This is a simple tutorial to allow you to connect to the internet using VPN through your home router.
:NOTE: At present, the steps here are sparse. They assume some technical capability to set things up yourself, this is just kindof a guide as to WHAT you'll need to setup.
Why, you ask? Security. Using a VPN will essentially encrypt your communications though a tunnel back to your home computer. Not going into all that here, basically a simple guide. I assume we're all smart here, so the basics.
Prerequisites
1. DD-WRT V24 Capable router. If you don't have this, then you will need to instead use a different method involving installing software on your PC that I won't cover here. The advantage of the DD-WRT router is ease of setup on the router, and not having to have your computer turned on.
2) Capable Android Phone & Provider. I can't troubleshoot your ROM or provider. Some Android Roms don't support VPN, and it's broken in some. Some providers apparently block it. If your Rom is good and your provider doesn't block it, you're golden. In some cases (such as on the G2X) custom kernels (such as Faux123's) will add the necessary TUN support. Or you may need to add a TUN.KO file if it doesn't... again, device specific, refer to appropriate device forums.
3) If you don't have a static IP (I assume you don't) you'll need a dynamic DNS provider compatible with DD-WRT. I prefer freedns.afraid.org, but you can use any o these: dyndns.org, zoneedit.com, No-Ip.com, 3322.org, easydns.com tzo.com or dynsip.org.
Got all that? Great!
Okay, here's the fun bit.
STEP 1
First, you need to hack your router. It's a LOT like rooting your Android phone. How to do it is BEYOND the scope of what I can write here, but what you need to do is visit http://www.dd-wrt.com and have a look around. Or, you can actually purchase routers with DD-WRT pre-installed. Basically you have to flash a custom ROM onto your router. It needs to support VPN, and be at least version "v24 SP1". Older versions may have a DIFFERENT VPN setup that's not as easy. Don't say I didn't warn you. I flashed the full-featured VOIP version to my router, a Buffalo WHR-G54S.
Unlocking (if necessary) and flashing your router with DD-WRT is a topic as broad as rooting/flashing Android - so I can't help you here. But once it is done, you are ready for....
STEP 2
Setup your dynamic DNS provider. I used http://freedns.afraid.org/ to do this. Basically you go to the site and sign up for the free "subdomain" services. You can pick a name that will be on a number of different domains, such as "us.to", where you could maybe pick something like "kick.us.to" if it isn't taken yet. All that matters is you remember the name.
Next, in DD-WRT, go to the Setup->DDNS tab and select the proper DDNS service and enter the information it asks for -- your service used, username, password and hostname usually. You can usually leave update interval at the default, and normally you don't need to use external IP check.
NOTE: You need to make sure you are not "Double NAT-ed".. this means two routers stacked is a nono. If you have a router connected to a cable/dsl router (instead of a cable/dsl modem), then it needs to be set to BRIDGE mode. Again.. complicated and really a topic best dealt with on its own.
Once you've setup your Dynamic DNS, you're well on your way. You can actually use that hostname for all sorts of things, such as always being able to get Audiogalaxy to connect to the right host without having to know a numeric IP that could change.
STEP 3
You're on a roll... Now, time to setup the VPN in the router. This is done under the Services->VPN tab. If that tab doesn't exist, then you got the wrong version of DD-WRT and need to go back to Step 1.
Enable PPTP Server, Broadcast Support, MPPE Encryption. Under Server IP enter your ROUTER's IP address (usually 192.168.1.1, or whatever you use to connect to your router). Under Client IP's, enter the range of clients on your local network in the format: 192.168.1.100-149 (where 100-149 represents possible IP addresses I've set in DD-WRT for my LAN)... this doesn't seem as important since we'll be connecting from outside.. Just do it.
Under CHAP-Secrets enter in your preferred username and password in the format:
username * password *
that is, the username, a space, *, a space, the password, a space and then *
Save and apply settings. (You need to click both SAVE and APPLY, DD-WRT is weird like this)
STEP 4
Back to Android! Yay! This part of the procedure may vary by phone, but this is how it is on my Gingerbread T-Mobile G2X with faux123's kernel.
Goto Settings->Wireless & Networks->VPN Settings->Add VPN->Add PPTP VPN
VPN Name=whatever you want
VPN server= your dynamic IP name you selected in Step 2
Enable encryption = Yes
now, hit Menu->Save
You should now see your VPN listed under VPNs. Click on it, and select CONNECT. Type in your username and password you selected at the end of Step 3.
