easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
220-1102 Practice Question: A technician is configuring a remote desktop…
A technician is configuring a remote desktop solution for a user who needs to access a Windows 10 Pro workstation from a Linux laptop. Which protocol should the technician ensure is enabled on the Windows machine?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between native Windows remote desktop (RDP) and cross-platform or command-line protocols, leading candidates to confuse VNC (which is also graphical but not native to Windows) or SSH (which is secure but not graphical) with the correct answer.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
RDP
RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) is the native protocol used by Windows for remote desktop connections. Windows 10 Pro includes an RDP server that listens on TCP port 3389, allowing clients such as the Microsoft Remote Desktop client on Linux to connect and provide a full graphical desktop experience. The technician must ensure the 'Allow remote connections to this computer' setting is enabled and that the Windows Firewall permits inbound RDP traffic.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
VNC
Why it's wrong here
VNC (Virtual Network Computing) is a graphical desktop sharing system that uses the RFB (Remote FrameBuffer) protocol to remotely control another computer. While VNC is highly cross-platform and can provide a full desktop GUI experience, it is not natively integrated into Windows operating systems in the same way RDP is. Implementing VNC requires installing additional server software on the target Windows machine and a client on the connecting machine, making it a less native and often more resource-intensive solution compared to RDP for Windows environments.
- ✓
RDP
Why this is correct
RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) is Microsoft's proprietary protocol specifically designed for remote access to Windows desktops. It provides a full graphical user interface (GUI) experience, allowing users to interact with the remote machine as if they were sitting directly in front of it. Its native integration with Windows operating systems makes it the most straightforward and efficient solution for configuring a remote desktop for Windows machines, with robust client software available across various platforms, including Linux.
- ✗
SSH
Why it's wrong here
SSH (Secure Shell) is primarily a cryptographic network protocol used for operating network services securely over an unsecured network. While it enables secure remote access, its fundamental purpose is to provide a secure command-line interface (CLI) for executing commands and managing systems, not to render a full graphical desktop environment. Although SSH can be used to tunnel other protocols, SSH itself does not inherently provide a remote desktop GUI.
- ✗
Telnet
Why it's wrong here
Telnet is an application protocol used on the Internet or local area networks to provide a bidirectional interactive text-oriented communication facility using a virtual terminal connection. It is fundamentally insecure because it transmits data, including authentication credentials, in plaintext without encryption, making it entirely unsuitable for any secure remote access solution. Furthermore, Telnet is strictly a text-based terminal protocol and completely lacks any capability to display or interact with a graphical desktop environment.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Windows Editions and Features
Key term
Firewall
A firewall is a network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing traffic based on predetermined security rules to protect trusted internal networks from untrusted external networks.
Key term
TCP
TCP is a connection-oriented transport layer protocol that ensures reliable, ordered, and error-checked delivery of data between applications over IP networks.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every 220-1202 question from scratch — 495 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1202 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1202 exam.