Port forwarding for dynamic dns

@yakkoTDI Not the IP address of the router?

So many numbers, so much confusion…

The computer won’t be on when I try to access the readyshare drive.

Thanks.

@lisaviolet @yakkoTDI Yes, not the IP address of the router.

@DoctorOW Should I use the IP of the wired PC or the wireless laptop? Would it make a difference?

@lisaviolet Why are you portforwarding? Use the PC that’s running whatever software you want to port forward to.

@lisaviolet To clarify, internal IP is the connection between the specific device and the router/modem, the external IP is the connection between that router/modem and the internet as a whole. Port forwarding allows anyone on the internet to send a request to your external IP and it gets forwarded to the device of your choice. That’s why it’s asking what internal IP to use.

@DoctorOW with my router, i should be able to access the files on the usb drive that’s attached to the router via the internet. (Page 121 of the manual.)

Nighthawk AX6 6-Stream AX5400 WiFi Router …

@fibrs86 some netgear routers have ReadyCLOUD (their capitalization) for this purpose. Here are Netgear’s instructions. Looks like you need an account. https://kb.netgear.com/27495/How-do-I-remotely-access-my-NETGEAR-router-using-ReadyCLOUD

@fibrs86 This router doesn’t have it. My old one did.

@djslack Well, that sounds a lot easier than I’ m making it.

Can i view the files with ftp?

I’ll work on it tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

@djslack @lisaviolet https://kb.netgear.com/23845/How-do-I-set-up-my-personal-FTP-server-on-my-Nighthawk-router

@lisaviolet yes, you can view the files with ftp. You will want to make sure you don’t allow anonymous connections (unless you intend to do so, and if you do don’t allow them to have write access anywhere). Use a strong password for your account as well. People and bots will try to access it just because it’s on the internet.

Depending on what you are wanting to access the files from, you may need to use an ftp application. If it’s a Windows PC it’s ok to just use windows explorer with an ftp URI like ftp://lisasrouter.dyndns.org or whatever your dynamic DNS is. Browsers can access ftp too but if you’re uploading files I’m not sure how it works in a browser.

FTP is old school stuff but it’s solid. Maybe because it doesn’t try to do everything, just one thing.

@djslack @lisaviolet
FTP is fine, except for the fact that Chrome (and Edge since it is based on Chrome) and Firefox (and any Firefox-based browsers) do not do FTP anymore).

You will need to use a client like WinSCP or Filezilla.

For security, you are better off hosting content via SSH, which has stronger client authentication than just a password.

There are lots of not very nice people who have nothing better to do than to “see whatever it is that you’re trying to share” and then use it against you or to make money from your data/content.

Unless you’re truly making whatever you’re sharing completely public, and forever (the internet never forgets, especially bad guys and marketing), then you are better off trying to share content through a Dropbox, OneDrive, GoogleDrive, Apple, or other cloud sharing to better control who can and can’t have access to your data.

If it’s photos and video, and privacy from marketing and using your data to train AI (facebook and Google and Pinterest are all training grounds for facial recognition apps sold to or used by governments - not just the US), then you might want a service like Forever.com.

Or just setup a host with SiteGround, BlueHost, Hurricane, DigitalOcean, etc.

In short, it is really impractical and unsafe for most folks to do their own hosting these days. Whatever you host, you’re limited by whatever your router does, and you’re sharing your internet trying to run a hosting application and security software on your router, which is not a high-powered device, nor does it get regular updates on hosting features and patches, since that’s not the primary purpose of a router.

A better “home hosting” platform would be to host from a NAS appliance, which has the compute power and hosting server software to run as a primary function.

But you are better off uploading to a hosting service and run the whole suite of applications needed to protect and serve up your content - like presenting your content through a website using something like WordPress.

Don’t reinvent the wheel.

@djslack @mike808 @DoctorOW

I have no intentions of sharing this with anyone. I just thought it would be nice to have access to that drive from my phone when I’m sitting in the car or want to show someone (say, the vet) a photo of one of the cats.

Here is the pdf manual. What I’m looking at is Chapter 9, page 121.

I don’t want other people in my system, though.

@lisaviolet Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, or iCloud are probably much smoother and safer methods to do that. Especially if your target client is your phone. Phones don’t do FTP that well anyway.

I wasn’t going to get into your own NAS and a private cloud, that seems a bit much if you’re looking at this type of setup. But letting a service host and sync your files is so simple it’s essentially free these days. Just pick the devil you dislike the least provider of your choice, maybe one that already has your other information on hand (google or apple depending on your phone) and use their service. Additional benefits include automatically syncing the photos you take on your phone as soon as you take them. Unless you are super concerned about nothing ever seeing your data but your own eyes, these consumer level services are pretty good for what you need.

If you’re hosting any service exposed to the public internet, other people are trying to get in.

@djslack @DoctorOW @lisaviolet @mike808

Then Dropbox etc.

Don’t poke an inbound hole thru your home router. Not guaranteed safe no matter what

One thing hackers might manage to do if they get past your router, is to inventory your devices/services. Esp all those internet connected devices what dont receive regular/forever security updates.

@djslack @DoctorOW @f00l @mike808 I’ve got a lot of stuff. I guess I’ll just not worry about it now.

