How to disable Remote Desktop on Windows 11

On Windows 11, if you don’t use Remote Desktop, it’s best to disable the feature to minimize the risk of malicious individuals gaining unauthorized access to your computer remotely. It’s not an easy task, but it could happen.

Remote Desktop allows anyone with the right user and password to access a computer from another location using the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to access files and applications or offer assistance to other users. Although the feature is relatively secure, if your account credentials are compromised, someone may be able to access the device without your consent. If you don’t use the feature, disabling it is always recommended.

This guide will teach you how to disable Remote Desktop on Windows 11.

Disable Remote Desktop on Windows 11

On Windows 11, you can disable the Remote Desktop feature from the Settings app, Control Panel, and commands from PowerShell and Command Prompt.

From Settings

To disable Remote Desktop on Windows 11 from the Settings app, use these steps:

1. Open Settings on Windows 11.

2. Click on System.

3. Click the Remote Desktop page.

   

4. Turn off the Remote Desktop toggle switch.

   

5. Click the Confirm button.

From Control Panel

To disable Remote Desktop from Control Panel, use these steps:

1. Open Control Panel.

2. Click on System and Security.

3. Under the “System” section, click the Allow remote access option.

   

4. Under the “Remote Desktop” section, select the “Don’t allow remote connections to this computer” option.

   

5. Click the Apply button.

6. Click the OK button.

From Command Prompt

To disable the remote desktop protocol from Command Prompt, use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the following command to enable the remote desktop protocol and press Enter:

   reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server" /v fDenyTSConnections /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

   

4. (Optional) Type the following command to disable the feature through the Windows Firewall and press Enter:

   netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="remote desktop" new enable=No

From PowerShell

To disable Remote Desktop with PowerShell commands, use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the following command to disable the remote desktop protocol and press Enter:

   Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server' -name "fDenyTSConnections" -value 1

   

4. (Optional) Type the following command to disable the feature through the Windows Firewall and press Enter: 

   Disable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Remote Desktop"

Once you complete the steps, the Remote Desktop feature will disable on Windows 11.