentage) in the last 12 months in any of the segments.

Enterprise organizations, on the other hand, are experiencing the most cyberattacks across the board, with 15% of them experiencing ten or more attacks in 12 months.

4. The Role of Remote Access in Attacks

Our report highlighted that remote access technologies can serve as a gateway for cyberattacks if not properly secured. Of the 30% of organizations where their own Remote Access solution(s) were involved in cyberattacks, it was used in the following ways:

30% in Initial Access
10% – Lateral Movement
8% – Data Exfiltration

Where remote access played a role, it must be said that 45% were using RDP as their remote access. Furthermore, 25% had no security controls layered over their remote access solution and 40% had no MFA implemented. Not to mention that 63% had no policy-based access control in place.

5. Minimizing the Risk of Cyberattacks

So, what can be done to minimize the risk? Implementing multi-factor authentication, being wary of RDP, and making security an absolute priority are just a few steps organizations can take. Also imperative from a cybersecurity standpoint is using a single, centralized solution.

Of course, educating employees about the risks and how to identify potential threats is also crucial.

The first step is to download the full State of Remote Access Security Report, here. It will give you all the insights you need to stay ahead of cyber threats, as well as your competition.

Staying Informed and Secure

The digital landscape is constantly evolving, and with it, so are the threats. Organizations must stay informed about the potential dangers and ensure they use a remote access solution that prioritizes security.

Don’t let your organization fall prey to cyber threats! Remember that security should be the first thing to think of in your remote access strategy, not an afterthought.

To get all the insights you need, make sure you download the report now!

The post Five important takeaways from the “State of Remote Access Security” 2023 Report appeared first on RealVNC®.

What goes on when RDP is compromised: A practical look into the threat actions taken

Nick Cavalancia, 4-time Microsoft MVP — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 07:37:20 +0000

As much as we’d like to think we’re rid of it, externally exposed RDP remains alive and well (for some unknown reason). And that’s a HUGE problem for those organizations that are relying on it. Don’t get me wrong; there’s nothing wrong with using RDP – it’s the insecure use of RDP (no MFA, no monitoring, older host OSes, one-off exposed systems that everyone forgets about, etc.) that is the creates the risk for the organization.

And it’s such a huge problem that RDP’s misuse by cybercriminals continues to make it into reports on the current state of cyberattacks. Take the Quarterly Ransomware Reports from ransomware response vendor Coveware – they’ve been continuously covering various stats about the ransomware attacks (including initial attack vectors) that they respond to for their customers since 2018. RDP was listed in 2018 as an initial attack vector (it was #1) and it’s still on the board in 2023 just behind email phishing but ahead of vulnerabilities.

So, how is RDP actually used within cyberattacks (ransomware or otherwise)? At a high level, we can look at Sophos’ 2023 Active Adversary Report for Tech Leaders, where we get a bit of a deeper breakdown:

RDP played some role in 95% of attacks, up from 88% in 2022
Internal use of RDP was seen in 93% of attacks, with external use seen in 18% of attacks
RDP was used only for internal access and lateral movement in 77% of attacks

We can gather from this data that RDP is used as both an initial means of entry into an organization’s network, as well as a means to move laterally within the compromised network. This alone should be enough justification to make you think to yourself “OK – it’s time to ditch RDP”.

But, what really happens when threat actors gain control over an exposed endpoint via RDP?

Generally, we need to speculate based on the end result of an attack and determining of what transpired from forensics evidence. Rather than do that, we now have the results of an unprecedented three-year long RDP honeypot study by security vendor GoSecure where more than 20,000 RDP sessions were monitored, and 190 million threat actions were collected using a custom-built interception tool that recorded over 100 hours of RDP session footage, in order to answer this question.

What 5 Types of Threat Actors Do With a Compromised RDP Session

To make 20,000 sessions worth of threat actions digestible (and, apparently, to express the inner Dungeons & Dragons, or “D&D” nerd within some of us!) the kind folks at GoSecure categorized the activities into 5 types of D&D character classifications:

Rangers – In D&D, rangers are a skilled explorer, craftsperson, and hunter. GoSecure found that these types of threat actors run reconnaissance using scripts or tools, explore the contents of the compromised system, and check the performance of the system. The going theory is that they are evaluating the system for another type of threat actor; this could be indicative of an initial access broker who simply sells the credentials and resulting remote system access.
Thieves – In D&D, thieves are, well… thieves. They burgle, steal, pickpocket, etc. All-round bad guys. GoSecure characterizes these threat actors as those intent on monetizing the simple RDP access gained without going beyond the “walls” of the compromised endpoint. Actions include installing cryptominers, proxyware, monetized browsers, etc.
Barbarians – In D&D, barbarians thrive in battle. Threat actors of this nature are the ones who love the thrill of hacking the rest of your network. They are the ones discovering IP address ranges, finding usernames and passwords/hashes/Kerberos tickets, etc. in an attempt to brute force their way into more computers on your network.
Wizards – In D&D, wizards are highly skilled at performing spells (and they usually have no real combat ability), accomplishing the impossible without explanation (i.e., “magic”). GoSecure sees threat actors that use RDP to “portal” (read: laterally move) from system to system. These may be the most skilled of all the threat actors, as wizards are very skilled at living off the land and are able to laterally move with relative ease.
Bards – Bards in D&D are sort of a “jack of all trades”, part musician, part fighter, part wizard. In general, though, they are also in the “master of none” category. According to GoSecure, bards have “no apparent hacking skills”; they misuse the compromised RDP session for far more personal needs that include downloading movies, watching porn and performing web searches related to hacking.

