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Newguy 123

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build a home lab environment and securely being able to rdp to the server(s)

Hello Experts, i recently purchased a used server for building a home lab environment. i would like to install win 7 professional as the servers main OS, then install vmware workstation for my virtual machines for sharepoint, exchange, AD practice. I know i can set up remote access to this server by allowing rdp access from my home router (configuring port forwarding), then rdp from public internet using my home servers public IP. I've already tried this and the server was infected with ransomware. Can anybody tell me how i can make this as secure as possible while on a budget?
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Lee W, MVP
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Yep, Window Server, HyperV edition and ESXi are both available FREE, so would be silly to install Windows 7 and VMware workstation.

IF you open RDP to the outside world, in a day or a week or a month, script kiddies will find it and you will be hammered with attempts at guessing your password. If you have a weak password it will probably be found, if not you will start have account lockouts. Even wth strong passwords, you really need to either restrict incoming connection to a couple of IP addresses you know, or run a VPN.

Most server class machines also have an inbuilt SD card reader, I would advise booting HyperV or ESXi from this, rather than the main drive arrays.  


https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-hyper-v-server-2016