What is the best personal firewall software to use in combination with XP’s Remote Desktop feature, and how do you configure it to allow Remote Desktop connections?
I gave Zone Alarm a shot, but was unable to remotely connect to my home PC from work. Do I need to configure something to get it to work? How about one of the other firewall packages out there, such as Norton’s and Tiny’s?
My goal is to be able to have a personal firewall that allows Remote Desktop connections
I believe that XP’s built-in firewall allows RD connections by default IF you have the “Allow users to connect remotely to this computer” box checked in system properties…
Thanks for the info, but from what I’ve heard, XP’s built in firewall is a joke.
Zone Alarm is one of the best (if not the best) personal firewalls for its price (free!), so I would stick with it. It sounds like you need to set the permissions for Remote Desktop on your home computer.
You don’t mention what version you’re running, but on the left-hand menu there should be a tab called “Program Control”. Select that, and then select the “Programs” tab in the upper-right corner. You’ll see a list of programs that have been given/denied access to your computer. Scroll down to Remote Desktop, and make sure there are four check marks next to it (two for access, two for server). If those aren’t checked, then Zone Alarm won’t allow Remote Desktop to accept connections from or make connections to other computers.
Also, make sure you disable XP’s personal firewall on your home computer. It tends to block Remote Desktop connections.
jmizzou,
I just re-installed the trial version 3.1.395 of Zone Alarm Pro, and when I go to the program tab, there are only 3 programs in the list. Looks like I need to manually add it. When I try to add it manually, it opens a dialog in the Program Files folder looking for executable files to add to the list. Which file runs the Remote Desktop service? Since you seem to have it in your list, maybe you could give me the path and that will work.
Thanks.
In case it wasn’t clear, Zone Alarm is running on my home PC (the remote desktop server), not on my work PC (the remote desktop client). The goal is to access my home PC, which has the firewall software, from work via Remote Desktop.
I figured out how to open port 3389 in Zone Alarm. That’s the port Remote Desktop uses. I guess I’ll give it a shot with that port open tomorrow at work. I’ll let you all know if that did the trick.
Opening port 3389 in Zone Alarm did the trick, as I am typing this message on my home PC from work. 
How safe is it to leave this port open?
As long as you have a good, strong password on Remote Desktop, you don’t have too much to worry about. Leaving a port open isn’t always a good idea, but since Zone Alarm closes off all of the other ports, it’s not a bad trade-off.