krdc: Access Windows 10 from Ubuntu 20.04 KDE RDP

There was a time when most of the systems were running only on Microsoft Windows. However that time has gone, now the market is full of diversity, thanks to Linux operating systems. And Ubuntu is one of them, that is quite popular among Desktop as well as Servers users. The one reason behind this is the community and amount of tutorials are available on the internet for it. This makes users especially the beginners to easily understand and start using Linux.

However, as I said all the Desktop and Server are not anymore on Windows thus if you are a Ubuntu user and want to access some remote computer running on Windows 10 or Windows 7, then that can also possible as well.

If you go through online blogs most of the tutorials will suggest installing XRDP to access Windows 10 from Ubuntu. But today, here we are presenting KRDC, a remote management tool developed by the KDE team.

KRDC is an open-source Remote Desktop Connection client that is similar to the native Windows 10/7 RDP application. Users can use the GUI (Graphical user interface) of this tool to connect, view, and control a desktop session running on another system. It is not only limited to Windows but even can be used to connect other available Linux or macOS platforms using VNC/RFB. However, for Windows KRDC uses RDP protocol. Official page link of this tool.

Setup RDP client on Ubuntu to connect Windows 10/7

The GUI of KDE krdc RDP (Remote Desktop connection) client is very easy to use, here we are installing it on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, however, the steps will be the same for Ubuntu 19.10/19.04; 18.10/18.04 including Linux Mint, elementary OS and more.

1. Run update command

Before moving further to see the steps involved in the installation and usage of this tool, let’s first update the existing package of the system. For that open the command terminal app, the shortcut for that is CTRL+ATL+T. And then run the APT update command:

sudo apt update

2. Install krdc RDP client on Ubuntu 20.04

There are two ways to perform the installation of this Remote Desktop Protocol client on Ubuntu. One is with the help of the SNAP package manager and the other is the traditional one using the official repository via APT. Let’s see both:

Via APT:

sudo apt install krdc

Via SNAP:

sudo snap install krdc

3. Run KDE krdc client

As this is a graphical user interface based KDE RDP client for Ubuntu, thus to run it simply click on the “Show Applications” and search for KRDC. As its icon appears, click to run it.

Run KDE KRDC client

4. Enable RDP on Windows 10

The first thing before connecting to Windows is to enable the Remote Desktop feature on it. For that, Press Windows + R keys to open the RUN command box. Once you have it, type sysdm.cplcommand that will directly open theSystem Properties on Windows 10 or 7.

Run command to open Windows system properties

Under the Windows System properties, select the Remote Tab and then check the option “Allow remote connections to this computer“. After that click the OK button to save the settings.

Allow remote connections

5. Find a Windows system IP address system

The next thing we need is the system Ip address that we want to connect with. As we are are doing this tutorial to connect Windows 10 using RDP on Ubuntu, thus, find its IP. For that open command prompt and type: ipconfig

Find the system adapter and note down the IPv4 Address.

6. Access Windows 10 desktop session via Ubuntu krdc RDP client

Now, I am assuming that you already have opened the KRDC client on your Ubuntu system. From “Connect to“select ‘RDP” and in front of that enter the IP address of the remote Win machine. Thereafter hit the ENTER key.

Select RDP protocol and enter IP address in KDE krdc client Ubuntu

7. Host Configuration- KRDC

Depending upon the network connection, we can set the quality of the Remote Desktop Session we are going to open on our Ubuntu Linux system.

  • Desktop resolution: KRDC client comes with quite a few options of resolution that we want to stream. We can set it to Full HD, 720p, or lower than that. If your current Ubuntu display requires some custom resolution then that is also possible too. However, for higher res. make sure the network has a high bandwidth.
  • Color depth: To see the same color as the remote Desktop system has, we can set the color depth using this option. By default, it will be 24, however for more accuracy 32-bit is also available.
  • Keyboard layout: US English by default, change as per your need.
  • Sound: This allows you to listen to audio playing on a remote machine.
  • Performance: There are three options- Modem, Broadband, and LAN. As per your network, select the one. By default, it will be LAN to show lag-free sessions.
  • Share media: In case you share any media, that will reside under /media directory of the Linux system.
  • Remember password (Kwallet): Those want to access the same Windows 10/7 machine often, they can select this option. It will create a password manager using Kwallet (highly encrypted) to save the sessions username and password. Thus, no need to enter login credentials again and again.

Configure the RDP settings

8. Enter the username and password of the remote machine

Now, the RDP client will ask you to enter the remote machine username and password. Furnish this information to successfully log in and access the system’s desktop session.

Enter the Windows 10 username for RDP from ubuntu Enter remote Windows 10 machine password

9. Starting using the remote Windows 10 on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Finally, you will see the display of the remote computer. By default, it will be inside the application working space, and to have a full-screen view, click on the “Full Screen” option given in the KRDC Menu.

Remote Desktop connection view on Ubuntu 20.04

 

Verdict:

So, this was the quick overview of KDE Remote desktop client that we can run on a Linux system to have remote desktop sessions. In case you have any queries, the comment section is all yours.

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