VPN on MyCloud PR4100

My Cloud OS 5 Personal & Network Attached Storage My Cloud Pro Series
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Hi everybody…

I’m sorry but I’m a noob. I use my computer with Cyberghost VPN, and I’d like to configure my VPN for my PR4100 as well, but I don’t understand how to do it. Can somebody please help me with the basis of this? I would appreciate any help.

Pino

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There are two kinds of VPN.

Outgoing: The (common) paid service is a connection you establish FROM a computer TO a VPN server. . . the connection is encrypted to keep prying eyes (the Feds and your ISP) from seeing what you are doing.

Incoming: A VPN connection that YOU establish between your computer (away from home) TO a VPN server on your network. This allows you to (1) have an encrypted connection between whatever dodgy location you are in (say; an airport) and to (2) have a connection to your home network; so that you can access devices on your home network.

These VPN types are different Cyberghost appears to be the first type (outgoing); and is not intended for you to access your home network while on the road.

*if you create a VPN connection to your home network this way; communication between your computer and whatever you are accessing on your network will be encrypted and hidden. If you establish this connection and surf the web; you communication TO your home network will be hidden by the snoops at the airport; but the ISP and the Feds will still be able to snoop your unencrypted traffic from your home network to the WEB. *

1 Like
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Thank you. Sorry if I didn’t reply, I just was very busy and didn’t have time to spend on my NAS.

You explanation is clear, but then what should I do to prevent undesired access to all my data on the NAS since it is 24h long on the net?

Thank you for your explanation.

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THAT is the $64,000 question.

First - - -forget any level of WD security. WD is not known for first rate security.

Second - - - the best firewall be from your router. What you need to do is to BLOCK all access to the NAS at the router to the internet. BUT at the same time, you need to ALLOW access to the NAS from other subnets within your network.

(as background; generally routers will assign all devices on the network to IP addresses within the same subnet e.g. 192.168.0.x; However, when you VPN into the network; your router will assign the device an IP address on a different subnet e.g. 10.0.0.x. You can still get to the internet and other devices (printers, NAS, PC’s, etc) on your network. . .it’s just a way to segregate the VPN PC’s from the reset of the system.)

The real trick here is setting up the IP routing table within your router.
My “stock” ASUS routers can’t do this correctly.
The menu settings don’t work quite right; and I could never block WAN without also blocking subnets.
I tried with two different routers; using a cell phone hotspot to one of my PC’s to test connections every which way from Tuesday.

I finally concluded that the answer was to flash the routers with Merlin (which is a fairly mainstream firmware for routers; and I think actually supported by some router makers) so I could do a proper full blown IP router table in Linux. (it doesn’t look hard - - -).

In the end, I bailed, and instead have IP blocked the NAS units from internet connections from the router. I would do this with ANY WD NAS.

Full disclosure: I also don’t run OS5; I actually reverted back to OS3 for privacy reasons. AND my chosen method to block the NAS units from the internet is to attach them to a router that lacks internet connection (Yes, to use the NAS, I have to switch networks on my PC’s - - - > but I deal with it)

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Don’t worry about being a beginner; we all start somewhere! Configuring a VPN for your PR4100 can be a valuable step to enhance your network security. Let’s break it down into some basics.
You’re already using Cyberghost VPN on your computer, which is a good start. Ensure you have a reliable VPN service that supports your PR4100.
Check if your PR4100 supports VPN connections. Most modern network-attached storage devices like PR4100 have VPN capabilities.
For more detailed guidance and tools, you can explore PYPROXY. They provide resources to assist you in setting up and understanding VPNs better.