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AnyDesk Linux Mint Remote Desktop

This tutorial show you how to install AnyDesk on Linux Mint. After the provision and integration of the repository, the installation takes place from the package repository (“deb.anydesk.com”).

Add AnyDesk Repository

To do this, fire up a Gnome-Terminal in Linux Mint and become root with sudo su - then paste and hit the following commands to add the repository key to the list of trusted software providers.

$ wget -qO - https://keys.anydesk.com/repos/DEB-GPG-KEY | apt-key add -

Add the repository to the system.

$ echo "deb http://deb.anydesk.com/ all main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/anydesk-stable.list

Refresh the APT cache.

$ apt update

Conclusion

AnyDesk – Remote Desktop software developed by AnyDesk Software GmbH in germany, enables remote access between computers with different operating systems. The software package allows access to remote desktop from a Linux Mint workstation to computers with operating systems such as Windows, Linux or macOS.

The AnyDesk Software

AnyDesk package provides platform independent remote access to personal computers and other devices running the host application. It offers remote control, file transfer, and VPN functionality, like for Linux Mint. The software package often used in technical support scams and other remote access helpdesk carers.

AnyDesk uses a proprietary video codec “DeskRT” that is designed to allow users to experience higher-quality video and sound transmission while reducing the transmitted amount of data to the minimum.

AnyDesk uses TLS 1.2 with authenticated encryption. Every connection between AnyDesk-Clients is secured with AES-256. When a direct network connection can be established, the session is endpoint encrypted and its data is not routed through AnyDesk servers. Additionally, whitelisting of incoming connections is possible.

AnyDesk is one of many tools used in technical support scams and other remote access scams. It can be optionally installed on computers and smartphones with full administrative permissions, if the user chooses to do so. This provides the host user with full access to the guest computer over the Internet, and, like all remote desktop applications.

How to set visudo editor on Debian using update-alternatives

“vi” as visudo editor

On Debian and derivatives, the editor “nano” is set as the default editor for visudo. If you do not want to edit sudoers using the command “visudo” with “nano”. But else use “vi” as the default editor, which was used as before by earlier Linux and Unixoid systems. You can change the editor with the help of “Debian Alternatives-System”.

$ sudo update-alternatives --config editor
There are 4 choices for the alternative editor (providing /usr/bin/editor).

  Selection    Path                Priority   Status
------------------------------------------------------------
* 0            /bin/nano            40        auto mode
  1            /bin/ed             -100       manual mode
  2            /bin/nano            40        manual mode
  3            /usr/bin/vim.basic   30        manual mode
  4            /usr/bin/vim.tiny    15        manual mode

Press <enter> to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number:

Entering a number for the desired editor, to create symbolic link.

update-alternatives generates, removes, manages and displays information about the symbolic links that make up the “Debian Alternatives System”.

A directory, by default /etc/alternatives, containing the symlinks.

If you run it again, the setting can be checked with press the Enter key.

$ sudo update-alternatives --config editor
There are 4 choices for the alternative editor (providing /usr/bin/editor).

  Selection    Path                Priority   Status
------------------------------------------------------------
  0            /bin/nano            40        auto mode
  1            /bin/ed             -100       manual mode
  2            /bin/nano            40        manual mode
* 3            /usr/bin/vim.basic   30        manual mode
  4            /usr/bin/vim.tiny    15        manual mode

set visudo editor on debian by update-alternatives

It is possible for several programs (text editors) fulfilling the same or similar functions to be installed on a single system at the same time. For example, many systems have several text editors installed at once. This gives choice to the users of a system. Allowing each to use a different editor, if desired, but makes it difficult for a program to make a good choice for an editor to invoke if the user has not specified a particular preference.

Debian’s alternatives system

Debian’s alternatives system aims to solve this problem. A generic name in the filesystem is shared by all files providing interchangeable functionality. The alternatives system and the system administrator together determine which actual file is referenced by this generic name. For example. If the text editors “ed” and “nvi” are both installed on the system. The alternatives system will cause the generic name /usr/bin/editor to refer to /usr/bin/nvi by default. The system administrator can override this and cause it to refer to /usr/bin/ed instead. And the alternatives system will not alter this setting until explicitly requested to do so.

The generic name is not a direct symbolic link to the selected alternative. Instead, it is a symbolic link to a name in the alternatives directory, which in turn is a symbolic link to the actual file referenced. This is done so that the system administrator’s changes can be confined within the /etc directory: the FHS (q.v.) gives reasons why this is a Good Thing.

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How to Install AnyDesk on Linux Mint from repository