When I see this sort of thing, and other people are trying to do it, a reverse proxy or vpn is always mentioned. Heres my question:

How Dangerous is it to just open the port for it on my router and access it like that?

Lets say i want to access jellyfin from Kodi on my xbox or something outside my network, the vpn solution wouldnt work for this i would think.

My issue with reverse proxies, and why im asking, is it seems less secure? I mean Im well aware that an IP is easy to get, i guess. But how likely is someone to look for something on my network specifically? With reverse proxies it seems like i would be broadcasting my server to the internet in a way its easier to happen across, than someone being interested in a random residential IP.

I run a minecraft server for friends on my main computer anyway, and i know tons of people do that, theoretically thats the same level of danger as opening my network for jellyfin specifically.

VPN isnt an option because of this xbox stuff i mentioned and people in my family who have 0 chance of understanding it regardless.

So what is the better option, going through this reverse proxy ( which im actually also unsure would work with kodi) or rawdog the server on my network. I guess leaving the server exposed? or every device even.

  • @DigitalPortkey
    link
    English
    51 year ago

    Strong suggestion for Tailscale here. It is incredibly easy to use and very easy to set up with multiple users. Opening ports directly to the internet is a thing of the past for me now, ever since I started.