UPnP or not UPnP? That is the question
 

Good afternoon.

I have a GT AX11000, which I bought for its WAN to LAN throughput to support my 1Gb VM connection, its outstanding wifi performance and for its general general power as a media server. The fact that it is touted as a gamer's server was also a factor, given that my twin 19-year olds both have serious gaming PCs and a good range of games.

With a 1Gb connection the adaptive QoS facility is pretty well useless and, to be honest, WTF (What the Fast) is a waste of subscription fee. The router does feature a nifty method of applying NAT rules from a fairly comprehensive list of games. However, I have come to understand that port forwarding is a pointless if one has UPnP enabled, because that facility allows games and devices to port-forward automatically and seamlessly anyway. Tell me now if I have been misled.

Reading the literature also tells me that UPnP is a security risk because it allows hackers to emulate a legitimate access request and thereby access all my UPnP devices! e.g the webcam I have pointed at my conjugal bed. :doh: :angel:

However, it hasn't escaped my attention that experts who tell me to switch off UPnP also tend to be selling an advice service or VPN. It is also clear that if I switch of UPnP I have all sorts of IP devices in the house, ranging from printers, to smart plugs, to led hubs and phones that might need manual port forwarding within LAN or to WAN ,if I were to disable UPnP. My router only has capacity, apparently, for 30 open NAT rules. Just counting up the twins PC games, that is 20 used up already if I go down the 'disable UPnP' route.

So, my questions are: 1) Is UPnP really such a security risk? 2) Is port forwarding pointless if UPnP is enabled? 3) Does life as we know it end if we disable UPnP?

Re: UPnP or not UPnP? That is the question
 

I guess, from the lack of response, that I have asked a stupid question or a question that is too hard to answer.

Re: UPnP or not UPnP? That is the question
 

Oh roughbeast I would so love to give you an answer, if only I could understand the question. <<Jo slopes off back to her non-techie corner>>

Hopefully someone will come and discuss your options and I shall read what you both say and then not understand a word either of you say. :bigcry:

Re: UPnP or not UPnP? That is the question
 

I thought that features of UPnP is that the process on the inside can open a port on firewalls to allow traffic to that process. This makes things nice and easy for users as they don't need to understand about ports/firewalls etc, things just work.
On the downside, just because a device asks for a port to open, do you really want it to? Your CB Webcam could be a case in point. You may be OK for it to connect to your home recorder but if it can use UPnP and it's turned on at the router ...

Things are a bit more complex than this but I don't turn on UPnP on the router. If I have a service I want exposed I can do that manually.

Re: UPnP or not UPnP? That is the question
 

I'm preparing to turn off UPnP by port-forwarding everything that I can think of that might need it, e.g. the teen's games. I guess it will have to be trial and error for everything else.