[Q] Working with VPNs - Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note II

I bought a subscription to PIA last night. Seemed like a reputable provider, highly recommended. I'm not really trying to hide anything that needs to be hidden, per se, just like my privacy. I know how to set up a VPN on a computer, Win/Linux, and PIA even has an app for Android that I'm using, but I've still a question or two for those knowledgeable on the subject...
By activating the VPN, is everything secure? As in, everything that users DATA (apps, Facebook, email?) Or just browsers? I don't even see the option, but does each browser have to be configured with the VPN? I mainly use Firefox Aurora. Are there any NONOs that would cause data/dns leaks (like, say, with TOR and pdf/flash?)
I also have a few questions about TOR on Android if anyone has knowledge with that. Like I said, I mainly just Facebook and Google searches, crack flashing, and mod the phone itself. However, with all this NSA/PRISM crap talk, I figured it was just time to protect my data from mining... Because it's mine.
I realize to truly keep some sense anonymity to not login to FB, Email and the like, before anyone starts in on that, but refer to the top about not hiding anything worth really being hidden I searched for a board on VPNs and security, but didn't come across one. SO, if I should have this moved, no problem.
VZW Gnote2 running Moon ROM V4. Boom!

shill1986 said:
I bought a subscription to PIA last night. Seemed like a reputable provider, highly recommended. I'm not really trying to hide anything that needs to be hidden, per se, just like my privacy. I know how to set up a VPN on a computer, Win/Linux, and PIA even has an app for Android that I'm using, but I've still a question or two for those knowledgeable on the subject...
By activating the VPN, is everything secure? As in, everything that users DATA (apps, Facebook, email?) Or just browsers? I don't even see the option, but does each browser have to be configured with the VPN? I mainly use Firefox Aurora. Are there any NONOs that would cause data/dns leaks (like, say, with TOR and pdf/flash?)
I also have a few questions about TOR on Android if anyone has knowledge with that. Like I said, I mainly just Facebook and Google searches, crack flashing, and mod the phone itself. However, with all this NSA/PRISM crap talk, I figured it was just time to protect my data from mining... Because it's mine.
I realize to truly keep some sense anonymity to not login to FB, Email and the like, before anyone starts in on that, but refer to the top about not hiding anything worth really being hidden I searched for a board on VPNs and security, but didn't come across one. SO, if I should have this moved, no problem.
VZW Gnote2 running Moon ROM V4. Boom!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that all your traffic is redirected by the VPN, but I'm not sure. Traceroute your traffic to check, but that doesn't mean that certain apps aren't rerouted through the VPN. I would look deeper into Android VPN before assuming that all traffic is redirected. It is a good question.

Yeah I was hoping the app would have a root mode (it doesn't), like TOR proxies all apps, but TOR is slow. Will do that though, good idea.
VZW Gnote2 running Moon ROM V4. Boom!

Don't forget to check VPNRoot app. It allows you to connect without any security lock on the device.

Related

[Q] Location-aware lock screen?

Is anyone aware of a location-aware app to enable and disable the lock screen? I'd actually prefer to trigger it based on WiFi availability, but I'd consider other location schemes.
Via e-mail, I have potentially sensitive business information on my phone.
However, I primarily work from a home office which makes the code-based lock screen a minor hassle. (I don't use the pattern, the finger marks on the screen make it too easy to guess.)
So obviously I'd love it if my lock would kick-in when I head to lunch or need to physically visit the "real" office or whatever -- but not when I'm at home.
Any ideas?
I've no suggestions but I've thought of the exact same thing. I'd love for it pattern lock when I'm anywhere but my home.
I would even pay for that app.
I would recommend looking into Tasker. I haven't personally used it, but I have heard many great things about it. On their website it lists some examples of what you can use it for, one of them is changing phone settings based on location. You can download a free 7 day trial from their website. It costs 3.49 GBP direct from their website or 3.99 GBP in the market.
tasker. dinglisch. net (I can't post links to outside websites, remove the spaces)
Forgot all about Tasker. Good idea.
I've used Setting Profiles to do the same.
When I'm at work the pattern gets set, but when I'm at home, it's not on.
I just downloaded Settings Profiles, but none of the security settings can be adjusted in a profile (at least, not in the Lite version). I'd prefer something more straightforward like that, but none of the profile apps I checked have that setting available.
It appears Tasker can do this with the aid of a plugin:
http://groups.google.com/group/tasker/browse_thread/thread/35f0c3d6dcf4a644/964318b8f77810fc
Haven't tried it yet, though.
Ah. Apparently this is never going to be possible as of 2.2 and higher.
Google blocked programmatic access to the Secure Settings provider as of Froyo.
<sigh>
First we lose GPS control. Now this. Hell, by the time Android 4.0 is out, we'll probably have to check with the Google front desk just to place a call.
(Yes I understand why... but it seems like they could provide some kind of authorization mechanism in case, you know, we pesky old users consciously decided to give access to those settings to a particular application...)
It wouldn't be difficult to add a way for a service or application to communicate
with the lock screen, like Settings can choose which lock screen to display.
the application would at least have to be installed to /system/app but may
have to be signed with the same key as the ROM, if that is the case then
files could be used instead of the system settings db.
this would only protect from a casual attack like some nosy person picking up the phone
and browsing through your stuff, Odin is the ultimate root kit, so a prepared attacker could
probably get what they want in 5-10 min.
Yeah, but vulnerability to ODIN is going to be the case no matter what. I'm a lot more worried about "Some Random Idiot in a Bar" than I am about the several hundred people across the country who can actually use ODIN well enough to go all Wargames on my phone.