So, what’s the breakdown of these five types of threat actors? Are they all just watching movies? Laterally moving? Running cryptominers?

According to a BlackHat 2023 presentation by GoSecure cybersecurity researchers on their findings of this three-year experiment, the activities are heavily weighted towards barbarians and rangers:

While I’m unsure of the scale used, it’s still very evident that barbarians and rangers combined dwarf thieves, bards, and wizards. This means that, for most RDP sessions, the name of the game is reconnaissance and lateral movement. To give you a bit more insight into the kinds of actions taken, GoSecure researchers also classified the tools used by all categories of threat actor:

You can establish from this tool classification that actions involved with cyberattack far outweigh any of the other types individually. Again, RDP is seen primarily as a channel for attack.

Moving Away from RDP – Both Inside and Out

If the industry data wasn’t enough to move you, I’m hoping the GoSecure detail was! It’s evident that insecure RDP is a risk to the organization, both as an externally accessible means of entering a network and as a means to move laterally throughout a compromised environment.

Assuming your organization has a need for both external and internal remote access, what should you do to mitigate this risk entirely?

The answer lies in using a means of secure remote access that includes a few controls in place before anyone is allowed to remotely access anything:

Multi-factor authentication – it’s 2023; everyone (and I mean everyone) should have MFA enabled on their user account. If you have MFA layered over remote access, you put initial access brokers largely out of business.
Granular Access Control – RDP, if left unchecked, allows anyone to jump to any other machine (yes, yes, you need Log On Locally rights, etc., but you get the point!). Secure remote access limits who can utilize remote sessions to specific machines.
Least Privilege – RDP sessions leverage the permissions of the logged-on credential. Secure remote access can often determine what level of privileges are exercised in a given remote session.

In all reality, implementing a secure remote access solution that had any of these features would be an improvement in reducing the risk. Why? Because RDP is built-in (and the threat actors know it!) and completely removing RDP and utilizing another more secure solution would be another barrier for a threat actor to overcome.

If you have any instances of RDP within the organization, it’s time to eradicate them completely and look for another means of securely providing remote access – whether externally or internally – that removes the threat actors’ easy means of remotely existing within your network. To ignore this warning brings new meaning to the phrase “barbarians at the gate.”

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The State of Remote Access in 2023 Cyberattacks

Nick Cavalancia, 4-time Microsoft MVP — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 08:07:48 +0000

You’d think remote access was a non-issue today; even after the need to utilize easy remote access during the pandemic, the continued misuse of externally facing remote access over the last three years should serve as enough of a lesson that insecure remote access (whether Microsoft’s basic RDP or otherwise) should be nonexistent in today’s networks.

But that’s just not the case. In short, insecure remote access is alive and well.

To make the point, I wanted to take the time to look at a few pieces of industry research that highlight the continued existence of the problem of insecure remote access, as well as how remote access is being misused.

We all are aware that ransomware is the more prevalent and pervasive type of cyberattack today. For example, these kinds of attacks are so damaging that the U.S. Government’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) continually puts out advisories on specific ransomware variants – such as the advisory covering Royal Ransomware earlier this year.

Remote access plays a role in many of these attacks (e.g., the attackers behind Royal themselves used RDP as the initial attack vector in 13% of their attacks). But there are many other examples of industry data pointing out the use of remote access.

According to this year’s newly-release Verizon Data Breach Investigation’s Report, just above one-quarter (28%) of ransomware attacks that involved system intrusion included the use of desktop sharing software.
Additionally, according to cybersecurity vendor Fortinet, in 51% of ransomware attacks, the exploiting of remote desktop protocol was involved – this is a very real problem today.

So, how is this remote access being leveraged by threat actors? In many cases, it serves as the initial access for attacks (as shown in the Fortinet data). The availability of remote access is so prevalent that, according to cybercrime monitoring and analysis vendor KELA, the most common type of access offered by initial access brokers was RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) accompanied by compromised credentials.

I think it should be mentioned that I see a lot of industry data focused on RDP (that is, Microsoft’s remote desktop protocol). In general, I feel like the reports are more trying to make the point that externally-accessible remote access (from any software vendor) should be grouped under the umbrella of “remote desktop protocol”, and that this isn’t just a bashing of RDP specifically.

The problem here is that organizations of all sizes continue to enable their remote workforces with remote access solutions (again, RDP and otherwise) that are focused more on productivity than on security, putting the organization at risk; 75% of security experts believe that remote/hybrid work actually increases the risk of cyberattacks, citing the reliance on remote connectivity as a contributing factor.

Not Just Remote Access, but Secure Remote Access

Assuming we’re not going to get away from having remote workers needing to access corporate resources remotely for the foreseeable future, it’s imperative that the remote access solutions used actually improve the security stance of the organization. So, what does that look like? Let’s use some of the current data points made here to outline the future of your secure remote access.

