GPA - GP Answers - Group Policy

With the introduction of Windows Server 2003, an administrator no longer had to install terminal services and configure it for remote administration. This feature is enabled by going to the properties of "My Computer" and clicking on the "Remote" tab. The bottom half of the window has a checkbox that will enable the Remote Desktop feature.

Additionally, this same feature can automatically be changed through the use of a Group Policy. Open up your GPMC, and edit a policy. Navigate to the Computer Configuration|Administrative Templates|Windows Components|Terminal Services section. The exact policy name you are looking for is "Allow users to connect remotely using Terminal Services"

If you enable this setting, the Remote Desktop feature will be enabled, AND will also be greyed out so no one can change the fact that the feature is enabled. Also, users with local administrative rights on the computer will be granted access by default. If there is a user without administrative rights that needs to be able to remotely administer the computer, their user account will need to be added to the Remote Desktop Users group, which is a group local to the computer they want to remotely administer.