Want to use apache, ISP blocking port 80

Question

I am attempting to set up a small web server on my home network, but my ISP is blocking incoming port 80 ( and no, i'm not paying $50/month extra for them to unblock it).

I am looking for some ways around this, obviously I can change the port # but I don't find this ideal.

really appreciate any ideas for this

Answer 1

The hosting industry is a billion dollar industry largely because hosting at home is non-ideal. You have horrible upload bandwidth which translates to horrible download speeds for your site visitors. You have to configure NAT with port forwarding, etc, etc.

Get a cheap VPS account if you are trying to learn about server administration. Get a shared hosting account if you are trying to learn about web design, development. Get a free blog account at wordpress.com if you are trying to blog strictly for bloggings sake.

Answer 2

If you're planning on using your web server for VERY SMALL SCALE use ONLY, then you can do the following: Buy a domain and use a redirection service (I used no-ip.org) to take standard http requests (port 80) to your router on whatever port you choose. As posters above mentioned, though, you're likely violating the terms of service, but if you're just trying to share some small bits of content with friends or family and you take necessary precautions to protect your network from the wild, you can probably forward safely.

I did this for a class in which I needed to host a Rails application: The website hits the wild simply by turning on the computer, and gets pulled when I get home from class to minimize the amount of time in which it's exposed to the wild.

Answer 3

First, check your terms of service. Bypassing this block may violate them.

Second, are you really prepare for exposing your home network to incoming traffic? Are you ready to manage all the security required? Can you handle it when a security crack creates a bot network or site hosting illegal material in your home and your ISP and/or the law show up to discuss it?

Third, there are a variety of free or very low cost services for you to host your own blog ranging from blogger to wordpress.com to livejournal for basic blogs to full fledged hosting services like Dreamhost (usually under $10 for the first year) to Grokthis.net ($6 month for fairly nice services).

Unless you have a real business reason to host it at home and the expertise necessary to administer a network at that level, spend the $10 or less a month. You'll save yourself stomach lining and probably money in the long run.

Answer 4

free web hosting turns up a lot of answers on google, you could put your home server ip/allowed port in an iframe on one of these servers

Answer 5

Honestly, your best bet is to go someplace like godaddy and get a cheap hosting plan - they can run you as little as $5/month these days.