Would it be possible for me to make comments to other instances etc?

Solved: I can’t, it would only work with a public domain.

  • Max-P@lemmy.max-p.me
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    38
    ·
    1 year ago

    No, ActivityPub is a push protocol. Other instances send data to your instance via HTTPS and only HTTPS. So you need at minimum a public domain and web server with TLS enabled.

    Some people use Cloudflare tunnels to avoid opening ports or just get a cheap VPS to forward the traffic home without exposing the home IP.

    • dog@suppo.fi
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      You do realize all this is easily done with a reverse proxy + DuckDNS?

      • Meldrik@lemmy.wtf
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        1 year ago

        Wouldn’t you need a publically available IP? DuckDNS is only for dynamic IP’s that is public, yes?

        • SamajGaya@feddit.rocks
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          1 year ago

          Duckdns is pretty much a service that offers free domain names… that could point to any public IP. (I have seen setups where local IPs are used just for HTTPS). So its good for instances as HTTPS can be achieved without buying domain name.

        • dog@suppo.fi
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          1 year ago

          Works with anything that can open ports. DuckDNS works by pinging their service from anywhere to update the target IP for the subdomain.

            • dog@suppo.fi
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              1 year ago

              See: Anything that can open ports. NAT of any kind tends to not allow opening ports.

              • towerful@programming.dev
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                2
                ·
                1 year ago

                Absolutely. However I feel like the whole thread needs extra clarification, considering the question OP posed.
                Dynamic DNS isn’t a magic wand in the way a Reverse Proxy over VPN is.

            • Meldrik@lemmy.wtf
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              Yea, that is also what I thought. To bypass this, you would need something like Cloudflare Tunnels or setup a VPN on a VPS, that redirects traffic to your homeserver.

        • tabular@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          5
          ·
          1 year ago

          I want it encrypted but I don’t want to ask a 3rd party to get a certificate.

              • Dandroid@dandroid.app
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                5
                ·
                1 year ago

                I’m not sure I understand the question. They are used to encrypt traffic and prove that the entity hosting the site hasn’t changed by using a digital signature. These two together make it so third parties can’t read the traffic coming through. This is a requirement for modern internet. Otherwise your passwords wouldn’t be a secret because literally anyone would see them.

      • BlackEco@lemmy.blackeco.com
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        9
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        Plain HTTP should be considered obsolete. Also it makes impersonating websites harder (but not impossible)

        • Perhyte@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          12
          ·
          1 year ago

          Additionally, HTTPS if very easy to set up nowadays and the certificates are free1.

          1: Assuming you have a public domain name, but for ActivityPub that’s already a requirement due to the push nature of the protocol.

          • dog@suppo.fi
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            1 year ago

            You can get Let’s Encrypt certificates for DuckDNS, so you don’t even need to own anything.