No externally-facing RDP. Period. Threat actors are well-aware of how to scan for and open RDP session (even if you change the port address). So, unless you put security controls around RDP, it can’t be your solution to enable remote users to access the corporate network. Otherwise, it’s apparent from the data above, it will also end up helping threat actors too.
No internal RDP either. This isn’t an RDP hate-fest; this is really about the insecurity of the default remote desktop services. There are no real security controls except for the requirement for a username and password – and that’s not enough. Given the data above outlines how RDP seems to be the remote access focus for most threat actors, it makes sense that – if nothing else – stop helping the bad guys by leaving it enabled even internally, as it only helps lateral movement.
Put secure remote access in place. This goes for both external and internal access purposes. What makes remote access secure is the layers of controls put in place that ensure the correct person is using the correct credential to access only the approved systems with the exact sanctioned level of permissions. So, the types of controls necessary would equate practically to:
- Multi-factor authentication – go beyond username/password combinations and make certain the user of a credential is also its owner.
- Granular Access – your remote access solution has the potential to allow a user to access just about any system. So, there should be some level of control over which users can gain access to which systems.
- Centralized Control – the same solution used to enable remote workers to access the corporate network should also enable sanctioned users within the network to remotely access systems within the network. This way you can centrally establish policies, perform deployments, and control remote sessions all from a single solution.

The use of remote access solutions in cyberattacks isn’t going to be going anywhere anytime soon; the bad guys need to access systems in the same way you do so they can perform the same kinds of actions… they just do it with malicious intent. So, the goal here is to maintain the spirit of remote access (enabling users to be productive and get their work done remotely – whether than be internally or externally) but do so in a way that doesn’t assist the threat actor by using a solution without any kind of security controls in place.

And the only way to really accomplish this is to acknowledge the risk remote access creates and make certain that the solution used by remote workers and IT alike is one that enhances the organization’s security while also elevating its productivity.

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Remote IoT Management: Efficiency From Afar

RealVNC — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 06:04:37 +0000

For example, heating can be controlled from phones, fridges can order groceries when they feel empty, and your car can even be driven from your desk.

For businesses across all industries, remote IoT management can drastically improve efficiency and cut costs. But, how do you effectively manage an IoT infrastructure remotely?

In this article, we’ll take you through the basics of remote access and how you can manage your IoT infrastructure through RealVNC’s remote IoT management platform.

What is the Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things is a kind of digital ecosystem. By connecting devices through Wi-Fii, Bluetooth, Lora, and more, IoT-enabled devices can access the internet and receive instructions through the wireless ecosystem.

Each device is given its own IP address from which to transmit and receive information. It will also be equipped with various types of sensors and tools to help it collect information and act on orders.

For example, an IoT refrigeration unit may be equipped with temperature sensors. When the temperature rises beyond a certain point, the unit could:

Send an alert through the IoT that an engineer is needed
Automatically lower its own temperature
Send a report of temperature fluctuations

The unit could also have its temperature adjusted remotely using a control device. So, if external temperatures suddenly rise, the owner would not have to dash to the physical unit to set compensatory temperatures on the unit itself. Instead, they could simply turn the unit temperature down from their phone or tablet.

The IoT offers businesses a way to monitor and manage appliances, units, devices, tools, and so on with ease. For example, rather than having to manually check on units, engineers can quickly pull up diagnostics sent by the unit itself to their management platform. This results in massive savings of both time and money.

That being said, remote devices do still need management, and remote device management is an art in itself. Let’s take a look at what remote device management is, the challenges it brings with it, and how it can be done effectively.

What types of IoT devices can be managed remotely?

Everyone knows about certain IoT devices. Smartwatches, for example, are becoming more common by the day, and everyone has played around with a smart TV at least once in their lives.

But the IoT has potential far beyond domestic goods and everyday wearables. It’s also making waves in multiple industries across the globe and even beyond it.

For example, Telesat Canada (TC) uses the IoT to manage satellites. You can read the details of the case study here, but in short, the IoT allows TC engineers to view satellite status updates and health data from the comfort of their couches.

This kind of remote and accessible management tech, provided by RealVNC, means that engineers can view satellite diagnostics anywhere – therefore, they don’t have to drive into the office to see critical data, which can make the difference between saving or losing a satellite.

Many industries are taking advantage of what IoT has to offer. For example:

Warehouses are fitting forklifts and pallets with IoT sensors for easy location and condition monitoring
Agribusinesses use IoT sensors to monitor crop conditions and start/stop irrigation whenever needed
Healthcare providers can monitor medical devices, like pacemakers, from afar and send out emergency services if these devices alert

IoT device management: What is it and how do you do it?

IoT remote management is all about monitoring and supporting your remote infrastructure. This involves a number of tasks and processes, including:

Monitoring your IoT infrastructure and devices
Equipping new devices, sensors, features, etc.
Configuring devices
Validation
Analysis of connected devices

IoT device management is relatively easy to do through remote access software like RealVNC Connect. That being said, there are a few challenges associated with any remote IoT management system.

