How To Manually Set Up A Custom / Vanity Domain Name In Windows Server Essentials
Posted by Mike 
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Last updated: June 8, 2024 27
Let me start off by saying that I typically recommend folks use a Microsoft personalized domain name (e.g. YourDomainPrefix.remotewebaccess.com) when setting up Anywhere Access / Remote Web Access on their Essentials server. The reason for this is that the domain name, the dynamic DNS update service, and the trusted SSL certificate are all automatically set up and managed for you by the Essentials server completely free of any charge or hassle. If you would rather take this much more convenient route instead, then see the following links for instructions on how to set up a Microsoft personalized domain name on your Essentials server:
Configuring and Customizing Remote Web Access on Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials
Understand Microsoft personalized domain names
EDIT (11/15/2022): With the increased frequency that Microsoft keeps breaking their online services in Windows Server Essentials (including their remotewebaccess.com personalized domain names and dynamic DNS service), it’s becoming abundantly clear that they no longer care about their Windows Server Essentials customers. Therefore, I now STRONGLY recommend that folks avoid using a Microsoft personalized domain name and just set up their very own custom / vanity domain name instead.
That being said, I also understand that some folks would rather forgo the convenience of using a Microsoft personalized domain name in order to have their very own custom / vanity domain name instead (e.g. YourDomainPrefix.YourCustomDomain.com). Using a custom / vanity domain name presents some additional challenges that must be overcome though; such as purchasing, setting up, and managing the domain name, the dynamic DNS update service, and the trusted SSL certificate. For those folks who are willing to take on those additional challenges, I’ll do my best to try and help by walking you through the entire manual domain name set up process here step-by-step (using either a user-purchased SSL certificate or a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate via Certify the web).
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Posted by Mike Comments off Last updated: February 5, 2018 29
For those wanting to use secure Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) with WHS /WSE RemoteApp (or any of our older legacy RemoteApp-based add-ins), we have some good news. We have just finished testing Duo Authentication for Windows Logon and RDP with all of our products, and we are happy to report that it works wonderfully with all of them.
Connecting From Mac / iOS / Android / Windows Computers and Devices
Posted by Mike Comments off Last updated: October 31, 2023 8
I would like to introduce everyone to an exciting new feature recently added to all of our WHS / WSE RemoteApp products that allows you to connect to them from Mac, iOS, Android, and Windows computers and devices. The new feature allows your server to act as a RemoteApp and Desktop Connections (RADC) web feed server for serving remote resources to RADC clients; including the native Windows “RemoteApp and Desktop Connections” Control Panel applet, the freely available Microsoft Remote Desktop client apps for Mac, iOS, Android, and Windows, and Microsoft’s newly released Remote Desktop web client.
Enable Printing To Local Computer’s Printer
Posted by Mike Comments off Last updated: November 21, 2017 14
By default, WSE RemoteApp, WSE Office, WSE Outlook, WSE QuickBooks, and WSE Quicken are not configured to allow printing to the printer that is connected to your local computer. To enable printing to the local computer’s printer:
Enable Access To Local Computer’s Drives
Posted by Mike Comments off Last updated: June 13, 2016 30
By default, WSE Office, WSE RemoteApp, WSE Outlook, WSE QuickBooks, and WSE Quicken allows access to the files and folders on the hard disk drives that are connected to your local computer from local (Launchpad) connections, but not from remote (Remote Web Access or RADC web feed) connections. To enable or disable access the local computer’s drives:
Remove “Internet Security Levels Are Set Too High” Message
The online features in QuickBooks are designed to run with the Internet Explorer security settings set to Medium. Any setting other than Medium may result in pages not displaying or features failing to work. If QuickBooks detects that the security settings are set to high, it will notify you with one of the following messages:
Windows XP Remote Web Access Connections
Posted by Mike Comments off Last updated: May 4, 2018 30
To successfully connect to WSE RemoteApp Web Access, WSE Office Web Access, WSE Outlook Web Access, WSE QuickBooks Web Access, and/or WSE Quicken Web Access via the server’s built-in Remote Web Access website under Windows XP:
Multiple Simultaneous Connections
Posted by Mike Comments off Last updated: February 17, 2017 27
The underlying operating system in Windows Server Essentials allows a maximum of two simultaneous Remote Desktop connections to the server. A direct result of this is that only two allowed users can be connected to WSE RemoteApp, WSE Office, WSE Outlook, WSE QuickBooks and/or WSE Quicken at exactly the same time.
Install QuickBooks/Quicken On Your Server
Posted by Mike Comments off Last updated: July 30, 2016 27
If your server is headless and/or doesn’t contain a CD/DVD optical drive, it can be a bit tricky to install an application like QuickBooks or Quicken directly onto it. Here are some steps to help guide you through the process: