By Hester / Last Updated November 1, 2022

Does remote desktop show screen on host?

 

My local computer is Windows 10, and I'm going to connect to my office computer, Win 7, with Remote Desktop via VPN. I don't want people at the office to be able to see what I'm doing. Can my company see my remote desktop?”

- Question from Kiely

What is Remote Access

Does remote desktop show screen on host? It depends on the program you are using. If you are using Microsoft Remote Desktop, the host screen is locked and it will show who is logged in remotely. If you are using other tool like Remote Assistance, both devices are seeing the same host screen by default.

Here in this post, we will introduce how to remotely access another computer with/without locking the host screen.

How to remote desktop with/without locking host screen [2 cases]

How to remotely view another computer's screen or remote control another PC? In this part, we will introduce remote access tools in two different cases, choose one according to your demand.

Case 1. Remote desktop with host screen locked

Does remote desktop show screen on host? The answer is no if you are using Microsoft Remote Desktop. The host screen will be locked during an RDP connection, which is convenient if you don’t want others to see what you are doing on the remote computer.

Note:
  • RDP does not support Windows Home/Standard as the server side.
  • Port forwarding or VPN set up is required when running RDP over the Internet.

Step 1. On the host PC, navigate to Settings > System > Remote Desktop, turn On Remote Desktop and click Confirm.

Enable Remote Desktop

Step 2. Launch Control Panel and navigate to System and Security > Windows Defender Firewall > allowed apps, then tick Remote Desktop.

Tick Remote Deskop

Step 3. On the client PC, press Win + R and input “mstsc”.

Run Box mstsc

Step 4. Input the IP address and username of the host PC, then click Connect.

General Tab

Step 5. Enter the password and click OK if prompted.

Enter Your Credentials

Now you can control the host PC successfully, and the host screen shows the following interface:

RDP Host Screen

Case 2. Remote access without locking the host screen

For remote support or remote teamwork, it is better to see the host screen on both sides. In this case, we recommend you use professional remote access software AnyViewer to perform remote tasks without locking the host screen.

It won’t compulsorily lock the host screen in a remote session, if you want, you can also black the host screen/disable the host mouse and keyboard manually.
It is easy to operate in all network conditions.
It is compatible with Windows (including Windows Home/Standard), Android, and iOS, which means you can also remote control Windows PC from Android or iOS devices.
It offers several built-in features in a remote session, for example, chat box, change resolution, change image quality, etc.
It supports one-click unattended remote access, multiple sessions, etc.
Download Freeware Win 11/10/8.1/8/7
Secure Download

Download and install AnyViewer on both of your devices, then let’s walk through how to establish a remote connection.

Step 1. Launch AnyViewer on the host PC. In the Log in interface, click Sign up. (log in directly if you have already signed up).

Log in AnyViewer

Step 2. Fill in the sign-up information.

Sign Up for AnyViewer

Step 3. When you log in to AnyViewer successfully, you can see your assigned devices.

Free Editions

Step 4. On the client PC, launch AnyViewer and log in to the same account. Go to Device, select the target PC and click One-click control to achieve unattended remote access.

Connect to My Devices

Tip: AnyViewer also allows you to choose Connect in privacy mode on the Device interface, which can protect your data and privacy sufficiently during the remote session by blackening the remote PC and disabling the remote keyboard/mouse.

Now you can remote control the host PC. If you don’t want others to see what you are doing on the computer, you can click Operation from the upper toolbar to Black the screen of the recipient.

Operation

Notes:✎...
You can also upgrade to a Professional or Enterprise plan to enjoy the following rights:
Assign more devices to achieve remote connections.
Enjoy more concurrent connections. Only 2 channels are allowed for free and professional use, therefore, we recommend you upgrade to the enterprise version to enjoy 10 concurrent connections.
Establish a remote connection in privacy mode to strongly protect your data and privacy.
Transfer unlimited files at once at a higher speed of up to 10 MB/s.

The bottom line

Now you can get the answer to “Does remote desktop show screen on host?” It depends on the remote desktop program you are using. In this post, we also discuss how to perform remote desktop with/without locking the host screen. And we recommend you use AnyViewer, which satisfies both conditions.