To connect to your VPS the best method is to use Remote Desktop.

The first step to connect via remote desktop is to open the Remote Desktop Client (RDP Client).

To open the RDP Client in Windows 8 :

Move your mouse or touch the right side of the screen to bring up the Search Icon.

Type Remote Desktop Connection into the search, and then click on the Remote Desktop Connection app.

To open the RDP Client in Windows 7 :

Go to your Start Menu (The Windows Icon on the bottom left of the screen). In the box that says 'Search Programs and Files', type in remote desktop connection. This will bring up the Remote Desktop Connection program in the search results. Click on that and you will open the Remote Desktop Connection box.

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In Windows XP :

Click the Start Menu, then All Programs, Accessories and then click Remote Desktop Connection.

Connect to the VPS using the RDP Client (Basic Method) :

Once you have the RDP client open, you can connect to your VPS.

To do this, enter in the IP address of your server in the text box for the 'Computer:' option. The IP address will be in the Welcome email you received from us.

Once you have entered the IP address correctly, click Connect.

The first time you connect you may get a security message that you need to accept to continue.

The Remote Desktop client should now connect to the server and you will be asked for the Username and Password. You should have received these details in the Welcome email you received.

After entering in the correct username and password, you should be connected to your VPS.

There are some more advanced options that you could choose to configure to make it easier to connect in the future and to provide a better user experience.

Optimizing RDP Client

Open the RDP client as explained above and then click the Options tab.

You can now enter the IP address and Username for your VPS.

You can also tick the Allow me to save credentials box. This option will mean that the first time you enter your password, the RDP client will remember it for future connections. Note that while this makes connecting to your VPS fast and convenient it can be a security risk if other people have access to your computer as they can login to your VPS just by clicking the RDP Connection Icon.

Next click the Display Tab. From here you can change the size of the RDP screen and even allow it to use both of your computer monitors. This will however increase the bandwidth usage and possibly slow the connection to your VPS, so we do not recommend it.

We suggest setting the Colors setting to High Color 15 bit to ensure the fastest experience.

Now move to the Local Resources Tab and untick the Printers Option.

Then select the Experience Tab and untick all of the options except Persistent bitmap caching. This will create the fastest and most responsive remote connection for you.

Finally select the General tab again and click on Save As. Select Desktop as the location and make the filename something like MyVPS (you can call it whatever you wish) and finally click Save.

You now have an icon on the Desktop that you can use to easily connect to the server with an optimized RDP connection. You can also drag the icon to your task bar or start menu for ease of access or Pin it to your Start menu.