It should connect. CONGRATULATIONS!
You should also have a notification in your taskbar that will now let you disconnect from the VPN.
STEP 5
Enjoy! .. wait, what? It didn't work? It did for me!!!
I guess.... ask questions here, or if it appears to be a phone issue, ask in your device's appropriate forum (and link to this thread so people know what guide you're following)
And, if anybody reading this is a better expert in setting this stuff up than I am, feel free to critique/laugh/criticize/constructively comment on this little howto and I'll correct anything I Rick Perry'd.
Nice tutorial! Would have been better if you also included more details in hacking our router
DroidVPN said:
Nice tutorial! Would have been better if you also included more details in hacking our router
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would have, but like I said, that's a topic as big as phone hacking itself. Every model of router is going to be different! There may be models that support VPN in the router as well without DD-WRT, but I'm not familiar with that setup.
DD-WRT's website has a pretty huge forum on what routers are compatible and how to set it all up.
The optimal speed can be achieved by the compression of traffic and by minimizing server loads. Web acceleration will enable you bring about a drastic improvement in the web page response time. This kind of acceleration usually come in lesser costs and offers the best web application performance.
So Wat does this do? Keeps u secured from the eyes of the ISP?.. harder for others to hack u?...
Sent from my HTC Desire using xda premium
evilgenius00 said:
So Wat does this do? Keeps u secured from the eyes of the ISP?.. harder for others to hack u?...
Sent from my HTC Desire using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lotherius said:
Security. Using a VPN will essentially encrypt your communications though a tunnel back to your home computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that.
...
10char.
Nice TUT, VPN working
Thanks. I mostly appreciated the idea of using afraid.org.
For some reason, Dyndns and no-ip wouldn't work with ICS as client.
thanks for this tut, keep it up
nice.. thanks for sharing
The cool thing is, once you start hacking your router, you open up all sorts of fun. Like using a virtual wireless network to bridge the open wifi network that gets 1 bar of signal in one little corner of your apartment to be a full strength WPA protected network with your own SSID and subnet that all of your devices can use ... not like I would do such a thing. Now, I *am* a bit afraid to try to set up a VPN on the bridged virtual network..... that could get complicated.
Will this also work with OpenDNS?
Already running DDWRT v24 on WRT600N, and trying to figure this VPN stuff to connect my Atrix running CM10. Thanks for any help
katinatez said:
Will this also work with OpenDNS?
Already running DDWRT v24 on WRT600N, and trying to figure this VPN stuff to connect my Atrix running CM10. Thanks for any help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any service which gives you a stable hostname to the outside network should work.
If you have a higher end router that supports the mega builds (8MB flash), then you can opt for OpenVPN which is more secure than PPTP. Setup is more complicated though.
australix said:
If you have a higher end router that supports the mega builds (8MB flash), then you can opt for OpenVPN which is more secure than PPTP. Setup is more complicated though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still using a (now antiquated) Buffalo WHR-G54S which has 4MB flash and 16MB Ram... so while it has a lot of features, OpenVPN is lacking... so I can't test that method personally.
This Buffalo is the best router I've ever owned, though. I still can do without gigabit or N networking, so I'm not upgrading. I went through 5 or 6 bad routers (even a Linksys WRT-54G that crashed constantly) before I got this one.
Thanks for all the info here. I've deleted the post because I think my issue is with something else.
Thanks..
p
very...helpfull..!!!
Very easy guide! Thanks!
455
nice cool...
bumpin this because i have a question regarding this, i just set this up and it works great
there are mainly two types of auth vpn servers use, certificate authentication and username/password
i tried to set up password one, and you still need the server public certificate along with username/password, but you don't need client public and private keys unlike with cert auth.
now, i placed the server key, ca.crt, on my internal storage and together with username/password, works great, my concern is security of this file. this file needs to be accessible right, so you can't put it in /etc or /system, having it in internal storage, any app with storage permission can read it... isn't this a security risk? how is this solved? where do i put the file?
thanks
edit: also, how do i *prevent* network traffic without vpn? i know there is always on option and start on boot, but i did, and when the boot finnishes there is a brief moment when the phone connects on mobile network just before initializing vpn and in that brief moment android probably sends all sorts of passwords and data through the network ... how do i delay this until vpn is initialized?