What are the challenges of managing IoT devices?

Remote infrastructure management is very convenient, but it does have some challenges. Here are some of the main challenges of managing IoT devices:

Security

Any point of access to the internet is a potential security threat. IoT devices link up to your entire digital infrastructure. Depending on how many units are in your IoT network, this could present a lot of potential gateways for attack.

For example, a hacker who gains access to one IoT unit could steal a lot of data relating to the operation and status of your business. In theory, they could also manipulate the network by sending orders to the sensor, perhaps even resulting in the shutdown of the entire system.

Strain on resources

IoT devices must be connected to the internet. That means that they use electricity and take up bandwidth. Further, you will need storage space for all the data that they send and accumulate.

All of this can put a strain on business resources.

That being said, good IoT management can save resources elsewhere. Therefore, it’s definitely worth doing some calculations and working out where you can save and where you can redirect resources for your IoT network.

Privacy

Good remote access software like RealVNC Connect, will secure your device with end-to-end encryption. However, without a secure and reliable management platform, IoT devices can present a security risk.

We’ve already spoken about the security challenges of remote device management, but, even when there are no malicious actors involved, IoT management can still present privacy concerns. As IoT devices collect and transmit data, it is possible that private data could be unwittingly broadcast or accessed via the IoT.

Network reliability

If your operation is reliant on the internet, it is vulnerable to outages and downtime. For example, a power outage that cuts off Wi-Fi could potentially shut down your entire operation, and getting things back online could be complicated.

Without good management, network issues can cause big problems for an operation dependent on an efficient IoT infrastructure.

What are the benefits of an IOT remote management solution?

With a good IoT remote management solution, the challenges we mentioned above become a lot easier to handle.

Even open-source IoT device management software can make a difference, but a sophisticated, dedicated, and professional platform like the one provided by RealVNC, can completely change your remote device management operation. The benefits offered by RealVNC’s RPort and RealVNC Connect software include:

Greater convenience. Remote access platforms allow you to monitor and manage your IoT infrastructure and devices from anywhere and any device.
Instant updates. With remote management software, you don’t have to manually make updates on the physical units themselves. Instead, you can instantly update your units from afar as soon as updates become available.
Enhanced security. A dedicated platform like RealVNC prioritizes security and privacy. End-to-end encryption, top-end security features, and regular updates help keep your IoT network totally private and secure.
Real-time alerts. Remote management solutions will alert you immediately whenever there is an issue with any element of your IoT infrastructure. This enables you to get on top of any issues before they cause problems for your operation.
Greater efficiency. Remote device management solutions give you deep and detailed insights into your network performance. The opportunity to update, operate, and utilize your devices from anywhere at any time is also an easy way to improve efficiency.
Scalability. With a good remote device management platform, you can add or remove devices as you need, allowing your network to scale and grow with ease.
Improved performance. All of these benefits combined make for a slick, well-managed, and efficient system, which naturally leads to improved performance.

All in all, the right remote IoT management solution can eliminate the challenges of IoT management while enhancing its benefits.

Enjoy remote IoT management with robust remote access software

RealVNC provides secure remote management to successful companies worldwide. With RealVNC software, you can easily and securely manage your IoT infrastructure and reap all of the rewards the IoT has to offer without any of the drawbacks.

If you are interested in secure, efficient, and profitable remote device management, RealVNC Connect offers a 14-day free trial?

FAQs

What should I look for in a remote access solution?

The best remote access solutions have these key features:

Great security
Reliable performance
Real-time issue alerts
Intuitive interface
Multi-device capability
Easy file transfer
Easy sharing
Great customer support

Is remote IoT management secure?

IoT security should be a concern for any savvy business. Anything that connects to your network is a potential gateway for cybercriminals, so, it’s really important to pick a remote device management solution that prioritizes security.

With RealVNC software, you can be sure that your network will be as private, secure, and protected as possible now and in the future. With high-end cybersecurity measures and regular updates, RealVNC takes the worry out of IoT security.

The post Remote IoT Management: Efficiency From Afar appeared first on RealVNC®.

Remote Desktop Connection Solutions for Businesses

RealVNC — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 08:09:48 +0000

To make the most of remote desktop connection technology, it is important for businesses to pick the right solution. With a good remote connection manager, you can get the very best out of it without any of the drawbacks.

Let’s take a closer look at what remote desktop connections are, how they can benefit your business and the ways in which a remote desktop management solution can optimize your entire system.

What is a remote desktop connection?

A remote desktop connection is a program or system that enables one user to connect to a desktop computer from a totally different location.

The remote user can operate and interact with the desktop they’re controlling as if they were physically present. This is easily done through Windows remote desktop software or the Mac equivalent, but it’s often better to do it through dedicated third-party software.

Remote desktop connections work by capturing the target device’s screen, mouse, and keyboard input drivers. It then transmits them to the other device, allowing the user to view, operate, and control the device.

The classic application for remote desktop technology is IT support. Using remote desktop connections, IT professionals are able to take control of remote workers’ devices and troubleshoot issues without having to laboriously talk them through each step.

However, there are many more applications and benefits of remote desktop connections for businesses. Let’s take a look.

