RustDesk Remote Desktop

An open-source remote desktop application, RustDesk, offers a viable alternative to TeamViewer. It's important to note that RustDesk solely provides control capabilities and does not support screen sharing or being controlled by another party.Caution is advised when interacting with unknown individuals. If someone you do not recognize or trust instructs you to install RustDesk over the phone, refrain from proceeding and terminate the call immediately. Such requests often originate from scammers seeking to obtain monetary or sensitive personal information.

Features

Works on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web

Supports VP8 / VP9 / AV1 software codecs, and H264 / H265 hardware codecs

Own your data, easily set up self-hosting solution on your infrastructure

P2P connection with end-to-end encryption based on NaCl

No administrative privileges or installation needed for Windows, elevate priviledge locally or from remote on demand

We like to keep things simple and will strive to make simpler where possible

Functions

RustDesk is a small in size file that does not need to be installed or configured in advance. All you must do is download the file and start it by double-clicking the executable. The tool is semi-portable, meaning it does not require installation, but leaves certain files in your system (in AppData, some configuration TOML files and logs about previously established remote connections). As such, logs and detailed information about previous sessions can easily be found in your system if needed.

After opening the tool, you will notice a left-sided panel that displays your device's credentials for remote accessing — the ID and the password. The ID is unique, but the password can be changed by clicking the random generator that automatically creates a new identification code. To establish a new remote connection, you must have RustDesk on another PC and insert there the unique ID and password of the machine you wish to access.

Also, it is important to add that all sessions are registered and, as a virtual machine's panel that shows you all the sessions of boxes you created, RustDesk will create different instances for all the computers you accessed, referencing them by their operating system and unique identification code.

Currently, RustDesk works on a single dev-hosted server. If you wish, the service's functionality can be extended. The developer offers you the needed technical assistance, via guided steps, on how to set up a server. Via client-side configuration, with payment in advance, you can configure your own cloud, using your unique server-side ID. For more details, check this guide.

Conclusion

RustDesk is a full-featured open source remote control alternative for self-hosting and security with minimal configuration. Desktop versions use Flutter or Sciter (deprecated) for GUI, this tutorial is for Sciter only, since it is easier and more friendly to start. Check out our CI for building Flutter version. You have full control of your data, with no concerns about security. You can use our rendezvous/relay server, or self-hosting, or write your own rendezvous/relay server.