Remote desktop glossary

Remote desktop

Software that lets one computer view and control another over a network. The screen of the remote machine is streamed to the local one, and keyboard and mouse input is forwarded back. GoDesk, TeamViewer, AnyDesk, and Microsoft RDP are all remote-desktop tools.

→ GoDesk's remote-desktop feature

Unattended access

A setup where the remote computer can be connected to without anyone present to accept the session. The host machine runs an always-on service and authenticates incoming requests by ID + password (or device certificate). Critical for IT support, server admin, and connecting to your own home PC from elsewhere.

→ Unattended access on GoDesk

P2P(Peer-to-peer)

A direct connection between two endpoints with no server in the middle relaying the traffic. P2P is faster (lower latency, higher throughput) and cheaper for the vendor than relayed traffic. GoDesk attempts P2P first and only falls back to the relay when NAT traversal fails.

Relay server

A server that forwards traffic between two endpoints when they can't connect directly (typically because both sit behind NATs or restrictive firewalls). The relay sees ciphertext only, end-to-end encryption means it can't read screen frames, keystrokes, or files even though it routes them.

NAT traversal

Techniques for connecting two devices when both are behind Network Address Translation (i.e., on home or corporate Wi-Fi rather than directly on the public internet). Common methods include UDP hole punching, STUN, TURN, and ICE. Modern remote-desktop tools handle this automatically, without it, you'd need to set up port forwarding manually.

End-to-end encryption(E2EE)

Encryption where only the two endpoints (your device and the remote device) hold the keys to decrypt the traffic. Anything in between, including the vendor's relay, sees ciphertext only. GoDesk uses AES-256-GCM with X25519 key exchange.

→ GoDesk security model

AES-256-GCM

Advanced Encryption Standard with a 256-bit key in Galois/Counter Mode. The de-facto industry standard for symmetric encryption: fast on modern CPUs (AES-NI hardware acceleration), provides authenticated encryption (detects tampering), and approved by NIST and most national security agencies.

X25519

An elliptic-curve Diffie-Hellman algorithm used to establish a shared secret between two parties without ever transmitting the secret itself. GoDesk uses X25519 to derive per-session AES-256 keys, so even a recorded session can't be decrypted without one of the endpoints' private keys.

RDP(Remote Desktop Protocol)

Microsoft's proprietary protocol for remote desktop, built into Windows Pro/Enterprise. Works well on a LAN or VPN, but typically requires opening port 3389 to the internet (a known attack target) for remote access without a VPN. GoDesk doesn't require any port forwarding because traffic flows through our outbound-only relay.

VNC(Virtual Network Computing)

An open remote-desktop protocol from the late 1990s. Several implementations (TightVNC, RealVNC, UltraVNC), all share the RFB wire protocol. Reliable but bandwidth-hungry compared to modern codec-based protocols, and requires you to handle network reachability yourself.

Device ID

A short numeric or alphanumeric identifier assigned to each GoDesk install. You connect to a remote machine by typing its Device ID and password, no IP addresses, no DNS, no router configuration. The relay handles the address translation behind the scenes.

Session

A single connection between two devices. A GoDesk session has no time limit; it stays active until either side disconnects or the network drops. Free-tier session count is unlimited; relay bandwidth is metered (5 GB/month on Free, more on paid tiers).

AGPL-3.0(GNU Affero General Public License v3)

The open-source license GoDesk's client code is published under. AGPL is a copyleft license: anyone can modify and redistribute the code, but they must release source for their modifications under the same license, including when running it as a network service. This protects against a vendor forking it and shipping a closed-source version.

Self-hosting

Running a piece of software on infrastructure you control rather than depending on the vendor's hosted service. GoDesk's relay can be self-hosted, which means traffic between your devices never touches our servers, useful for regulated industries, air-gapped networks, or simply maximum-paranoia threat models.

Screen streaming

Capturing the remote computer's framebuffer and encoding it (typically with H.264, H.265, or VP9) for low-latency transmission to the viewer. Modern remote-desktop tools negotiate codec, frame rate, and resolution adaptively based on available bandwidth.

File transfer

Moving files between the local and remote computer during a session. GoDesk's transfer happens over the same encrypted channel as the screen stream, so files never traverse the relay in cleartext.

→ File transfer on GoDesk

Multi-monitor

Support for remote machines that have more than one display. The viewer can see all monitors at once (tiled), switch between them, or pop one into a second window. GoDesk supports up to 4 simultaneous monitors per session.

→ Multi-monitor on GoDesk

Two-factor authentication(2FA)

Requiring a second piece of evidence (typically a TOTP code or hardware key) on top of a password before granting access. GoDesk supports TOTP-based 2FA on the unattended-access flow.

Open source

Software whose source code is published under a license that permits modification and redistribution. Open-source remote-desktop tools (GoDesk, RustDesk) are auditable: you can verify the encryption claims, build the binary yourself, and host the relay on your own hardware. Closed-source tools (TeamViewer, AnyDesk) require trusting the vendor.