What benefits can a remote desktop connection offer?

Remote working

Working from home can be great for both businesses and employees. It allows for flexibility and can make a huge difference in employee satisfaction.

However, in order to make remote working effective and efficient, you need to have the right technology. Even if you offer a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, your remote employees will still need to access certain work files, systems, and resources via a good remote connection.

A remote desktop connection makes vital work computers and digital environments easily accessible from any compatible device, no matter where they are.

Ensure high security

Remote working can be a security risk. Every new location and device that accesses your network is a potential entry point for cybercriminals.

When you use a remote desktop service, security is taken seriously. Remote desktop services have teams of experts to manage your server and ensure that the most up-to-date security measures always protect you.

They use top-tier security tools like encryption and advanced monitoring and oversight facilities, which further safeguard your data.

Cost savings

Technology is one of the biggest expenses a modern company has to deal with. Building a reliable remote network isn’t cheap!

Using a remote desktop solution can save you a lot of money. For example, you don’t have to worry about overheads like retaining staff to run your servers when those servers are remote. Similarly, a BYOD policy (which ultimately saves a huge amount on tech) is a lot easier when you use a remote desktop system.

What’s more, remote desktop systems enable hybrid or fully-remote working modes. Hybrid and remote working can be a huge money saver. For example, businesses with a largely remote workforce don’t need to spend nearly as much as other companies on office space.

Streamline access

The beauty of a remote desktop connection is that it enables access to any authorized user from anywhere, at any time, without the need for extra software.

The right remote desktop tool makes access much more streamlined and less complicated. It also reduces the risk of losing data.

How to use a remote desktop connection for business

Remote desktop connections are incredibly useful for businesses, even in non-remote situations. Remote connections enable people to access files and systems without having to physically interact with the target device.

However, it’s not as simple as just hooking up employee devices with your own servers and stepping back. For a business to effectively use a remote connection, you need to think long and hard about the following:

Security. Security should be the number one consideration when it comes to remote connections;
Access. Access needs to be carefully managed in order to prevent data from falling into the wrong hands;
Oversight. It’s important that remote access and remote sessions are monitored;
Reporting. Reporting and analyzing are important for ensuring that remote access stays within guidelines and that performance is at optimum.

This is difficult to achieve without good remote connection management tools and a centralized remote management platform.

This is where a remote desktop connection manager comes in:

What is a remote desktop connection manager?

A remote desktop connection manager is specialized software that can help your business to manage multiple remote connections with ease.

A good remote desktop connection manager should:

Support a wide variety of devices, operating systems, and protocols in connecting remotely.
Share sessions securely. This enables teams to collaborate on sensitive issues without worrying about being overheard or about data being intercepted.
Provide access management. For the sake of security and productivity, it is important that managers have integrated ways to manage access. For example, a good remote desktop manager will give granular ways to control who can access what, as well as logs and records that give administrators full oversight of access permissions and usage.
Come with excellent organizational features. Anything that helps in terms of organization is a big help to managers! A good remote desktop manager should have organizational tools and capabilities that administrators can use to streamline data, workflows, connections, systems, sessions, and more.

What a remote desktop manager can do for you

Increase security measures

The best remote desktop management solutions come with the very best security measures as standard. These are updated whenever necessary (and, indeed, whenever possible) by your product’s security teams.

What’s more, these security measures give your own security and IT teams more control and oversight over your remote connections. So your data is doubly protected.

Streamline infrastructure management

With people accessing work desktops from a variety of locations and devices, infrastructure management can be a huge headache for remote IT teams.

Centralized server and application management services allow IT teams to streamline monitoring and maintenance. A product such as RPort, Real VNC’s Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) offering, allows you to enhance the efficiency of troubleshooting and incident reporting. With a remote desktop manager, IT teams can swiftly and easily solve issues, leading to optimal system performance, greater efficiency, and minimal downtime.

Provide robust auditing and reporting capabilities

Reporting and auditing are crucial to maintaining server and application performance, allowing potential issues to be picked up before they become serious problems.

A remote desktop management solution can consolidate essential management information and tools, streamlining the process of conducting audits, generating reports, and conducting comprehensive system analysis. By using this centralized approach, businesses can significantly speed up these tasks, making them more convenient and supporting optimal business performance.

Problems a remote desktop manager faces

Ensuring the security of remote connections

Security is a major concern for any online business, and this is especially true when it comes to remote desktop access. If they are not properly secured, remote connections can introduce vulnerabilities and open the door for cybercriminals.

Remote desktop management solutions must be designed and developed with security at the forefront. VNC Connect® incorporates strong encryption, multi-factor authentication, and sign-in verification. By treating every connection as though it came from a hostile environment as well as requiring connections to be approved by the owner of the remote computer, the solution balances business needs for remote access with reliable security.

Securing connections to devices located remotely and using different systems

It’s likely that remote workers will connect to your desktop from a variety of locations as well as from several different devices and operating systems, such as Windows, Mac, or Linux.

Versatility is key. A robust remote desktop manager should be able to manage several different kinds of devices and systems. VNC Connect is built with flexibility in mind and can be operated over the majority of popular operating systems.

