computer science

List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients

List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients rather than just read about it. In short: Remote Desktop Protocol clients allow users to connect to servers running Remote Desktop Services, Azure Virtual Desktop, or non-Microsoft server software to enable remote desktop functionality. Since the release of Remote Desktop Connection, there have been several additional Remote Desktop Protocol clients created by both Microsoft and other parties.

Key takeaways

List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Remote Desktop Protocol clients allow users to connect to servers running Remote Desktop Services, Azure Virtual Desktop, or non-Microsoft server software to enable remote desktop functionality. Since the release of Remote Desktop Connection, there have been several additional Remote Desktop Protocol clients created by both Microsoft and other parties.

By Microsoft

Remote Desktop Connection Remote Desktop Connection (RDC, also called Remote Desktop or just RD) is the client application for RDS. The program has the filename mstsc.exe and in Windows 2000 and prior, it was known as Microsoft Terminal Services Client (MSTSC or tsclient). It allows a user to remotely log into a networked computer running the Remote Desktop Services. RDC presents the desktop interface (or application GUI) of the remote system, as if it were accessed locally. In addition to regular username/password for authorizing for the remote session, RDC also supports using smart cards for authorization. Although replacements have been released, as of the release of the Windows App, Remote Desktop Connection is still recommended for use. RDC 6.0 was released as part of Windows Vista. With RDC 6.0, the resolution of a remote session can be set independently of the settings at the remote computer. If the Desktop Experience component is plugged into the remote server, remote application user interface elements (e.g., application windows borders, Maximize, Minimize, and Close buttons etc.) will take on the same appearance of local applications. In this scenario, the remote applications will use the Aero theme if the user connects to the server from a Windows Vista machine running Aero. Later versions of the protocol also support rendering the UI in full 32-bit color, as well as resource redirection for printers, COM ports, disk drives, mice and keyboards. With resource redirection, remote applications can use the resources of the local computer. Audio is also redirected, so that any sounds generated by a remote application are played back at the client system. Moreover, a remote session can also span multiple monitors at the client system, independent of the multi-monitor settings at the server. RDC can also be used to connect to Windows Media Center (WMC) remote sessions; however, since WMC does not stream video using RDP, only the applications can be viewed this way, not any media. RDC prioritizes UI data as well as keyboard and mouse inputs, as opposed to print jobs or file transfers. so as to make the applications more responsive. It redirects plug and play devices such as cameras, portable music players, and scanners, so that input from these devices can be used by the remote applications as well. RDC can also be used to connect to computers which are exposed via Windows Home Server RDP Gateway over the Internet. Finally, few shortcuts that will be handy

To achieve Ctrl+Alt+Del effect on remote desktop, you can use the Ctrl+Alt+End key combination. To alternate between the full screen and window mode of remote desktop, you can use Ctrl+Alt+Break ( Ctrl+Fn+Alt+⇧ Shift on certain HP laptops).

Microsoft Remote Desktop

Microsoft Remote Desktop, also called Remote Desktop, is a modern client for RDS released in September 2012. Compared to the older Remote Desktop Connection, the program offers a touch-friendly interface. It allows users to connect to remote PCs, RemoteApp programs, session-based desktops, and virtual desktops. The program is available on Windows as a Universal Windows Platform on the Microsoft Store, MacOS as Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac, Android, iOS, iPadOS, and on all platforms as a web client. The Windows version of the app is no longer being updated with new features or support for Azure Virtual Desktop. Instead, Azure users are recommend to use the Remote Desktop client for Windows. In April 2025, Microsoft announced that support for Remote Desktop app ended on May 27, 2025, urging users to transition to its successor, the Windows App.

Web client In late 2018 Microsoft released an HTML5 web client for Microsoft Remote Desktop. The client allows users to connect to their remote apps or to their remote desktops without using an installed remote desktop client. It is one of the components of Microsoft Windows that allow a user to initiate and control an interactive session. The web client uses the TLS secured port 443 and does not use the RD Gateway to transport traffic, instead relying solely on the remote desktop session host aspect of remote desktop services. As of today there are several companies that offer a browser-based RDP client that allow remote desktop access via any modern web browser, eliminating the need for local client software. Thincast provides an HTML5-based RD WebClient for seamless access to Windows desktops and apps. Apache Guacamole is a popular open-source option supporting RDP, VNC, and SSH. Other notable solutions include Chrome Remote Desktop, Ericom AccessNow or TSPLus.

Remote Desktop client for Windows The Remote Desktop client for Windows (MSRDC), branded as Microsoft Remote Desktop and Azure Virtual Desktop if installed from the Microsoft Store, is a client that uses the Remote Desktop Protocol to allow users to connect to Azure Virtual Desktops on feeds made available by enterprise administrators. The program can be downloaded as an MSI installer as Remote Desktop or from the Microsoft Store as Azure Virtual Desktop. In contrast with Microsoft Remote Desktop and like the older Remote Desktop Connection program, MSRDC allows for the redirection of local USB and serial devices. MSRDC is also used by Windows Subsystem for Linux to display programs with a graphical user interface.

In May 2025, Microsoft announced that support for MSRDC ended on March 27, 2026 and replaced by the Windows App. However, the product continues to receive security updates as of August 2026.

Windows App The Windows App is a Remote Desktop Protocol client that allows users to connect to Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop, and Microsoft Dev Box instances. Additionally, on non-Windows platforms excluding the browser, the Windows App allows users to connect to servers running Remote Desktop Services and remote PCs. On Windows, Microsoft advises users to use Remote Desktop Connection to connect to remote PCs and Remote Desktop client for Windows to connect to Remote Desktop Services. The app is available on Windows, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Android, ChromeOS, and through web browsers.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients

In research: List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Lists of software, Remote desktop, Windows components, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients in simple terms?

Why does List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of Remote Desktop Protocol clients.