[Q] Fake Internet Access to use online apps offline

I'm not interested in limiting the ability of an app to access the internet, there's enough ways to achieve that.
What I'm interested in is finding out if there is anyway to use an "online only" app while offline. Essentially is there a way to set up a fake access point using cached data to simulate being online? I'm looking to use a personal assistant such as google now without needing to blow through my extremely limited data plan that I'm grandfathered in on. Anyone know if such a thing is possible? I've not figured out the best way to phrase this question quite yet so let me know if it doesn't make sense.
Google Now simply won't work that way. I'd suggest you use something like utter! that doesn't actually send every command to Google (which requires internet access) to determine what to do with it.
Yeah I've been trying utter out of and on and I find it really drains my battery. That said its amazing for being in beta. I am actually keeping my fingers crossed for a more developed version of Indigo, I just like setting the cards on Google Now.

[Q] [HELP] Google Apps Device Policy Work Around?

Hey everyone,
This one really has me stumped. My work is finally moving it's email from Exchange to Google Apps for Business, and for many reasons at first I couldn't be happier. I signed on as an early adopter and have now realized I've hit a huge snag. I can no longer get email notifications on my device without basically giving my employer nearly full control of my personal device. They are requiring the Google Apps Device Policy and forcing a 6 character password to unlock my device, encryption, and permission to remote wipe, among other things. I just really don't feel comfortable giving them that kind of control over my personal device but I do need immediate access to my email to stay on top of things since I'm out in the field way more often than I get a chance to sit in an office. The mobile Gmail site works well enough, but not as well as IMAP support with push notifications would. When we were on Outlook, their policy was essentially similar in that you couldn't bring your own device, but I was able to find a nice app called Outlook Web Mail for Outlook OWA Web Mail which essentially logs into the webmail site and was able to present it in a mobile format and even offer notifications.
I guess what I'm looking for at this point is something similar. I'm hoping someone can suggest an app that, as far as the server is concerned, is just checking the mail from the mobile website but is presenting it to me in an app that is able to give me notifications, even if it's on an interval and not push. Does anyone know if such an app exists for Google Apps for Business accounts or is even possible?
If not, then I guess the next thing I would be looking for is a hackier workaround that can convince the server that I'm abiding by all the rules and still allow me to do whatever I want with my device. I realize this is riskier as far as getting me into trouble but I am rooted and familiar with flashing, Xposed Modules and whatnot (I was surprised my device was even approved with my root status and custom rom).
So sorry for the dissertation but I wanted to lay the whole situation out. I found other threads about GADP but they were more talking about device compatibility rather than a workaround/bypass for it. Anyone gone through something similar at their job? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Worse come to worse, the mobile site isn't the worst thing in the world considering that Outlook mess we came from. Thanks in advance.
My device:
Retail Verizon Note 3 rooted with SafeStrap running the latest Eclipse ROM
anyone?
Well is there any way to receive notifications from the mobile site? I think I recall a few years back when Google pulled sync support for iOS that some iPhone users had to do some shenanigans like this without push support and people used apps that were essentially browsers to check mail and provide notifications. Is there anything similar on Android? Or does it not exist since it's a niche concept? I just have a hard time believing I'm the only person with this problem.
If you want to just access emails, calendar, etc., try Touchdown. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nitrodesk.droid20.nitroid&hl=en
You will not use the gmail or google contacts/calendar app though.
Blis said:
If you want to just access emails, calendar, etc., try Touchdown. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nitrodesk.droid20.nitroid&hl=en
You will not use the gmail or google contacts/calendar app though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's for the reply. I'll give that a go. I've actually rigged it up so I still get notifications at this point through filters and auto forwards to my personal account. But something more native would be a lot better. Thanks again.
No further information on this thread?
I'm in the same situation with my company making the switch to google apps. They are enforcing encryption and non root'd phone. I have found that I can use IMAP to get my email, but my calendar is not found.
I have looked into just circumventing the checks....the only encryption solution i've found is some twrp/titanium back up so that you can at least easily recover systems after u've already been encrypted (not exactly a great solution).
As for the root access, ,the only solution i've found is with rootcloak (im not even sure if either of these solutions would actually work. I'm very much interested in a real solution.
