Discussion:
Seagate abandon remote access to their 'Central' NAS
(too old to reply)
Roger Mills
2018-05-06 16:14:35 UTC
Permalink
I have had a Seagate Central NAS system for several years - and use it
for backing up some of the PCs on my network and also for occasional
remote access to my media files when away from home - mainly using the
Tappin app on mobile devices.

I have recently discovered that Seagate stopped supporting remote
access, and turned off the Tappin app in early April.

I guess that a number of readers of these NGs must be affected by this,
and wondered whether anyone has found a solution - other than using
cloud storage. I simply want to be able to access the files stored on
my NAS remotely without needing to leave any computers running when I'm
away from home. Any suggestions?
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.
GlowingBlueMist
2018-05-06 17:09:31 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Mills
I have had a Seagate Central NAS system for several years - and use it
for backing up some of the PCs on my network and also for occasional
remote access to my media files when away from home - mainly using the
Tappin app on mobile devices.
I have recently discovered that Seagate stopped supporting remote
access, and turned off the Tappin app in early April.
I guess that a number of readers of these NGs  must be affected by this,
and wondered whether anyone has found a solution - other than using
cloud storage. I simply want to be able to access the files  stored on
my NAS remotely without needing to leave any computers running when I'm
away from home. Any suggestions?
Check to see if your router supports VPN (Virtual Private Network) as a
feature. It needs to have the Server version of the VPN, be it OpenVPN
Server or PPTP Server.

In my case I have a Asus RT-AC68P/U router attached to my Cable modem.
For various reasons I have loaded version 140 of the Tomato firmware
into my router. This allows me to activate either OpenVPN or PPTP
versions of VPN. I personally choose the OpenVPN method as I already
was using the OpenVPN on my PC's to remotely connect to a couple of
charities that I help keep operating. OpenVPN does have a little harder
learning curve than PPTP but for the home user either will work.

With the VPN connection I can remotely connect to any device normally
accessible on my LAN, be it a PC, NAS, or even security cameras. So in
your case all you would have to leave on is the router, NAS, possibly a
Ethernet bridge, and what ever modem you use to connect to the internet.
Should you want to access your PC's than too could be arrange.

For many routers on the market you don't need to change the firmware to
Tomato or DD-WRT as they come with some version of VPN software built
into them. For other models if you are lucky you can upgrade the
firmware to DD-WRT, Tomato, or one of the other alternate firmware that
are out there.
The Natural Philosopher
2018-05-06 17:39:58 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Mills
I simply want to be able to access the files  stored on
my NAS remotely without needing to leave any computers running when I'm
away from home. Any suggestions?
Well you need to leave the NAS running.

Id be tempted to rip its disk out and fit to a Pi or equivalent, then
set up ssh access and dynamic DNS and remote passthru on yer router
--
New Socialism consists essentially in being seen to have your heart in
the right place whilst your head is in the clouds and your hand is in
someone else's pocket.
Chris Green
2018-05-06 17:42:02 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Mills
I have had a Seagate Central NAS system for several years - and use it
for backing up some of the PCs on my network and also for occasional
remote access to my media files when away from home - mainly using the
Tappin app on mobile devices.
I have recently discovered that Seagate stopped supporting remote
access, and turned off the Tappin app in early April.
I guess that a number of readers of these NGs must be affected by this,
and wondered whether anyone has found a solution - other than using
cloud storage. I simply want to be able to access the files stored on
my NAS remotely without needing to leave any computers running when I'm
away from home. Any suggestions?
Well you could have something like a Raspberry PI left on permanently
to give you access, very little power, no fan or anything.

I'm not sure what OS a 'Seagate Central NAS' runs but if it's Linux
(almost certainly) then you can probably get at it via that somehow.
--
Chris Green
·
VanguardLH
2018-05-06 21:31:25 UTC
Permalink
Original newsgroups: alt.windows7.general,uk.d-i-y
Newsgroups in reply: alt.windows7.general

Reason: I do not visit the DIY newsgroup to know it qualifies as a
computing newsgroup. Probably on-topic to the Win7 newsgroup.
Post by Roger Mills
I have had a Seagate Central NAS system for several years - and use it
for backing up some of the PCs on my network and also for occasional
remote access to my media files when away from home - mainly using the
Tappin app on mobile devices.
I have recently discovered that Seagate stopped supporting remote
access, and turned off the Tappin app in early April.
I guess that a number of readers of these NGs must be affected by this,
and wondered whether anyone has found a solution - other than using
cloud storage. I simply want to be able to access the files stored on
my NAS remotely without needing to leave any computers running when I'm
away from home. Any suggestions?
Okay, you stumped me. How can files on a computer's drives be accessed
when that computer is unpowered?
GlowingBlueMist
2018-05-07 06:57:09 UTC
Permalink
Post by VanguardLH
Original newsgroups: alt.windows7.general,uk.d-i-y
Newsgroups in reply: alt.windows7.general
Reason: I do not visit the DIY newsgroup to know it qualifies as a
computing newsgroup. Probably on-topic to the Win7 newsgroup.
Post by Roger Mills
I have had a Seagate Central NAS system for several years - and use it
for backing up some of the PCs on my network and also for occasional
remote access to my media files when away from home - mainly using the
Tappin app on mobile devices.
I have recently discovered that Seagate stopped supporting remote
access, and turned off the Tappin app in early April.
I guess that a number of readers of these NGs must be affected by this,
and wondered whether anyone has found a solution - other than using
cloud storage. I simply want to be able to access the files stored on
my NAS remotely without needing to leave any computers running when I'm
away from home. Any suggestions?
Okay, you stumped me. How can files on a computer's drives be accessed
when that computer is unpowered?
The user did not want to access the computer's hard drives.

