Enabling the DMZ feature on your Linksys cloud account

The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a feature that allows device in your network to be stripped off its external firewall and be exposed completely to the Internet.
 
Do you need it?
 
A DMZ helps electronic signals bypass strict firewall and router security and open all ports for faster delivery of data packets.  It is an easy way to enhance connectivity such as when you play online games, transfer files over the Internet, or create a website on your own server, and the like.
 
The main disadvantage of a DMZ, however, is that it leaves a computer open to all, which may entail leaving data within it open to intruders.  You will need to proceed with the DMZ setup with caution.  You can use Port Forwarding as an alternative to DMZ as it creates a rule to open a certain port or a range of ports that receives only a specific data request.  To know more about Single Port Forwarding, click here.
 
IMPORTANT:  Below is the list of things to remember when enabling the DMZ feature in your Linksys router.
 
  • If you decide to use the IP Address, be sure to set up a static IP Address to the computer that you want to expose because its IP Address may change if set it to DHCP.  You can also specify by MAC Address.
  • Alternatively, if your router has a DHCP Reservation feature, you may also use it instead of setting up a static IP Address on your computer. 

To start setting DMZ, follow the procedure below.
 
NOTE:  This feature is not available on the Linksys app.
 
Step 1:
Go to https://www.linksyssmartwifi.com and log in to your Linksys cloud account.  
 
NOTE:  You can also log in to the router's web interface by typing "http://192.168.1.1" in the browser's Address bar or whatever the IP Address of your router is.  

Step 2:
On the Navigation pane under Router Settings, select Security.
 
 
Step 3:
On the Security screen, select DMZ from the tabs and toggle to the ON position to enable the DMZ feature.
 
 
Step 4:
Select the option for the Source IP Address and enter the correct values required.
 
 
First Option - If you want to allow any external computer to access the exposed computer, select Any IP Address.  This is best chosen if you are going to use your computer as the server and you have multiple users trying to access it. 
 
Second Option - For a more secured DMZ setup, you can select the second option where you will be able to specify a range of IP Addresses that will only be allowed entry to the computer’s DMZ zone.  IP Addresses that are not in the range will not be allowed to connect.
 
Step 5:
Enter the Destination IP Address.  This is the IP Address of the computer you’ve set up for DMZ. 
 
 
Alternatively, you can also select the MAC Address radio button and manually enter the MAC Address of the computer you are setting up for DMZ.
 
User-added image
 
Aside from manual entry, you can also automatically populate the MAC Address by clicking on the View DHCP Client Table button and clicking on the Select button of the corresponding Client MAC Address. 
 
 
The MAC Address of the device will be extracted and automatically placed on the fields available.
 
 
            Step 6:
            Once you’re done, click Apply to save the changes and then click Ok to exit.
 
Expanding your network
 
The common usage of the DMZ feature is when users build a dedicated server on one of their computers in the home network to host a personal website, an FTP file server, or become a game server.  Because of the nature of these types of web servers, it needs to “face the public” and be completely open for all to access to.  Enabling a “demilitarized zone” on the exposed computer helps facilitate access to only that isolated device.  Just make sure that all your other connected devices in the network are also equipped with protective firewall and security.

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