Hi,
Tomorrow my girlfriend leaves for China for a week, and she'll be missing the usual things, facebook, youtube and such. Is there a way I can set up a VPN server on my PC so she can get connected to my machine (in Hong Kong) and get proper uncensored traffic from China? Which app should she use to connect? She has a Galaxy Note.
I tried this before (with windows 7 default server), with not much success. I can try either Windows or Kubuntu for the server, whichever is easier to work with.
Could you guys give me a hand on this?
Thanks a lot!
Simply download UltraSurf aka UltraReach aka 无界 over at www .ultrareach. com/ for desktop use, this app is the best free one click way to breach the censorship. I use this app on daily basis here in China. On handset wise if your girl friend uses android devices, just browse the market and download "Verizon Opera", a browser based on Opera Mini 5 that Opera made for Verizon customers since it sends data directly to Verizon wireless servers which bypasses the government firewall. Its features are a little bit outdated, no in browser download support or flash or offline browsing, yet still itis the most simple solution on the go to visit blocked sites such as twitter, fb, cnn, bbc, deutschland world (dw.de), IRF, etc.
Sent from my Hero using xda premium
Ok, I'll definitely try that version of Opera, thank you for the information!
Regarding Ultrasurf, what's the difference with the (allegedly) newer UltraVPN? Both of these are desktop clients, but I believe she'll be taking only the phone this time. I thank you for the tip, as those seem to be free (first time I find a free VPN server, I'm a bit suspicious as why is that one free), but I'd like to find an equivalent for Android, if possible
Sibling products? To be very honest I'm not quite sure about the ultraVPN. The reason that ultrasurf is free of charge is word on the street says this app is sponsored by anti censorship groups and funds based in the US, with a sole purpose - to help netizen in mainland China breach the system. In other words it's not developed by any ordinary commercial firm.
Yes there are other solutions aside of ultrasurf, like Tor for Firefox, Google's own goagent (which has certain traffic limit for free users 1GB per day.), but non of which offers similar easy to use features as ultrasurf does.
The reason why most mainstream US vnp services are down in China is that those vnp providers have been blocked by Chinese government's GFW way beforehand.
Sent from my Hero using xda premium
Good to know. Thank you very much indeed!
For the phone thouhg, there's no other free alternative, right?
Thank you!
The goagent I mentioned before is a universal proxy solution on both desktop and handheld platforms. Follow a step by step tutorial which can be found by Googling, set up a free account for goagent on desktop. Then download GAEProxy from market to your android device, choose goagent type of proxy, configure it with the account you set before and you are hooked up. In this way all apps like native twitter, Facebook, linked in, browsers, YouTube client are with the mighty force of Google's proxy. But for instant and light web use, I still recommended Verizon Opera.
Sent from my Hero using xda premium
Related
I am not really comfortable with the idea of sharing data with Google, so I wonder how it could be possible to run Android without the Google apps.
Using CM7 as the base for my devices (SE X10 mini pro & ZTE Blade) is already a good starting point, by not installing the GAPPS package.
But then what?
How to get apps from the market without GAPPS?
Which (offline) navigation software instead of Google Maps?
Which calendar app instead of Google Calendar?
Any other Google service replacement?
Any suggestions are highly appreciated.
You could probably use amazon appstore instead of market. The real market requires google's framework. As far as the calender i'm not sure look around on the amazon market for one.
Personally i would just use gapps what could you possibly be doing where the info google collects could hurt you ? They don't collect personal data like sms or phone calls. So unless you download child porn its prob ok to use google's apps.
I am not thinking about anything illegal, but you can be identified by your (required) Google account, and once you enable data synchronization / localization service, or the background data submission required for using the Market, you are already deeply caught in the Google network.
I don't know about the Amazon Appstore. Does it feature the same apps as the Google Market? I guess not, and when I try to access it, it tells "The Amazon Appstore is only available to customers located in the United States.", so I don't think this is a suitable alternative anyway.
So the only real downside of not using GAPPS is access to the market. A possible workaround could be to use the Android emulator of the Android SDK to download apps, then package them up to APKs and copy them over to your mobile.
I am sure there are a lot of others which are not comfortable with Google as well, but do not want to surrender their Android phones.
If you just want the apps you can install them from your pc to your phone on the market website. If you don't have a Google account or want one at all maybe use 4shared to download them. You can also usually download them from the developers website.
Sent from ???