The NAS (Network Access Storage) they want to access is basically a box
holding hard drive(s) that are connected to the local network. This box
is normally separate from the PC and has it's own power supply. This is
something they can already access from PC's on the same internal LAN.
They were looking for a way to access the NAS box from locations outside
their home LAN.

Then again possibly you were attempting to be humorous...
VanguardLH
2018-05-07 07:17:15 UTC
Permalink
Post by GlowingBlueMist
Post by VanguardLH
Original newsgroups: alt.windows7.general,uk.d-i-y
Newsgroups in reply: alt.windows7.general
Reason: I do not visit the DIY newsgroup to know it qualifies as a
computing newsgroup. Probably on-topic to the Win7 newsgroup.
Post by Roger Mills
I have had a Seagate Central NAS system for several years - and use it
for backing up some of the PCs on my network and also for occasional
remote access to my media files when away from home - mainly using the
Tappin app on mobile devices.
I have recently discovered that Seagate stopped supporting remote
access, and turned off the Tappin app in early April.
I guess that a number of readers of these NGs must be affected by this,
and wondered whether anyone has found a solution - other than using
cloud storage. I simply want to be able to access the files stored on
my NAS remotely without needing to leave any computers running when I'm
away from home. Any suggestions?
Okay, you stumped me. How can files on a computer's drives be accessed
when that computer is unpowered?
The user did not want to access the computer's hard drives.
The NAS (Network Access Storage) they want to access is basically a box
holding hard drive(s) that are connected to the local network.
The NAS box is also a computer. I did not say the OP's desktop or his
workstation or his PC. The OP said "without needing to leave ANY
computers running".
Roger Mills
2018-05-07 13:18:42 UTC
Permalink
Post by VanguardLH
Post by GlowingBlueMist
Post by VanguardLH
Original newsgroups: alt.windows7.general,uk.d-i-y
Newsgroups in reply: alt.windows7.general
Reason: I do not visit the DIY newsgroup to know it qualifies as a
computing newsgroup. Probably on-topic to the Win7 newsgroup.
Post by Roger Mills
I have had a Seagate Central NAS system for several years - and use it
for backing up some of the PCs on my network and also for occasional
remote access to my media files when away from home - mainly using the
Tappin app on mobile devices.
I have recently discovered that Seagate stopped supporting remote
access, and turned off the Tappin app in early April.
I guess that a number of readers of these NGs must be affected by this,
and wondered whether anyone has found a solution - other than using
cloud storage. I simply want to be able to access the files stored on
my NAS remotely without needing to leave any computers running when I'm
away from home. Any suggestions?
Okay, you stumped me. How can files on a computer's drives be accessed
when that computer is unpowered?
The user did not want to access the computer's hard drives.
The NAS (Network Access Storage) they want to access is basically a box
holding hard drive(s) that are connected to the local network.
The NAS box is also a computer. I did not say the OP's desktop or his
workstation or his PC. The OP said "without needing to leave ANY
computers running".
OK - you're splitting hairs. I think most people will realise that I was
talking about laptop and desktop computers - obviously *not* any
computing device inside the NAS itself.

More to the point, have you got any useful suggestions?
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.
Paul
2018-05-07 14:08:36 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Mills
Post by VanguardLH
Post by GlowingBlueMist
Post by VanguardLH
Original newsgroups: alt.windows7.general,uk.d-i-y
Newsgroups in reply: alt.windows7.general
Reason: I do not visit the DIY newsgroup to know it qualifies as a
computing newsgroup. Probably on-topic to the Win7 newsgroup.
Post by Roger Mills
I have had a Seagate Central NAS system for several years - and use it
for backing up some of the PCs on my network and also for occasional
remote access to my media files when away from home - mainly using the
Tappin app on mobile devices.
I have recently discovered that Seagate stopped supporting remote
access, and turned off the Tappin app in early April.
I guess that a number of readers of these NGs must be affected by this,
and wondered whether anyone has found a solution - other than using
cloud storage. I simply want to be able to access the files stored on
my NAS remotely without needing to leave any computers running when I'm
away from home. Any suggestions?
Okay, you stumped me. How can files on a computer's drives be accessed
when that computer is unpowered?
The user did not want to access the computer's hard drives.
The NAS (Network Access Storage) they want to access is basically a box
holding hard drive(s) that are connected to the local network.
The NAS box is also a computer. I did not say the OP's desktop or his
workstation or his PC. The OP said "without needing to leave ANY
computers running".
OK - you're splitting hairs. I think most people will realise that I was
talking about laptop and desktop computers - obviously *not* any
computing device inside the NAS itself.
More to the point, have you got any useful suggestions?
Doesn't your NAS offer FTP and SFTP ?

If so, use the latter.

What some "Apps" add to projects like this, is the hardware
manufacturer maintains a "connection server", which is in a
sense a form of "dynamic DNS". Your home setup may receive
a different DHCP address every time you connect to your
ISP. The "App" world provides a means for you to "log in"
to Seagate, and Seagate has a record of the NAS registering
with it, so Seagate knows the address. The data itself
doesn't travel through the Seagate server, but Seagate
may maintain an address map of where each NAS is located
on the Internet. That's the main value.

If you want to manage connections to the box yourself,
you might need port forwarding on the router, DynDNS on the router to
register the symbolic address for usage while away from home,
and select a protocol which is secure for usage over the Internet
(at least SFTP - don't leave FTP running on the Internet side
where it can be seen and poked via automated kiddie scripts).

Setting up a "Personal Cloud" is possible, using existing tools.

