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Hosting without Port Forwarding?

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Hosting without Port Forwarding? 21/03/2020 at 18:33 #123912
Legoclown55
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13 posts
Hi,
Is it possible to host a SimSig game without having to use port forwarding?

I am using Windows 10 Home.

I have also got a VPN if any help?

Thanks in advance
Sam

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Hosting without Port Forwarding? 21/03/2020 at 18:52 #123913
belly buster
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368 posts
If you have a domestic internet connection (ISP with a router) then the answer is no.

Why do you ask?

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The following user said thank you: Legoclown55
Hosting without Port Forwarding? 21/03/2020 at 18:57 #123915
Legoclown55
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Because I don't fully understand Port Forwarding and don't understand the security implications for opening up my port to forwarding. And whether my router even supports port forwarding.

Thanks
Sam

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Hosting without Port Forwarding? 21/03/2020 at 21:15 #123920
belly buster
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368 posts
Port forwarding allows computers on the internet to access computers on your home network.

The reason port forarwarding is needed is because, by default, your router will not allow external network traffic into your network, unless it is in response to something you have initiated (i.e. to retrieve web pages back after you have requested them). If you are looking to host, SimSig needs this external traffic to connect to your game.

It is also needed to direct the traffic to the right place, i.e. to your SimSig PC, rather than anywhere else on your network (e.g. your iPad or your smart doorbell).

If you are only opening the ports for SimSig, there is minimal risk.

The process to set it up can be a bit fiddly, but plenty of people on here have done it, and there's a good few experts who will always help you get there.

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Hosting without Port Forwarding? 21/03/2020 at 21:43 #123923
postal
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belly buster in post 123920 said:
The process to set it up can be a bit fiddly, but plenty of people on here have done it, and there's a good few experts who will always help you get there.
There are also a couple of pages in the Wiki (here and here) here which give information and also links to find the particular instructions for setting up your own router.

The point of port forwarding is that you are not opening up the whole of your network to the whole of the internet. You are allowing something trying to access on a particular port to access a particular machine on your network. Provided you have the normal level of anti-virus and anti-malware on that machine, then opening that particular port on that machine shouldn't be any more risky than allowing the ports that are permanently open like 80 and 443 which allow normal access between all of your kit and the internet.

“In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe
Last edited: 21/03/2020 at 21:44 by postal
Reason: None given

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Hosting without Port Forwarding? 21/03/2020 at 21:44 #123924
Sacro
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belly buster in post 123913 said:
If you have a domestic internet connection (ISP with a router) then the answer is no.
Unless you have another way of routing traffic. Say... a VPN.

It depends on your VPN and whether you can receive inbound traffic via it

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Hosting without Port Forwarding? 21/03/2020 at 21:48 #123925
Sacro
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postal in post 123923 said:
... the ports that are permanently open like 80 and 443 which allow normal access between all of your kit and the internet.
Those ports are certainly not permanently open. Many residential ISPs won't even let you port-forward those

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Hosting without Port Forwarding? 21/03/2020 at 21:50 #123926
Sacro
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belly buster in post 123920 said:
The reason port forarwarding is needed is because, by default, your router will not allow external network traffic into your network, unless it is in response to something you have initiated...
That's the role of a firewall. Network Address Translation is needed as you have to map an internal IP to an external one.

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Hosting without Port Forwarding? 21/03/2020 at 22:25 #123932
postal
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Sacro in post 123925 said:
postal in post 123923 said:
... the ports that are permanently open like 80 and 443 which allow normal access between all of your kit and the internet.
Those ports are certainly not permanently open. Many residential ISPs won't even let you port-forward those
Happy to stand aside when greater technical knowledge is available (and happy to acknowledge that Wikipedia is not infallible)!

“In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe
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Hosting without Port Forwarding? 22/03/2020 at 06:12 #123937
jem771
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I run an IT company
I have the firewall ports open on my router all the time, there isn't much any would be hacker could do with those ports as they are pretty much inactive unless your pc is running in multi-player mode then they come into play, then all they allow is connection to the SimSig instance for the purpose of the game.
with the ports open and SimSig off, no connoection can be made so nothing can heppen.
We have corporate networks and datacentres and we have to open up firewall ports for all sorts of external connections. It's normal.
Just ensure you do it properly is all:
make sure you open up the port EG 50505 > Direct to your PC IP EG 192.168.1.100 and its safe.
problem is there are lots of routers out there and all have fiddly methods to get this done.
I'm happy assist if anyone has any questions about thier particular issue.
Jem
www.jcsit.solutions

Jezz
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