So I’m just wondering, is exposing a port live to the internet safe? Especially given that we’re all opening the same port (32400). Well some of us anyways. Is there a safer way to set this up , like with a VPN or something?
Thanks! My plex server is finally up and running and it works beautifully. I’m literally blown away that I didn’t know about this till now lol.
You can use a VPN with plex, the downside being the cost and usually a hit to your upload and download speed. Additionally many VPN providers forwards a random port everytime you connect which makes setup very much harder.
Also always access the web app trough https://app.plex.tv/web/app instead of direct connecting with your IP as that gives you the added benefit of HTTPS incase you are afraid of someone sniffing the network.
As long as you link your account to the server and make sure to update it as often as possible you should be OK 
Use any* port you want to on the public side. But yes, you are incurring more risk by exposing a device on the Internet than if you were not. You cannot change the internal port (32400) but I would definitely assign something different on the internet side (the part you can change in the web interface) and port forward that port from your router to port 32400 on your PMS. There is a plex support page about port forwarding if you search.
*meaning a port that is not already in use by something else
@Belm420 said:
You can use a VPN with plex, the downside being the cost and usually a hit to your upload and download speed. Additionally many VPN providers forwards a random port everytime you connect which makes setup very much harder.Also always access the web app trough https://app.plex.tv/web/app instead of direct connecting with your IP as that gives you the added benefit of HTTPS incase you are afraid of someone sniffing the network.
As long as you link your account to the server and make sure to update it as often as possible you should be OK
What do you mean by connecting with my IP? On the client side I’m using openPHT as I like the customizability and interface. Are you saying that perhaps this isn’t as safe as connecting through https?
Thanks!
@dweissca said:
@Belm420 said:
You can use a VPN with plex, the downside being the cost and usually a hit to your upload and download speed. Additionally many VPN providers forwards a random port everytime you connect which makes setup very much harder.Also always access the web app trough https://app.plex.tv/web/app instead of direct connecting with your IP as that gives you the added benefit of HTTPS incase you are afraid of someone sniffing the network.
As long as you link your account to the server and make sure to update it as often as possible you should be OK
What do you mean by connecting with my IP? On the client side I’m using openPHT as I like the customizability and interface. Are you saying that perhaps this isn’t as safe as connecting through https?
Thanks!
I should have wrote that better… What I mean is, say for example you want to watch a movie when you’re not at home. If you are going to use the web app then it’s better to use https://app.plex.tv/web/app instead of your home ip, ex 123.456.789.123:32400. This gives you the added benefit of encrypted traffic which is much safer when using a public or unprotected networks.
You are probably fine with the current setup, security wise. However it’s not a bad idea to do what @drinehart suggested.
