Howdy Selfhosters!

A family member who does not live in my state recently got a new PC, and asked for my help in setting it up. Since it can’t be done in person, I’ll have to do this over the phone. Problem is, I don’t really want to walk them through all of the steps (download Firefox, ublock origin, uninstall W11 bloat, etc) over the phone. I was hoping there exists a software that I could host on my Linux machine (I am able to port forward/host externally if necessary), and instruct them over the phone to download the “other end” (client-side) of the software so that I can remote in and set their PC up myself.

I checked out the awesome-selfhosted list and found that most of the remote access softwares are mainly for SSH servers. I did check out Guacamole, but I’m not sure I understand how to utilize the software. Any help and suggestions are welcome. Thank you everyone!

  • Hotzmon@fedinsfw.appEnglish
    29·
    2 hours ago

    People saying rustdesk should realize the Chinese connection it has. I would not use it for that reason.

    • moonpiedumplings@programming.devEnglish
      11·
      1 hour ago

      It’s open source, and the relay’s are e2ee (and audited), but they can also be self hosted.

      1. Do you have actual technical issues with rustdesk?

      2. Do you have an alternative software you would recommend? I hate when people spread FUD or say “don’t use/do this” without actually providing an alternative. Drives me nuts. Because if you don’t present an alternative to a software that someone needs, your complaints are kinda meaningless and a waste of everybody’s time because they’re gonna end up ignoring the complaints and using the tool they need.

        • moonpiedumplings@programming.devEnglish
          5·
          2 hours ago

          oh no, rustdesk does have some significant problems. I could give you a nice list. It’s just that nobody cares, they don’t matter, and we don’t have a good alternative.

          This user’s main account is Hotznplotzn@lemmy.sdf.org (probably). You can take a look through their post history to get an idea of why they might make this comment…

          • irmadlad@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            2 hours ago

            oh no, rustdesk does have some significant problems. I could give you a nice list.

            Sure, I get that. I was just wondering about the Chinese connection bit.

            You can take a look

            Oh…I already did. LOL

            • rtxn@lemmy.worldEnglish
              3·
              1 hour ago

              IIRC, somebody tried to trace the company back to its owners, but the chain ended with a company that is likely Chinese. One of the earliest company-hosted relay servers was also located in China based on its IP address. The company now runs multiple servers on various continents.

              Some people also freaked out when the company started offering paid, binary server images and services that added extra features like a management console, assuming (incorrectly) that they would replace the basic, no-cost, open-source images.

            • moonpiedumplings@programming.devEnglish
              31·
              2 hours ago

              I was just wondering about the Chinese connection bit.

              I actually can’t find any evidence of this. The company appears to be headquartered in Singapore, CEO’d by an American dude.

    • irmadlad@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      2 hours ago

      Unpack that. Why are you suspicious of Rustdesk? Open source/inspect code, direct p2p connection…perhaps I am missing something. School me.