VPN

General discussion about Blue Iris
papounet71
Posts: 36
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2021 7:00 am

VPN

Post by papounet71 »

Hello and best wishes for 2022 to all
I just installed cyber ghost a VPN on my mobile phone.
I can no longer open blue iris when the VPN is activated.
is there a procedure for this to work
thank you
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TimG
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Joined: Tue Jun 18, 2019 10:45 am
Location: Nottinghamshire, UK.

Re: VPN

Post by TimG »

Hi, it is unclear what you are using CyberGhost on your mobile phone for. Can you explain ? General uses are watching tv from different countries and for hiding your own IP address - both of which could prevent BI5 obtaining a connection to your home BI5 pc.

When trying to use BI5 on your mobile phone are you at home on wifi, or is this remote from home using mobile data ?

I must say that you keep making things complicated ! The obvious answer to your question is to turn off your VPN when you want to use BI5 !

Here I do run OpenVPN but it runs on my router, with the client on my mobile phone giving me a secure tunnel back home to my LAN.
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YrbkMgr
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Re: VPN

Post by YrbkMgr »

If he is accessing public WiFi it makes sense to enable VPN on the mobile device - like connecting to the WiFi of a coffee shop or airport. I don't use the mobile app so I have nothing to contribute from a troubleshooting perspective.
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terk
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Re: VPN

Post by terk »

YrbkMgr wrote: Tue Jan 04, 2022 3:26 am If he is accessing public WiFi it makes sense to enable VPN on the mobile device - like connecting to the WiFi of a coffee shop or airport. I don't use the mobile app so I have nothing to contribute from a troubleshooting perspective.
True of a VPN like OpenVPN but CyberGhost sounds more Ike a web surfing privacy VPN that makes your connection come from some other IP which can cause issues for some local traffic while it's active.
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muzicman0
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Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2021 4:45 pm

Re: VPN

Post by muzicman0 »

Some 'surfing privacy' VPN's will allow you to selectively use the VPN on only specific connections or apps, but it doesn't look like CyberGhost has that feature - at least not from the 3 minutes of googling I have done.

The only option in this case (that I can think of at least) is to enable remote access from outside your internal network. In all honesty though, it is probably easier and more secure just to disable the VPN when you want to use the app.
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YrbkMgr
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Location: Chicagoland

Re: VPN

Post by YrbkMgr »

I don't use the mobile app, but here's where I get twisted up...

You don't want to connect to any public WiFi without a VPN app - it's not good practices. Turning it off to connect to your security cameras doesn't strike me as the best idea. I prefer to turn off WiFi and use data if I don't have a secure connection. Having NordVPN on my phone obfuscates my IP and encrypts the connection. Given that...

Is there a reason that he cannot connect to the BI server using the mobile app with VPN enabled? Also, shouldn't anyone with permission be able to open UI3 and log into the server using a browser on the mobile device?

To be clear, I'm just checking the logic. CyberGhost is functionally no different than the NordVPN app that I have. I just now connected to VPN via my mobile app and logged into UI3 with the browser on the phone. My cameras are not viewable via internet - I've set my web server to only allow connections from the LAN.
2022-01-04_162321.JPG
2022-01-04_162321.JPG (82.22 KiB) Viewed 5843 times
  • "Whenever I take something apart to fix it and put it back together again, I end up with like six really important looking pieces left over" -Tim Allen
  • If you know what your after, you'll recognize it when you see it.
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muzicman0
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Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2021 4:45 pm

Re: VPN

Post by muzicman0 »

It somewhat depends on how his VPN actually works. There are so many possibilities, it is hard to tell. But ultimately, if the VPN allows him to connect to their home network, then it should work. If, on the other hand, it simply routes traffic through a VPN server in the cloud somewhere (which is very common), then while it can still work, it does get more complicated (port forwarding, security, etc).

For instance, my VPN server runs on my home network. If I connect from my phone either on phone data, or public WiFi, I can access my home network securely by the internal local IP address (IE: 192.168.1.100). But it ONLY routes traffic destined to my home network. In other words, I don't have just standard internet traffic set to run through my VPN. I don't typically connect to public WiFi unless I really have to, which is rare.
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YrbkMgr
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Re: VPN

Post by YrbkMgr »

Yeah, I get the distinction. I shouldn't have overlooked it. I automatically assumed that he was not trying to vpn in, rather, I assumed he meant that the mobile app will not connect when his VPN app is "connected" - when his actual IP was obfuscated. Here's an example of what I think he's talking about.
VPN App Example.jpg
VPN App Example.jpg (36.75 KiB) Viewed 5806 times
I'm not saying I'm right, just how I interpreted it. We'll see - he made one post and disappeared so it's like the blind men feeling an elephant.
  • "Whenever I take something apart to fix it and put it back together again, I end up with like six really important looking pieces left over" -Tim Allen
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IAmATeaf
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Joined: Mon Jun 17, 2019 7:48 pm

Re: VPN

Post by IAmATeaf »

I think it all hinges on if remote access has been setup and actually works. The OP has not stated that this has been setup or actually works.

On my rig if I enable remote access, and using a registered DNS name I can access my system using the mobile app regardless if I enable/disable the VPN, I also use NordVPN.

So to the OP does access work if the VPN is disabled?
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TimG
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Re: VPN

Post by TimG »

You don't want to connect to any public WiFi without a VPN app - it's not good practices.
I never considered that, as I never use public wifi. I have an unlimited data plan for my mobile phone.
For instance, my VPN server runs on my home network.
Same here. OpenVPN runs on my Asus router.

And yes, we need the OP to explain things :idea:
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