Optimize your remote desktop setup for maximum efficiency with RealVNC®

If you have a remote, hybrid, or even fully in-office working system, remote desktop technology can bring huge benefits to your business.

To get the very best results from your remote connection technology, it’s important that you choose your remote software solutions carefully.

RealVNC offers comprehensive, secure, and intuitive solutions for all your remote connection needs. Through RealVNC, you can easily manage, moderate, monitor, and optimize remote connections of all kinds in a totally secure environment.

To learn more, why not sign up for our 14-day free trial?

FAQs about remote desktop connections

How do I connect to a remote desktop?

How you connect to a remote desktop depends a lot on your operating system and the software you are using.

If you are using VNC Connect, for example, the process is very simple. It comprises two components; VNC Server and VNC Viewer. Once VNC Server is installed on the remote computer you want to access, and VNC Viewer is installed on the device you want to access it from, the software will guide you through how to easily establish a connection between them.

Just sign into your VNC account on your remote device and search for the relevant computer in your VNC viewer.

Click on the relevant computer to connect to it and provide the authentication credentials you set up when creating your account.

Is remote desktop connection free?

Remote desktop connection can be done for free through operating systems like Windows and Mac.

However, it’s often best to subscribe to a remote connection software service, particularly if you are a business that expects many different people and devices to be connecting remotely on a regular basis.

There are two major reasons for this:

Security. Connecting remotely can present a serious security hazard. While basic remote connection technology will give some security to protect your business and its data from the sophisticated techniques of modern cybercriminals, you need some extra help. A dedicated remote connection solution like RealVNC has high-quality security features and an on-call security team to keep your connections safe.
Management. Managing a large remote connections infrastructure is difficult, especially if your business operates on a BYOD basis. A wide and varied network of devices connecting from a plethora of locations at different times can get very complicated very quickly. A good remote connection management platform helps to streamline, organize, and generally manage a large and complex remote business network.

What is the difference between RDP and remote desktop connection?

Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) is the technology that allows a user to access a terminal server and/or a computer in a different location.

Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is the proprietary protocol that allows users to connect remotely over a secure network connection.

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4 Reasons Why Internal IT Teams Should Marry Their Remote Access with Remote Management

Nick Cavalancia, 4-time Microsoft MVP — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 10:27:01 +0000

If you’ve worked on or managed a service desk, one of the most used tools today is some form of remote access. It’s the easiest way to help users work through their problems and is the IT embodiment of the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words”. After all, no one in IT wants to work strictly over the phone and try to work through countless screens, commands, etc. All this while constantly having to ask the user: “What do you see now?”

To achieve a positive ROI on the helpdesk, the productivity of the support staff is crucial; it’s one of the reasons you use remote access in the first place.

While remote access provides IT support teams with the needed visibility to solve user problems quickly and efficiently, remote access shouldn’t exist in a silo. It should be used as part of a remote management solution that collects and presents information about the systems being supported to the support staff.

If you’re solely using remote access, you may not see the value of having remote management used in conjunction with remote access. If this is you, let me offer up four reasons why remote management should be a fully integrated part of your remote access support efforts.

1. You can’t manage what you don’t know about

Remote management solutions (in general) maintain an inventory of systems and devices on the network. Sure, your team can always ask a user what their computer name is (or walk them through the steps to find it) and then remotely access it, but in the interest of productivity, wouldn’t it make more sense to, say, simply search for the user’s username, find the machine that has that user logged on, and then do something as simple as right-clicking the machine icon and selecting the remote access option?

And then there are those situations where the problem isn’t the user themselves; they are just the symptom of a larger problem solved by IT needing to remote into a Linux machine or even an IoT device. To fix the issue, you’d need to know where said machine/device is and its’ address, right?

Remote management provides this needed context that takes away the step of IT needing to find the machine to be remotely accessed.

2. Support should look before they leap

Let’s say a user submits a ticket saying their Internet is slow. That’s all you have to go on. The support staff member could remotely access the machine, realize it’s very slow, and figure out it’s a saturated processor or a slow local disk about to die after doing some digging around. Remote management solutions not only inventory but typically come with monitoring of the found systems to establish both a configuration and to provide an up-to-date status on resource usage.

In the same scenario above, the support person could navigate to the user’s endpoint in the remote management solution, see that the processor utilization is at 100% and have a pretty good idea that their trying to remotely access the system is going to be a slow process, and potentially walk the user through killing the responsible process through, say, Task Manager, before using remote access to determine a proper solution (e.g., updating the offending application to the latest version).

3. Remote access isn’t universal

Today’s service desk supports much more than standardized Windows endpoints; you’ve got a mix of MacOS, mobile devices, Chromebooks, tablets, and more. And not all of those varied devices support using the exact same remote access protocol and client. Mature remote management solutions provide access to contextually appropriate remote access tools to enable support staff to follow the same process (that is, find the device, right-click, and select the remote access entry in the menu) without needing to worry themselves with issues like whether they have the right tool, let alone which tool is the right one in the first place.

