Noticed it with the android install (via fdroid) and I think I had the appimage on Linux (not at my machine to check, so going by my memory). I connected to a windows machine that had no internet connectivity so can't speak to the windows installs working and ignoring relays or not, but Linux and android do phone the relay servers at least. I'll see if I can pull some screenshots or details tomorrow when I get a moment! I'll update the appimage too just in case (since I only validated the DNS call being made on my phone yesterday)
Either way, if I had to choose between it and TeamViewer for what I use it for, Rustdesk is still a clear winner lol.
If you have a custom DNS, be sure to block all the relay domains they use and block the respective ports from external access. Even if you disable the settings to avoid relays, they don't acknowledge them and continue to try and phone home somewhere. Just checked the latest version on my phone, which has no relay setting configured, before commenting on this and sure enough, still true. Just logged an entry to rs-ny.rustdesk.com on my DNS, which of course was blocked. Desktop app has an option to disable them if I recall, but it never worked for me.
That out of the way, it is a very good local network software for remote access. Way faster than the alternatives I've tried.
Just to get it out there... I checked this out about a year ago. It's not completely open source. The project consists of many executables and "pre complied dependencies" that don't appear to share matching checksums which may indicate modifications of some sort. Looks like a great tool, but I'm extremely skeptical of what's going on under the hood.
Hopefully they do truly open source it and prove me wrong, I'd love to give it a try some day.
Rarely do I find software I need that's not in the repo, but when I do, I just dusky build it myself. Not at my machine now, but I think I only have one PPA that's not default added. In the other cases where I don't want to build the app, it tends to be in Flatpak too.
That being said, although Mint is technically based on Ubuntu, it really doesn't feel like it at all. I personally can't stand Ubuntu, but again all personal opinions. If Debian-based systems didn't work for you and an arch based distro did, then go with it. Everyone's needs are their own and that's why we have so many choices :D
I'm a Linux mint user for my main system and am no beginner. As others have said, it's friendly to both beginners and advanced users, it's good to see you've made that choice.
That being said, don't stop there. Whether it's in a virtual machine or some old laptop, also try one of the "from scratch" systems. I went with Gentoo and that is the root of where a ton of my Linux knowledge started. It's my favorite distro simply because it has that history for me. You'll find everyone has their own favorites for their own reasons, so be sure to explore and find the one that you enjoy and helps you learn.
This is what I use. The project is dead and had some bugs that kept it running on my system right away, but as it's open source, I was able to fix the code a little bit to success. Just wish it was a little friendlier on cpu or could be selective on which apps to run instead of recording nonstop regardless. I have it start up with Steam for now though.
Been using Gentoo on my server for over a decade now and probably won't ever leave the compiling front, especially with a 12-core/24-thread CPU making it go as quick as regular binary updates on my mint laptop... But that being said, in happy to see them considering to do this. It'll bring in some folks who are afraid of (or just dislike) compiling everything from source. I think the biggest packages that'd benefit from this are definitely the browsers and desktop environments.
My comment on arch is just related to the use of black arch for a regular desktop or laptop machine, not my server (no desktop environment for the server). Was mostly trying it to compare it with Kali, actually.
Black arch does come with xfce by default indeed, but resizing windows isn't available right away. At least it wasn't when I tried it a couple of years ago. It required changing a bunch of configurations manually for whatever reason.
Never tried regular Arch after trying Black Arch, so not sure if they're the same feel, but after realizing the work it would take just to be given the capability to resize windows in the UI instead of just coming with drag and resize out of the box, Black Arch was a huge no go for me... Which kept me from wanting to touch regular Arch, lol. That being said, I go nope to Ubuntu the most. Gentoo is my favorite and is what my server has been running for the past decade without any kind of issue, but for laptop and daily use, I use Mint. Been on that one for about a decade now too... Used to use Peppermint (that still a thing?) and Suse the most before those.
Only 2 problems I have with Graphene personally is the need to give Google money, which the irony is just too much, and no option for rooting. Otherwise it seems like a pretty good OS overall. In the meantime, while I wait for those options to be more flexible so I can have full control, I just use a rooted lineage os with all the extra Google stuff (ntp, DNS, etc) stripped and replaced with my own self hosted systems.
Noticed it with the android install (via fdroid) and I think I had the appimage on Linux (not at my machine to check, so going by my memory). I connected to a windows machine that had no internet connectivity so can't speak to the windows installs working and ignoring relays or not, but Linux and android do phone the relay servers at least. I'll see if I can pull some screenshots or details tomorrow when I get a moment! I'll update the appimage too just in case (since I only validated the DNS call being made on my phone yesterday)
Either way, if I had to choose between it and TeamViewer for what I use it for, Rustdesk is still a clear winner lol.