Related
OK, I totally find the WiFi Client for the MDA Vario totally pathetic. Is it possible for me to get rid of it and use the Odyssey Client (can be found HERE)?
What exactly do you find worthless about the default client, so as I know before clicking on a link that is more than likely a virus.
1. No AES support
2. No LEAP Authentication from same config screen for setting up a Wireless connection.
3. No support for feedback (catch all errors/log status)
Need I say more.
Also, virus? Not bloody likely - hover over the link and you can see that it goes here
http://download.juniper.net/software/aaa_802/public/oac/451/Odyssey Client for Windows Mobile.exe
Juniper.net makes Odysses Client (also Used for the Dell Axim WiFi Client.)
as if I post a link to a virus . . . .
How is it totally useless ?
When i'm at home it connects to my home network, when i'm at work... it connects there. No surprises so far.
It's fit for the job it's intended to do.
Oh, if you're installing Odyssey... don't lose your phone...
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?ContentId=3942
How silly of me to be paranoid when someone posts a link to an exe file that is just named with spaces from someone called warez!
:roll:
gazzrenn said:
How is it totally useless ?
When i'm at home it connects to my home network, when i'm at work... it connects there. No surprises so far.
It's fit the job it's intended to do.
Oh, if you're installing Odyssey... don't lose your phone...
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?ContentId=3942
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I said pathetic not useless, however, what I mean is: I can connect at home but not at work. Also, I do not connect at home by original design - I had to change my Wireless config of my router to match what the default Wifi Client on my PDA will accept (aka TKIP vs AES which I'd prefer)
Also, at work, we use LEAP authentication (on one SSID) and AES (on one of another SSID) - there isn't anyway for me to connect to any of my Wireless networks at work even though I am privy to all of the information to do so.
Sorry if I sound a bit frustrated (I am)
Any help would be appreciated.
How silly of me to be paranoid when someone posts a link to an exe file that is just named with spaces from someone called warez!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that much I can understand - but checking out the root domain before making assumptions would have clarified that quickly enough.
There is a LEAP is a tab in the Wireless Network settings?
WarezAppz said:
I said pathetic not useless, however, what I mean is: I can connect at home but not at work. Also, I do not connect at home by original design - I had to change my Wireless config of my router to match what the default Wifi Client on my PDA will accept (aka TKIP vs AES which I'd prefer)
Also, at work, we use LEAP authentication (on one SSID) and AES (on one of another SSID) - there isn't anyway for me to connect to any of my Wireless networks at work even though I am privy to all of the information to do so.
Sorry if I sound a bit frustrated (I am)
Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats a much better desctiption of why you need a different client.
There is a LEAP is a tab in the Wireless Network settings?
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Click to collapse
Yeah there is - The problem is: That tab is on the Wireless LAN page - the 'Configure Wireless Networks' 802.1x page only gives 2 options for eap type PEAP, Smart Card or Certificate vs LEAP ergo I can not connect. Maybe I am just doing something wrong (I'd love for that to be the case). I admit I am rather limited when dealing with this client and trying to specifically set up a WiFi Connection. That is another reason why I find the default client less-than-desirable - not enough support documentation (either in the manual or via help file attached to the client itself)
WarezAppz said:
Yeah there is - The problem is: That tab is on the Wireless LAN page - the 'Configure Wireless Networks' 802.1x page only gives 2 options for eap type PEAP, Smart Card or Certificate vs LEAP ergo I can not connect. Maybe I am just doing something wrong (I'd love for that to be the case). I admit I am rather limited when dealing with this client and trying to specifically set up a WiFi Connection. That is another reason why I find the default client less-than-desirable - not enough support documentation (either in the manual or via help file attached to the client itself)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am having the same problem. I downloaded the trial of Odyssey from Juniper but it won't enable. Don't bother with that LEAP tab in the default wifi client, it won't work. I spent several days trying everything in the book. I have Odyssey on my Axim x50v and it works like a charm connecting to our cisco wireless.
Please post if you find an answer.
As for the gazzrenn, you should tell the IT people at your work that they need to change their wireless settings if you can connect with the windows client.
There must be a guide on this somewhere, but I can't find it.
I want to make it so that whenever I am connected to an access point besides my home router, it will only connect to my home computer's dynamic DNS through a secure connection and route all internet traffic through my home computer (slower, I know, but secure from prying eyes, unencrypted unknown AP or not).
