RDP sessions mstsc

Question

What exactly is the difference between using

mstsc

mstsc /admin

mstsc /console

mstsc /admin /console

all answers appreciated - in particular if any of these can effect the user being logged out after inactivity.

Answer 1

Previous to terminal service 6.1 you accessed the "console session" of a remote machine by "mstsc /console". After 6.0(6.1 and later) the flag was changed to using "mstsc /admin"

When you use "mstsc /admin /console" the /console is ignored. Similarly if you specified your host with "mstsc /v:servername /console" the /console would be ignored without giving you any warning.

I believe either one should have the same inactivity timers but I haven't confirmed that anywhere.

Answer 2

A little history on this:

In Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and earlier versions of the Windows operating system, all services run in the same session as the first user who logs on to the console. This session is called Session 0. Running services and user applications together in Session 0 poses a security risk because services run at elevated privilege and therefore are targets for malicious agents who are looking for a means to elevate their own privilege level. (Source)

As a result, the /console switch has been eliminated - starting from Windows XP Service Pack 3, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008.

However, The /admin option lets you connect to Session 0 on a remote computer that doesn’t have Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP SP3 or Windows Server 2008 or later installed.

Concerning Timeouts: The default time out afaik is 20 min regardless of switch.