I am still testing the use of Android without GAPPS, but there are some issues I have no idea how to overcome:
There seems to be no suitable Calendar App that does not rely on the Google Calendar / synchronization with Google. My preferred app would have been aCalendar, which works kind of, but no appointment can be saved because it tells "You have no calendar". Any suggestions? How is the calendar issue solved on Android-without-GAPPS devices like the Kindle Fire?
Some apps simply can not be installed without the Google framework present. For example when trying to install the Adaffix and QR Droid apk's manually, it simply tells "Application not installed" without any error message pointing out the problem. Any idea about that?
These two issues are the main problems with having no GAPPS on the phone, and as much as I would have liked to run my Android phones without GAPPS, it seems there is no way around it, if one does not want to have it overly complicated.
I have been using android for a few weeks now with no google account. Installing a firewall and lbe privacy seems to work fine. Just dont allow any google services access to the net. Works fine for me
I don't understand why you would by a Google OS but not want google apps.
UPDATE: Android without GAPPS is a go now!
Android is NOT really a GoogleOS, it's a Linux distribution with proprietary Google apps added. You can successfully run Android without Google, which is what Amazon already proofed with the Kindle Fire on a large scale.
I am not talking about running Android without Google account, but Android without GAPPS installed, and I am happy to confirm, that it is indeed possible without too much hassle, since I overcame my initially major issues:
The calendar issue could be solved by installing Jorte, which uses its own database.
I simply omit apps which rely on the Google Framework, so I replaced QR Droid with Barcode Scanner, and just deleted Adaffix, for which there is no replacement (not that much of a loss, especially since I was not really sure about their privacy policy; would you willingly submit the phone numbers of all your callers to a private company?).
I am going to use MapQuest instead of Google Maps, a free app based on https://www.openstreetmap.org
I already installed all my apps, which I previously downloaded from the Market, on that Google-free phone, in addition to AdFree, to get rid of the advertisement in the typical free apps, as well as AmazonAppstore (just in case). Now for my kind of use I don't miss any Google services at all.
The next logical step is to install the Android SDK on a computer, run Android 2.3 including GAPPS for Market access in the Android emulator, and just download all the desired software and software-updates there, to be exported (using ASTRO) to the Google-free phone.
Some may argue that it may not be worth the hassle, but I am still in the opinion, that it's best not to share ANY data with Google ever.
BTW Don't use Google at all, not even for simple searches -> have a look at https://duckduckgo.com (they even have an Andoid app)!
Where to start?
Android is not a Linux distribution, it only uses a Linux kernel, these two mean vastly different things and should not be confused.
What exactly do you want to hide from Google?
Your email? It goes through dozens of servers without encryption. The only people not reading it are the ones who don't want to.
Your location? Your cell phone provider has it. And so does your government)
Your searches? Okay you're right on this one I use duckduckgo on my pc.
The point is that most of your data is tracked by hundreds of companies. They use your os and flash version, your cookies, user agent, screen resolution. You can run but you can't hide.
You're not on Facebook, are you?
---------- Post added at 09:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:12 PM ----------
smokin1337 said:
You could probably use amazon appstore instead of market. The real market requires google's framework. As far as the calender i'm not sure look around on the amazon market for one.
Personally i would just use gapps what could you possibly be doing where the info google collects could hurt you ? They don't collect personal data like sms or phone calls. So unless you download child porn its prob ok to use google's apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never make the assumption that if you're not going anything illegal than you shouldn't worry about tracking. Never never never. Okay? If you do you don't deserve privacy. Read "little brother" by Cory Doctorow.
For the calendar and the contacts i use to synchronise every day my Desire S with an old version of Lotus Notes (7.xx) on my Job computer. I use MyphoneExplorer with a USB connexion. It works very well without microsoft exchange or any connexion with google agenda.
Wikipedia said:
Android is a Linux-based operating system for mobile devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From my point of view I consider everything based on the Linux kernel a Linux distribution. Android = Linux kernel plus a bunch of open source software, the proprietary Google code does not have to be considered to be part of the base system.
What I want to hide from Google? About everything. Isn't it the same with Facebook, where the user is not the customer, but the product?
Of course everybody leaves a large track in the net, but one can at least try to prevent data sharing as much as possible, and not using Google services and not providing them any additional info is part of it.
Of course that topic is mind splitting, but I know I am not alone on this, and as shown, it it indeed possible to successfully use an Android phone completely without Google, and I do not see any disadvantage in it.
