The UPnP hacks website reveals the number of insecurities that, even today, are readily included with network routers.įrom a security point of view, it’s best to err on the side of caution. UPnP is a malware’s dream, as it automatically assumes that any apps or services running on your network are safe. The concept is brilliant, but sadly, the execution is flawed-if not extremely dangerous. For instance, UPnP may automatically open ports and forward traffic for a device running a game server without the need to manually configure access in your router settings. The idea behind UPnP was (and is) to allow internet-based apps and devices to create port forwarding rules on your router automatically to allow outside traffic. To help overcome this issue, network device manufacturers created an automated system for port forwarding called UPnP (or Universal Plug and Play). Setting up port forwarding on your local network isn’t difficult for advanced users, but it can create all types of difficulties for novices. Why You Should Avoid UPnP (Automatic Port Forwarding) You may also need to configure other firewalls on your network, including the Windows firewall, to allow the traffic. To do this, you’ll need to configure your network to allow port forwarding, then create the appropriate port forwarding rules in your network router. Outside requests to port 80 ( 80.90.100.110:80) would be allowed, thanks to port forwarding rules, with the traffic forwarded to port 80 on 192.168.1.12. For example, let’s assume you’re running a local web server on a device with the internal IP address 192.168.1.12, while your public IP address is 80.80.100.110.

Port forwarding windows 10