I wonder if having a “sign in” page within jellyfin that just fronts a wireguard configuration panel, saves the creds, and automatically connects and routes app traffic over the vpn iface is a remotely viable idea.
Comment on Plex now will SELL your personal data
pipes@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks agoI understand this but we have to realize that what makes Plex simpler is the fact that they are a network intermediary that does what it wants with your home networks; it’s like insisting that NordVPN is better than Mullvad
IMHO the only solution will be improving wireguard guis and stuff, Jellyfin is not lacking.
borari@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
AbidanYre@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
That depends on if someone wants it enough to make it happen.
pipes@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
That sounds good to me, we use wireguard in the family when out and about to access my homeserver, but I’d love if Jellyfin could create ad-hoc tunnels, it’d make us feel safe enough sharing our libraries with friends, perhaps it will convince many Plex users too. What are funkwhale users doing to share their music for example?
The other commenter wrote about STUN servers (IP), I’ve seen that Syncthing uses them as well, together with discovery and relay servers. Would wireguard be used at any of this stages or standalone? Personally I have no idea, I’m just an observant user 😅
AbidanYre@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
NordVPN is better than Mullvad
Off topic, but what? Is Nord doing wacky shit with network settings?
pipes@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I’m not a security expert but my guts (and the many things I read about this stuff over many years) tell me that cheap highly marketed VPNs like Nord seek the less informed users that sign up because half of their favorite youtubers sent them there, the default M.O. is install the (proprietary) app. It might be possible to use them safely but it’s not what’s happening to 99% of the customers.
They operate in grey legal areas, there are many scandals over the years, they write in their TOS that they can change the terms themselves without notice, if you use their service, you agree at any time.
When I wrote that they do what they want w your network, this is what I’m referring to; idk about the “settings”, more like selling access to your residential line (perhaps to other VPN customers)
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I haven’t used Plex, so I’m not exactly sure what it’s doing, but I’m guessing it presents you some sort of search to find the server? Isn’t that pretty much the same as a domain name, just w/ a search bar instead of a URL bar? If your domain is easy to remember, I guess I don’t see an issue. I’ve also heard you can connect to multiple servers, so maybe that’s what people are talking about.
Regardless, I think Jellyfin could handle both. Get some community-funded STUN relay servers to handle discovery and implement a way (if it doesn’t already) to have your client connect to multiple servers. There should also be a way to copy all the configs from one client to another (say, a QR code or UUID, settings copied over the same STUN server).
My main issue is that this could open up servers to more potential attack vectors, and Jellyfin already has some security weaknesses. But other than that, I’d be happy to help implement this sort of thing, a STUN server can be run on as little as a $5 VPS.
TrickDacy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
No, Plex lets you invite friends to your server with a link they can click and sign up. Then they can type a code into their TV app or login to a browser and watch basically like a standard streaming setup they already probably have used.
Jellyfin is less familiar. Arguably not much more difficult but people aren’t always rational. The unfamiliar is often intimidating.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Can’t you just send your link to them over SMS, IM, or email? Is the main difference that you can do this from the UI?
I guess entering a code on the TV is pretty cool though. Maybe I’ll poke around in the Jellyfin community to see what the interest is in such a feature, because it should be possible w/ minimal hosting costs.
TrickDacy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Yeah, you have two options, as the server owner:
You can enter a user’s email from the Plex UI to invite a user to your library. The user then gets an email asking them to sign up if they don’t already have an account.
You can generate/send a link to join, any way you choose.
Once signed up, the user can accept the library invitation, then they login to the TV or other device. The code is used for the TV login process, like on other streaming platforms. But yeah, you could do an account-less version of this for Jellyfin, which I think laypeople would like.
pipes@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I haven’t used Plex in a decade and I use Jellyfin, what you’re describing sounds perfect. I read up a bit on STUN servers and it’s what Syncthing uses, but they also mantain discovery and relay servers (and anyone can host one and can be added to the public list). Security wise they seem to be doing fine?(I’m not an expert, just an informed user)
Idk what combo Jellyfin would benefit the most from; are relay servers needed? The workload is similar but probably higher on average, people stream more often than they do backups