How To Port Forward On pfSense?

You want to take your online experience to the next level. You want to play games with fewer lag issues, watch videos without buffering, and enjoy a generally better internet connection. The solution is port forwarding on pfSense! Port forwarding (or “port mapping”) is the process of making an internal, private IP address accessible to users on other networks.

Follow the above steps to forward a port on pfSense. The most effective way is using the services – options page.

1. Start by logging onto your pfSense box or opening a web browser and navigating to the IP address of the machine you are setting up port forwarding on (for example, http://192.168.0.1).  
2. Click on the ‘Services’ tab at the top of the screen.
3. Find the ‘Forwarding’ section of this page and click on ‘Port Forwarding’.
4. You will now see a list of applications installed on your machine, toggle the switch to activate them (if it is already activated you can skip this step).  
5. Click the ‘Add Custom Service’ button.
6. Enter a name for this port forwarding rule into the ‘Description’ box.
7. For this example, we will enter ‘Minecraft Client’ into the description field (this is not mandatory, but it can help you to quickly identify which service these settings relate to).
8. Now enter the local and public ports that you want to forward.
9. Enter the IP address that you want these ports to be forwarded to into the ‘Server IP Addressseveralport field (this must be an IP address of another machine on your network, not the pfSense box itself).
10. Click ‘Save’.  

You can also manually configure port forwarding using pfSense’s firewall without using the services – options page. To do this follow these steps:

1. Start by logging onto your pfSense box or opening a web browser and navigating to the IP address of the machine you are setting up port forwarding on (for example, http://192.168.0.1).   
2. Click the ‘Firewall’ tab at the top of the screen.
3. Select ‘NAT’ in the menu to the left.
4. Then select ‘Port Forwarding’.
5. You will now see a list of applications installed on your machine, toggle the switch to activate them (if it is already activated you can skip this step).
6. Click on ‘Save’.  
7. Now when you click on each port forwarding rule, you will be presented with options to customize how they work.  

What Is Port Forwarding?  

Port forwarding allows network traffic to be redirected from one IP address and port number combination to another, on the same or a different device. This can allow users behind certain routers to gain access to content without having to forward all their ports manually (though this method is still more secure and preferred over port forwarding). 

Port forwarding is generally used to allow applications or services on a network (such as a home PC) to be accessed by users outside the network, though it can also be used for other purposes such as gaming.

What Are The Benefits Of Port Forwarding?   

So you’re probably wondering how could connecting to other machines on your network benefit you when you already have access to them through your router? 

Well, for one it’s much easier to type in an IP address than it is to constantly find out what the public IP address of your router is and keep typing that in whenever you want to connect (especially if you are not using DynDNS). 

Also, having a game server hosted behind another machine on your network can be beneficial because people will generally have better speeds when trying to connect with other players that are in the same local area.    

Is Port Forwarding Safe?    

The short answer is yes, it’s safe to have your ports forwarded. However, there are a number of risks that you must be aware of. First of all, the main thing that a hacker looks for in a home router is any open ports that they can exploit to gain access to your internal network and PCs or other devices connected to it (such as laptops). 

If you forward a port on pfSense then this makes it easier for them to find one since every port forwards from pfSense will be accessible from anywhere else on the web.  

Conclusion

Port forwarding is a technique that allows people to connect remotely from one computer to another on their local network. It’s often used for gaming purposes such as Minecraft, but it can be beneficial in the workplace when running an application like a remote desktop. 

The risks of port forwarding are relatively low and many home routers provide this functionality without any configuration necessary (however you should always update your router firmware).