What is UPnP?
The UPnP protocol that is enabled in the routers allows any wired or wireless client to open the ports in the NAT autonomously, without having to open them manually in the router. For the UPnP protocol to work, it is absolutely necessary that the clients also support and make use of it, otherwise these ports will not be opened.
This protocol greatly facilitates communication from the outside (Internet) with the NAS servers, since we will not have to open all the ports manually, but rather it will be done automatically and transparently for the user. This protocol is also widely used by P2P programs to avoid having to open specific ports, and it is also used by some IP cameras to be able to access their view from the outside.
QNAP recommends disabling the UPnP protocol to prevent NAS or any other devices from opening ports autonomously, in order to keep any access from the Internet to our devices under control. For this reason, the manufacturer recommends that you disable this functionality urgently, because the ransomware and malware that have affected them in recent years is due precisely to this insecure protocol. At RedesZone we have a complete guide to protect your QNAP NAS serveryou will find the best tips to avoid suffering from ransomware attacks and losing information on your computer.
How to disable UPnP on the router
Currently we find home routers that have the UPnP protocol disabled by default, so it is highly recommended to leave it as it comes and not activate it. In other routers such as ASUS, this functionality is activated by default, so we have to disable it. To disable this feature, we will have to look at the configuration options of our router, generally this insecure protocol is in the Internet or WAN part, although in other models it is in the NAT section where port forwarding is performed.
In Movistar routers, this function is usually found in the “Advanced Setup” section, what we always have to do is disable this protocol and then click on “Apply/Save” the changes, so that it is never enabled.
Of course, in more advanced operating systems such as pfSense and others, we also have this protocol, and we will be able to deactivate it without problems, in fact, it is disabled by default.
In addition to disabling it on the router, we recommend that you also disable this functionality directly on your QNAP NAS server by going to the myQNAPcloud app and searching for this option to disable it. In the event that you want to remotely access your QNAP NAS, the best and safest option is to use the VPN server that we have in QVPN3, and that is that we have at our disposal the OpenVPN protocol, WireGuard and also others such as IPsec, so there is no excuse not to use a VPN in order to protect all connections properly.
