# setting up remote printing (port forwarding?)



## yzman (Jun 3, 2003)

hey all!

you guys have always proved great help when an answer is not easily found on google, so here goes:

i have an office with a networked all-in-one.
everybody in the office was set up to print to it by adding a network printer on the pc.

i would like to set up a pc that is offsite and not part of the network to print to that printer.
i know setting up a vpn is one solution, but i would like to go for the simpler opening up the ports solution.

i guess if i enable DMZ on the router to the printer's IP it would work but i don't know if that is not as good an idea as just finding out the ports i need and forwarding just those instead.

i would think the ports are not printer based but standard (netbios?) and i found a document online saying open the following for windows file and printer sharing, is that what i need?
_" To allow file and print sharing traffic, create and enable the following service definitions. In the External and Internal Ports, allow these ports: UDP 137, UDP 138, UDP 445, and TCP 139, and TCP 445"_

what do you guys think?
thanks!


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## cgesicki (Feb 10, 2006)

Heres a nice step by step article http://www.awprofessional.com/articles/article.asp?p=428701&rl=1


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## O111111O (Aug 27, 2005)

Do a VPN, if you simply forward RPC ports to your printer or anything else on your network the Internet bogeymen will get you. [Don't do it]


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## yzman (Jun 3, 2003)

thanks cgesicki and 01111110, but the article is about vpn and i would rather just forward ports, and concerning the bogeymen all they can do is print to the printer right? it is not an open door to a pc just to an all-in-one printer, and so if some guy would get a bang from sending the machine a hundred pages i am willing to take my chances on that...
so anyone knows how to do without doing a full DMZ?
thanks


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## Squashman (Apr 4, 2003)

You are just asking for trouble if you do this. Just think what happens when one hacker finds out about it. Then he tells another and another. Trust me. hackers can do alot of different things with your printer then just print pages to it. They can turn it into a Mini File Server if they want to. It has been done in the past. Trust me.


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## cgesicki (Feb 10, 2006)

they'll unload trojans under those ports. Hackers scan for those printer/file sharing ports


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## O111111O (Aug 27, 2005)

Yeah, TCP9100 via Internet is an unprotected visit to a Bangkok brothel.


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## Squashman (Apr 4, 2003)

You might want to take a look at Hamachi. Looks like a good solution to your problem.
http://www.hamachi.cc/


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## Darqhorse (Oct 17, 2007)

Did you ever find a solution to the open printing port numbers? I am looking for a similar solution... I want to print to a remote printer behind a firewall. I am willing to open the ports in the firewall for the printer and only allow access from a certain subnet.
Have you also looked at http://www.printeranywhere.com ?


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## shobuz99 (Oct 15, 2007)

This may seem off the track a bit, but have you considered using Ultra VNC, gotomypc, etc.?
You could essentially connect via that applet; transfer the file, and then print to the network printer from that workstation, all remote.
Obviously, it requires the VNC software to be installed on the network machine (s) and running 24/7 either as a server or running the viewer in a config that seems as the reverse of client connect to server. In any case you site, if you are remote, you can't know if the printer actually printed the document unless you see it (in person) or you see a message that says it failed. 
I use VNC for that purpose and I can work from home and operate the office network as well. All of this is setup as pw protected and port forwarded on the router at work.
The port range is 5500-5900, depending on which way you want to go, i.e. web or direct.
Hackers would have to spend a lot of time to break in... not worth it to them.
Just an idea..


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## Darqhorse (Oct 17, 2007)

What would you suggest if the printer were usb connected to a printing router? There is no computer that is turned on 24/7 that could host vnc or some other remote control software. 

Thanks.


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## shobuz99 (Oct 15, 2007)

darqhorse.. 
Then I guess my solution doesn't work if there is no pc available 24/7.
I was just offering help to yzman for his situation; which didn't appear to involve a printer connected to a route, stand alone. So.. is that solutuon you mentioned (http://www.printeranywhere.com ) a similar approach as VNC, just for printers? Sounds interesting... I can see why you asked yzman if he tried it.


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