Synology Photos backup Android device over VPN?

VPN
1

Hi, I’m a new user of the DS923+, haven’t setup yet but had a question.

If I don’t setup port forwarding on the router and setup a vpn to access the NAS when away from my local network, do I need to have the vpn connection on my android device always on in order to backup to synology photos?

If so, will it backup once I am home on the WiFi automatically if the vpn is off as the connection address will be a 192.168.x.x one?

Thanks in advance!

2

Setup Tailscale on Synology and same on phone.

and point Synology Photos app to your Synology tailscale-ip-address

3

If you don’t setup a VPN you can use QuickConnect. Remote access is a generally widely discussed subject so check past threads. It would be best to turn on QuickConnect and/or install Tailscale so you better understand them before asking more questions.

4

If you have the photos app set up on your phone, it will backup any pictures you take when you return home and connect to the WiFi. Getting the VPN setup is needed if you want to view photos from the Synology while out of the house, or if you have an OCD like compulsion to upload pix as soon as they are taken.

In most situations, browsing photos via VPN very sluggish, since you are limited by the UPload speed of your connection, which is often much slower.

5

Thanks, will look into Tailscale. Never heard of it.

6

Tailscale is a personal VPN using Wireguard. You can directly connect from anywhere to any of your devices that have Tailscale installed, by using the Tailscale IP addresses . There are other similar products but I’m really happy with tailscale, on Android, on Iphone, on Windows laptop .

7

Does this prevent IP reputation attacks?

Xfinity just notified me that it blocked an attempted connection from a suspicious IP located in another county (I’m being purposefully vague, it gave me more information than this). It was definitely not me, and also definitely not wanted. Can this Tailscale protect from that?

8

both your router and the NAS have security firewalls . Either one can block access from regions that you don’t want to have access. Tailscale is a personal vpn, not a firewall.

9

I thought I had read on here you can’t do a personal vpn to protect your browsing on the internet via the NAS.

I guess my main goal would be to protect the NAS. I suppose that if I could avoid the cost of NordVPN as well that’d be slick.

Is that what you’re saying tailscale would accomplish (specifically I could protect my web traffic through it)

10

NO ! With Tailscale you construct your own network of devices that can communicate via a private network of IP addresses, securely . It is not about browsing the internet securely. I use it for remote access to my servers, to access shared folders and apps that are running on the server, without exposing the server to the internet ( other than my personal Tailscale nodes ) . It has never ocurrred to me to “browse the internet via my NAS” . I can’t see the advantage.

11

That last bit of browsing the internet via the NAS was a product of my limited understanding of VPNs and their uses.

12

I think I understand what this does better. By making a Virtual Private Network, these IP addresses don’t actually really exist and are only accessible if you know it’s there. Is that approximately correct?

13

Pretty much correct. The internet has no notion of their existence, and can’t get onto the network , if they did ( short of some amazing hacking. Maybe NSA could do it, it they knew what you were doing ! LOL )