Q: Why do I get an error when I try to access the VPN remotely with my smart card, when the smart card works to access the VPN locally from my computer?

A. I have had this problem under Windows 7 and Windows 8. The issue is when you use Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to access an OS, you can configure the connection to make your local smart card available on the remote session; however, when you try to use the smart card, you might get the error below:

rdpvpnerror1

The solution is to go to the Microsoft Update Catalog and search for the Gemalto input driver.  Download the latest driver and save to the remote OS, then extract the files from the cabinet file. Once the files are extracted, right-click  the .inf file and select install.

rdpvpnerror2-sml

The smart card should now work in the remote session correctly and you will be able to use the VPN.

The only components that need to be installed on the client machine with the local smart card attached are the smart card reader driver and the smart card service. Behind the scenes, the smart card redirection forwards the PCSC messages, which is why the Gemalto Minidriver is required on the target RDP machine (in addition to the Microsoft Base CSP, but that's installed by default).