Rootcloack didn't work for me, but that was 8 months ago. Try Touchdown, it's free for 30 days.
Try bluemail.
nomaanym said:
Try bluemail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No luck for me. I appreciate the recommendation. I thought it was going to work when it went through my job's secure portal for setup but not such luck.
I'm looking for a way to do this as well.
I'm in a very similar situation and looking for the same workaround. Currently I'm able to use Edison Software's "Email" app to log in my corporate email account, but without the ability to receive notifications... which is a step better to endure the horrible mobile UI on gmail's website, but still would be better to have push notifications
Have you found any good alternative for gmail/hangouts/sheets without having to install "device policy"??
B1gC72 said:
Hey everyone,
This one really has me stumped. My work is finally moving it's email from Exchange to Google Apps for Business, and for many reasons at first I couldn't be happier. I signed on as an early adopter and have now realized I've hit a huge snag. I can no longer get email notifications on my device without basically giving my employer nearly full control of my personal device. They are requiring the Google Apps Device Policy and forcing a 6 character password to unlock my device, encryption, and permission to remote wipe, among other things. I just really don't feel comfortable giving them that kind of control over my personal device but I do need immediate access to my email to stay on top of things since I'm out in the field way more often than I get a chance to sit in an office. The mobile Gmail site works well enough, but not as well as IMAP support with push notifications would. When we were on Outlook, their policy was essentially similar in that you couldn't bring your own device, but I was able to find a nice app called Outlook Web Mail for Outlook OWA Web Mail which essentially logs into the webmail site and was able to present it in a mobile format and even offer notifications.
I guess what I'm looking for at this point is something similar. I'm hoping someone can suggest an app that, as far as the server is concerned, is just checking the mail from the mobile website but is presenting it to me in an app that is able to give me notifications, even if it's on an interval and not push. Does anyone know if such an app exists for Google Apps for Business accounts or is even possible?
If not, then I guess the next thing I would be looking for is a hackier workaround that can convince the server that I'm abiding by all the rules and still allow me to do whatever I want with my device. I realize this is riskier as far as getting me into trouble but I am rooted and familiar with flashing, Xposed Modules and whatnot (I was surprised my device was even approved with my root status and custom rom).
So sorry for the dissertation but I wanted to lay the whole situation out. I found other threads about GADP but they were more talking about device compatibility rather than a workaround/bypass for it. Anyone gone through something similar at their job? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Worse come to worse, the mobile site isn't the worst thing in the world considering that Outlook mess we came from. Thanks in advance.
My device:
Retail Verizon Note 3 rooted with SafeStrap running the latest Eclipse ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
scorpienez said:
Have you found any good alternative for gmail/hangouts/sheets without having to install "device policy"??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. It just doesn't work on Android. They gave me an iPhone (I asked for a Pixel ) when I got a promotion last year, so now I just carry 2 phones. That said, I haven't rooted in a while so I don't know what's happening in that front anymore.
I don't think there's a way to do what I was trying to do before. Sorry folks.
Me too...
B1gC72 said:
Nope. It just doesn't work on Android. They gave me an iPhone (I asked for a Pixel ) when I got a promotion last year, so now I just carry 2 phones. That said, I haven't rooted in a while so I don't know what's happening in that front anymore.
I don't think there's a way to do what I was trying to do before. Sorry folks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry to hear that. My educational institution's unlimited-storage Google account seems like the perfect match for this phone, but draconian MDM is a non-starter. Hopefully someone in the community does find a workaround at some point!
I have the exact same problem. I got a new personal phone which I was hoping I would be able to use Gmail and Google Classroom on for school but the device policy manager deactivates a bunch of my settings when i try it. The accounts just don't work without the policy manager, from the internet or the app. Do you think that if I were to speak to the school about it that they would be able to remove it? or is it impossible from their end due to the privileges they need over the account for security etc?
Thanks for your help,
Boxboy5
Blis said:
If you want to just access emails, calendar, etc., try Touchdown. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nitrodesk.droid20.nitroid&hl=en
You will not use the gmail or google contacts/calendar app though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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[Q] Kids phone ROM/App