Hope this helps:
http://www.androidauthority.com/how-to-download-any-apk-to-your-computer-62153/
(apk leecher)
There are many other reasons for wanting to avoid Google. For example, let's say you have your contacts synchronized. You're using gmail and calendar and you have a card linked to your Google Play account.
You go on holiday and you card gets cloned. The criminal uses your card to do something horrendous and you wind up in jail. Because you had all your eggs in one basket your account has been disabled and your defense has no access to your emails to plan your case and defend you in court. You're utterly screwed.
By using different companies and services you at least have more chance of keeping access to those services.
Google services are pretty monolithic. They're great, but there's advantage in using separate services if you can.
Here are some alternatives to the Google apps:
- Gmail = K9mail
- Play = app leacher, sdk virtual image method. fDroid
- Maps = MapQuest. Various SatNav apps. Waze
- GTalk = Skype or Fring (though both of those aren't greatly done). Various SIP/VoIP apps like cSipSimple
- contacts = t9dialer?
- Goggles = any barcode scanner will do for me
- any others?
I use f-droid.org .
It is strictly open-source. Has all the basic apps in there (Email, Firefox, tons of Timers, AlarmClocks, etc).
randomchars said:
You're not on Facebook, are you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course ! Why not ? Facebook leaves you the choice what to upload.
i agree with this thread, i dont mind sharing my information with companies, i do it all the time, but i dont like forced sharing with no opt out, this is essential stealing. eg ics and motoblur contacts
i guess you could say the opt out is to not install, which is what the thread is talking about
i think we are lucky to have android available without the gapps bloat such as with cyanogen mod
zzerozzero1 said:
I use f-droid.org .
It is strictly open-source. Has all the basic apps in there (Email, Firefox, tons of Timers, AlarmClocks, etc).
Of course ! Why not ? Facebook leaves you the choice what to upload.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
// Puts on tinfoil hat.
Sure kid. Whatever helps you sleep at night.
haydent said:
i agree with this thread, i dont mind sharing my information with companies, i do it all the time, but i dont like forced sharing with no opt out, this is essential stealing. eg ics and motoblur contacts
i guess you could say the opt out is to not install, which is what the thread is talking about
i think we are lucky to have android available without the gapps bloat such as with cyanogen mod
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
here's my fix http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1808037
zzerozzero1 said:
I use f-droid.org .
It is strictly open-source. Has all the basic apps in there (Email, Firefox, tons of Timers, AlarmClocks, etc).
Of course ! Why not ? Facebook leaves you the choice what to upload.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually facebook track you a lot. Use your browser to visit youtube and you'll see a share button for it just as many sites have now.
Facebook know a lot about where its members visit
Dave
( http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAownKXmAQ/bigfatuniverse )
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk 2
randomchars said:
// Puts on tinfoil hat.
Sure kid. Whatever helps you sleep at night.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL ...
You obviously don't agree. Which is fine.
But plz don't troll
---------- Post added at 01:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:22 PM ----------
mistermentality said:
Actually facebook track you a lot. Use your browser to visit youtube and you'll see a share button for it just as many sites have now.
Facebook know a lot about where its members visit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been using Ghostery and Adblock Plus for years. They should take care of that.
If your really worried about your privacy you should check out Orbot the Tor client for android (https://guardianproject.info/apps/orbot/)
I will revive this thread, because I also install CM10.1 and try to use withoug GAPPS.
My phone is already running much smoother than with stock rom (Galaxy S3 I9300).
No Samsung push service, Google push, Calender...
So I am already using f-droid and androidpit now. At the moment I am missing Skype and Facebook Messenger.
I know worrying about privacy + using facebook might sound strange. But most friends I can only contact by Facebook (or SMS, lol), so I have to use it.
David.
What is the best (safest) way to do it security wise?
Through the browser? Through the banking app they have? or remote desktop?
I use browser n apps like pageonce or the corresponding app to bank. browser is secure. just make sure you see the padlock icon on browser URL.
wifesabitch said:
What is the best (safest) way to do it security wise?
Through the browser? Through the banking app they have? or remote desktop?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Neither of these are the safest way to do online banking.