Unless…there’s a way to set up the old router (netgear R7800), which DOES have readyCloud…

But today…today I’m trying to move mp4 files off of the sd card I had in my phone. The phone kept saying there wasn’t access to the card so I put in a different one and am trying to move the files. Everything moved except the mp4s. One of them being “catsofmeh” from the contest when they ended the fukubukuro, I think…

@djslack @lisaviolet
What DJ slack said, since you clarified the crucial context of what you’re trying to do - share your cat pictures with yourself, viewing on your phone.

If you’re hosting any service exposed to the public internet, other people are trying to get in.

The internet is public access 24x7 by anyone on the globe. Most of whom don’t care about your privacy and have plenty of incentives (money, power) to fully automate attacking and compromising not just your photos, but everything connected to it.

That’s how Target got hacked through it’s air conditioning system that was connected to the internet “just to monitor store A/C equipment”.

Share your photos with your Google Photos/Drive, iPhoto/iDrive, Dropbox, whatever works for you and primarily, the device you will view the content on. That is assuming personal devices like phones or tablets that can randomly connect to the internet from anywhere (just like the bad guys can - which in part, is why it is so hard to tell the difference).

If everyone you want to share with is on Facebook, then setup a group to do that. But, as djslack noted, they ain’t helping you for free, they’re helping themselves to your data and the data of your friends. You don’t pay for it because your data is their product. Pick your poison wisely.

Unfortunately, the days of DIY private self-hosting are long past.

The vast majority of people just aren’t experienced IT and computer security folk who are also rich enough to build their own private data centers. The asymmetry between the resources and tools ill intentioned people have to automatically attack and bypass whatever protections you can afford or think of is just so vast now, and that’s not including using AI to hack everything.

Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.

@djslack @lisaviolet @mike808
From the linked manual:

All–no password (the default) allows all users to access the network folder. The other
option is that only the admin user is allowed access to the network folder. The
password for admin is the same one that you use to log in to the router.

Yep, don’t do that. Your password is transmitted in cleartext with ftp. Run far, far away.

@djslack @DoctorOW

The password for admin is the same one that you use to log in to the router.

FTP passwords are NOT encrypted (unless very special steps are taken, and this router clearly does not).

Thus means bad guys, when (not if) they crack your FTP password, also now have your admin password, and can completely take over your router remotely.

This is so bad, I would recommend ditching that router and give your money to a manufacturer that actually puts effort into their customer’s security.

Look at Asus routers. Anything from the RT-AC68 or newer has much, much better firmware, security features, and regular security updates from Asus.

@lisaviolet well no. But who did what? And why?

First unplug it. Basic recovery techniques can work until we get into overwrite and encryption

Was that your only copy?

@unksol The card was in my phone. I worked on it for hours. I just gave up. It’s part of the meh video (at the link “cats of meh”) so I can see it that way.

Just some of the videos on the card would not move. I tried all sorts of different ways. I even tried converting it to a different type. Nothing. Everything was saved except about ten movies. And that was one of them.

In other news, my other external hard drive kept losing connection to the router, actually wasn’t even getting power. Since it was getting a little sketchy, I got a new one, did a partition on it hoping that I could have the media server scan the files on just one partition and ignore the other one. I finally got shut down at 11:30 last night. And this morning, the media server is still scanning files. I wish this router had the option to choose or ignore folders.

Meh.

My weekend plans had started out wanting to make a card using Chibi lights (just an example). The fading kind.

Instead, I went down a technical rabbit hole.

@lisaviolet sorry you’re having such a tough time with this.

I have a question, are you trying to use your router to get the files off that card over the network? I’m not sure what’s going on there, but it sounds like whatever your trying may have a problem with large file sizes if it moved everything but your movies. Can you plug the card straight into a PC?

@djslack I’m multitasking.

Setting up new drive for the readyshare.

SD card quit playing nice with my phone. Saving files to the hard drive went smoothly until it hit some of those MP4 files. I guess something just went wrong during the copying of them to the PC. I’ve tried everything. The cable directly from the phone to the PC. Taking the card out and putting it into an adaptor. I tried on two different computers. Tried three different data recovery programs and unfortunately, I got the message that the files were overwritten. Something I’m sure I did. No matter now, I formatted the card and put it back in. The card is no longer an issue.

Just a couple of rabbit holes. It takes time and it sucks that I lost that one video, but I can always watch my part on Meh’s Youtube channel.

@djslack @lisaviolet well wait. YouTube has it? You can download YouTube videos. It may not be the same quality as the original but you can def download it.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/how-to-download-youtube-videos

I’d use VLC cause I have it installed and if it’s just a one off the extra steps are fine. If you were going to regularly download YouTube I don’t know that I agree with all their choices.

Also cause I suck at reading I missed the part where they were sent in. Maybe the meh person still has it. I never clean up stuff I work on. Good luck

@djslack @unksol I just wanted to know if meh had a better quality version.

@lisaviolet wait… How did you submit the video to Meh to begin with? Any chance it’s in that channel still?

@djslack i think it was clipisode. I’ll check it out. Thanks!

@djslack I can’t login.

@f00l The stupid part is I’m away from home probably .0005% of my life. It’s not like it’s all that important when we’re gone.

I’m not going up to strangers and showing them cat photos on my phone…lol

@f00l @lisaviolet but why not?

@lisaviolet @unksol

/giphy “cat phone”

@f00l @lisaviolet just saying. Strangers seem to really enjoy cats. That is the internet. I can’t imagine what could possibly go wrong running up to people and yelling did you want to see this cat next. In real life?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

@lisaviolet all right! The cloud saves the day!