How to Change Your RDP Password on Windows Server

How to Change Your RDP Password on Windows Server

If you run a remote desktop server, rotating the RDP password regularly is one of the cheapest security wins available. Here are four ways to do it from inside an active session.

Method 1: Ctrl+Alt+End

Inside an RDP session, Ctrl+Alt+Del is captured by your local machine. To send it to the remote server, use Ctrl+Alt+End instead:

1. With the Remote Desktop window focused, press Ctrl + Alt + End
2. Click Change a password
3. Type your current password in the Old password field
4. Type the new password in the New password field
5. Repeat it in Confirm password
6. Press Enter or click the arrow button

💡 If the key combination is awkward on your keyboard, the On-Screen Keyboard works just as well: Start → Accessories → On-Screen Keyboard

Method 2: Computer Management

1. Right click the Start menu → Computer Management
2. In the left pane go to Local Users and Groups → Users
3. Right click the user you want to change
4. Click Set Password
5. Click Proceed
6. Enter and confirm the new password

Method 3: PowerShell

Changing the Current User’s Password

# Change the password for the current user
$NewPassword = Read-Host -AsSecureString "Enter the new password"
Set-LocalUser -Name "Administrator" -Password $NewPassword

One Line Version

# Set the Administrator password directly
net user Administrator "YourNewStrongPassword123!"

Changing Another User’s Password

# Change the password for a specific user
net user UserName "NewPassword123!"

Method 4: Command Prompt

:: Change a password
net user Administrator *
 
:: This prompts you to type the new password twice

Rules for a Strong Password

For a Windows Server account:

Examples

✅ W4!te_B1l1s!m_2026#Srv
✅ Sunucu$Guvenligi_99!Abc
✅ MyS3rv3r#Is$Pr0tected!!

❌ 123456
❌ password
❌ admin123

Setting a Password Policy

Through Group Policy

1. Win + R → type gpedit.msc
2. Computer Configuration → Windows Settings → Security Settings → Account Policies → Password Policy
3. Configure these settings:

Through PowerShell

# Minimum password length
net accounts /minpwlen:12
 
# Maximum password age (90 days)
net accounts /maxpwage:90
 
# Password history (the last 5 cannot be reused)
net accounts /uniquepw:5

Extra RDP Hardening

1. Change the Default RDP Port

# Change the RDP port to 13389
Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp' -Name "PortNumber" -Value 13389
 
# Add a firewall rule for the new port
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Custom RDP Port" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 13389 -Action Allow
 
# Restart the server
Restart-Computer

2. Enable Network Level Authentication

# Enable NLA
Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp' -Name "UserAuthentication" -Value 1

3. Set an Account Lockout Policy

# Lock the account for 30 minutes after 5 failed attempts
net accounts /lockoutthreshold:5
net accounts /lockoutduration:30
net accounts /lockoutwindow:30

🔒 Every White Bilişim VDS plan includes DDoS protection. Combine that with the settings above and your RDP surface gets very hard to reach.

Common Problems

Ctrl+Alt+End Does Nothing

• Make sure the RDP window is in full screen mode
• Some keyboards require the Fn key alongside it
• Fall back to the On-Screen Keyboard from the Start menu

“The password does not meet the requirements”

• Check that the password satisfies the complexity rules
• Make sure it is different from your previous password
• Check the minimum length requirement

I Cannot Connect After Changing the Password

• Clear the saved password in your RDP client
• Delete the old credentials from Windows Credential Manager

Conclusion

Rotating the RDP password is a basic but genuinely effective habit. Pair it with a strong password, a non default port and an account lockout policy, and brute force attacks stop being a realistic threat.

👉 For a secure Windows Server VDS, look at Xeon Enterprise VDS or Ryzen Premium VDS.