My bank requires additional secutity measures other than just providing login id and password, i.e. a second one time password that will be sent to your mobile phone for you to input each time you do a banking transaction.
agree with what the rest said:
use the app specifically released by the bank (the best I think)
most banks here in the UK are using two-factor authentication - so I am using the stock browser at the moment - but... this still leaves a door open for the man-in-the-middle attack, so just an extra precaution, i set my DNS to OpenDns.
additionally, I normally clear all before and after banking session all the cookies/form data/cache - i am not sure why i am doing this, but it does make me feel better
If the bank is worth a damn both the app they provide and their sites should be secure. Just do not use on an open wifi network as your communication can be intercepted before it's encrypted with ssl through say the webpage. In fact I personally would not log into anything with an open wifi network.
Mint works pretty well.
my problem is that i have a non rooted phone with vpn always on and im searching for an app to activating ad block on it.
My fix for it would be to use an android wide proxy or a custom dns that overrides vpn dns.
as title said an root app or an app that provides vpn solution wouldnt be what im searching for. I had once an adblock app that routes traffic trough local proxy beside the vpn but cant find it anymore
Update: i found AdHell but its only for Samsung Devices with knox. Any other solutions?
HeathenMan said:
Update: i found AdHell but its only for Samsung Devices with knox. Any other solutions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
any news on this one?
I wanna use protonVPN and adblcoker at same time
a bit of elbow grease to protect self from Privacy Raping
Some [open]vpn clients allow vpn side connection to Socks5. Some even allow toggle of LAN access from device. I am not claiming a finish product exists but perhaps this gives you some joy.
Perhaps your socks5 instance runs in Amazon AWS free tier. Maybe it runs locally on your android handset. Perhaps you run Privoxy itself on android. [@mod: privoxy is F/OSS older than this forum]. There are a few privoxy projects for android on github. Perhaps you pick their brain. It was that against which proxomitron competed [also F/OSS. Thank God for Scott Lemmon].
Using things in differing order you might search the article to which I may not link: Privoxy on Android (with EC2 VPN)
I wanted to bring the Amazon EC2-based Privoxy service to it, by way of a VPN.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was no obvious way to contact the author who hasn't posted since 2016.
There is an OpenVPN service you can likely find the name of yourself offering *recently* an adblock toggle and AntiTracker toggle with a hardcode mode to protect you from predators like google and Fbook. It shouldn't be long before others emulate this functionality. It sports the vpn side socks5 option.
Or privoxy tunnel to remote [cloud (openvpn)]. See? Fun with permutations. Maybe from phone with ShadowSocks to cloud to vpn to web. "OpenVPN over shadowsocks". At this point look into sites helping Chinese dissidents.
You definitely then return here with your improvements to share.
The remaining question is how much is your time worth? Not much? Then search the web ad naseum for the 'ideal free' solution. Elsewise pony up some pennies for some cloud time as part of a solution.
Same question here !
And it seems that adhell is now only available for entreprise use
Wasn't AdGuard doing that?
yes you are right. it works with setting a private dns in the system settings with dns.adguard.com - no batterydrain - no more ads - no vpn - no root
Any favorites recommended that work well with the pixel 3? Looking for a non-rooted option (for now).
Blokada is the best option I can find. It's available on f-droid as well as directly from their website. Totally free and very configurable. No root required as it's using the built-in VPN functionality.
WITH ROOT, the king is Adaway for sure. Simple, lightweight and works great.
WITHOUT ROOT I'd personally recommend DNS66. Blocks host names via DNS through Android's VPN interface. Without ROOT that's as good as it gets, or another app very similar like sirebral123 mentioned above. Both are available on F-droid site.
How about just using the Brave browser? Built on chromium, faster than chrome, doesn't track you around, and it has ad blocking built in. Available in the play store and I use it on my desktop as well.
Droid1019 said:
How about just using the Brave browser? Built on chromium, faster than chrome, doesn't track you around, and it has ad blocking built in. Available in the play store and I use it on my desktop as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That doesn't remove ads that appear in apps.
Blokada is working pretty well. Thanks. Any preferences on hosts or dns servers to select or add? I was able to download it here on xda labs app. Same version available in fdroid.
To people recommending VPN apps to block ads.... you realize you are then funneling all of your phone's network traffic through their servers, right? That would make me wildly uncomfortable.
GldRush98 said:
To people recommending VPN apps to block ads.... you realize you are then funneling all of your phone's network traffic through their servers, right? That would make me wildly uncomfortable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They run a local VPN on the phone, there is no 3rd party server
Sent from my Pixel 2 using XDA Labs
Cares said:
That doesn't remove ads that appear in apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I find an app i like and use on a regular basis, I just pay for it and that takes care of the ads for me and supports the developer.