Or you could try Googling on "personal cloud" and see if any
third party software solves the DynDNS problem for you.
(DynDNS was free at one time, but might not be free
any more.) For example, I think you can transfer files
over TeamViewer.

I've never set up such services over the Internet here,
because it's just too much of a risk. I wouldn't even
think of doing this. If I had to do it, I'd use Dropbox
instead, as they can spend their waking hours keeping
it secure. Whereas I don't want to.

Paul
VanguardLH
2018-05-07 18:11:41 UTC
Permalink
Post by Paul
Post by Roger Mills
Post by VanguardLH
Post by GlowingBlueMist
Post by VanguardLH
Original newsgroups: alt.windows7.general,uk.d-i-y
Newsgroups in reply: alt.windows7.general
Reason: I do not visit the DIY newsgroup to know it qualifies as a
computing newsgroup. Probably on-topic to the Win7 newsgroup.
Post by Roger Mills
I have had a Seagate Central NAS system for several years - and use it
for backing up some of the PCs on my network and also for occasional
remote access to my media files when away from home - mainly using the
Tappin app on mobile devices.
I have recently discovered that Seagate stopped supporting remote
access, and turned off the Tappin app in early April.
I guess that a number of readers of these NGs must be affected by this,
and wondered whether anyone has found a solution - other than using
cloud storage. I simply want to be able to access the files stored on
my NAS remotely without needing to leave any computers running when I'm
away from home. Any suggestions?
Okay, you stumped me. How can files on a computer's drives be accessed
when that computer is unpowered?
The user did not want to access the computer's hard drives.
The NAS (Network Access Storage) they want to access is basically a box
holding hard drive(s) that are connected to the local network.
The NAS box is also a computer. I did not say the OP's desktop or his
workstation or his PC. The OP said "without needing to leave ANY
computers running".
OK - you're splitting hairs. I think most people will realise that I was
talking about laptop and desktop computers - obviously *not* any
computing device inside the NAS itself.
More to the point, have you got any useful suggestions?
Doesn't your NAS offer FTP and SFTP ?
I had thought of that, too, along with VNC (UltraVNC, RealVNC, TightVNC)
and Windows RDP except those require punching holes in the router to
allow external access. The router would need to be configured for port
forwarding to the NAS host. I doubt the OP wants to remember the
current WAN-side address of his router/modem and it could be dynamic
instead of static, so adding DDNS (e.g., OpenDNS, NoIP) would let him
access his router via host and domain name. Although some routers
support DDNS, most don't or don't support the same DDNS provider as the
user wants to use, so a local DNS updater client is needed that connects
to the DDNS account to update the IP address there. That lets the
account know to where it connects when an inbound request comes in. Its
a lot of work.

I'm wondering if Tappin worked similar to TeamViewer, LogMeIn, Mikigo,
or other similar remoting services. Typically a firewall will not block
outbound HTTP connections, so a TeamViewer server running on a host
would make outbound connects to the TeamViewer service to see if there
were any pending inbound connections from external sources (i.e., you
ask the TeamView service to connect to your remote host). TeamViewer
service acts as an arbitrator connecting the inbound request to the
remote host and then gets out of the way. It's there for the initial
handshaking but passes the inbound connection to the remote host (so the
service doesn't have to expend bandwidth on that connection).

I don't know if the NAS box has an open or general-purpose OS that lets
you install software. Unless we dig into the unidentified Seagate NAS
model, we don't know what OS it uses. There are lots of choices
mentioned at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_remote_desktop_software

but which you choose depends on what mode of communication you want and
what you're willing to go through to set it up. From what I found about
Tappin, it seems similar to TeamViewer and those remoting programs: run
a client on the remote host that keeps an online account up to date and
the service arbitrates inbound connection requests to access.seagate.com
to the remote host.

Before much time is spent in figuring out a multitude of candidate
solutions, the OP needs to know what there is to work with (OS on the
NAS box, can it be connected to on the intranet to access its OS and
allow installation of software, router's features, like port forwarding,
if using an arbitration service, as the OP was, is still okay or if
direct connects are wanted, as with VNC, RDP, FTP). The OS in the NAS
box could be some proprietary or highly customized OS that software
installation is not a choice.

Seagate NAS OS 4
https://www.seagate.com/support/software/apps/nas-os/
https://www.seagate.com/manuals/network-storage/business-storage-nas-os/nas-os-setup/

I didn't feel inclined to learn another OS or a variant. It appears to
be a Linux variant according to:

https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2355376/seagate-rolls-out-nas-range-with-its-own-linux-based-operating-system

However, that doesn't mean remoting software that installs on Linux will
install on this variant, plus it could be a very locked-down Linux
variant.
Char Jackson
2018-05-07 14:54:53 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Mills
OK - you're splitting hairs. I think most people will realise that I was
talking about laptop and desktop computers - obviously *not* any
computing device inside the NAS itself.
Agreed, most people will have arrived at that conclusion.
Post by Roger Mills
More to the point, have you got any useful suggestions?
From your local network, can you use FTP or SSH to access the NAS? If
so, it should be pretty straightforward to extend that access to remote
locations via port forwarding in your NAT router.
--
Char Jackson
Good Guy
2018-05-07 16:48:28 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Mills
I guess that a number of readers of these NGs must be affected by
this, and wondered whether anyone has found a solution - other than
using cloud storage. I simply want to be able to access the files
stored on my NAS remotely without needing to leave any computers
running when I'm away from home. Any suggestions?
There are many solutions:

https://www.noip.com/
https://dyn.com/dns/
https://duckdns.org/
http://freedns.afraid.org/
https://www.dynu.com/
http://www.dnsdynamic.org/

You need to create a free account with a hostname that you can remember
(say rogerMills.com but check it is not a live domain before creating
this) . Now all you need is your router to be 24/7 and your NAS drive
24/7 and you can access it anytime from any country as long as you have
created a suitable password.

