DMZ and File Sharing

Busby · Post by **Busby** » Sun Jun 06, 2004 1:31 pm

I know DMZ exposes you to the internet but would it still be ok to use file sharing across the LAN? I'm thinking not and I just need to manually forward the ports for BT but I'm not sure.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sun Jun 06, 2004 3:18 pm

What kind of file sharing are you trying to do? You said "File Sharing Across the LAN" which doesn't make sense. If you're sharing files on the LAN, the DMZ will have nothing to do with that. The DMZ exposes your computer to the WAN not the LAN. You're already on the LAN.

You don't want to use DMZ unless you need to expose a computer to the Internet without the protection of a NAT router. If you do, you'll need to use a software firewall.

What exactly are you trying to do?

Busby · Post by **Busby** » Sun Jun 06, 2004 8:20 pm

I got ZA Integrity Desktop (through GA Tech).

By file sharing I mean WIndows File and Printer Sharing.

Basically I have a router hooked up to my net connection and my desktop and laptop on my router's LAN side. If my desktop is turned to be DMZ, will file sharing to my laptop be exposed to the net also?

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Mon Jun 07, 2004 7:42 am

If all your computers are connected to the LAN side of the router, then you can share files on the LAN - nothing to stop you.

Yes, if you put the desktop on the DMZ then someone could hack in via NETBIOS. As I said before it's not a good idea to put a computer on the DMZ unless you have to. If you do you want to use a firewall and configure it to block NETBIOS. You also want to password protect all network shared with strong passwords.

I still don't understand why you want to enable DMZ. You don't need it for local file sharing on the LAN.

If you're trying to share files across the WAN you can't easily do that over NETBIOS, and it certainly wouldn't be secure. You're better off using Remote Desktop, a VPN, or FTP Server.

Busby · Post by **Busby** » Mon Jun 07, 2004 10:10 am

DMZ was for BT. But I figured out I can do port ranges on my port forwarding page so it's all good.

ShibasScotch · Post by **ShibasScotch** » Tue Jun 08, 2004 10:25 am

for BT i just set myself as DMZ when I use them, I tried to open the ports, but BT uses a range of like 100 or so, and it still didnt work nearly as well as when I was set to DMZ... Just dont leave it on !

Busby · Post by **Busby** » Tue Jun 08, 2004 12:09 pm

I customize my ports to allow for a non-default operation. I personally think it's safer than going default.

It's working nicely now too (BT and File and Printer Sharing)