AnyDesk

About this release

AnyDesk exists because most remote desktop tools feel like remote desktop tools. The frame rate drops, the cursor lags behind the hand and every drag turns into a guess. The codec at the centre of this application was written specifically for screen content, and the difference is immediate: text stays sharp, windows drag smoothly and a connection over an ordinary home line stays usable rather than merely possible.

The application is small and needs no installation to work. Run it and it produces an address, give that address to the machine at the other end, accept the request and the session opens. That makes it the tool people reach for when helping a relative with a printer or a colleague with a spreadsheet, because the person being helped has to do almost nothing. For a machine that will be reached regularly there is a full install with unattended access, so it comes up with the system and answers without anyone sitting in front of it.

A session carries more than the picture. Files copy in both directions by drag and drop or through a two sided transfer panel, the clipboard is shared including formatted text, printing can be redirected so a document on the remote machine comes out of the printer next to you, and sound from the far end plays locally. Multiple monitors are handled properly, either combined or switched one at a time.

Sessions are encrypted end to end and every connection has to be accepted at the far end unless unattended access has been configured deliberately. The address book keeps regularly used machines with their own labels and notes, session recording is available for anything that needs a record, and a permission profile can restrict what a connecting party is allowed to do down to blocking input entirely.

What it does

Codec built for screen content

Latency stays low and text stays legible on connections where general purpose video compression falls apart.

Runs without installing

A single executable produces an address immediately, which is what makes ad hoc support calls quick.

Unattended access

A full install can answer on its own for machines that are reached regularly with nobody in front of them.

File transfer both ways

Drag and drop or a two panel transfer view, with the clipboard shared alongside it.

Printer and audio redirection

Print a remote document locally and hear the far machine through your own speakers.

Permission profiles

Restrict what a connecting party can do, from full control down to view only with input blocked.

Changed in this version

• Lower latency on high resolution sessions over slower connections.
• Improved multi monitor switching with per screen scaling.
• File transfer panel resumes interrupted copies rather than restarting them.
• Address book search rewritten and much faster on long lists.
• Fixed a display issue when the remote machine changed resolution mid session.

System requirements

Install order

1. Unpack the archive and run the executable directly for a one off session.
2. Choose the full install if the machine will be reached regularly.
3. Set an access password under security if unattended access is wanted.
4. Add frequently used machines to the address book with labels so they are easy to find later.

Worth knowing before you start

File details