Just because one company stops something it doesn't mean that life must
come to an end. Find different ways of doing things. That's how human
beings have evolved.

Seagate were using something similar to what I am suggesting except that
these are private non-profit corporations that rely on donations and
some big corporations help them out with servers and all that.

There are quite a few in China but I didn't bother to list them here as
they are not reliable.
Post by Roger Mills
/--- This email has been checked for viruses by
Windows Defender software.
//https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/comprehensive-security/
--
With over 600 million devices now running Windows 10, customer
satisfaction is higher than any previous version of windows.
Roger Mills
2018-05-07 22:12:27 UTC
Permalink
Post by Good Guy
Post by Roger Mills
I guess that a number of readers of these NGs must be affected by
this, and wondered whether anyone has found a solution - other than
using cloud storage. I simply want to be able to access the files
stored on my NAS remotely without needing to leave any computers
running when I'm away from home. Any suggestions?
https://www.noip.com/
https://dyn.com/dns/
https://duckdns.org/
http://freedns.afraid.org/
https://www.dynu.com/
http://www.dnsdynamic.org/
Thanks. but these are solutions to a problem which I don't have! I've
got a static WAN IP address - so I don't need any sort of dynamic DNS in
order to address it.
Post by Good Guy
Just because one company stops something it doesn't mean that life must
come to an end. Find different ways of doing things. That's how human
beings have evolved.
Seagate provided a facility whereby you could log on at
access.seagate.com and access the files on your NAS. That may well have
employed some sort of dynamic DNS for those needing it - but that isn't
the issue. They have taken down their server, and withdrawn support for
the Tappin app on portable devices. They apologise for any inconvenience
caused(!) and assure me that my data is quite safe - but can only be
accessed from within my own network.

My router supports Game and Application Sharing - which permits me (for
example) to associate a PPTP server with my Seagate NAS so that - in
theory - anything coming in on port 1723 goes to the NAS. Problem is
that all such connects are refused!

If I log on to the NAS's web interface, it offers me 'Services' of
"Remote Access", "Seagate Media", "DLNA" and "iTunes". The first two of
these are no longer supported and the last two only work on the same LAN
as the NAS.

I've no idea what OS the NAS uses - probably some flavour of Unix/Linux
- but it's pretty thoroughly locked down with no ready access to it. I
*can* FTP to the NAS but that doesn't seem to allow me to do much.
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.
The Natural Philosopher
2018-05-08 07:22:27 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Mills
Seagate provided a facility whereby you could log on at
access.seagate.com and access the files on your NAS. That may well have
employed some sort of dynamic DNS for those needing it - but that isn't
the issue. They have taken down their server, and withdrawn support for
the Tappin app on portable devices. They apologise for any inconvenience
caused(!) and assure me that my data is quite safe - but can only be
accessed from within my own network.
My router supports Game and Application Sharing - which permits me (for
example) to associate a PPTP server with my Seagate NAS so that - in
theory - anything coming in on port 1723 goes to the NAS. Problem is
that all such connects are refused!
If I log on to the NAS's web interface, it offers me 'Services' of
"Remote Access", "Seagate Media", "DLNA" and "iTunes". The first two of
these are no longer supported and the last two only work on the same LAN
as the NAS.
I've no idea what OS the NAS uses - probably some flavour of Unix/Linux
- but it's pretty thoroughly locked down with no ready access to it. I
*can* FTP to the NAS but that doesn't seem to allow me to do much.
Hmm. A pretty problem.

Obviously there is a way in, but its not well advertised.
It the tappin crap was supposed to work behind a firewall with no
especial configuration, that strongly implies that the NAS istself sets
up and maintains a permanent connection to some seagate cloud.

Bit like skype does


Now if that is the case you wont be able to use that partucular backdoor.


I would try scanning the NAS ports to see which are active.

My guess is that ssh might be open. If its bog standard linux on the
NAS. Try using PUTTY to connect to it. If that works you can use sftp
and its chums if you redirect port 22 to the NAS.


It is not beyond the bounds of reason either to set up port redirection
for SMB services on the router so you can actually mount the NAS across
the internet. TCP ports 139 and 445 and UDP ports 137 and 138 should be
redirected to the NAS box.

Obviously you wont be able to 'scan' for the NAS across the internet, so
you will have to know ip address and tell whatever shite MS uses to
display shares *for that server*. Or better still use NET USE to mount
the device as a drive etc


It's not very secure though, but I myself have done this years ago as
proof of concept.
--
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will
eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such
time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic
and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally
important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for
the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the
truth is the greatest enemy of the State.

