Windows App
Windows App connects your Mac to a remote Windows PC, cloud desktop or Windows app. It’s made by Microsoft, based in the United States.
Criminals have used its name in fake downloads or scams, so get it only from learn.microsoft.com.
What it is
Windows App was previously called Microsoft Remote Desktop. People use it to work on another Windows computer from their Mac. It also connects to desktops and apps supplied through services such as Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop.
It can share your Mac’s camera, microphone, clipboard, printers and selected folders with the remote computer. Shared folders let the remote session read files or save changes, unless you make them read-only. These settings can be controlled in the app, and some are restricted by your organisation.
This is Microsoft’s official remote desktop client, available through its documentation and the Mac App Store. It is a normal tool for accessing a Windows PC or workplace desktop. Microsoft has released security fixes for it, so keeping it updated matters.
Who makes it
Microsoft is a technology company founded in 1975 and based in Redmond, Washington. Its legal name is Microsoft Corporation. Its website is microsoft.com.
Microsoft makes other software with flaws that attackers have used. Its page in Companies lists them.
Is it the real one?
Every Mac app carries a signature from the developer who made it. Apple checks who the developer is before handing out the certificate, and macOS refuses to open an app whose signature has been tampered with.
HARD hasn’t yet recorded the signature on a real copy of Windows App. Its Mac app shows who signed the copy you have.
Its bundle ID, the name macOS knows it by, is com.microsoft.rdc.macos or com.microsoft.rdc.mac. Download it only from learn.microsoft.com or the Mac App Store, not from an ad or a link someone sends you.
Fakes. In September 2021, Malwarebytes reported malicious copies of Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac. These copies contained malware that stole files and credentials and could provide backdoor access.
What it connects to
In normal use, Windows App talks to these places on the internet. A firewall that asks before apps connect, like the one in HARD’s Mac app, will show them.
| Address | Why |
|---|---|
login.microsoftonline.com | Microsoft account authentication for cloud services. |
*.service.windows.cloud.microsoft | Azure Virtual Desktop service connections. |
*.windows.cloud.microsoft | Azure Virtual Desktop service connections. |
*.windows.static.microsoft | Azure Virtual Desktop service resources. |
*.wvd.microsoft.com | Azure Virtual Desktop service connections. |
*.servicebus.windows.net | Troubleshooting data for Azure Virtual Desktop. |
What it can see
macOS asks you before an app can use these. You can change them any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
| Permission | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Camera | Makes your Mac’s camera available in a remote session, including video calls. |
| Microphone | Makes your Mac’s microphone available in a remote session, including calls. |
| Local Network | Connects to Windows PCs on your local network. |
Security record
Problems with Windows App or Microsoft in the last three years, newest first. Keeping the app up to date covers the ones that were fixed.
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| An information disclosure flaw, CVE-2026-69317, could expose data over a network; Microsoft addressed it in Mac version 11.4.1. | ↗ | |
| A flaw allowing an attacker to run code over a network, CVE-2026-61352, was addressed in Mac version 11.3.9. | ↗ | |
| Microsoft addressed the information disclosure flaw CVE-2026-57979 in Mac version 11.3.8. | ↗ |
References
- Microsoft: What is Windows App? learn.microsoft.com
- Windows App on the Australian Mac App Store apps.apple.com
- Microsoft: Known issues and limitations of Windows App learn.microsoft.com
- Jamf Community: Remote Desktop 8 app metadata showing its older bundle identifier community.jamf.com
- Microsoft: Facts About Microsoft news.microsoft.com
- Microsoft: Redirect local devices, audio, and folders in Windows App learn.microsoft.com
- Microsoft: Configure Windows App updates on macOS learn.microsoft.com
- Microsoft: What’s new in Windows App learn.microsoft.com
- Microsoft: Required FQDNs and endpoints for Azure Virtual Desktop learn.microsoft.com
- US Department of Veterans Affairs: AVD setup for Mac, showing camera and microphone prompts va.gov
- Malwarebytes: New Mac malware masquerades as iTerm2, Remote Desktop and other apps malwarebytes.com
- Microsoft CVE record: CVE-2026-69317 raw.githubusercontent.com
- Microsoft CVE record: CVE-2026-61352 raw.githubusercontent.com
- Microsoft CVE record: CVE-2026-57979 raw.githubusercontent.com