Accessing Tank via internet remotely

[Syndrome]

My goal is to access my Neptune ACIII and DCS 900 camera to view over the internet while i'm away or during vacation. Been trying by phone and emails with great help for the last few months from Neptune, D-Link support and other forum without any luck. I'm losing hope, it seems like a simple configuration but turning into a hugh headache or perhaps just above my IQ level. Is there's anyone out there who can perhaps assist me, I would really appreciate it very much. This is where i'm at:

Computers: Mac OS X ver.10.4.10 (2 wirelessly)
Internet provider: cable modem by Cogeco (called them about firewall issues and said no problem)
Router: Wireless D-Link Extreme N-Router 655
Wireless G ethernet bridge: Buffalo Airstation connected via ethernet w/ ACIII & DCS 900 camera
whatismyip address: I have it
DynDNS: I've registered and configured both dynamic and static addresses

I have configured the "Virtual Server" with my D-link 655 router's port and traffic type (80,81 and TCPs etc.) with "Firefox" browser and even upgrade the firmwares. Opened up all the firewalls like DMS host.

I type in (eg): http://11.22.333.444:81 or whatever port ...and no connection!

What else am I doing wrong? :confused1

[Fragalot]

Did you open the TCP and UDP ports on router? Can you connect your router from remote pc? Problem might be this You can connect your router but your router wont let you go to your pc. You might need to route your public ip to your private ip.

[Syndrome]

Did you open the TCP and UDP ports on router? Can you connect your router from remote pc? Problem might be this You can connect your router but your router wont let you go to your pc. You might need to route your public ip to your private ip.

Thanks man, sorry i'm a little slow, this is where I get confused it's all talking "chinese" to me. Yes, I opened 3 names and types opening TCP, UDP and even Both. I wired connect (ethernet) one dedicated computer to router and camera to LAN port. Now how do I route public IP to private IP?

[Fragalot]

Did you try this?

http://support.dlink.ca/faq/view.asp?prod_id=1324&question=route%20port

When you click on the link it will take you to d-link home page Click on the same link top of the page on new opened page. It will take you to page that shows how to route to IP address

[gerwen]

Did you figure this out? If no, i can probably give you a hand, as i've done something similar, although not with a webcam.

[Syndrome]

No Gerwen, I gave up with D-Link tech support and given it a rest I just can't figure it out anymore. Definitely interested on how you did yours.

[gerwen]

What i was doing was remote controlling my pc from work. I had a secure desktop available to me, that gave me complete control of the PC. It used to freak the kids out, as it looked like a ghost was controlling the computer, mouse moving, etc. I'm sure what I learned would be helpful to you, as i ran into a number of problems that needed solving.

Instead of accessing the devices directly, would having access to your home PC be an acceptable solution?

[ajx22]

Have you read/reviewed:
http://www.aquariumpros.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=15154

Post #19


HTH ,

[Syndrome]

Remember, i'm using MAC computers, the software programs for these devices are only for PC. I can only access the devices through their IP addresses with my MAC at home. OK Gerwen, what do I have to do or need to access my home (mac) computer remotely via internet? Thank you for all the replies.

[ajx22]

Message chrismo - as he had done this exact set-up to the eMarine shop for us to have a live webcam...and we too were using a Dlink router and an iMac (old).

HTH ,

[Wassdog]

Cool stuff I hope you get it going. Blumantr knows what he is doing too.

[gerwen]

Warning, i'm not familiar with MacOSX, however I am familiar with a few flavours of linux, which i believe the mac shares a lot with.

Easiest way, is to use a program called VNC. (Vine on osX)
Vine for osX:
http://www.redstonesoftware.com/products/vine/server/vineosx/index.html
UltraVNC(my favourite windows version):
http://www.uvnc.com/

Free software.
Install the server on your Home PC.
Set your firewall for a Virtual Server, pointing to your home PC's internal ip addy (ifconfig command should get you the ip if you don't know it already)
Port on the virtual server should be 5900 (not 80) but i'm not sure if the Mac version uses the same port, you need to verify this in the Vine setup.

Install the Vine software on your remote computer, and use the viewer to connect to your outside IP address.

Security concerns:
Leaving the vine server running is a security hole. Depending on how the apple version is implemented, a hacker could only be a weak password away from control of your computer. Make sure the Vine password is strong if it doesn't use the local user accounts.

Closing the security hole, different methods, increasingly difficult to set-up, but increasingly more security:

1. Change the port that Vine uses from 5900, to something high, like 22000+. That way a random port scan will show an open port, but not immediately that it is interesting, or VNC.

2. Use SSH to only run the Vine server when you need to. SSH is native on OSX, and is very secure. Make sure the SSH server is running, and only allowing logins on an account with a good password. You will need to setup another "virtual server" on the firewall, just like for VNC, but on port 22 instead of 5900. (Port can also be changed to something high, for better security)

This link:
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/mac/2003/09/19/remote_control.html
has info on setting up SSH on OSX
Once the SSH server is setup, you can log in remotely, and start the Vine server from the command line, then kill the server when you're done.

3. Tunnel the Vine session over SSH. Most secure, but challenging to set up.
Set up the SSH server as previously, but there is some extra functionality that allows you to run Vine(or anything network related really) through the SSH session. It will require some config file editing and is quite a bear for a non-tech to get going, but is doable. This is by far the most secure option, as SSH is about as secure communication computer-computer you can get. If it is guarded by strong passwords, it would be way too much trouble for any hacker to bother with. The only traffic exposed is the SSH traffic in this case.

Give it a shot. Have patience, have fun. If you get it to work, you'll feel like an IT pro. If you run into trouble, PM me and i can help you further.

Note: all these methods also apply to Windows, and Linux pcs. Getting a free SSH server working on a windows box is a challenge, but doable. Using VNC (or Vine) is really nice, because you can connect to any pc (windows, linux, Mac) from any other pc. Same for SSH