I'm familiar with ssh now, and the surf from work guide, but it looks like PowerPCs are more comfortable with VPNs, and I know nothing about them.
I have an HTC Wizard and my home router is DD-WRT (with VPN support), with an Ubuntu Linux box permanently connected to it. The router also updates the dynamic DNS, which I use for SSH connections from work, etc.
Any advice? Links? Guides?
This method of connecting would also make it possible to hide from you mobile provider if you are streaming or using voip applications which i know is not allowed with most.
if anyone knows how this is possible, I would alsobe very greatful.
gareh said:
This method of connecting would also make it possible to hide from you mobile provider if you are streaming or using voip applications which i know is not allowed with most.
if anyone knows how this is possible, I would alsobe very greatful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm certain it's possible; I just don't know how best to do it. There are implementations of PuTTY for the pocketpc that allow you to forward ports, so you could probably configure the SSH Surf from Work method, but it seems to me that the phone is designed to do VPN, and my router has built-in VPN, so that seems like a better choice.
endolith said:
There must be a guide on this somewhere, but I can't find it.
I want to make it so that whenever I am connected to an access point besides my home router, it will only connect to my home computer's dynamic DNS through a secure connection and route all internet traffic through my home computer (slower, I know, but secure from prying eyes, unencrypted unknown AP or not).
I'm familiar with ssh now, and the surf from work guide, but it looks like PowerPCs are more comfortable with VPNs, and I know nothing about them.
I have an HTC Wizard and my home router is DD-WRT (with VPN support), with an Ubuntu Linux box permanently connected to it. The router also updates the dynamic DNS, which I use for SSH connections from work, etc.
Any advice? Links? Guides?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, just as a thought, why don't you set up a secure proxy server at your ubuntu, and connect everywhere through this proxy.
i have not much idea about vpn and other options, so this is just an idea. probably vpn would be better, but harder to configure. if proxy does not work for you, please describe why. might be useful for me someday .
rajib said:
well, just as a thought, why don't you set up a secure proxy server at your ubuntu, and connect everywhere through this proxy.
i have not much idea about vpn and other options, so this is just an idea. probably vpn would be better, but harder to configure. if proxy does not work for you, please describe why. might be useful for me someday .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know how to "set up a secure proxy server", and I don't think that would let me access my home network's files, either. Any ideas?
Does anyone know of an app that allows your phone to become a web proxy?
Let me explain my situation... I work for a corporation that filters all their internet connections through a web proxy, which sucks cuz I can't visit any of the fun sites... one way around this I've found was to use ICS on my phone but that interferes with the default gateway on the current network.
All traffic on the network by default goes to an internal gateway on the local intranet and it really needs to stay this way because there are too many work ip's and ports to be able to statically route all of them through a specific destination and leave the default gateway as the ICS 192.168.1.1.
I have been able to create static routes to specific ip addresses (like my home computer) which override the default gateway and use ICS instead.. this is great but obviously not that great for web browsing and masking my use on the internet... what I would like to be able to do is set the HTTP proxy to my phone and have it handle all of the redirection... that would allow me to have a single route in the routing tables but span out to wherever I want on the web...
Oh, and yes, I have thought of just setting up a proxy on my home comp and routing through the phone -> home comp -> back through phone but that obviously limits me to the upstream bandwidth of my home network... which isn't TERRIBLE, and is feasible but obviously if I could eliminate the extra jump it would be much much better.
I can handle the routing tables np, they're easy to add from command-line.. problem is I need some kind of a proxy application on the phone that will handle all of the HTTP calls... anyone know of an application such as this?
Thanks
Hm can't say I know of an app that does this... it is planned for one of the upcoming releases of WMWifiRouter but that's still a while away and may give you the gateway issue again.
Chainfire said:
Hm can't say I know of an app that does this... it is planned for one of the upcoming releases of WMWifiRouter but that's still a while away and may give you the gateway issue again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya I did more googling and still can't find anything... I just setup dante server on my linux vm at home and got a good socks proxy going.. seems to be working very well.. my upstream on cable is 80k/sec so that's not too bad I guess.
I'll keep an eye on wmwifirouter release notes though thanks
I have a stock Samsung Vibrant. It connects to my home wifi network just fine and is very fast.
At my school we have to register the mac address' of devices we have on their Clean Access servers. I have registered many devices that work fine.
