Glossary

To get you in the loop of all things AnyDesk, you can get acquainted with the terminology used in the application.

Term	Description
Address Book	A list of remote devices that you can save in Address Book for easier access. Address book includes entries (devices) which you can group using tags.
Alias	A letter-labelled address. It consists of label and namespace (e.g., you@namespace).
AnyDesk ID (Your Address)	A number-labelled address assigned to your device. It is used to create a remote connection with other devices.
Client	An AnyDesk software running on your device.
Cloud	An AnyDesk cloud client can be either portable or installed on your device. It can only be accessed with an internet connection. The database is stored on our cloud network environment which means that AnyDesk client needs access to our database to determine the location and owner of the AnyDesk client you wish to connect to.
Command-Line Interface (CLI)	A command-line interface is used in the Command Line for the central management of devices and the automation of AnyDesk clients. This provides a possibility to set up AnyDesk on a larger number of devices without the need for manual intervention on each device.
Concurrent connection	A connection between a local and remote device. Within a concurrent connection, you can have several sessions. In AnyDesk, concurrent connection is represented in a tab.
Dynamic Side Switch	A feature that allows you to switch sides with the user on the remote end during the connection and change the flow of who is remote controlling and who is being remote controlled.
Entry	A contact within your Address Book. Once you create a connection with a remote device (entry), you can add it to your Address Book for further needs.
Explicit clients	All clients linked to the license. Clients can be linked to the license either by inserting a License Key into a client or by creating a licensed Custom Client using the Custom Client Generator.
Group Policies	Allows you to manage all your users centrally and change settings for clients from one spot. With group policies, you can set access permissions for certain users or groups and add new users from one central point.
Implicit client	All clients to which users with the license are actively logged in.
Interactive access	A feature for users to connect to remote device with ability to either accept or reject a connection request on a remote end.
Managed device	A piece of electronic equipment with AnyDesk software running on it (desktop, laptop, mobile, virtual machine, or other). A device can be accessed and controlled remotely with unattended access. Unattended means you do not need anybody on the remote end to allow control over the device. You can connect to a managed device with a password.
Mass deployment	Mass deployment allows you to install the unattended access application on multiple machines. The installation can be performed in silent mode.
Member	A user that is assigned to a certain user group or user role.
MSI	A version of AnyDesk client used for installation on Windows. It cannot be run in a portable mode. As it is an installer package, running the MSI would install AnyDesk on the device.
my.AnyDesk.com (my.AD)	A customer web portal where users can review their license and invoice information, view and manage AnyDesk clients linked to the account, and find more detailed information about all connections.
Namespace	A personalized name for your AnyDesk Alias (e.g., you@yourcompany). The default namespace for each user is @ad.
On-Premises	A self-hosted version of AnyDesk running on your own in-house virtual servers. All data remains within your company network and can be self-managed by your own IT team. It offers a high-level of security and data protection.
Organization	A list of users belonging to one company. A user can be a part of one organization. If you are assigned to an organization, you can use Single Sign-On feature to sign in to my.AnyDesk.com
Platform	An operating system of a device (e.g., Windows, iOS, Linux, macOS, etc.).
REST API	API is an acronym for “Application Programming Interface”. APIs serve as a standard for different software programs to communicate with each other.
Screen Privacy (Privacy Mode)	A feature to hide the contents of a connection by disabling the remote display. While screen privacy or privacy mode is on, the screen contents are hidden (the screen is locked) from anyone with physical access to the remote device.
Session	A session is a screen of a device shared within a concurrent connection. You can create a connection with a remote device, and you can create another session with the same remote device. Each opened window on the connected remote device will be displayed as a separate session. In AnyDesk, session is represented in separate windows on Windows and in tabs on Mac.
Session Logging	A record of activities within a connection.
Session Recording	A feature available to users to record screen of the remote device.
Single Sign-On (SSO)	Allows to use one set of credentials, e.g., a login and a password, for logging into user’s account automatically via an identity provider (IDP) without manual input. SSO streamlines the authentication process for users.
Tag	A feature to filter out your Address Book entries. You can create tags and assign them to entries within your Address Book. This helps to categorize AnyDesk clients for your organization.
TCP-Tunneling	A feature to safely transfer data without being intercepted on the way to the destination. With AnyDesk you can set up a TCP tunnel connection which allows you to access files on a remote device locally without having to download them to your local machine. Tunnels in AnyDesk can be created via VPN and other applications.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)	An additional layer of security for the Unattended Access feature and my.AnyDesk.com account. With 2FA, you are required to enter a time-limited authentication code from an external authentication app on top of your password.
Unattended access	A feature for users to connect to remote devices without anybody on the remote end having to accept the connection request. Unattended access means you can access remote device using a password.
User	A person who has an AnyDesk account and uses AnyDesk.
User group	A list of users. One group can have multiple roles assigned to it, and users, who are a part of this group, will have the same roles as the group.
User role	A set of permissions that a user can have within AnyDesk.
VPN	A built-in VPN service that allows you to create a private network between local connecting and remote clients. It is not possible to access devices on the remote client's local network or vice versa. This is achieved by the creation of a secure data tunnel or virtual point-to-point access between the host and the client.
Wake-on-LAN	A feature that allows you to remotely wake up a sleeping or powered-off PC. You can control an offline device remotely by waking it up before creating a connection. To wake up a turned-off PC, you need another turned-on device within the same network.
Whiteboard	A feature that allows you to make notes and draw on the remote device screen during the connection.