access my server from home VPN? please help?

[Anonymous]

Hi All

I could do with some advice…

I work for myself & have a OS X server in my office.
I’d like to work from home sometimes and get access to my files etc.
I have an ADSL modem/router with VPN facility Draytec 2600.
I also host a small web database and have opened port 80 to redirect to the database hosted on the web server part.

My question is, can I just open the 548 TCP/AFP port to direct to the IP address of the server. Is this safe from unwanted hacks etc?

or do I really need the VPN way, (in truth I’m not sure how to set this up!).

Any advise will be greatly appreciated.

Az ❓

[sbjordal]

Anonymous wrote:

Hi All

I could do with some advice…

I work for myself & have a OS X server in my office.
I’d like to work from home sometimes and get access to my files etc.
I have an ADSL modem/router with VPN facility Draytec 2600.
I also host a small web database and have opened port 80 to redirect to the database hosted on the web server part.

My question is, can I just open the 548 TCP/AFP port to direct to the IP address of the server. Is this safe from unwanted hacks etc?

or do I really need the VPN way, (in truth I’m not sure how to set this up!).

Any advise will be greatly appreciated.

Az ❓

Well, I would first approach this from a security standpoint. Yes, it’s technically feasable to open port 548 and mount sharepoints across the net, but it would be slow and wide open for anyone with a packetsniffer and portscan. There are several differnt options I would try first.
1. FTP. Easy to set up easy to use. Not secure.
2. Webdav. Uses Apache, and let’s you get to your files anywhere. Password protected, but not secure.
3. SSH. I would recommend going this route. SSH is already running on your server, and each user has a shell. I would check out SCP (secure copy) which is a fast and secure way for you to transfer files.

Hope this helps

[miamibeach]

Regarding using SSH & SCP to access your server, you may want to check out an app called FUGU. It will allow you to tunnel several different protocols over the SSH port. You can FTP or Secure Copy with a nice simple GUI interface. This app would be great at a price but it’s free. Definitely worth a try.

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