4. Some things are better handled without remote access

Remote access isn’t always the most efficient way to address problems; in some cases, it’s just an extra step in the process. Take the example of a documented issue in the support desk’s knowledgebase where the answer is to modify a registry entry in the Windows Registry. Let’s assume that, in this example, the problem happens enough that someone has written a script that performs the change. If you could remotely run said script, doesn’t that make remotely accessing the user’s endpoint seem like an unnecessary step? Or what about if the answer is to simply copy an updated version of a given file to the remote endpoint?

Many remote management solutions provide the ability to remotely run commands and scripts in a wide variety of endpoint-supported scripting languages as well as copy files without ever needing to start a remote access session on the user’s endpoint. This is far more efficient and improves the productivity of both the support staff and the user (whose problem is solved sooner without ever needing to stop their work to allow remote control in the first place).

Remote support should include access and management

Every support desk has the same basic goal: to provide fast, efficient support at a cost as low as possible. Remote access certainly has taken service desk materially to that end. The addition of remote management can have the same compounding effect by significantly speeding up the process of finding systems to be remotely supported, determining contextual details that help pinpoint root causes, assisting in connecting using the appropriate method and performing repeated tasks without ever disturbing the user.

If you’re not using remote management as part of your support desk arsenal, I suggest investigating how a solution might be used to improve your team’s service delivery while making everyone’s job a bit easier.

The post 4 Reasons Why Internal IT Teams Should Marry Their Remote Access with Remote Management appeared first on RealVNC®.

Harnessing the Power of RMM to Boost your Bottom Line

RealVNC — Wed, 17 May 2023 07:40:07 +0000

If you are looking for a comprehensive and secure solution to manage your devices, RPort is the perfect choice. With customizable scripts, scheduled commands, and advanced security features all in one place, RPort makes it easier than ever before to manage your devices securely. Stop wasting time juggling multiple tools – let RPort do all the hard work so you can focus on what matters: growing your business.

The post Harnessing the Power of RMM to Boost your Bottom Line appeared first on RealVNC®.

Zero Trust Network Access vs. Remote Access: Which is Right for Your Organization?

Nick Cavalancia, 4-time Microsoft MVP — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 09:51:15 +0000

Every organization is finally getting serious about the security controls in place around their remote access. With RDP access remaining the top initial access vector for ransomware attacks today, it’s necessary for organizations to definitely shift away from RDP – and, perhaps, even reconsider whether the current externally-facing remote access solution you have in place (instead of RDP) is secure enough. Remote access solutions (beyond that of the built-in RDP) exist today, providing organizations with a secure means of remotely accessing systems from a guest device that can exist either within the corporate network or externally across the Internet.

At the same time, organizations are looking to begin their years-long journey toward a state of zero trust – an initiative that Google has been working on since 2011 under the name BeyondCorp. For most organizations, the beginning of their zero trust journey involves implementing one aspect of zero trust – with providing remote access under the lens of zero trust as a viable first step in the form of ZTNA.

But which type of solution is right for your organization?

To answer this, let’s start with a basic definition of both remote access and ZTNA solutions, and then dive into a number of business requirements that are driving you toward the right solution to provide secure remote access.

The three steps, as with any difficult choice, are:

Defining your options
Weighing your options
Choosing the right solution

Defining Your Options

The two solution types, while providing a user with the ability to connect remotely to a corporate system, are very different beasts.

Remote Access solutions are commonly considered as solutions that provide a remote user with an ability to take interactive control of an internal server’s or workstation’s desktop within the organization. Those solutions that are serious about the security of your organization employ a number of security controls around authentication, privilege escalation, and accessibility to internal systems – all in addition to all the great features provided around remote access itself.
ZTNA solutions, according to Gartner, create “an identity- and context-based, logical access boundary around an application or set of applications” (in this case, a remote desktop). They go on to define a part of ZTNA – the broker – whose job it is to “verify the identity, context, and policy adherence of the specified participants before allowing access and prohibit lateral movement elsewhere in the network.” As you can tell, in addition to providing remote connectivity to an internal desktop or other application, ZTNA has some additional security layers of its own.

So, how do you determine which is right for your organization?

Weighing Your Options

Here are a few business requirements presented in the form of questions that can be used to help find the right answer.

Are you wanting to connect securely to both internal and cloud resources?

This is a clear case for ZTNA, as (in general) it provides secure access to both, whereas remote access solutions are designed to connect a user to an endpoint’s desktop. Now, it is possible that the desktops we’re talking about exist in the cloud (and, therefore, even a remote access solution will suffice), so it’s necessary to determine exactly what kinds of resources you want to remotely connect to securely and then compare solutions.

How much security do you actually need?

ZTNA by far will offer more security than any remote access solution on its own. Usually, there’s policy-based access, centralized (usually read as cloud) authentication, and a deeper scrutiny of the user/client combination – as well as other criteria like the presence of antivirus, an up-to-date operating system, and even disk encryption – when making the request for the remote access. While this sounds rather like music to your cybersecurity ears, all of that policy needs to be defined, managed and monitored.

How much productivity do you actually need?

Remote access solutions tend to provide features first designed to improve the user experience of connecting to and interacting with a remote desktop – whereas, ZTNA is far more focused on security features. So, if you have specific remote access needs – for example, improved graphics speed within a session, to allow engineers to work on high-end computer-aided design applications – ZTNA may not have the same performance as a remote access solution.

