As an administrator, you can control whether users can access other computers from Chrome using Chrome Remote Desktop.
Before you begin
The parent registry keys you use to control the use of Chrome Remote Desktop may not exist even with Chrome installed. If not, you will need to create them. The "1" and "0" values are of type DWORD-32.
Turn on or off Chrome Remote Desktop
If you're an administrator of Google accounts for an organization, you can control who uses Chrome Remote Desktop from their account. You can turn Chrome Remote Desktop on or off for users in your Google Admin console. For details, see Turn Chrome Remote Desktop on or off for users.
Note: If you're a Chrome Education Upgrade customer, Chrome Remote Desktop is not automatically available. You need to turn it on in your Admin console.
Control Chrome Remote Desktop network settings
To enable Chrome Remote Desktop for local area network or VPN users only, disable firewall traversal by setting the RemoteAccessHostFirewallTraversal policy on Windows Mac and Linux machines.
To disable firewall traversal:
- Windows: Set HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\RemoteAccessHostFirewallTraversal to 0.
- Mac: Set RemoteAccessHostFirewallTraversal to NO in ~/Library/Preferences/com.google.Chrome.plist.
- Linux: Set RemoteAccessHostFirewallTraversal to FALSE in /etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed/RemoteAccessHostFirewallTraversal.json.
For details on how to define policy settings for Linux, see Set policies
Block Chrome Remote Desktop functionality
To prevent users on your network from remotely accessing other computers or to prevent computers on your network from being remotely accessed with Chrome Remote Desktop, block the appropriate Chrome Remote Desktop URLs.
Chrome Remote Desktop clients include a website (https://remotedesktop.google.com) and mobile apps for Android and iOS. All three use the same service API so blocking it will prevent all Chrome Remote Desktop functionality on your network.
Blocking https://remotedesktop-pa.googleapis.com prevents all Chrome Remote Desktop functionality for both outgoing connections from clients on your network and incoming connections to hosts on your network. Though not necessary if the API is blocked, you can also block https://remotedesktop.google.com to prevent the web client from being loaded.
Enable Curtain mode for Chrome Remote Desktop
You can enable Chrome Remote Desktop to prevent someone physically present at a host machine from seeing what a user is doing when remotely connected. For more information about Curtain mode, see Access another computer with Chrome Remote Desktop.
Steps for all Windows installations:
Note: This feature only works on Windows devices running Windows Professional, Ultimate, Enterprise, or Server.
Using Regedit, set the following keys:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\RemoteAccessHostRequireCurtain to 1.
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\fDenyTSConnections to 0.
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp\UserAuthentication to 0.
Additional registry key for Windows 10 installations:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp\SecurityLayer to 1.
Important: If your session terminates immediately, you may have missed a step. Make sure you have completed all the steps above.
You can also copy and run the following command from an elevated command line to set the required registry key values and force them to take effect:
reg add HKLM\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome /v RemoteAccessHostRequireCurtain /d 1 /t REG_DWORD /f && reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server" /v fDenyTSConnections /d 0 /t REG_DWORD /f && reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp" /v SecurityLayer /d 1 /t REG_DWORD /f && reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp" /v UserAuthentication /d 0 /t REG_DWORD /f && net stop chromoting && net start chromoting
For more information on these keys and values, see Configure Server Authentication and Encryption Levels.
Steps for Mac installations:
Note: This feature is no longer supported on Mac devices running macOS Big Sur or later.
- Open a terminal window.
-
Set the default value of RemoteAccessHostRequireCurtain to true using the defaults command for both the current user and root:
defaults write com.google.Chrome RemoteAccessHostRequireCurtain -boolean true
sudo defaults write com.google.Chrome RemoteAccessHostRequireCurtain -boolean true -
To restore RemoteAccessHostRequireCurtain, delete the key from the defaults for the current user and root:
defaults delete com.google.Chrome RemoteAccessHostRequireCurtain
sudo defaults delete com.google.Chrome RemoteAccessHostRequireCurtain
Enable Account Name Matching for Chrome Remote Desktop
To require users to register their machines for remote access using a Google Account that matches their local machine account, set the RemoteAccessHostMatchUsername policy on Mac® Linux® and Chrome devices.
- Mac: Set RemoteAccessHostMatchUsername to YES in ~/Library/Preferences/com.google.Chrome.plist.
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