telemotely
Security

A remote-control tool has to earn it.

telemotely can see a screen and move a mouse, which is exactly what malicious software does too. The difference has to be in who decides, who can see it happening, and what we're willing to say plainly. This is all of it.

The person at the device always knows

For as long as anybody is connected, a red notice says so on that device's screen. It can't be switched off. It has a Disconnect button of its own, and it can be dragged out of the way but not dismissed.

Who can reach a device

  • Its code. A device shows an ID and an eight-character code. The code changes every five minutes, and repeated wrong guesses are locked out.
  • Its owner. A device signed in to your account opens for you without a code.
  • People it trusts. Saving somebody else's device gives you a bookmark and nothing else: no presence, no readings. It shows more only when the device's owner agrees, and a request nobody answers runs out as a refusal.
  • Without anybody at it. Opening a trusted device without its code needs a separate switch on that device, off unless somebody at it turns it on.
  • One at a time. A device takes one viewer. A second is told it's in use.

These rules are enforced by our service, not by each app, so an app that forgot one couldn't give away more than the service allows.

On Windows, when somebody asks to be trusted, the device asks its owner on its own screen. That question is hidden from the viewer's picture and refuses the viewer's mouse and keyboard, so it can only be answered by the person sitting there. If it can't be hidden, it isn't shown, and the request is refused.

On the wire

The screen, keyboard and mouse travel over WebRTC, encrypted in transit. The connection goes straight between the two devices when it can, over the local network first, and through a relay only when nothing else gets through.

What isn't done yet

  • The Windows program isn't code-signed yet, so Windows warns that the publisher is unknown. Every build has a published SHA-256 checksum meanwhile.
  • Locking a Windows PC ends the session; you can't yet sign in to a locked PC remotely.
  • There's no independent audit or certification yet, and we don't claim any.

Found a problem?

Write to security@telemotely.com. Every report is read. The same address is in our security.txt.