Just Browsing with Win 2003 HTML Remote Administration - Page 2
When you first connect to the server, you'll see the screen show in Figure 1. This Welcome screen provides links to a number of the more commonly performed administrative tasks. You can configure the Web site to either show this Welcome page by default, or the Status page, which provides information on the current state of the server such as pending information alerts or warnings.
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Also on the Maintenance screen is a shortcut for a Web based Remote Desktop feature. This uses a Microsoft provided ActiveX (define) control that allows complete access to the Server Desktop. In reality, this one single feature, shown in Figure 3, renders all of the other features in the HTML Remote Administration Tools obsolete, but it negates the benefit of having a basic set of tools easily available through a simple to use interface. Note, however, that you must have enabled Remote Desktop access (Start, Control Panel, System, Remote, Allow users to connect to this computer remotely) for this feature to work.
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A Word About Security
With any kind of remote administration tool, security should be a major concern. There are some basic precautions you can take to secure the HTML Remote Administration tools such only allowing secure (HTTPS) connections to the administration Web site. You can also specify an IP address from which all remote administration requests should originate. This can be configured from within the HTML Remote Administration Tools, or through the IIS Manager MMC. It almost goes without saying that allowing access to any remote administration tool through a firewall connected to the Internet is not ideal. If you do have the need to create remote administration capabilities from the Internet, it is worth considering a more robust solution such as Terminal Services. You should also consider additional security measures such as advanced authentication and encryption.