Well I feel like a horses ass. That's actually pretty clever.
I use a combination of PiHole at my house/work and brave browser.
Droid1019 said:
If I find an app i like and use on a regular basis, I just pay for it and that takes care of the ads for me and supports the developer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everyone should sign up for Google Opinion Rewards. It's a great way to get money for the Play Store and is perfect for this exact scenario.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.paidtasks&hl=en_US
Droid1019 said:
If I find an app i like and use on a regular basis, I just pay for it and that takes care of the ads for me and supports the developer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are public apps that don't offer a pay to remove ads thing like sports score apps.
You may wanna give "adguard for android" a shot, i have a paid version, works like a charm..
Droid1019 said:
If I find an app i like and use on a regular basis, I just pay for it and that takes care of the ads for me and supports the developer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah but not every app has a "pay to make the ads go away" feature.
I'm rooted but prefer using Adguard. Being to disable ads for individual apps or website is a plus. Also, the app has a feature to allow the use of custom DNS which I have changed to use Cloudflare DNS. The VPN it creates is a local VPN, data DOES not get funneled to their site. i've been using adguard for over 2 years and paid lifetime. They do have a free trial
I can speak to both options. My phone and my wife's (Pixel 3 XL and Pixel 3) are both rooted and use AdAway. My sons' two phones (Huawei Mate SEs) and their tablet (Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8") are not rooted and each have a lifetime licence of AdGuard. I notice pretty much no difference in terms of what they block. I can't do an A/B spead comparison, but none of their devices seem adversely impacted by AdGuard. I very seriously considered going to the OP6T for my wife and I and going with AdGuard and no root since I am on T-Mobile and would have used the OG Pixel XL and Pixel both as trade-ins. My decision to stay with Google phones and root had nothing to do with ad blocking. In fact, the three devices with AdGuard are easy enough to root. The Mates are BL unlocked, and the S2 is pretty easy already. Any difference between AdGuard and AdAway is simply not worth giving them root access that they don't need.
How do the VPN ad-blockers (like AdGuard) affect battery life? I assume they use more than Adaway or other root methods.
dsmero said:
I use a combination of PiHole at my house/work and brave browser.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too. Pi Hole is really good. Easy to install on a Raspberry Pi and it blocks ads and spyware on all devices connected to your network. Should you encounter a web site which doesn't work it is easy to suspend Pi Hole for a predertermined time, or until you re-enable it. A nice little project on very cheap hardware. You don't need the most expensive Raspberry Pi either - but I would recomment connecting it via ethernet so if anyone is interested make sure you buy a Pi with an ethernet socket.
[emoji1360] i already buy it before two years with life license. Its amazing
sneilkanth said:
You may wanna give "adguard for android" a shot, i have a paid version, works like a charm..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
In this time when more work from home is needed.
I have downloaded a lot of VPN software, if you also have such troubles, X VPN is the VPN proxy host you need to try.
You must be wondering what X VPN is this?
X VPN is applicable to multiple platforms and is free to use on platforms such as Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Netflix, and Chrome, etc.
The application is fully automated and can be safely connected to the Internet in any country.
Why not try X VPN? These are the points that I think are very prominent：
Unlimited bandwidth usage
One-click connection
9 safer protocols to choose from
Unblock all apps and websites in any country
IP disappear/IP forgery
Never miss videos & instant massages
Remove control of games such as PUBG GAME
Unblock the school's APP and website
StephanieBK said:
In this time when more work from home is needed.
I have downloaded a lot of VPN software, if you also have such troubles, X VPN is the VPN proxy host you need to try.
You must be wondering what X VPN is this?
X VPN is applicable to multiple platforms and is free to use on platforms such as Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Netflix, and Chrome, etc.
The application is fully automated and can be safely connected to the Internet in any country.
Why not try X VPN? These are the points that I think are very prominent：
Unlimited bandwidth usage
One-click connection
9 safer protocols to choose from
Unblock all apps and websites in any country
IP disappear/IP forgery
Never miss videos & instant massages
Remove control of games such as PUBG GAME
Unblock the school's APP and website
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
honestly, free vpn is not the best option, they steal ur data and sell it to other advertising companys, but if anything you can use crytostorm and use the free version of that, and is known not to steal any data from youi and is also safe