I registered the mac address of my Vibrant, and it can connect to the wifi, but it will not load a web page. Does anyone have any idea of what is wrong.
I also registered my roommates Vibrant. His does not work either.
I work at the Schools Tech Support so I have access to register and edit my phone on their Clean Access servers.
Does anyone have any solutions?
are you using WPA/WPAv2 or WEP + RADIUS authentication? Does your vibrant obtain an IP address successfully? Can you ping the default router?
The wifi that works at my apartment is WPA2.
The wifi at school is an open network. I can fully connect to their wifi.
Status Connected
Speed 48Mbps
Signal Strength Good
Security Open
IP address (a real IP address)
Im going out on a limb here. I am going to say its the Clean access and your "open network". I assume on your schools computer you use your student ID and some password. Your phone would need the same thing if that is the case. I know at my school, iphones are the only phones that can access our clean access. If its not the case then i am sorry.
my school runs clean access and it works fine. but they have two networks a guest and a login. i use the guest cause i don't want to waste the time to login. but i can try it on monday. typically with linux (i.e. android) you have a web portal and have to agree to some antivirus bs by clicking a button and that's it (and login for the non guest network). one thing i have noticed, though, is that typically i have to turn wifi on, connect to the network, try to load a page, it doesn't work, then i turn wifi off then immediately back on and try to load a page and it takes me to the login/terms portal page.
GTASouthPark said:
The wifi that works at my apartment is WPA2.
The wifi at school is an open network. I can fully connect to their wifi.
Status Connected
Speed 48Mbps
Signal Strength Good
Security Open
IP address 140.209.21.68
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should remove the IP from post. Anyways, it seems like the handshake is good. Note down the address of redirected terms and conditions page you get when trying to go online from a laptop. Then enter the same address in vibrant's browser once you are connected through Wifi ( or set it as homepage) and see if that lets it through.
Probably an issue with Android's lack of native NTLM support. AFAIK this is still unresolved. Have you tried using Fennec rather than the stock browser? I've heard you can authenticate properly using it.
Siks said:
Probably an issue with Android's lack of native NTLM support. AFAIK this is still unresolved. Have you tried using Fennec rather than the stock browser? I've heard you can authenticate properly using it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
interesting. i use dolphin hd and it works for the clean access web authentication page.
Could be, if your school does not have a guest account login for devices, that you are getting on the segregated network because CA cannot verify the "cleanliness" of your device. When I setup CA it verified patch levels and such on the non-guest network, so unless CA comes out with a Android client/access list, it may not work.
watcher64 said:
Could be, if your school does not have a guest account login for devices, that you are getting on the segregated network because CA cannot verify the "cleanliness" of your device. When I setup CA it verified patch levels and such on the non-guest network, so unless CA comes out with a Android client/access list, it may not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
except then it wouldn't allow osx or linux. clean access requires an app for windows to verify service pack and av and whatever, but for linux and osx it doesn't. it wouldn't be able to (at least for linux).
funeralthirst said:
except then it wouldn't allow osx or linux. clean access requires an app for windows to verify service pack and av and whatever, but for linux and osx it doesn't. it wouldn't be able to (at least for linux).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is correct but it can ID the operating system and has exceptions for those flavors ...
Hey it's me again.
I don't think it's an android thing because I had my G1 on the servers.
Normally what happens if you aren't registered on Clean Access is, if you open a web browser, you will be automatically redirected to an authentication page where you put in your school ID and password. This would work fine and allow me to get on the wifi, but it never came up on the web browser, it just tries to load the page for awhile and goes to a 'Page cannot be displayed' page.
Also I have tried using different browsers, including Dolphin HD.
If I can just get to the authentication page even it will be fine, I could work with that.
Also the school does have a guest login, but you have to get to the authentication page, and I wouldnt want guest access since it limits time, bandwidth, and features.
That is exactly what I said my last reply...Try putting https infront of your authentication URL, and make sure the java-script etc. is on in your browser...Try clearing cache and hit refresh as well. Also, see what happens if you set that URL as homepage...
GTASouthPark said:
Hey it's me again.
I don't think it's an android thing because I had my G1 on the servers.
Normally what happens if you aren't registered on Clean Access is, if you open a web browser, you will be automatically redirected to an authentication page where you put in your school ID and password. This would work fine and allow me to get on the wifi, but it never came up on the web browser, it just tries to load the page for awhile and goes to a 'Page cannot be displayed' page.
