Local Remote Desktop, no Remote Web?

Hi all, here is my situation:

At my workplace, our boss desires that we not have passwords for our user
accounts. We have a few employees who work remotely from home. The approach
I have been looking at is to create an account with a password to connect to
Remote Web Workplace, where they could connect to their computer, and then
login with their local cridentials. At this time, I am unable to find a
setup that will allow this. It seems that if a user is not a member of the
Remote Web Workplace Users group, they are not able to use any remote
features. But if I make users a member of that group, they are able to
connect via the web with no password. IP filtering is not an option, because
of users with Dynamic IP connections at home.

Hi John,
You could set up a VPN from home to office, then they could still use a
blank password.
Anthony,
http://www.airdesk.co.uk



"John Baumann" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi all, here is my situation:
>
> At my workplace, our boss desires that we not have passwords for our user
> accounts. We have a few employees who work remotely from home. The
> approach I have been looking at is to create an account with a password to
> connect to Remote Web Workplace, where they could connect to their
> computer, and then login with their local cridentials. At this time, I am
> unable to find a setup that will allow this. It seems that if a user is
> not a member of the Remote Web Workplace Users group, they are not able to
> use any remote features. But if I make users a member of that group, they
> are able to connect via the web with no password. IP filtering is not an
> option, because of users with Dynamic IP connections at home.
>

John Baumann <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Hi all, here is my situation:
>
> At my workplace, our boss desires that we not have passwords for our
> user accounts. We have a few employees who work remotely from home.
> The approach I have been looking at is to create an account with a
> password to connect to Remote Web Workplace, where they could connect
> to their computer, and then login with their local cridentials. At
> this time, I am unable to find a setup that will allow this. It seems
> that if a user is not a member of the Remote Web Workplace Users
> group, they are not able to use any remote features.

Right.

> But if I make
> users a member of that group, they are able to connect via the web
> with no password.

Eh? Connect to what? Not a TS box, not Remote Desktop to a workstation.....

> IP filtering is not an option, because of users
> with Dynamic IP connections at home.

To be blunt, this is an insane idea.

By default, you can't connect to any Windows box via Remote Desktop unless
you have a password...VPN won't help out at all there. This is a
built-inWindows restriction, and it's there for a very good reason.

If you have any inbound connectivity permitted to your network *at all* you
need a good password policy, and that includes a minimum pw length (I
recommend 8), and regular forced changes. It doesn't matter if everyone in
the company is sweetness and light personified, without a malicious bone in
his/her body. Explain this to your boss. What is the reason he doesn't want
passwords? Doesn't he care if someone opens his mailbox and starts snooping
around, deleting mail, sending mail out pretending to be him? Remember, this
doesn't have to be someone in your office! There are a lot of bored
teenagers out there on the internet.

Remember, passwords can be passphrases...and can have spaces in them to make
them easier to remember.

Sadistic network admin!

is a very good password, for example.

I know how important passwords and such are - I was one of those bored
teenagers some years ago. I was only ever a novice at that time imo, but it
was all in good fun. I guess all I really can do is to convince them that
passwords are a good idea, though that was my first suggestion when I was
hired. They claim that it somehow worked before with the setup I described
of separate user accounts. Personally, I feel they were told that it worked
as said by some idiot, when in reality this has been the ultimate in
security vulnerability for some time.

