Should remote desktop services be running every day in Windows 8?

Hi robin,

Thank you for choosing Windows 8 and giving us this opportunity to assist you.

I see that the Remote Desktop Service is logging in and running everyday and you want to know how to stop it.

Let us work together to resolve this issue.

However, we need more information on this issue. Please answer the following question.

1.     What do you exactly mean by “logs of Terminal Services”?

Here’s what you can try:

Follow the steps below to change the Startup Type of the Remote Desktop Service.

a.     On the desktop, press Windows key + R to open the Run Dialog.

b.     Type services.msc and press Enter.

c.      In the Services window, check the Status and Startup Type of Remote Desktop Services. Ideally, they should be ‘Started’ and ‘Manual’.

d.     If not, right-click on it and select Properties.

e.     Click on Start and change the Startup Type to Manual.

f.       Press Apply and OK.

It is advisable to not stop the service completely. If you wish to take remote access later, you will not be able to do so. Even if the service is started, it will not run till it is manually accessed.

Hope this is helpful.

Hello Manasa,

It makes no difference what the Remote Desktop Service is set to: even when Disabled it still shows logons and logoffs, which coincide with my logons and logoffs on my pc.

This is shown in the Event Viewer under Applications and Services/Microsoft/Windows/Terminal Services/Local Session Manager/Operational.    Over 430 such events are shown since last August, four months before I bought the pc, an HP Pavilion P6-2310ea, and the earlier events are shown under HP's administration when they installed Windows 8, etc. 

I have even disabled the Plugin RDSAppX, but the logons and logoffs still occur.  Could this be a remote wireless connection inside the pc sending out information?  This security risk is what bothers me greatly.

No malware has been discovered by Comodo CIS, Malwarebytes, or Norton.

Any information would be appreciated, thank you, Robin.

Hi Robin,

Thanks for the update.

Please post your question in Microsoft TechNet Forums.

Refer to the following link:

 http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/w8itpro

Some functions are being called by the operating ststem from the remote desktop service, but as you noted from the log file it was for a local session. In a previous installation of My Windows 8 operating system I deleted the service and not only did I get errors in the same log in the event viewer, but my charms bar had trouble, and there were other issues as well. In Windows XP I do remember that even though I had disabled all remote desktop functions at least one remote desktop module file was loaded anyways, as part of the operating system's normal operation that didn't, to the best of my knowledge, cause any security risks. However, Windows XP didn't have a Terminal Services/Local Session Manager/Operational log to let everybody know! Sorry to hear you were hacked/ cracked.

Nobody said OP was hacked/ cracked did they?

I too want RD disabled, permanently.

Why does it need to run?

Remote Desktop Services: Session logoff succeeded:

User: MYCOMPTER\Me
Session ID: 1

Remote Desktop Services: Session logon succeeded:

User: MYCOMPTER\Me
Session ID: 1
Source Network Address: LOCAL

Remote Desktop Services: Shell start notification received:

User: MYCOMPTER\Me
Session ID: 1
Source Network Address: LOCAL

Hm.. my logs show repeated logins after I start the pc Sessions 1, 2 and 3. Shows numerous log ins and logout for different sessions? Plus entries that simply say $%s from $%S what does this mean since nothing shows up for it when I google this? This event id 59 which also nothing shows up for?

All scans come up clean and no information on these - doesn't feel quite right.