Joseph Goebbels
Java Jive
2018-05-09 17:31:04 UTC
Permalink
Post by The Natural Philosopher
Post by Roger Mills
Seagate provided a facility whereby you could log on at
access.seagate.com and access the files on your NAS. ...
... They have taken down their server, and withdrawn
support for the Tappin app on portable devices.
Yes, it seems like it really has gone already:
C:\TEMP>ping access.seagate.com

Pinging seagateaccess.tappin.com [208.89.184.225] with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 208.89.184.225:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
Post by The Natural Philosopher
Post by Roger Mills
They apologise for any
inconvenience caused(!) and assure me that my data is quite safe - but
can only be accessed from within my own network.
So, as others have suggested, you need think about how to gain access
across your own router.
Post by The Natural Philosopher
Post by Roger Mills
My router supports Game and Application Sharing - which permits me
(for example) to associate a PPTP server with my Seagate NAS so that -
in theory - anything coming in on port 1723 goes to the NAS. Problem
is that all such connects are refused!
Probably need to open up the firewall on the NAS as well as the one on
the router.
Post by The Natural Philosopher
Post by Roger Mills
If I log on to the NAS's web interface, it offers me 'Services' of
"Remote Access", "Seagate Media", "DLNA" and "iTunes". The first two
of these are no longer supported and the last two only work on the
same LAN as the NAS.
So you're going to have to hack into the NAS, which means that probably
you'd've done better to post to a Linux NG, but see some suggestions
below anyway.
Post by The Natural Philosopher
Post by Roger Mills
I've no idea what OS the NAS uses - probably some flavour of
Unix/Linux
Almost certainly an embedded version of Linux.
Post by The Natural Philosopher
Post by Roger Mills
but it's pretty thoroughly locked down with no ready
access to it.
Apparently at one time not securely locked down at all:
https://www.slashgear.com/seagate-nas-drives-can-be-hacked-through-simple-telnet-hole-08402370/

Oh dear! For starters, try telnet from the relative security of your
own LAN!
Post by The Natural Philosopher
Post by Roger Mills
I *can* FTP to the NAS but that doesn't seem to allow me
to do much.
Obviously there is a way in, but its not well advertised.
Yes, apparently use telnet!
Post by The Natural Philosopher
It the tappin crap was supposed to work behind a firewall with no
especial configuration, that strongly implies that the NAS istself sets
up and maintains a permanent connection to some seagate cloud.
Bit like skype does
Possibly, but that can be disabled now, if the OP can get into the box.
Post by The Natural Philosopher
Now if that is the case you wont be able to use that partucular backdoor.
Unless he subverts it in some way.
Post by The Natural Philosopher
I would try scanning the NAS ports to see which are active.
My guess is that ssh might be open. If its bog standard linux on the
NAS. Try using PUTTY to connect to it. If that works you can use sftp
and its chums  if you redirect port 22 to the NAS.
Given that telnet may be able to gain access, I would advise starting
with that.
Post by The Natural Philosopher
It is not beyond the bounds of reason either to set up port redirection
for SMB services on the router so you can actually mount the NAS across
the internet. TCP ports 139 and 445 and UDP ports 137 and 138 should be
redirected to the NAS box.
Why would he need Samba/SMB? He makes no specific mention of Windows
devices requiring remote access, only media files, so presumably a
mobile or a tablet, Mac or Android, which are both Linux.
Post by The Natural Philosopher
Obviously you wont be able to 'scan' for the NAS across the internet, so
you will have to know ip address and tell whatever shite MS uses to
display shares *for that server*. Or better still use NET USE to mount
the device as a drive etc
No, no! He doesn't seem to need this at all. NET USE is a (very old
legacy) Windows command to mount a network share as a drive letter.
These days, he wouldn't even need this to connect from a Windows
machine. W9x or older used it, but since 2K+, in fact I suspect even
NT3+, Windows PCs have been able to connect directly using the protocol:
\\Server\Share
Post by The Natural Philosopher
It's not very secure though, but I myself have done this years ago as
proof of concept.
I suspect the way forward is to tunnel, but, although I understand the
principles involved, I'm not familiar with the practicalities of this.

Back to the OP:

There are two stages involved in customising/hacking such devices:

1) Gaining access, it sounds as though telnet might work, so try that
first, but failing that, see the next link below.

2) Finding a workable method of subverting the boot process to apply
the desired customisations.

Others already may have done some or all of this work for you. I
haven't read the following, but the equivalent Zyxel section was very
helpful to me:
http://www.nas-central.org/wiki/Seagate_Central

Although the following apply to different devices, if you want brief
descriptions of how the above two stages are attained in practice,
together with some example scripts, see also:

http://www.macfh.co.uk/Test/QNAPNMP1000.html
http://www.macfh.co.uk/Test/ZyxelNSA221.html

Also, although it's probably a bit late for you, for future reference,
the moment I buy anything like this I go online and download and save
locally everything related to it that there is the remotest possibility
that I could ever need - PDF Manuals, firmware upgrades, instructions
for hacking into, files required to do so, etc, etc. Here are some
links to things that might still prove useful to you:

Manual: https://www.manualsearcher.com/seagate/central-srn01c/manual
https://www.seagate.com/files/www-content/support-content/external-products/seagate-central/en-us/seagate-central-user-guide-us.pdf
http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/005532en

The above from:
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=palemoon&q=Seagate+SRN01C+NAS
Roger Mills
2018-05-09 17:44:39 UTC
Permalink
Post by The Natural Philosopher
Post by Roger Mills
Seagate provided a facility whereby you could log on at
access.seagate.com and access the files on your NAS. That may well
have employed some sort of dynamic DNS for those needing it - but that
isn't the issue. They have taken down their server, and withdrawn
support for the Tappin app on portable devices. They apologise for any
inconvenience caused(!) and assure me that my data is quite safe - but
can only be accessed from within my own network.
My router supports Game and Application Sharing - which permits me
(for example) to associate a PPTP server with my Seagate NAS so that -
in theory - anything coming in on port 1723 goes to the NAS. Problem
is that all such connects are refused!
If I log on to the NAS's web interface, it offers me 'Services' of
"Remote Access", "Seagate Media", "DLNA" and "iTunes". The first two
of these are no longer supported and the last two only work on the
same LAN as the NAS.
I've no idea what OS the NAS uses - probably some flavour of
Unix/Linux - but it's pretty thoroughly locked down with no ready
access to it. I *can* FTP to the NAS but that doesn't seem to allow me
to do much.
Hmm. A pretty problem.
Obviously there is a way in, but its not well advertised.
It the tappin crap was supposed to work behind a firewall with no
especial configuration, that strongly implies that the NAS istself sets
up and maintains a permanent connection to some seagate cloud.
Bit like skype does
Now if that is the case you wont be able to use that partucular backdoor.
I would try scanning the NAS ports to see which are active.
My guess is that ssh might be open. If its bog standard linux on the
NAS. Try using PUTTY to connect to it. If that works you can use sftp
and its chums if you redirect port 22 to the NAS.
It is not beyond the bounds of reason either to set up port redirection
for SMB services on the router so you can actually mount the NAS across
the internet. TCP ports 139 and 445 and UDP ports 137 and 138 should be
redirected to the NAS box.
Obviously you wont be able to 'scan' for the NAS across the internet, so
you will have to know ip address and tell whatever shite MS uses to
display shares *for that server*. Or better still use NET USE to mount
the device as a drive etc
It's not very secure though, but I myself have done this years ago as
proof of concept.
Thanks for your comments.