Are there any ROMs or Apps designed for use with a phone for kids in the 10-14yo range? I would like for my child to have a phone for emergencies and i was going to pass down my old one, but i can't really find much to lock it down with. All i have really been able to find are "sandbox" apps such as kids mode, kids place, or the like that allow specific apps, but disable all cell/wifi features. These are more designed for letting your toddler play with your personal phone, which isn't what i'm looking for. What i am looking for is to still be able to have cell/wifi, but include: Approved/unlocked apps. Disable the dialer and restrict outbound calls to a predefined, non-editable list. Limited or no marketplace access. Lockout on settings.
There are a lot of tablets that i have seen designed with kids in mind that do this kind of stuff and I've seen similar phones like Kajeet or Firefly, but that would require the purchase of a phone, which i already have and a separate plan. There's stuff like cheap flip phones, but that would still need to be acquired and I figure with all the fun stuff Androids can do they will make sure they carry it around with them.
there was once an app call kytephone.com that did exactly this, but they where only around for like 6 months and then shut down. while the app can still be found in some places and side loaded, its no longer on play store, but it required internet access and a login to launch. since they are shut down, you can't create accounts or login anymore so even a side loaded version is useless.
If it could be done with separate apps to lock down stuff, that would be good too. I know the play store has content filtering and PIN for purchases, there also seem to be plenty of child friendly browsers out there for web filtering, and i could use app lock to lock out settings, but the difficulty i found was with the contact list and dialer.
I would prefer to stay with the stock ROM to keep T-Mobiles wifi calling, but if there's a custom ROM for this, that would work also.
Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions?
Thanks.
Howdy. I realize that this is almost 10 years old but - did you find anything? (fingers crossed).
Thanks!
J

Chrome on Android - enable website to access location data

This is a general question. I'm having trouble "forcing" a website to utilize my location. There's a site we use at work. It is built on a Google Maps layer. We can log work completed and other information for units that appear as features/layers on the map. That all works just fine. The trouble is with the "auto-follow" function on the map. The guys who have IOS devices are not having any problems. If I use the generic "internet" browser or the browser in LastPass, auto-follow works as expected. It pans/zooms the map to my current location and puts a blue dot wherever I am. The issue is that auto-follow does not function in Chrome browser.
I have tried many things so far, from the very basic like this: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/142065?hl=en
To this: http://superuser.com/questions/591758/how-do-i-make-chrome-forget-a-no-to-geolocation-on-a-site
to this: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/...r-a-website-for-which-i-previously-refused-it
and this: https://buddypunch.freshdesk.com/su...tion-services-on-my-mobile-device-or-browser-
So far, nothing has worked. I'm beginning to wonder if there is something within the app/site that is not requesting location data in a way that Chrome either understands or wants to comply with. I have a line to the "developers" and if I can give them specific information, they can probably make some changes.
Yes, I could use other browsers. But Chrome is my default and is integrated with everything else on my phone (T-Mo Galaxy S7 with most current versions of everything) But I am not the only person experiencing this. I'd like to help out those guys (most of which are not very tech savvy) by cracking this nut.
Anyone have any thoughts or ideas?
I found the cause:
https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/native-hardware/user-location/obtain-location?le=en
Google went and changed things on EVERYONE without notice. They aren't evil, just not always real nice.

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