Easiest Way to Secure Camera System

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you cant do what you want..with that setup...
I'm sorry, but I'm still not understanding why it won't work. Does the Asus router need to be connected right after the modem to secure the whole network? I can't just secure the NVR with an affordable consumer router from Amazon?
 

fenderman

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I'm sorry, but I'm still not understanding why it won't work. Does the Asus router need to be connected right after the modem to secure the whole network? I can't just secure the NVR with an affordable consumer router from Amazon?
the vpn wont work....you can run the asus router only...the cams will be on your network...who cares..or setup vlans using a business router.
 

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the vpn wont work....you can run the asus router only...the cams will be on your network...who cares..or setup vlans using a business router.
I'm sorry for the trouble, but I'm really not understanding.

I was thinking the VPN on the Asus router would secure anything connected after it (meaning, the NVR).

And the reason for getting another router in the first place is because my current router doesn't seem to support a VPN (at least not easily).

Basically, I'm just looking for the easiest way to secure the NVR so nobody can access it. And I'm having a difficult time trying to figure all of this out.

Thank you for your patience. It is greatly appreciated!
 

fenderman

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I'm sorry for the trouble, but I'm really not understanding.

I was thinking the VPN on the Asus router would secure anything connected after it (meaning, the NVR).

And the reason for getting another router in the first place is because my current router doesn't seem to support a VPN (at least not easily).

Basically, I'm just looking for the easiest way to secure the NVR so nobody can access it. And I'm having a difficult time trying to figure all of this out.

Thank you for your patience. It is greatly appreciated!
the vpn will not pass though your current router..
so get rid of your current router...problem solved.
 

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the vpn will not pass though your current router..
so get rid of your current router...problem solved.
So, are you saying the VPN will only go one way (Asus router > NVR) and once it goes back (NVR > Asus Router > Current Router > Modem) it'll lose the secure connection? And that the right way to do is it Modem > Asus Router > rest of the network, including NVR?
 

fenderman

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So, are you saying the VPN will only go one way (Asus router > NVR) and once it goes back (NVR > Asus Router > Current Router > Modem) it'll lose the secure connection? And that the right way to do is it Modem > Asus Router > rest of the network, including NVR?
its not about loosing a secure connection...the vpn has to be facing the net...
set it up the way i suggested...
 

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its not about loosing a secure connection...the vpn has to be facing the net...
set it up the way i suggested...
I was thinking by plugging the new Asus router in the current router's Ethernet port (right next to the VoIP and TV Ethernet) it'd allow the Asus router to get Internet.

Maybe I'm just not understanding what the problem is..

What you seem to be suggesting is to have the Asus router right next to the modem at the beginning of the network, is that right? Basically, replacing my current router, and having Modem > Asus Router > All Ethernet (Including NVR).
 

fenderman

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I was thinking by plugging the new Asus router in the current router's Ethernet port (right next to the VoIP and TV Ethernet) it'd allow the Asus router to get Internet.
vpn wont work..for a detailed explanation why,...start with google
 

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vpn wont work..for a detailed explanation why,...start with google
I'm trying to keep everything simple. I'm already confused and overwhelmed. I'm thinking maybe the VPN cannot pass through the router and that it must need a direct connection to the Internet. Just was a guess, but I typed in "vpn pass through router Ethernet" on Google and came up with this page: What’s VPN Passthrough? - TP-Link

That page is kind of confirming my thoughts (based off of what you've been saying) that the VPN needs a direct connection to the Internet (unless you have a router that support this feature, which they say they do but don't list OpenVPN as an option).

Is this sounding correct so far?

If so, my next challenge is making sure I find a suitable router. I didn't want to get lower speeds since we often stream 4K video and have a 200 Mbps connection (maybe higher now, I'm not sure). I've heard that a lot of routers will slow down the speed when using a VPN. Right now I'm leaning towards this: RT-ACRH13 | Networking | ASUS USA

I just don't know if that particular Asus router is going to give us good enough speeds when going through a VPN. They mention a quad-core processor and 128 MB of memory.


I'd just like to thank you again for your patience with me. This is a learning experience. Hopefully others will find this conversation helpful too!
 

fenderman

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I'm trying to keep everything simple. I'm already confused and overwhelmed. I'm thinking maybe the VPN cannot pass through the router and that it must need a direct connection to the Internet. Just was a guess, but I typed in "vpn pass through router Ethernet" on Google and came up with this page: What’s VPN Passthrough? - TP-Link

That page is kind of confirming my thoughts (based off of what you've been saying) that the VPN needs a direct connection to the Internet (unless you have a router that support this feature, which they say they do but don't list OpenVPN as an option).

Is this sounding correct so far?

If so, my next challenge is making sure I find a suitable router. I didn't want to get lower speeds since we often stream 4K video and have a 200 Mbps connection (maybe higher now, I'm not sure). I've heard that a lot of routers will slow down the speed when using a VPN. Right now I'm leaning towards this: RT-ACRH13 | Networking | ASUS USA

I just don't know if that particular Asus router is going to give us good enough speeds when going through a VPN. They mention a quad-core processor and 128 MB of memory.


I'd just like to thank you again for your patience with me. This is a learning experience. Hopefully others will find this conversation helpful too!
You will NOT be losing any speeds when using the internet on ANY of your devices...the VPN will ONLY slow the data flow between your phone and your home while you are connected to the vpn and viewing your cams, but not enough to matter...again you are confusing this the paid vpn..
 

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You will NOT be losing any speeds when using the internet on ANY of your devices...the VPN will ONLY slow the data flow between your phone and your home while you are connected to the vpn and viewing your cams, but not enough to matter...again you are confusing this the paid vpn..
Thank you.

So, basically, Modem > Asus Router with OpenVPN > Everything Else - should work fine, not slowing down the speeds on the network, only slowing the speeds when away from the network (which shouldn't matter). And that'll mean the NVR is secure and cannot be accessed by anyone that doesn't have the "key" to the VPN?
 

fenderman

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Thank you.

So, basically, Modem > Asus Router with OpenVPN > Everything Else - should work fine, not slowing down the speeds on the network, only slowing the speeds when away from the network (which shouldn't matter). And that'll mean the NVR is secure and cannot be accessed by anyone that doesn't have the "key" to the VPN?
yes...it will not slow speeds when you are away from the network,...it will only slow speeds when you are actively connected to the vpn.
 

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yes...it will not slow speeds when you are away from the network,...it will only slow speeds when you are actively connected to the vpn.
Great, I think it is starting to make more sense now.

So, aside from getting the VPN setup, disabling any port forwarding and uPNP, and setting a strong password on the NVR and cameras, is that everything needed to make sure nobody else can get in to the NVR?
 

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fenderman deserves 3 gold stars for patience and good advice.

what is the make and model of the router you are replacing?

Yes to your question. Have the one router, and plug everything into it. "VPN setup, disabling any port forwarding and uPNP, and setting a strong password on the NVR and cameras, is that everything needed to make sure nobody else can get in to the NVR"

That's basically it for a reasonably secure setup.
 

scquestions

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fenderman deserves 3 gold stars for patience and good advice.

what is the make and model of the router you are replacing?

Yes to your question. Have the one router, and plug everything into it. "VPN setup, disabling any port forwarding and uPNP, and setting a strong password on the NVR and cameras, is that everything needed to make sure nobody else can get in to the NVR"

That's basically it for a reasonably secure setup.
fenderman's patience is appreciated!

I'll be replacing a TP Link Archer C7, which was purchased due to multiple sites saying it is the best router for "most people".

Thank you for answering that question about the setup.
 

randytsuch

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I have a AT68U, and have never had any reason to complain about its speed.
During the summer, two teenage girls test my network with video chatting and youtube and whatever else they do lol.

There is a tmobile version which tmobile gives away to their customers, so you can find this cheap on ebay, but their running a slightly stripped down version of asus software.

But, if your budget is tight, tmobile ac-1900 could be the ticket. It is openVPN capable.

BTW, the camera ethernet traffic will be within your NVR. Only time the traffic will get only your main home network is when you want to check the video.
 

scquestions

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I have a AT68U, and have never had any reason to complain about its speed.
During the summer, two teenage girls test my network with video chatting and youtube and whatever else they do lol.

There is a tmobile version which tmobile gives away to their customers, so you can find this cheap on ebay, but their running a slightly stripped down version of asus software.

But, if your budget is tight, tmobile ac-1900 could be the ticket. It is openVPN capable.

BTW, the camera ethernet traffic will be within your NVR. Only time the traffic will get only your main home network is when you want to check the video.
I've seen the T-Mobile router brand new many times on Slickdeals, but missed it. For now I'm just going with an Asus from Amazon.

Alright, so nothing is going over the network constantly, only when it's being viewed. I'm assuming if a computer on the network is compromised that could cause a problem but my main concern is Internet from the outside and it looks like that's going to be taken care of.

I'm still not completely understanding how the VPN is working in regards to the Internet. From what I'm reading, the NVR won't be able to access the Internet directly, and will just access the local network (or any network, when connecting with a VPN client). Does that mean if I try to sync the time on the NVR or update the firmware that it won't work because the time server or Lorex server doesn't have my VPN key?
 

fenderman

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I've seen the T-Mobile router brand new many times on Slickdeals, but missed it. For now I'm just going with an Asus from Amazon.

Alright, so nothing is going over the network constantly, only when it's being viewed. I'm assuming if a computer on the network is compromised that could cause a problem but my main concern is Internet from the outside and it looks like that's going to be taken care of.

I'm still not completely understanding how the VPN is working in regards to the Internet. From what I'm reading, the NVR won't be able to access the Internet directly, and will just access the local network (or any network, when connecting with a VPN client). Does that mean if I try to sync the time on the NVR or update the firmware that it won't work because the time server or Lorex server doesn't have my VPN key?
The nvr will have outbound internet access. . unless you block it.... updates are performed locally by you..
 
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