Question for network gurus

[G G]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

Can you do a host file entry for the camera?

I don't have the knowledge to know if I can or not Moses. I know very little about host files.

[8zeros]

So dyndns sets up a place on the internet you can address to look back at your router to see the cameras, right? And you have a port set up to forward out to that dyndns place, it seems.
Question 1. Does this work without the VPN?

VPN sets up a standard port to connect to that is running a program that encrypts and authenticates the connection with an outside computer.
Question 2. Does this work without the camera/dyndns stuff?
In other words, can one or the other or both work without the other running?

It seems to me that they are two separate things running their separate ways and should not bother the other.

[G G]

Originally Posted by 8zeros

So dyndns sets up a place on the internet you can address to look back at your router to see the cameras, right? And you have a port set up to forward out to that dyndns place, it seems.
Question 1. Does this work without the VPN?

VPN sets up a standard port to connect to that is running a program that encrypts and authenticates the connection with an outside computer.
Question 2. Does this work without the camera/dyndns stuff?
In other words, can one or the other or both work without the other running?

It seems to me that they are two separate things running their separate ways and should not bother the other.

the answer is yes they can both work separately. It's not quite as simple as you make it though. Using a VPN changes your ip (because of the encryted tunnel from my computer to the host) to the one on the VPN server. That is why the ISP cannot log or track what you are doing on the internet. The dyndns is required to connect back to the home network because most of us have a dynamic IP and not a static one. It simply lets you use a domain to connect back to the cameras, because when you set up the dyndns on the router it updates the actual ip so that the domain is always looking at the router. That's probably not as technical or correct as some on here can make it, but I think it's close enough.

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by G G

I don't have the knowledge to know if I can or not Moses. I know very little about host files.

located in %windir%\system32\drivers\etc

Enter the host name of the device and IP address of the host to bypass DNS name resolution. There's a sample within the file.

***Copy file to desktop, edit it, and then copy back to "etc" folder. Host file does not have a file extension.

[G G]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

located in %windir%\system32\drivers\etc

Enter the host name of the device and IP address of the host to bypass DNS name resolution. There's a sample within the file.

***Copy file to desktop, edit it, and then copy back to "etc" folder. Host file does not have a file extension.

I use a Mac. I am running the VPN client on the router so that ALL traffic from within my network goes through the VPN. Are you saying to edit the host file on the machine that I am trying to access the cameras with from outside my home network? If so, I use an iphone to do that mostly. And my questions are so that I understand, cause I am just smart enough about networks to be dumb. LOL