RustDesk: I Found This Open-Source TeamViewer Alternative Impressive!

@petsoi@discuss.tchncs.de you might want to add that warning to the post.

They also tried to submit the app to Flathub, but had way too broad permissions with no explanation why. "Users expect filesystem access" etc. In the end it was rejected and they publish a .flatpak file themselves.

https://github.com/flathub/flathub/pull/5233

The other points are far worse though.

To add on:

• There is no transparency about who is behind it. It just a Github account called "Rustdesk." It could be a real company in Singapore or it could be some guy in China as people have speculated.
• The Rustdesk software needs way more permissions than necessary. This became evident with the flatpak as they did sandbox escapes which prevented them from being on flathub
• The Rustdesk distribution is entirely centralize release server run by Rustdesk. They could easily push out malware to lots of devices.
• They have done some sketchy things in the past. One of the things they did was quietly switch Linux desktops back to X11.
• The Rustdesk system is not terribly resistant to brute forcing. The weak password means they someone could try every combination.
• Rustdesk docker deployment docker compose exposes all ports on the host. This is minor but it could lead to a sandbox excape.
• Rustdesk servers keep getting hosted in countries that have freedom problems such as China and Russia.

Wth is that, that is the most anti-idiomatic code I have ever seen

https://github.com/rustdesk/rustdesk/blob/master/src%2Fplatform%2Flinux.rs#L176

 rust

    
pub fn get_cursor() -> ResultType<Option<u64>> {
    let mut res = None;
    DISPLAY.with(|conn| {
        if let Ok(d) = conn.try_borrow_mut() {
            if !d.is_null() {
                unsafe {
                    let img = XFixesGetCursorImage(*d);
                    if !img.is_null() {
                        res = Some((*img).cursor_serial as u64);
                        XFree(img as _);
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    });
    Ok(res)
}

  

I'm not an expert but this seems wrong.

Source:

Is there a good, free, cross platform alternative?

China is good though? At least that ensures they aren't a CIA operation.

Itsfoss is indeed written by ChatGPT I think

they have a pro server with more features that’s closed source and paid

authentication is also stuck behind their subscription. for random customers to be able to use your servers, you also have to let everyone else on the internet use it.

I spent like 20 minutes self hosting and running over tailscale so traffic is always private... Never had an issue. I've got over 20 devices accessible on it.

Easy to remote register over ssh just by sending the installer plus running with server name plus key, then setting a static password.

I still think gaming wide moonlight is great though. You won't really regret that.

And sadly MeshCentral is pretty much death development wise, isn't it? The main dev left Intel and now has not enough time for the project, wasn't that the story?

Edit: it seems to be developed again, much slower,though. But better than nothing.

Have you tried changing the default view from Columns to List? IMO it makes the UI much better. Then you can add in a more details about each PC on the main view. Make is very useful if you have a lot of computers you are managing.

You can also switch from the left bar interface to top bar interface. That looks better to me. Also dark mode.