Remote administration refers to any method of controlling a

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

from a remote location. Software that allows remote administration is becoming increasingly common and is often used when it is difficult or impractical to be physically near a system in order to use it. A remote location may refer to a computer in the next room or one on the other side of the world. It may also refer to both legal and illegal (i.e. hacking) remote administration (see Owned and

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...

Requirements

Internet connection

Any computer with an

Internet connection Internet access is the ability of individuals and organizations to connect to the Internet using computer terminals, computers, and other devices; and to access services such as email and the World Wide Web. Internet access is sold by Internet ...

, TCP/ IP or on a

Local Area Network A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, school, laboratory, university campus or office building. By contrast, a wide area network (WAN) not only covers a larger ...

can be remotely administered. For non-malicious administration, the user must install or enable server software on the host system in order to be viewed. Then the user/client can access the host system from another

using the installed

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

. Usually, both systems should be connected to the internet, and the

IP address An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.. Updated by . An IP address serves two main functions: network interface ident ...

of the host/server system must be known. Remote administration is therefore less practical if the host uses a dial-up

modem A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...

, which is not constantly online and often has a

Dynamic IP An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.. Updated by . An IP address serves two main functions: network interface ident ...

Connecting

When the client connects to the host computer, a window showing the

Desktop A desktop traditionally refers to: * The surface of a desk (often to distinguish office appliances that fit on a desk, such as photocopiers and printers, from larger equipment covering its own area on the floor) Desktop may refer to various compu ...

of the host usually appears. The client may then control the host as if he/she were sitting right in front of it.

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

has a built-in remote administration package called

Remote Desktop Connection Remote Desktop Services (RDS), known as Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 and earlier, is one of the components of Microsoft Windows that allow a user to initiate and control an interactive session on a remote computer or virtual machine ...

. A free cross-platform alternative is

VNC Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is a graphical desktop-sharing system that uses the Remote Frame Buffer protocol (RFB) to remotely control another computer. It transmits the keyboard and mouse input from one computer to another, relaying the g ...

, which offers similar functionality.

Common tasks for which remote administration is used

Shutdown

* Shutting down or rebooting another computer over a

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

Accessing peripherals

* Using a network device, like printer * Retrieving streaming data, much like a

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

system

Modifying

* Editing another computer's

Registry Registry may refer to: Computing * Container registry, an operating-system-level virtualization registry * Domain name registry, a database of top-level internet domain names * Local Internet registry * Metadata registry, information system for re ...

settings * Modifying system services * Installing software on another machine * Modifying logical groups

Viewing

* Remotely assisting others * Supervising computer or internet usage * Access to a remote system's " Computer Management" snap-in

Hacking

Computers infected with malware such as

Trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * '' Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...

sometimes open back doors into computer systems which allows malicious users to hack into and control the computer. Such users may then add, delete, modify or execute files on the computer to their own ends.

Notable software

Windows

Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2003 is the sixth version of Windows Server operating system produced by Microsoft. It is part of the Windows NT family of operating systems and was released to manufacturing on March 28, 2003 and generally available on April 24, 2 ...

, 2008,

Tablet PC A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...

Editions, and

Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...

Ultimate, Enterprise and Business editions come with Microsoft's

Microsoft Management Console Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is a component of Microsoft Windows that provides system administrators and advanced users an interface for configuring and monitoring the system. It was first introduced in 1998 with the Option Pack for Window ...

Windows Registry The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores low-level settings for the Microsoft Windows operating system and for applications that opt to use the registry. The kernel, device drivers, services, Security Accounts Manager, and ...

Editor and various

command-line utilities A console application is a computer program designed to be used via a text-only computer interface, such as a text terminal, the command-line interface of some operating systems (Unix, DOS, etc.) or the text-based interface included with most gr ...

that may be used to administrate a remote machine. One form of remote administration is

remote desktop software In computing, the term remote desktop refers to a software- or operating system feature that allows a personal computer's desktop environment to be run remotely off of one system (usually a PC, but the concept applies equally to a server or a ...

, and Windows includes a

client for this purpose.

Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...

comes with a built-in remote administration tools called Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop, these are restricted versions of the

Terminal Services meant only for helping users and remote administration. With a simple hack/patch (derived from the beta version of

) it's possible to "unlock" XP to a fully featured Terminal Server.

comes with built-in remote administration tools, including a

web application A web application (or web app) is application software that is accessed using a web browser. Web applications are delivered on the World Wide Web to users with an active network connection. History In earlier computing models like client-serv ...

and a simplified version of

Terminal Services Remote Desktop Services (RDS), known as Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 and earlier, is one of the components of Microsoft Windows that allow a user to initiate and control an interactive session on a remote computer or virtual machine ...

designed for Remote administration.

Active Directory Active Directory (AD) is a directory service developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks. It is included in most Windows Server operating systems as a set of Process (computing), processes and Windows service, services. Initially, Active D ...

and other features found in

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

Windows NT Windows NT is a proprietary graphical operating system produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released on July 27, 1993. It is a processor-independent, multiprocessing and multi-user operating system. The first version of Win ...

Domains allow for remote administration of computers that are members of the domain, including editing the

and modifying system services and access to the system's "Computer Management"

snap-in. Some third-party

programs perform the same job.

Back Orifice Back Orifice (often shortened to BO) is a computer program designed for remote administration, remote system administration. It enables a user to control a computer running the Microsoft Windows operating system from a remote location.Richtel, M ...

, whilst commonly used as a

script kiddie A script kiddie, skiddie, kiddie, or skid is an unskilled individual who uses scripts or programs developed by others, primarily for malicious purposes. Characteristics In a Carnegie Mellon report prepared for the U.K. Department of Defense in 2 ...

tool, claims to be a remote-administration and system management tool. Critics have previously stated that the capabilities of the software require a very loose definition of what "administration" entails. Remote Server Administration Tools for

Windows 7 Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...

enables IT administrators to manage roles and features that are installed on remote computers that are running

Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2008 is the fourth release of the Windows Server operating system produced by Microsoft as part of the Windows NT family of the operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, and generally to retail on F ...

Non-Windows

can be used for remote administration of

s, however it is increasingly being used as an equivalent of

and Remote Desktop Protocol for multi-user environments.

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...

UNIX Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...

and

BSD The Berkeley Software Distribution or Berkeley Standard Distribution (BSD) is a discontinued operating system based on Research Unix, developed and distributed by the Computer Systems Research Group (CSRG) at the University of California, Berk ...

support remote administration via remote login, typically via

SSH The Secure Shell Protocol (SSH) is a cryptographic network protocol for operating network services securely over an unsecured network. Its most notable applications are remote login and command-line execution. SSH applications are based on ...

(The use of the

Telnet Telnet is an application protocol used on the Internet or local area network to provide a bidirectional interactive text-oriented communication facility using a virtual terminal connection. User data is interspersed in-band with Telnet contr ...

protocol has been phased out due to security concerns). X-server connection forwarding, often tunneled over SSH for security, allows

GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

programs to be used remotely. VNC is also available for these operating systems.

Apple Remote Desktop Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) is a Macintosh application produced by Apple Inc., first released on March 14, 2002, that replaced a similar product called ''Apple Network Assistant''. Aimed at computer administrators responsible for large numbers of ...

provides

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

users with remote administration capabilities. NX and its Google fork

Neatx Neatx is an open-source NX server based on NoMachine's NX technology. It is created by Google. Neatx is written mostly in Python, with the exception of very few wrapper scripts in bash and one program written in C. Neatx is free and open-source so ...

are free graphical Desktop sharing solutions for the X Window System with Clients for different platforms like Linux, Windows and Mac OS X. There is also an enhanced commercial version of NX Server available.

Wireless remote administration

Remote administration software has recently started to appear on

wireless devices Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

such as the

BlackBerry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy ...

, Pocket PC, and

Palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

devices, as well as some

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

s. Generally these solutions do not provide the full remote access seen on

such as

, but do allow

administrators Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * ...

to perform a variety of tasks, such as rebooting computers, resetting

password A password, sometimes called a passcode (for example in Apple devices), is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of ...

s, and viewing system event logs, thus reducing or even eliminating the need for system administrators to carry a laptop or be within reach of the office. Wireless remote administration is usually the only method to maintain man-made objects in space. {{remote administration software Internet Protocol based network software Remote administration software System administration