I have made *some* progress with FTP. There are two shares on the NAS -
a public one which accepts an anonymous ftp connection, and a private
one which requires a username and password. I can point my AceFTP PRO
client at either of these, and see the folders and files. That's from
within my own network, of course.

I've done a port scan, and found a number of ports open:

22 OpenSSH
110 ?
139 Samba
143 ?
443 OpenSSL
445 Samba (again)
548 Netatalk
993 ?
995 ?

Do any of these look promising as a means of getting remote access to my
files? If so, which ones, and what client software/apps would I need to
use on (a) Windows and (B) Android?
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.
Paul
2018-05-09 18:42:34 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Mills
Post by The Natural Philosopher
Post by Roger Mills
Seagate provided a facility whereby you could log on at
access.seagate.com and access the files on your NAS. That may well
have employed some sort of dynamic DNS for those needing it - but that
isn't the issue. They have taken down their server, and withdrawn
support for the Tappin app on portable devices. They apologise for any
inconvenience caused(!) and assure me that my data is quite safe - but
can only be accessed from within my own network.
My router supports Game and Application Sharing - which permits me
(for example) to associate a PPTP server with my Seagate NAS so that -
in theory - anything coming in on port 1723 goes to the NAS. Problem
is that all such connects are refused!
If I log on to the NAS's web interface, it offers me 'Services' of
"Remote Access", "Seagate Media", "DLNA" and "iTunes". The first two
of these are no longer supported and the last two only work on the
same LAN as the NAS.
I've no idea what OS the NAS uses - probably some flavour of
Unix/Linux - but it's pretty thoroughly locked down with no ready
access to it. I *can* FTP to the NAS but that doesn't seem to allow me
to do much.
Hmm. A pretty problem.
Obviously there is a way in, but its not well advertised.
It the tappin crap was supposed to work behind a firewall with no
especial configuration, that strongly implies that the NAS istself sets
up and maintains a permanent connection to some seagate cloud.
Bit like skype does
Now if that is the case you wont be able to use that partucular backdoor.
I would try scanning the NAS ports to see which are active.
My guess is that ssh might be open. If its bog standard linux on the
NAS. Try using PUTTY to connect to it. If that works you can use sftp
and its chums if you redirect port 22 to the NAS.
It is not beyond the bounds of reason either to set up port redirection
for SMB services on the router so you can actually mount the NAS across
the internet. TCP ports 139 and 445 and UDP ports 137 and 138 should be
redirected to the NAS box.
Obviously you wont be able to 'scan' for the NAS across the internet, so
you will have to know ip address and tell whatever shite MS uses to
display shares *for that server*. Or better still use NET USE to mount
the device as a drive etc
It's not very secure though, but I myself have done this years ago as
proof of concept.
Thanks for your comments.
I have made *some* progress with FTP. There are two shares on the NAS -
a public one which accepts an anonymous ftp connection, and a private
one which requires a username and password. I can point my AceFTP PRO
client at either of these, and see the folders and files. That's from
within my own network, of course.
22 OpenSSH
110 ?
139 Samba
143 ?
443 OpenSSL
445 Samba (again)
548 Netatalk
993 ?
995 ?
Do any of these look promising as a means of getting remote access to my
files? If so, which ones, and what client software/apps would I need to
use on (a) Windows and (B) Android?
I'm thinking you want to work your network foo on Port 22.

https://serverfault.com/questions/74176/what-port-does-sftp-use

"As SFTP runs as a subsystem of SSH it runs on whatever
port the SSH daemon is listening on"

"SFTP transfers all data over the SSH connection.
No additional port is used."

Paul
Roger Mills
2018-05-12 21:47:43 UTC
Permalink
Post by Paul
Post by Roger Mills
I have made *some* progress with FTP. There are two shares on the NAS
- a public one which accepts an anonymous ftp connection, and a
private one which requires a username and password. I can point my
AceFTP PRO client at either of these, and see the folders and files.
That's from within my own network, of course.
22 OpenSSH
110 ?
139 Samba
143 ?
443 OpenSSL
445 Samba (again)
548 Netatalk
993 ?
995 ?
Do any of these look promising as a means of getting remote access to
my files? If so, which ones, and what client software/apps would I
need to use on (a) Windows and (B) Android?
I'm thinking you want to work your network foo on Port 22.
https://serverfault.com/questions/74176/what-port-does-sftp-use
"As SFTP runs as a subsystem of SSH it runs on whatever
port the SSH daemon is listening on"
"SFTP transfers all data over the SSH connection.
No additional port is used."
Paul
Thanks. I had come to the same conclusion - and have made *some*
progress using sftp on Port 22, but still have a way to go.