Do you have the security infrastructure required for ZTNA?

To make ZTNA effective, there’s usually the need for some additional aspects of your network environment to be in place, such as a cloud-based identity management service. For some organizations, this may not be feasible, making a remote access solution that can work with Active Directory (as well as cloud identity providers) a better choice for the immediate timeframe. At the same time, to get an appropriate level of security, even remote access solutions should support multifactor authentication, which would be an additional service.

Is Zero Trust even on the organization’s radar?

It’s worth asking the question. Starting down the path to Zero Trust, while necessary for every organization concerned about the state of their cybersecurity, may not be something the leadership of your organization is ready to take on. Despite only implementing a single solution, it is going to be the catalyst for much more change, which may require more resources and budget than can be allocated.

Choosing the Right Solution

The answer here isn’t entirely clear-cut. Organizations that choose to go with ZTNA are looking to first improve the security of their organization by leveraging zero trust principles in conjunction with their remote access strategy. Those that look for remote access somewhat have the perspective the other way – they are looking for remote access first, and a solution that also provides improved levels of security.

While the lines are blurring a bit across the spectrum of remote access solutions (including ZTNA) available, the right solution is going to be the one that aligns with where your organization stands when balancing the importance of remote access and cybersecurity, as well as has the features desired to improve both user productivity and the organization’s state of cybersecurity.

The post Zero Trust Network Access vs. Remote Access: Which is Right for Your Organization? appeared first on RealVNC®.

The importance digital trust should have to your software provider

Bogdan Bele — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 14:51:32 +0000

Some things to consider when it comes to digital trust:

What is digital trust?
Why is digital trust important to consumers?
How to build digital trust
What makes RealVNC a digital trust leader?
What will the future bring?

What is digital trust?

Organizations which can build digital trust are more likely to see growth rates of at least 10% on their top and bottom lines. This is according to a recent McKinsey Digital survey. However, just a small number of companies in the survey can deliver on that promise. So, what exactly is digital trust? The same source defines digital trust as follows: confidence in an organization to protect consumer data, enact effective cybersecurity, offer trustworthy AI-powered products and services, and provide transparency around AI and data usage. With that definition in mind, let’s take a look at what this means to consumers, especially those of remote access software.

Why is digital trust important to consumers?

Before buying, consumers want to know the company’s data policies (85%) and AI policies (72%). They will also go to another supplier if they don’t know how the company will use their data (46%). So, why is digital trust important and how can it help a consumer decide to use a product or not? Here are some numbers that make this very clear. 53% of consumers will only buy from companies known for protecting consumer data. They will stop doing business with companies that violate their trust – 40% of all respondents and 52% of B2B ones. What’s even more interesting is that this happened more than you’d imagine. Just in the last year, one in ten respondents did this. In the case of 14%, it was due to disagreeing principles; 10% did it after finding out about a breach. So, knowing this and the prevalence of attacks like ransomware, do companies make sure that digital trust is a given when it comes to their services? Well, they certainly think they do. And so do consumers, unfortunately. 77% of the latter believe that they’re taking appropriate data protection measures. Confidence grows as age decreases, and so does the likelihood of storing data online. As shown in one of our recent webinars, though, humans are usually the weakest link in the authentication chain.

How to build digital trust

Also, many companies claim that they’re doing a good job when it comes to avoiding digital risks. Namely, almost 90% of companies think of themselves as “at least somewhat effective” at this. However, many don’t seem to really know how to build digital trust. Three-quarters of responding ones do have policies on handling sensitive data. Almost all even have a moderate degree of confidence that employees follow them. Also, less than a quarter are mitigating many digital risks. However, this confidence seems even less founded when it comes to actual incidents. More than half of executives responding admit that their company has suffered at least one data breach in the past three years. There is a strong correlation between digital trust and data breaches. Digital trust leaders are less likely to suffer negative incidents. The same study has found that their chances to have revenue and EBIT increases over 10% are 1.6 times more.

What makes RealVNC a digital trust leader?

At RealVNC, we build software with security at its heart, starting with a shift-left development approach. This means that our four security principles are at the heart of everything we do. These principles are as follows:

You don’t have to trust RealVNC as a company to trust our software and services.
We do not record your sessions, and data cannot be decrypted now or in the future.
Every connection is treated as though it is made in a hostile environment.
The owner of the remote computer ultimately decides who can connect.

Looking at the data above, one thing stands out. Namely, a lot of companies claim they’re secure. Very few can prove that they’re doing something about it.

To do our part, we’ve challenged customers to ask their software providers to prove their security. And to show that for us security and trust are not empty words, we’ve opened our doors to a comprehensive white-box security audit by Cure53.

The respected German cybersecurity firm’s report has proved our strong security stance. You can look at a summary here.

What will the future bring?

RealVNC will continue to work towards the most secure remote access solution possible. At the same time, we’ll continue to ask for more, not just from remote access providers, but from every company that handles their data. And this is in the hope of a future in which digital trust will mean more to companies than some nice-sounding words.

And you don’t need to take our word for it. Get a free VNC Connect trial and see for yourself!

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