Router reboot loses cameras

[ilan1h2020]

Hi all,
I am using a hikvision 3MP camera system which are connected to an NVR. No PoE or injectors as far as I know. The cameras are listed as "HT-TVI (2MP) Eyeball camera w/fixed lens and 24 IR LED. TVI, 1/2.8"MP sensor, 3.6mm fixed, True Day and Night (ICR), DNR, UTC, dual output (HD-TVI and CVBS). The box does not say hikvision ("outdoor IR camera HD-TVI 1080P 2MP DC12V 3.6mm NTSC, Model:SSE-648-2M). These were working very well and I was able to access my cameras externally from home or from my android phone. The other day we had to reboot the modem due to another issue and I lost the ability to access my cameras externally. I can still access them on my office desktop and also from my cell phone if I am on the office wifi system. However, I cannot access them from anywhere else. I figured out that the external IP address had changed and I obtained it by googling "whatismyip" from my office. However, when I put that new external IP into either my android or my home desktop it does not show me the cameras. At home I am using IVMS4200 v2.8 and on my android I am using ivms 4500. I am using win 7 both at home and work. I have tried setting the port to either 8000 or 8080 but neither one works. I have called Linksys but, as usual, they were completely unhelpful. This same sequence of events happened last year and I paid $300 for a person who spent 5 minutes at my office and solved the problem. When I asked him what he did he said something about "unlocking port 8080" which had been locked. As far as I know both ports are open.

 

[TonyR]

By "reboot" if you mean pressing a "reset" button and not simply power-cycling the router, the port forwarding configurations in the router have likely been erased (set back to "default") and the router needs to be re-configured as the NVR requires.

BTW, port forwarding is unsafe for your network.

 

[ilan1h2020]

It's the re-configuring of the router that confuses me. I set up a port forwarding and selected port 8000. The reason why I used that port is because when I am in the office I can see the cameras on my desktop IVMS. I went to the settings and noted that it was port 8000. In my android I also selected port 8000 and put in the external IP address that I found by going to "whatsmyip" when I'm in the office. However, it's still not working. Is there anything else in the settings that I could have overlooked?

 

[fenderman]

I have called Linksys but, as usual, they were completely unhelpful.

As they should be. Buying a router does not give you network phone support for life. Based on your other posts like this where you seem to know better than others and appear to be an expert in this field I'm sure someone on this forum will be willing to help you out for only $250 with a 3 year guarantee. Willing to pay for help with my cameras

 

[biggen]

Log into you router and check to see what port is being forwarded and to what ip address it’s being forwarded to. It should be forwarded to your NVR.

You are using a NVR so does that have a static IP assigned via your router or from the NVR settings itself.

 

[alastairstevenson]

Log into you router and check to see what port is being forwarded and to what ip address it’s being forwarded to. It should be forwarded to your NVR.

We should not be encouraging security configurations that put a users' devices and data at risk of being hacked by allowing the entire internet to access a vulnerable device on their LAN.
There is no excuse for not using much more secure and safe solutions with a VPN installation, so many useful 'how-tos' and user experiences here on the forum.

 

[ilan1h2020]

I have a VPN express subscription and I have it on all my computers. Can this be used in my configuration?

 

[biggen]

I'm not "encouraging" anything. I'm trying to determine how its currently setup by asking a question.

He already said he is port forwarding. Is it ideal? Of course not. I just want to get him back up and running 1st.

 

[biggen]

I have a VPN express subscription and I have it on all my computers. Can this be used in my configuration?

No. You would have to setup/install a VPN server where the NVR is located. Its not a trivial process.

 

[alastairstevenson]

I'm not "encouraging" anything.

Of course you are.
He's reset the router and wiped the port forwarding configuration and you are encouraging him to set it back the way it was.
Without mentioning the known risks of doing so.

Its not a trivial process.

For some - no.
For some, yes.
Varies with the router model and its capabilities.

 

[biggen]

Of course you are.
He's reset the router and wiped the port forwarding configuration and you are encouraging him to set it back the way it was.
Without mentioning the known risks of doing so.


For some - no.
For some, yes.
Varies with the router model and its capabilities.

He said he setup port forwarding in post #3. Go read it. I'm trying to get him to walk back through the steps and report back the port he forwarded and the ip address he forwarded it to. I'm not telling him to do anything other than that.

If he can't do simple troubleshooting than he will be hopelessly lost setting up a VPN server. I agree that a VPN server is the way to go but he hasn't done that. He is port forwarding and I'm trying to figure out where his error is.

 

[ilan1h2020]

Of course you are.
He's reset the router and wiped the port forwarding configuration and you are encouraging him to set it back the way it was.
Without mentioning the known risks of doing so.


For some - no.
For some, yes.
Varies with the router model and its capabilities.

When people refer to "risk" regarding security cameras and port forwarding, is the risk that people can see what's on your cameras? Or is the risk that somehow you're giving them access to your entire computer system? Because if the risk is seeing my camera feed (empty hallways), then I don't care about it. If the risk is actually hacking into my computers, then I would care about that. Just curious.

 

[TonyR]

When people refer to "risk" regarding security cameras and port forwarding, is the risk that people can see what's on your cameras?

No.

Or is the risk that somehow you're giving them access to your entire computer system?

Yes.

At the very least, someone hacks your cams/NVR and changes stuff, names the patio camera "hacked", sets a password, etc....basically teenage mischief, an inconvenience.

At worst, they steal some vital info and/or turn a network device into a bot which applies DoS (Denial of Service) attacks to not only your local network but also possibly your ISP...this puts YOU in the drivers seat since it's YOUR device performing the attacks!

 

[biggen]

No.

Yes.

At the very least, someone hacks your cams/NVR and changes stuff, names the patio camera "hacked", sets a password, etc....basically teenage mischief, an inconvenience.