As noted before, when connecting tom the NAS from within my own
network, I can use bog-standard FTP on Port 21. I can access the Private
share on the NAS by supplying the correct username and password, and can
access the Public share by using an anonymous logon.

In order to access the NAS from outside my network (Android tablet using
Android phone-generated hotspot) using sftp, I have told my router to
assign port 22 to the NAS. I can then access the Private share ok, by
supplying the username and password. But I'm stuck with the Public
share. I haven't found any way of using sftp anonymously, so I can't get
in. I've tried several Android sftp client apps - the most promising one
being AndFTP - but to no avail.

Any ideas?
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.
Paul
2018-05-12 22:34:11 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Mills
Post by Paul
Post by Roger Mills
I have made *some* progress with FTP. There are two shares on the NAS
- a public one which accepts an anonymous ftp connection, and a
private one which requires a username and password. I can point my
AceFTP PRO client at either of these, and see the folders and files.
That's from within my own network, of course.
22 OpenSSH
110 ?
139 Samba
143 ?
443 OpenSSL
445 Samba (again)
548 Netatalk
993 ?
995 ?
Do any of these look promising as a means of getting remote access to
my files? If so, which ones, and what client software/apps would I
need to use on (a) Windows and (B) Android?
I'm thinking you want to work your network foo on Port 22.
https://serverfault.com/questions/74176/what-port-does-sftp-use
"As SFTP runs as a subsystem of SSH it runs on whatever
port the SSH daemon is listening on"
"SFTP transfers all data over the SSH connection.
No additional port is used."
Paul
Thanks. I had come to the same conclusion - and have made *some*
progress using sftp on Port 22, but still have a way to go.
As noted before, when connecting tom the NAS from within my own
network, I can use bog-standard FTP on Port 21. I can access the Private
share on the NAS by supplying the correct username and password, and can
access the Public share by using an anonymous logon.
In order to access the NAS from outside my network (Android tablet using
Android phone-generated hotspot) using sftp, I have told my router to
assign port 22 to the NAS. I can then access the Private share ok, by
supplying the username and password. But I'm stuck with the Public
share. I haven't found any way of using sftp anonymously, so I can't get
in. I've tried several Android sftp client apps - the most promising one
being AndFTP - but to no avail.
Any ideas?
The user manual doesn't hint at any controls being available,
so a Zen-like "it is what it is", is all I can manage as an
answer :-)

If you forward the FTP port... you'll be sorry :-)
So that's not the answer.

Paul
Roger Hayter
2018-05-12 23:41:18 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Mills
Post by Paul
Post by Roger Mills
I have made *some* progress with FTP. There are two shares on the NAS
- a public one which accepts an anonymous ftp connection, and a
private one which requires a username and password. I can point my
AceFTP PRO client at either of these, and see the folders and files.
That's from within my own network, of course.
22 OpenSSH
110 ?
139 Samba
143 ?
443 OpenSSL
445 Samba (again)
548 Netatalk
993 ?
995 ?
Do any of these look promising as a means of getting remote access to
my files? If so, which ones, and what client software/apps would I
need to use on (a) Windows and (B) Android?
I'm thinking you want to work your network foo on Port 22.
https://serverfault.com/questions/74176/what-port-does-sftp-use
"As SFTP runs as a subsystem of SSH it runs on whatever
port the SSH daemon is listening on"
"SFTP transfers all data over the SSH connection.
No additional port is used."
Paul
Thanks. I had come to the same conclusion - and have made *some*
progress using sftp on Port 22, but still have a way to go.
As noted before, when connecting tom the NAS from within my own
network, I can use bog-standard FTP on Port 21. I can access the Private
share on the NAS by supplying the correct username and password, and can
access the Public share by using an anonymous logon.
In order to access the NAS from outside my network (Android tablet using
Android phone-generated hotspot) using sftp, I have told my router to
assign port 22 to the NAS. I can then access the Private share ok, by
supplying the username and password. But I'm stuck with the Public
share. I haven't found any way of using sftp anonymously, so I can't get
in. I've tried several Android sftp client apps - the most promising one
being AndFTP - but to no avail.
Any ideas?
I don't know *how* to do it, but I think that you need to set up
smb.conf so that the public share accepts your login credentials as a
synonym for anonymous/guest access. This creates no extra security risk
and I think it only needs a fairly simple user alias statement. But my
memory is hazy.
--
Roger Hayter
Char Jackson
2018-05-12 23:47:05 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Mills
Post by Paul
Post by Roger Mills
I have made *some* progress with FTP. There are two shares on the NAS
- a public one which accepts an anonymous ftp connection, and a
private one which requires a username and password. I can point my
AceFTP PRO client at either of these, and see the folders and files.
That's from within my own network, of course.
22 OpenSSH
110 ?
139 Samba
143 ?
443 OpenSSL
445 Samba (again)
548 Netatalk
993 ?
995 ?
Do any of these look promising as a means of getting remote access to
my files? If so, which ones, and what client software/apps would I
need to use on (a) Windows and (B) Android?
I'm thinking you want to work your network foo on Port 22.
https://serverfault.com/questions/74176/what-port-does-sftp-use
"As SFTP runs as a subsystem of SSH it runs on whatever
port the SSH daemon is listening on"
"SFTP transfers all data over the SSH connection.
No additional port is used."
Paul
Thanks. I had come to the same conclusion - and have made *some*
progress using sftp on Port 22, but still have a way to go.
As noted before, when connecting tom the NAS from within my own
network, I can use bog-standard FTP on Port 21. I can access the Private
share on the NAS by supplying the correct username and password, and can
access the Public share by using an anonymous logon.
As you noted, FTP includes the concept of anonymous login. However, SFTP
(which is part of the SSH suite) has no such thing as anonymous login.
With SSH (and of course SFTP), all access starts with properly logging
into a specific account.

