How to Disable Terminal Service Logins

If you’re ever working on a terminal server, you know that it can be annoying to have users login and disturb whatever you’re doing. Luckily, there’s a quick and easy way to stop them from logging in. Use the "change logon" command.

The syntax is:

change logon {/query /enable /disable}

To disable logons:

change logon /disable

Now when clients attempt to login, they will get the message “Remote logins are currently disabled”. And you can work in peace.

To enable logons:

change logon /enable

To check logon status:

change logon /query

If you find that you’ve disabled logons and you can’t get back in, you can login to the console (mstsc.exe /console) and change the setting. The restriction doesn’t affect console logins. Also, if the server reboots, the setting reverts back to being enabled.

Thanks to Chris Amaris for the tip!