"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"
<(E-Mail Removed) hoo.com> wrote in message
news:elrbL$(E-Mail Removed)...
> John Baumann <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> Hi all, here is my situation:
>>
>> At my workplace, our boss desires that we not have passwords for our
>> user accounts. We have a few employees who work remotely from home.
>> The approach I have been looking at is to create an account with a
>> password to connect to Remote Web Workplace, where they could connect
>> to their computer, and then login with their local cridentials. At
>> this time, I am unable to find a setup that will allow this. It seems
>> that if a user is not a member of the Remote Web Workplace Users
>> group, they are not able to use any remote features.
>
> Right.
>
>> But if I make
>> users a member of that group, they are able to connect via the web
>> with no password.
>
> Eh? Connect to what? Not a TS box, not Remote Desktop to a
> workstation.....
>
>> IP filtering is not an option, because of users
>> with Dynamic IP connections at home.
>
> To be blunt, this is an insane idea.
>
> By default, you can't connect to any Windows box via Remote Desktop unless
> you have a password...VPN won't help out at all there. This is a
> built-inWindows restriction, and it's there for a very good reason.
>
> If you have any inbound connectivity permitted to your network *at all*
> you need a good password policy, and that includes a minimum pw length (I
> recommend 8), and regular forced changes. It doesn't matter if everyone in
> the company is sweetness and light personified, without a malicious bone
> in his/her body. Explain this to your boss. What is the reason he doesn't
> want passwords? Doesn't he care if someone opens his mailbox and starts
> snooping around, deleting mail, sending mail out pretending to be him?
> Remember, this doesn't have to be someone in your office! There are a lot
> of bored teenagers out there on the internet.
>
> Remember, passwords can be passphrases...and can have spaces in them to
> make them easier to remember.
>
> Sadistic network admin!
>
> is a very good password, for example.
>
>

John Baumann <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> I know how important passwords and such are - I was one of those bored
> teenagers some years ago. I was only ever a novice at that time imo,
> but it was all in good fun. I guess all I really can do is to
> convince them that passwords are a good idea, though that was my
> first suggestion when I was hired. They claim that it somehow worked
> before with the setup I described of separate user accounts.
> Personally, I feel they were told that it worked as said by some
> idiot, when in reality this has been the ultimate in security
> vulnerability for some time.

Likely....do your best to help them see reason. If they insist, write up
some official looking document that includes what you proposed, what they
declined, and that you will not be held responsible for damages incurred by
yaddayaddayadda, and ask your boss to sign it.
>
> "Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"
> <(E-Mail Removed) hoo.com> wrote in
> message news:elrbL$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> John Baumann <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>> Hi all, here is my situation:
>>>
>>> At my workplace, our boss desires that we not have passwords for our
>>> user accounts. We have a few employees who work remotely from home.
>>> The approach I have been looking at is to create an account with a
>>> password to connect to Remote Web Workplace, where they could
>>> connect to their computer, and then login with their local
>>> cridentials. At this time, I am unable to find a setup that will
>>> allow this. It seems that if a user is not a member of the Remote
>>> Web Workplace Users group, they are not able to use any remote
>>> features.
>>
>> Right.
>>
>>> But if I make
>>> users a member of that group, they are able to connect via the web
>>> with no password.
>>
>> Eh? Connect to what? Not a TS box, not Remote Desktop to a
>> workstation.....
>>
>>> IP filtering is not an option, because of users
>>> with Dynamic IP connections at home.
>>
>> To be blunt, this is an insane idea.
>>
>> By default, you can't connect to any Windows box via Remote Desktop
>> unless you have a password...VPN won't help out at all there. This
>> is a built-inWindows restriction, and it's there for a very good
>> reason. If you have any inbound connectivity permitted to your network
>> *at
>> all* you need a good password policy, and that includes a minimum pw
>> length (I recommend 8), and regular forced changes. It doesn't
>> matter if everyone in the company is sweetness and light
>> personified, without a malicious bone in his/her body. Explain this
>> to your boss. What is the reason he doesn't want passwords? Doesn't
>> he care if someone opens his mailbox and starts snooping around,
>> deleting mail, sending mail out pretending to be him? Remember, this
>> doesn't have to be someone in your office! There are a lot of bored
>> teenagers out there on the internet. Remember, passwords can be
>> passphrases...and can have spaces in them
>> to make them easier to remember.
>>
>> Sadistic network admin!
>>
>> is a very good password, for example.