Library - access from internet

[Homey]

I've have a bunch of ebooks in mt Calibre library and have the server running. I can access all the books from the home network using the internal IP address of the machine with the :8080 suffix but how on earth can I access the library when I'm away from home?
The Kindle has free 3g so it would be great to download books from my home library when i'm not at home!
Are there any tutorials about this - I tried to search for it but drew a blank

Many thanks!

[Manichean]

What you need to do is set up port forwarding on your router to allow connections to the machine running the Calibre server. You'll then probably want to set up some flavour of DynDNS for conveniences sake. Since this depends heavily on your router's features and interface, you won't get much help on the forum concerning such a setup. If you feel comfortable doing this, refer to your router manual for instructions how to set it up.
You should keep in mind that this essentially opens up (one port on) one of your computers to the internet. Security considerations may apply, at the very least, you should set up your Calibre server to use a password.

[Homey]

Damn! You lost me just after port forwarding!!
No worries, i'll try and figure it out - I assumed that it would be straight forward!

[Manichean]

It's not that straigthforward. The best advice I can give is to do your background research so you understand what you're doing.

[Ripplinger]

This site, PortForward.com, might help you out. Just find your router in the list and it will give you step by step instructions on how to set up the port forwarding.

[Homey]

Thank you.
It's just one of those "wouldn't it be neat if I could.." type ideas. The more I look into it though, the more it scares me, what with all the security issues etc!
Maybe I should just stick to local access!!

[theducks]

Manichean's valid point:
You are leaving the Kitchen cat door unlocked when you port forward.

It is best to to put the jewels in another room . (You have seen 'Klepto' on you-tube?)

The point being: give stuff you expose to outside access their own computer for the safety of the rest of your data .

Do not allow easy 2-way access from that computer to the rest of your computers (no permanent shares used).

[Ripplinger]

Yeah, it's definitely not something you want to leave open 24/7 even with a password. If you have a friend who wants to browse your books and maybe grab a few, then do it for that short time when they'll be connecting, and then undo the port forwarding when they're done. It's nice to work through it so you know how to do it and have that option if and when needed.

[Starson17]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

Yeah, it's definitely not something you want to leave open 24/7 even with a password. If you have a friend who wants to browse your books and maybe grab a few, then do it for that short time when they'll be connecting, and then undo the port forwarding when they're done. It's nice to work through it so you know how to do it and have that option if and when needed.

Can you identify specifics of the threat scenario you contemplate? The attacker has to find your address, find your port, then identify a weakness in the server (which may necessitate finding the password). I know the first two are obscurity only protections, but they do limit the threats. Do we know of any weaknesses in cherrypy or Calibre? My logs don't show any attacks that have ever even scanned my Calibre port.

[Ripplinger]

No, I don't know of any vulnerabilities in Calibre at all, but it's just common safety to me. All my ports and closed and showing as stealth unless I need to forward them for some specific reason. Once that reason is done with, I undo it so they go back to stealth. I'd just rather err on the side of caution, and it seems to be working since over 20 years on the net I've never had one virus or hacking or lost data.

[Starson17]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

No, I don't know of any vulnerabilities in Calibre at all, but it's just common safety to me.

It's good to be safe, but you'd be even safer if you didn't run your computer at all. That will guarantee you'd not get any viruses or be hacked.

I want 24/7 access to my books and I'm not going to let a theoretical concern about a threat I've never heard of stop me from getting a practical benefit I use every day. I've never heard of anyone getting hacked via the Calibre server. I'd recommend people make backups, use a less common port, use a decent password, and if they're really hyper-worried about security, use an https secure reverse proxy.

You are probably at least as vulnerable just running a common router as you are running Calibre's content server. If you don't turn off your router the minute you stop using it for fear that someone will hack you, I see no reason to turn off your content server.

[Ripplinger]

If you use the feature that much, by all means make use of it. For myself, since I only use it rarely, I see no reason to leave any port forwarded and open if you don't need it just as standard safety precautions.

[Starson17]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

I see no reason to leave any port forwarded and open if you don't need it just as standard safety precautions.

We are in basic agreement on this. I don't leave ports open that I'm not using, either. OTOH, I thought your statement that "it's definitely not something you want to leave open 24/7 even with a password " was much too extreme. I do exactly that and I'm perfectly comfortable doing it. I hate to see new users scared away from using one of the best features in Calibre.