There are workarounds, usually involving replacing a security module on
the SSH server so that all logins, no matter what, are allowed, but that
would be a security hole of large proportions.
Post by Roger Mills
In order to access the NAS from outside my network (Android tablet using
Android phone-generated hotspot) using sftp, I have told my router to
assign port 22 to the NAS. I can then access the Private share ok, by
supplying the username and password. But I'm stuck with the Public
share. I haven't found any way of using sftp anonymously, so I can't get
in. I've tried several Android sftp client apps - the most promising one
being AndFTP - but to no avail.
Any ideas?
I would say you should create or use a 'private' account on the NAS as
if it were public, meaning just share the password for that account and
put the public stuff there.
--
Char Jackson
dennis@home
2018-05-13 08:25:50 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Mills
Any ideas?
Get a pi zero w and setup a VPN so your NAS appears as a local devices
when you log in from the internet.

You can set the firewall to only allow access to the NAS if you want.

They cost about £17 with a PSU.

You could even put your NAS disk in a USB case and use the pi as a NAS
server if speed isn't a problem.
Steve Walker
2018-05-13 12:57:12 UTC
Permalink
Post by ***@home
Post by Roger Mills
Any ideas?
Get a pi zero w and setup a VPN so your NAS appears as a local devices
when you log in from the internet.
You can set the firewall to only allow access to the NAS if you want.
They cost about £17 with a PSU.
You could even put your NAS disk in a USB case and use the pi as a NAS
server if speed isn't a problem.
Many routers have built in VPN servers - and for that matter can share a
USB HDD over the network. The Pi may not be needed at all.

SteveW
dennis@home
2018-05-13 20:05:25 UTC
Permalink
Post by Steve Walker
Post by ***@home
Post by Roger Mills
Any ideas?
Get a pi zero w and setup a VPN so your NAS appears as a local devices
when you log in from the internet.
You can set the firewall to only allow access to the NAS if you want.
They cost about £17 with a PSU.
You could even put your NAS disk in a USB case and use the pi as a NAS
server if speed isn't a problem.
Many routers have built in VPN servers - and for that matter can share a
USB HDD over the network. The Pi may not be needed at all.
SteveW
Most routers are full of bugs and security holes so I wouldn't trust
them. What was the last time you got a security fix for your router?
Steve Walker
2018-05-13 20:35:00 UTC
Permalink
Post by ***@home
Post by Steve Walker
Post by ***@home
Post by Roger Mills
Any ideas?
Get a pi zero w and setup a VPN so your NAS appears as a local
devices when you log in from the internet.
You can set the firewall to only allow access to the NAS if you want.
They cost about £17 with a PSU.
You could even put your NAS disk in a USB case and use the pi as a
NAS server if speed isn't a problem.
Many routers have built in VPN servers - and for that matter can share
a USB HDD over the network. The Pi may not be needed at all.
SteveW
Most routers are full of bugs and security holes so I wouldn't trust
them. What was the last time you got a security fix for your router?
I've had 3 updates to its firmware in the last 2 years.

SteveW

Chris Green
2018-05-08 13:03:03 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Mills
If I log on to the NAS's web interface, it offers me 'Services' of
"Remote Access", "Seagate Media", "DLNA" and "iTunes". The first two of
these are no longer supported and the last two only work on the same LAN
as the NAS.
They "only work on the same LAN as the NAS." because your router
doesn't allow the ports used by them to/from the outside. So you
could open up those ports on the router and get remote access, however
that does have security implications.
Post by Roger Mills
I've no idea what OS the NAS uses - probably some flavour of Unix/Linux
- but it's pretty thoroughly locked down with no ready access to it. I
*can* FTP to the NAS but that doesn't seem to allow me to do much.
What doesn't FTP allow you to do that you want to do? You can get
'file explorer' like GUIs that use FTP.
--
Chris Green
·
dennis@home
2018-05-08 14:57:50 UTC
Permalink
Post by Chris Green
What doesn't FTP allow you to do that you want to do? You can get
'file explorer' like GUIs that use FTP.
The op doesn't actually say what NAS he has but..

https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Seagate/PersonalCloud

gives instructions for putting linux on some Seagate NAS boxes.

Then he has multiple options if it works or buying a synolgy NAS if it
doesn't.
Roger Mills
2018-05-09 16:23:03 UTC
Permalink
Post by ***@home
What doesn't FTP allow you to do that you want to do? You can get
'file explorer' like GUIs that use FTP.
The op doesn't actually say what NAS he has but..
https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Seagate/PersonalCloud
gives instructions for putting linux on some Seagate NAS boxes.
Then he has multiple options if it works or buying a synolgy NAS if it
doesn't.
The model of mine is SRN01C - which does not appear to be one of the
supported models.
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.
Good Guy
2018-05-08 17:01:34 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Mills
Thanks. but these are solutions to a problem which I don't have! I've
got a static WAN IP address - so I don't need any sort of dynamic DNS
in order to address it.
You haven't read the instructions on the links I provided so clearly you
are limited in what you can do.

People are running websites on NAS drives without using services from
Seagate or WD or Synology or whatever. Frankly, it is pretty easy to do
what you want to do but hey people are fixated by technologies from
seagate and WD so they are not likely to adapt to changed circumstances.
--
With over 600 million devices now running Windows 10, customer
satisfaction is higher than any previous version of windows.
Loading...