Web streaming security

[bisonfan]

Hi!

Long time NPVR user that is slowly expanding the horizon of the software offerings.  This past weekend I figured out how to allow a family member to stream to remote location (their house) a football game via my PVR system.  I used my routers HTTP server and all worked well for the most part(occasional drops). However after the fact I realized that this wasn't the most secure connection. 

My System is an r3 1200 windows 10, NPVR build 4.2.5, asus rt-arch13 router

So my question is what is the best way to secure an output feed from your system?  What methods are others using? Is this outside of the realm of what the web access portion of the software is intended for?

My first thought was a VPN however they seem to be inconsistent (even paid services)… I than looked at HTTPS but not totally certain that it is what I need.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[mvallevand]

NextPVR doesn't offer a "hardened" server so it is user beware. I suspect any really good hacker could hack there way into a v4 or v5 web server if they really really wanted to so your first have to figure out what you are trying to guard and from whom. What more can they find that google doesn't already know.

To answer your question the best way is to host your own vpn server like OpenVPN. PPTP might be ok but even it can be hacked. This type of server won't be easy for casual viewing since you have to install the clients.

Commercial VPN's are typicall for outbound privacy not inbound. Then there are issues like the NordVPN leak where services might not be as secure as you think.

One minimum thing you might do is to only open your ipv6 address this will avoid many script kiddies who might be looking (if never even seen any "knocks" on port 8866 in my logs)

v5 is definitely a better bet for security because you can be configure to run https and even run behind an nginx proxy server which is going to be more hardened. Also the internal web server is newer and is still maintained.

Martin

[bisonfan]

Thanks Martin...

Since V5 is not an .exe are there good instructions on how to install it? I tried installing it but it didn't seems to do much if anything. I am quite certain I did something wrong in the install

Thanks

[mvallevand]

This is the most complete so far. https://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php?tid=59913

Martin

[sub]

Thanks Martin... 

Since V5 is not an .exe are there good instructions on how to install it?  I tried installing it but it didn't seems to do much if anything.  I am quite certain I did something wrong in the install

Thanks

At it's most basic, on a machine without NextPVR v4 (or where NextPVR v4 has been stopped), just do this:

Unzip the files into a directory like "C:\Program Files\NPVR" and run NextPVRServer.exe. A few seconds later the web app should start in your default browser. Login with admin/password, head to the settings screen....

[sub]

Realistically, I wouldn't suggest using v4 over the internet. v5 is more secure, but make sure you're not using the default username/password/pin. You could also use a different port number for port forwarding from your router.

With v5 it is also possible to https etc, if you have certs, or via proxy pass from another server like iis/nginx etc.

[bisonfan]

Ok I was able to get V5 installed and it seems to be working but I am starting to lean towards it is not possible with my current setup.

1) I have messed with the config files to decrease quality.  I have changed the max bitrate to 1,500,000 Kbps which I believe is 1.5Mbps. VBR vs CBR seems to do little different.

2) I am not sure how to disable the V4 web server so I am running V5 webserver, is that necessary?

3) FFmpeg is doing the transcode, I have read in past posts that you can utilize VLC for transcode but have yet to figure out how to complete that. I did change the transcode location but it did nothing...

4) my ISP upload speed averages 10 Mbps.  This seems to be borderline for reliable service...

5) When accessing the service from a remote location, I can get 10 seconds worth of streaming before it crashes the webserver protion of NPVR and I have to restart the recording service.

6) windows 10 seems to "Burst" the upload information.  Sometime the upload is 0Mbps sometime it is 5-6Mbps per second this cycles about every second. I receive a steady stream from my HDHR tuners... Would be nice if I could figure out how to "flatten" the upload so it was consistently under 2mpbs consistently...

Any thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated...

[sub]

5) When accessing the service from a remote location, I can get 10 seconds worth of streaming before it crashes the webserver protion of NPVR and I have to restart the recording service.

If you want to post the logs showing this, I'm happy to take a look. It absolutely shouldn't be crashing the web server, and I've not seen any other reports of this.

What CPU is in your computer? Transcoding is relatively hard on CPU, but most modern computers cope just fine.

4) my ISP upload speed averages 10 Mbps. This seems to be borderline for reliable service...

In the web app, in Settings->General, I'd set the streaming profile to the lowest quality (360p - 500kbps), and try that. If that works ok, you can try increasing to higher bitrates, and hopefully find the sweet spot that works best for your setup vs quality.

[sub]

2) I am not sure how to disable the V4 web server so I am running V5 webserver, is that necessary?

If you've uninstalled v4, and moved to v5, you don't need to worry about this.

If you've got both installed, you can change the web server port in the config.xml file and restart.

The v5 web app is better than the v4 web app, so definitely try to stick to that.

[bisonfan]

Sub

Thanks for the replies.  

cpu is a brand new ryzen 3 1200 with A320 motherboard & 8GB DDR4 @ 2666 MHZ, it is uses about 15-20% when transcoding to 1080P down.  It is a mid level GPU in it, however I am not sure I can use or need to use that for transcoding...

I did not uninstall v4 so I think I am running both.  I will uninstall version 4 tonight and see if that helps.

In the settings->General (not sure what location you are referencing) I am using 480p 1 MPBS however I have mess with my config file so I am not sure I have the correct configuration... Anyway I can get this portion of the config file?

I will pull my log file... It works great inside my router network, outside is where it crashes...

Thanks!