Protecting the Host Screen During a Remote Control Session

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Blanking the host display during a remote control session is useful when connecting to remote computers in order to protect sensitive data appearing on the screen. It helps to prevent others in the vicinity of the system from viewing the monitor or even entering data while you are remotely accessing it from another location. NoMachine's remote screen blanking feature is designed to address this security need. Additionally, NoMachine provides the option of automatically locking the screen once the remote control session to the desktop has terminated to avoid the remote desktop remaining visible. This tutorial provides the steps to take to blank the screen of the computer you will be remotely accessing.

Go to 'Server Settings'

• Go to the machine you want to access.
• Click on the !M icon in the computer's system tray and select 'Show server status'.
• This brings up the 'Server settings'.
• You can also connect to your machine remotely by using the 'Server admin' feature. Simply choose the target computer via the Machines panel from any NoMachine player and select 'Server admin' from the menu. You must have administrator rights on that machine. It will take you directly to 'Server settings' of the machine you want to administer.

Fig. 1 – Select 'Show server status' in the system tray icon

Fig. 2 – 'Server settings'

• Select the 'Security' tab and make sure the box is enabled for 'Blank the physical screen when somebody connects' (Fig. 3). You can turn this feature on or off at any time. By default, it is disabled. You will need to provide the administrator's username and password in order to enable it or disable it.

Fig. 3 – Enable 'Blank the physical screen when somebody connects'

How to lock the keyboard and mouse input

• Turning screen blanking on also locks the host keyboard and mouse to prevent anyone sitting at the host machine from entering input data during a remote control session.
• Anyone sitting in front of the host device, or who is in the vicinity, sees a blank screen on the physical monitor while the remote session is active.
• That's it! When you disconnect the screen will become visible again. If you want the screen to be remain hidden, you should enable the automatic screen lock. Read on to find out more.

How to enable automatic screen lock when disconnecting

• The display of a remote computer can be protected further by enabling the system’s own screen lock which will be activated automatically as soon as the last NoMachine user disconnects. Here's how.
• Select the 'Security' tab of the Server settings panel.
• Enable the 'Lock the physical screen on disconnect' box (Fig. 4).
• You can turn this feature on or off at any time. By default, it is disabled. You will need to provide the administrator's username and password in order to enable it or disable it.
• There is also an additional option to show a 'screen shading effect when the screen is blanked'. When it is enabled, the screen loops through a cycle of black to grey to indicate that someone is connected remotely. If this option is disabled, a black static screen is shown instead.

Fig. 4 – Enable 'Lock the physical screen on disconnect'