At worst, they steal some vital info and/or turn a network device into a bot which applies DoS (Denial of Service) attacks to not only your local network but also possibly your ISP...this puts YOU in the drivers seat since it's YOUR device performing the attacks!

This. Turning your cameras into bots and adding them to the collective. Dahua has a bad track record with this.

@alastairstevenson is correct insofar as port forwarding is a terrible idea. I'd never encourage that.

 

[fenderman]

When people refer to "risk" regarding security cameras and port forwarding, is the risk that people can see what's on your cameras? Or is the risk that somehow you're giving them access to your entire computer system? Because if the risk is seeing my camera feed (empty hallways), then I don't care about it. If the risk is actually hacking into my computers, then I would care about that. Just curious.

The risk has been explained to you multiple times in various threads. YES, the risk is that they can hack into your computers exposing sensitive information as well as use your device as part of a botnet to infect others. They can also easily disable your device or delete video which you may need.
Here is one example where you were warned and didnt care.

 

[shalem2014]

The other day we had to reboot the modem due to another issue and I lost the ability to access my cameras externally. I can still access them on my office desktop and also from my cell phone if I am on the office wifi system. However, I cannot access them from anywhere else. I figured out that the external IP address had changed and I obtained it by googling "whatismyip" from my office. However, when I put that new external IP into either my android or my home desktop it does not show me the cameras. At home I am using IVMS4200 v2.8 and on my android I am using ivms 4500. I am using win 7 both at home and work. I have tried setting the port to either 8000 or 8080 but neither one works. I have called Linksys but, as usual, they were completely unhelpful. This same sequence of events happened last year and I paid $300 for a person who spent 5 minutes at my office and solved the problem. When I asked him what he did he said something about "unlocking port 8080" which had been locked. As far as I know both ports are open.

The problem occurred when you rebooted your modem? Or did it occur when you rebooted your router? Or are they the same device? There's a difference and communication could be blocked at several different levels. And you should be using a DDNS service instead of referring to your public IP address.

 

[ilan1h2020]

So, not to be argumentative, but all of those surveillance systems that I see in restaurants, shops etc are they all using VPN type solutions to keep themselves safe from hacking? Most of those guys look like they're purchased a system from Costco and are using port forwarding. Also, seems like millions of gamers have open ports that they game from. Is there a configuration whereby I can use port forwarding but just make sure that only I have access to the open port? Because if a solution is too complicated and has the potential to mess up, I do not have the hours to devote to figuring things out. Even as it stands, every 9-12 months something goes wrong with the router and I lose my configurations. At this point I always have to hire someone to take care of the problem (which I don't mind doing if it's a couple of times a year). And, no, I refuse to learn how to configure routers...just not my pay grade. So, in summary, if I ask the camera guy this time around to install a much more secure method ie: not port forwarding, am I exposing myself to a greater potential set of headaches?

 

[fenderman]

So, not to be argumentative, but all of those surveillance systems that I see in restaurants, shops etc are they all using VPN type solutions to keep themselves safe from hacking? Most of those guys look like they're purchased a system from Costco and are using port forwarding. Also, seems like millions of gamers have open ports that they game from. Is there a configuration whereby I can use port forwarding but just make sure that only I have access to the open port? Because if a solution is too complicated and has the potential to mess up, I do not have the hours to devote to figuring things out. Even as it stands, every 9-12 months something goes wrong with the router and I lose my configurations. At this point I always have to hire someone to take care of the problem (which I don't mind doing if it's a couple of times a year). And, no, I refuse to learn how to configure routers...just not my pay grade. So, in summary, if I ask the camera guy this time around to install a much more secure method ie: not port forwarding, am I exposing myself to a greater potential set of headaches?

Hopefully you get hacked and expose your patients/clients privileged information. This is the only way you learn. Lots of people don’t take security seriously that’s why hackers hack.

 

[biggen]

So, not to be argumentative, but all of those surveillance systems that I see in restaurants, shops etc are they all using VPN type solutions to keep themselves safe from hacking? Most of those guys look like they're purchased a system from Costco and are using port forwarding.

Just because they are doing it doesn't make it right. Port forwarding is a bad idea in general. Only the people that don't know any better are doing it that way. You don't know exactly how those restaurants/shots are accessing their system. Hopefully the low voltage installer that put the cameras in also installed a VPN but who knows. Plenty of terrible installers out there.

Also, seems like millions of gamers have open ports that they game from.

Taking advice from teenagers, in general, is a poor idea. But gaming on its own doesn't require open ports. If they are hosting servers by opening ports on their firewalls then that is a security risk. Its as simple as that.

Is there a configuration whereby I can use port forwarding but just make sure that only I have access to the open port?

Nope. Not unless you connect from the same IPs all the time which you won't be.

Because if a solution is too complicated and has the potential to mess up, I do not have the hours to devote to figuring things out. Even as it stands, every 9-12 months something goes wrong with the router and I lose my configurations. At this point I always have to hire someone to take care of the problem (which I don't mind doing if it's a couple of times a year). And, no, I refuse to learn how to configure routers...just not my pay grade. So, in summary, if I ask the camera guy this time around to install a much more secure method ie: not port forwarding, am I exposing myself to a greater potential set of headaches?

Many routers nowadays have VPN servers built right into them. That is what you need to purchase. It makes setting up a VPN server much simpler.

 

[shalem2014]

At this point I always have to hire someone to take care of the problem (which I don't mind doing if it's a couple of times a year). And, no, I refuse to learn how to configure routers...just not my pay grade.

And here I was, someone who does this all the time, totally going to help you get it sorted, and then you say you refuse to learn... Why create a thread asking for help if you're going to refuse to learn?