Self-hosting means running your website, app, blog or service on your own infrastructure, such as a home PC, laptop, or Raspberry Pi. It also allows to connect to your home computer with remote desktop, access private files, or run a game server on a laptop.
Hi Everyone,
I came up with this idea because my previous project wasn't making any money, and it was generating $70 / month hosting bills. After a year I had to shut it down, just to "stop the bleeding". Some time later, I realized that I don't have to pay for hosting, since I have several computers at home, and using a concept calling "port forwarding" I can run my project on my private PC with only a cheapest ($3/month!!) machine publicly available on the Internet, which would forward user requests to my home.
That's how InstaHost was born. Feel free to use it, and let me know your thoughts. It is free with no hidden costs. Also, the same technology can be used to expose any service running on your home PC to the Internet - remote desktop, file storage or a game server. Check out the blog section for more ideas on how to use it.
@masump great question, thanks. This is thanks to SSH (Secure SHell) - a standard program available on every computer / OS nowadays, for secure communication. It is run with "-R" option which means it is only used for secure, encrypted port forwarding - it's not possible to execute a command on a remote computer what otherwise SSH normally allows - so that all traffic from the Internet-reachable machine is forwarded to any computer you want, like a home PC or a Raspberry Pi connected via mobile network.
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This looks amazing! A few questions:
How easy is it to set up for someone with limited technical knowledge?
Does it support cross-platform access (e.g., connecting from a phone to a PC)?
What kind of security features are built-in to protect self-hosted services? Great work—this could really empower users to take control of their data! 👏
Obzrv.it
Obzrv.it
@masump great question, thanks. This is thanks to SSH (Secure SHell) - a standard program available on every computer / OS nowadays, for secure communication. It is run with "-R" option which means it is only used for secure, encrypted port forwarding - it's not possible to execute a command on a remote computer what otherwise SSH normally allows - so that all traffic from the Internet-reachable machine is forwarded to any computer you want, like a home PC or a Raspberry Pi connected via mobile network.
This looks amazing! A few questions:
How easy is it to set up for someone with limited technical knowledge?
Does it support cross-platform access (e.g., connecting from a phone to a PC)?
What kind of security features are built-in to protect self-hosted services?
Great work—this could really empower users to take control of their data! 👏
Obzrv.it
@fiona_bao
Hi!
It's fairly easy as instructions are displayed on the screen, and all user has to do is copy & paste a command
You can connect any device, from Android phone to home laptop, to our server to make a service running there accessible on the Internet
Data is encrypted with SSL when flowing between our server and your device
Thanks and good luck with Lushair!