please help with putty to asus merlin ssh

[dawg1]

I´ve successfully ssh´d from putty to both my asus merlin router with SSH enabled and also a win10 PC running freessh but i can´t get a tunnel working using my browser (FF) and putty. I have putty tunnel and FF socks 5 setup per all the guides out there. I have the ports the same and dynamic, auto under putty tunnel. No matter what I do, my browser always says connection reset when I try to browse using the tunnel to the router or freessh. What in the world can I be doing wrong? Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[martinr]

I can understand your wanting to overcome the challenge of ssh’ing in and then browsing using the tunnel - I believe they call it dynamic port forwarding, but you could do exactly the same using an OpenVPN server on your router: create the vpn tunnel to your router and then browse via the router - so that if you went to whatsmyip.org on your remote client, it would show your router’s public IP address.

So is there a reason - other than the challenge - of using SSH rather than OpenVPN?

 

[dawg1]

No reason necessarily. I don't know that much about this stuff except the guides I've read on the internet. I'm just looking for a way to use my home internet at work. I won't be doing anything other than checking gmail etc but I don't want to draw any attention either. I'm not sure if that is possible (?). I was trying to use portable putty on client for ssh to home using port 443 (which connected) but I could never get the browser to connect.

Using openvpn on my router, don't I have to install software at work? I don't want to install anything really if I don't have to. I haven't looked into this but is there an openvpn firefox add in or something like that?

Thanks.

 

[martinr]

No reason necessarily. I don't know that much about this stuff except the guides I've read on the internet. I'm just looking for a way to use my home internet at work. I won't be doing anything other than checking gmail etc but I don't want to draw any attention either. I'm not sure if that is possible (?). I was trying to use portable putty on client for ssh to home using port 443 (which connected) but I could never get the browser to connect.

Using openvpn on my router, don't I have to install software at work? I don't want to install anything really if I don't have to. I haven't looked into this but is there an openvpn firefox add in or something like that?

Thanks.

I see. I’ve never heard of an OpenVPN plugin for Firefox. On a Windows PC/laptop you’d install OpenVPN desktop client; on a Apple device -iPhone/iPad - it would be the OpenVPN Connect app, on Mac it would be Tunnelblick. And there’s an Android app, too. But if you are using the work’s PC rather than your own device (and the work’s WiFi), would you really want to install anything that allows access to your router? So how are you doing it with Putty? Is it the portable version on a usb stick that you plug in? (I’ve just seen you said you are using portable Putty.)

Can you running through the settings you have in Putty ie the one’s you have entered?

 

[martinr]

Are you using public key infrastructure (certificates and keys) or are you simply using the username and password?

Have you tried setting up logging on Putty to see if the log tells you what’s causing the problem?

 

[martinr]

......I'm just looking for a way to use my home internet at work. I won't be doing anything other than checking gmail etc but I don't want to draw any attention either.

.

You’ve just reminded me of a passage in the excellent SSH Mastery by Michael W Lucas:

"As a user, the ability to tunnel arbitrary traffic over SSH does not mean you should. If your organization's security policy forbids port forwarding or tunneling, don't do it. If the policy says "use the Web proxy and stay off IRC," then listen. I am not responsible if you use these techniques and are reprimanded, terminated, or exterminated. (Even if we IT security officers are all petty tinpot despots who don't understand your very personal and deeply urgent need for IRC and Google+.)"

 

[ColinTaylor]

re. @martinr's previous post, I was about to say the same thing. Most company policies a) forbid the unauthorised installation of software on work machines, and b) forbid connecting unauthorised devices (including VPN software) to the corporate network. Either action is likely grounds for dismissal.

I've seen first hand where someone thought is was OK to connect to his home network from his office PC (just so he could more easily copy files) which resulted in the entire network being infected by a 0-day virus.

If you just want to check gmail you can do that on your mobile phone. If you really need to connect to your home network then install a VPN client on the phone.

 

[dawg1]

Yes, I understand. Now more curious than anything why it won´t work though. Yes using keys and portable putty. Putty connects fine. I can´t get firefox to connect to host internet however. Settings here:

 

[dawg1]

Ok, I´ll just use the phone.

 

[martinr]

This was the other quotation from Michael Lucas’ book I was looking for:

“If you have tried absolutely everything else, creating an illicit SOCKS proxy within a secure environment should suufice to get you fired with prejudice.”

 

[martinr]

This topic has prompted me to revisit Michael Lucas’ book. Here’s another quotation: “The impact of evading the corporate firewall on your employment is left as an exercise for the reader.”

He has a style that makes a fairly dull subject quite readable.