#It is now included with Microsoft Windows 10 and Microsoft Windows Servers. This package only needs to be installed on the host side of a tunnel. OpenSSH Client is required on the computer initiating the connections or tunnels and is installed by default in the latest version of Windows 10, Windows Server 2019 and Windows Server 2022.
#Add-WindowsCapability does not work for the OpenSSH.Server package via Enter-PSSession for some reason.
#Use PowerShell to create an SSH tunnel for a Remote Desktop Connection (RDP) to another computer with OpenSSH-Server installed
#Just the code:
Start-Process ssh -ArgumentList "-N -L 127.0.0.3:13389:10.4.0.12:3389 10.4.0.12 -l sshuser" -Verb open
(Read-Host 'Press Enter to continue...')|Out-Null
&mstsc /V:127.0.0.3:13389 /prompt
#The Long Story…
#Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is great but it is not very secure. This is one way to make your RDP connections more secure using a Secure Shell (SSH) tunnel.
#The commands will pause while you login to the SSH tunnel session. In this example 127.0.0.3:13889 is the tunnel entrance. 10.4.0.12:3389 is the tunnel destination and will most likely be different for you. In my case it is a Microsoft Windows Server 2019 server that I connect to from a Windows 10 Professional client.
#10.4.0.12 is the address of the SSH server and sshuser is an account on the destination machine. The account used doesn’t need additional rights beyond User rights on Windows 10 to create the tunnel but you will need additional rights to connect via RDP.
#Login to SSH tunnel
#Type in the password for sshuser
#The first time you connect to a new SSH host computer you must accept the SSH key that is presented. Type yes if prompted with a message similar to the text below.
The authenticity of host 'servername (10.04.00.02)' can't be established.
ECDSA key fingerprint is SHA256:(<a large string>).
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?
#Leave this window open. Minimize if you need to but it needs to stay running for the tunnel traffic to use.
#This will end with a window that looks like it hangs after you login. It is not hung. That window is where the tunnel runs through. Do not close it. Minimize the window and go back to your script. Press Enter to continue…
#Go back to the PowerShell window and press Enter to launch mstsc.exe and make a Remote Desktop Connection using the new SSH tunnel.
(Read-Host 'Press Enter to continue...')|Out-Null
#Launch mstsc.exe with the new loopback IP and made up port number
#Use the & call operator to force PowerShell to treat the string as a command to be executed and run mstsc.exe which is the Windows command to launch the Remote Desktop Services client also know as Microsoft Terminal Services client (mstsc).
&mstsc /V:127.0.0.3:13389 /prompt
#I used code and knowledge from the page linked below to create this but the code I use is modified to combine techniques and concepts shown there when using PowerShell.
#This site has information on using Putty and Linux to create SSH tunnel connections as well.
#Setup a New Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Core Installation to Accept Incoming PowerShell Remoting connections in a Workgroup
#You will not need to do this if you perform your PowerShell tasks directly from your server. You need this if you have virtual machines or headless devices… or just plain lazy. Also not everyone has a domain controller and sometimes even a Hyper-V host computer will remain in a workgroup since it might host the domain controller and it is off topic… I work in PowerShell ISE for the most part and connect to where ever I need to.
#Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete to begin configuring Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Core
#Press Enter to select OK to change password
#Set password for .\administrator
#This initial password is for the local administrator account .\administrator is also a way to access this account. It is not part of active directory and therefore doesn’t fall under the Active Directory password policy. Do not make it something easy to guess. The standard policy require 8 characters minimum with upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols. I suggest you follow that as this password will be passed to your initial domain administrator account, where it will fail to work, so it is just best to avoid issues.
#This is cmd.exe start screen for Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Core. Type sconfig to bring up the cheater menu.
#Type powershell and press enter to start a PowerShell session directly in Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Core cmd.exe prompt.
#Type Enable-PSRemoting -Force to enable PowerShell Remoting. You can use -SkipNetworkProfileCheck to allow management requests on a network Microsoft Windows has categorized as Public such as Hotspots and new unrecognized networks.
Enable-PSRemoting -Force
#This will show you what computers you “trust” to connect remotely via PowerShell Remote, no remote hosts are allowed by default.
Get-Item WSMan:\localhost\Client\TrustedHosts
#This adds the computers you “trust” to make PowerShell Remote connections to. It doesn’t need a value if you don’t connect to other computers from the server and just have a management PC you use to connect remotely to the server. This is not to allow client PCs to use Enter-PSSession to connect to the server and most likely you need to run this command on a Windows 10 computer instead.
#You can use either the server IP address or computer name if you need to perform this step. I choose to use both so I avoid any issues when connecting. You need to type y and press Enter to confirm. A value of ‘*’ allows the server to connect to any remote host.
#Now you can use Enter-PSSession to connect to your Microsoft Windows Sever 2019 Core install to configure it using PowerShell or RSAT tools.
#At this point you should not have Active Directory installed so you would use this command to connect. I use PowerShell ISE to open my command list and run them remotely.
#If you are running you Microsoft Windows 2019 Core on Hyper-V then you can connect this way above and to perform these steps you could connect this way first rather than using the server console. Be aware that connecting -VMName Vs. -ComputerName can cause some commands to behave differently or not at all.
