How are you getting to BI remotely?

IReallyLikePizza2

IReallyLikePizza2

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May 14, 2019
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Other than VPN, what are you guys using to get to BI?

I have OpenVPN and Wireguard setup at home, but I don't like having to connect to a VPN first. And I sure don't want to just blindly expose BI, and I'm not AT ALL confident that would end well

Anyone have any fancy solutions for this?
 
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nothing. yet. I have email alerts set up. Fills my 15 gig mailbox from Gmail about every 12-14 days. and thats with only 4 of the 15 cams sending emails. Someday I'll have BI at home, and get time to do the VPN thing. But i can always cheat and fall back to the Amcrest Xvr App....that's redundantly recording same data.
 
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I’m using port forwarding and the iOS app. I’m pretty sure that’s the worse thing I can possibly do based on what I’ve read on here so I’m hoping to use a more secure method soon. Just need the time one weekend to focus on that.
 
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Flintstone61 said:
nothing. yet. I have email alerts set up.
Click to expand...
Same here for now. Once I get a new router (I'm looking at the Ubiquiti) I'll get a VPN for secure access.

I'm using email because I don't have a means to securely access right now. All this does is email based on a garage door's switch (saves me getting to the end of the street and contemplating if I have closed it the door!).
Port forwarding is a little too risky.

I don't have much of a need to view remotely, but it's a feature that will be handy while on holiday.
 
biggen said:
Your only options are a VPN or port forwarding.

I use Wireguard. I leave the VPN connected on my phone and iPad 24x7.
Click to expand...

There are for sure better options, but a lot of them are much more complicated and/or expensive. Currently I'm looking into a conditional access system where your local device must have a certificate to be let in
 
Um... pretty sure a VPN needs a cert to get in. Port forwarding you can create firewall rules whitelisting IPs. Still only two options. pfSense is my final answer. I think VPN Client Pro for Android has option to make vpn connect when opening a selected app.
 
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VPN for me.

However I also use Tasker with my Android phone and have a profile set up with a custom desktop icon. When I click on that icon, it first loads and logs into the VPN connection and then loads the BI app. I also have it set up so that when I navigate away from the BI app, the system automatically closes the VPN connection. It works well and the entire process takes about 4-5 seconds to load.
 
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biggen said:
That's a VPN with certificates.
Click to expand...

You can do this without VPN. As soon as you hit a firewall/reverse proxy or whatever you setup, it checks for a certificate on the device. If there is one, it lets you through directly without a VPN

I'm trying to find a nice way to do it without something like a Citrix Netscaler where is easy
 
IReallyLikePizza2 said:
You can do this without VPN. As soon as you hit a firewall/reverse proxy or whatever you setup, it checks for a certificate on the device. If there is one, it lets you through directly without a VPN

I'm trying to find a nice way to do it without something like a Citrix Netscaler where is easy
Click to expand...
How does your device know to hand the certificate off? Wouldn't you see need to manually activate the app/program in order to give the certificate to the requesting entity?
 
I'm currently trying it with Duo

You hit Blueiris.whatever.com which goes to a Duo auth proxy, checks your device (Which needs the DUO App) and then lets you through to the end location which is Blue Iris

There are a few other ways, but I think this might be the best
 
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You're not allowing third party access to your network, the local server looks back at the DUO Cloud to get your device info, and then lets you in
 
I previously used a VPN but as others have commented, my Android phone kept disconnecting. It was also a bit of a pain to set up. I'm currently using ZeroTier. It's easy to set up and I can manage connections between specific devices whether or not they are on my home network.
 
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Using zerotier also. Such a simple solution. With home assistant and ui3. I'm not happy with the layout in ui3 yet. I'm trying to get different views set up for different devices. Ui3 for mobile, tablet, TV etc and realtime webhooks or some trigger to activate triggered camera on the screen. I was using the ui3 beta function. But that just stopped recently
 
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The Automation Guy said:
VPN for me.

However I also use Tasker with my Android phone and have a profile set up with a custom desktop icon. When I click on that icon, it first loads and logs into the VPN connection and then loads the BI app. I also have it set up so that when I navigate away from the BI app, the system automatically closes the VPN connection. It works well and the entire process takes about 4-5 seconds to load.
Click to expand...

any chance i could have a look at your tasker job. I tried it but couldn't get it working right so might be something i'm doing wrong.
 
Mark_M said:
Same here for now. Once I get a new router (I'm looking at the Ubiquiti) I'll get a VPN for secure access.

I'm using email because I don't have a means to securely access right now. All this does is email based on a garage door's switch (saves me getting to the end of the street and contemplating if I have closed it the door!).
Port forwarding is a little too risky.

I don't have much of a need to view remotely, but it's a feature that will be handy while on holiday.
Click to expand...

Setting up a VPN on the Ubiquiti USG router was straightforward, as was setting up an iPhone / iPad to work with it. So far it has worked reliably for remotely connecting to BI (using the BI app and also UI3 running on a web browser). The VPN is routed into a separate LAN and you can configure the firewall to limit what the remote users can connect to on the private side of your router. (In my case, only the BI server.) Very handy for checking in while away. And for watching geo-fenced UK TV programmes :-)

In case you need it, this site generously offers a free dynamic DNS (IP Cam Talk DDNS). Thank you IPCamTalk!
 
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