Also I have tried using different browsers, including Dolphin HD.
If I can just get to the authentication page even it will be fine, I could work with that.
Also the school does have a guest login, but you have to get to the authentication page, and I wouldnt want guest access since it limits time, bandwidth, and features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you try turning on wifi, wait for it to connect, try to load a page (any page because it will redirect you), wait for it to time out, pull down the notification bar, turn wifi off, turn it back on and then reload the page? i know it sounds dumb, but this is the only way i've got it to work at my school and it works every time...
watcher64 said:
That is correct but it can ID the operating system and has exceptions for those flavors ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to what flavors? i'm guessing android will show as linux since it's based off a linux kernel. more than likely it checks for windows, and if false goes to the default linux/osx page because to clean access those aren't threat os's.
VICosPhi said:
That is exactly what I said my last reply...Try putting https infront of your authentication URL, and make sure the java-script etc. is on in your browser...Try clearing cache and hit refresh as well. Also, see what happens if you set that URL as homepage...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they don't have the authentication URL on their homepage so I don't know what it is, it should automatically redirect me to it.
Also when I connect to wifi, try to load a page, let it time out, turn off wifi, turn it back on and connect again, and then refresh the page.. nothing happens it times out again.
Ok so I did find out the authentication page URL. Typed it into my phone. I had high hopes when a page saying "You are being redirected to the network authentication page. If you are not redirected automatically, then please click HERE".
Anyway it did redirect me, to a "Web page not available"... etc.
In the default browser it gave me the error... "Data connectivity problem. A secure connection could not be established". umm wtf?
Can you communicate with other protocols/ports? I used to be able to exploit a bug with our school's CCA servers where I could just connect unauthenticated and use SSH. (Maybe it was a feature?)
I can't use any other web protocols.
Bump. Okay. I've figured out how to do this . '
it's a t mobile vibrant either kernel or rom problem. My phone connected the very first time I tried to use it at an argosy site, then never ever ever again.
so. I used wifi manager to find out what the ip, gateway, subnet mask, and dns 1 and 2 were. I went to settings, wifi, options key to go to advanced options, from there selected static ip and entered all the info I gathered
bam! ! Connected every time.
Oh and btw, the reason I say its a tmobile vibrant rom or kernel problem is that on fusion, Eugene's and bionix final, I was able to connect right away, every time . And on my f friends att fascinate and verizon captivate, they never had to enter the static ip like I did. They connected right away every time . Yet everyone I know that had s vibrant kept having the same proble. m i did .
Tmobile. What a piece of ****. Anyway I figured nobody had this figured out so I'd jump in.
Hope this helps out some people. GL
For anyone interested in data security the ability to encrypt network traffic is obviously important-- especially in light of the myriad of recent well publicized reports of private and government electronic snooping. It is also relevant to mention that to date no one has come close to cracking "TwoFish" encryption which can be used by SSH. With this in mind, consider the following tutorial which describes a method for encrypting all 3g, 4g, and Wi-Fi data, thus beefing up phone and personal data security.
Setting up a global SSH Tunnel on Android phones
This tutorial assumes the reader possesses a fully configured SSH server and rooted phone. In lieu of a server, (eg., the reader only has only a Windows-based operating system), research into CYGWIN is recommended. I use CYGWIN to run my SSH server and I have found that it is the most robust option for Windows users; however, setting this up on Windows can be a daunting task.
Setting up global SSH Tunnel on Android
1. Download 2 apps from the Google Playstore: ConnectBot and ProxyDroid
2. Install ConnectBot and ProxyDroid on your phone.
3. In ConnectBot set up Port forwards for your SSH connection. For "Type" field use "Dynamic (SOCKS)." For “Source Port” use 56001 or any local port not being used. The reasoning behind using port 56001 is this: System Ports (0-1023), User Ports (1024-49151), and the Dynamic and/or Private Ports (49152-65535)
4. Open ProxyDroid and configure as follows:
Host: 127.0.0.1
Port: 56001 (or the port you chose to use in step 3)
Proxy Type: SOCKS5
Global Proxy: Check the box
The above procedure accomplishes several things. First, ConnectBot remotely connects to your SSH server. Next, the ConnectBot connection forwards to the local port 56001. ProxyDroid then redirects all network traffic through the localhost on port 56001. Once you are connected through ConnectBot and ProxyDroid is activated all of your data will be tunneled through the encrypted ConnectBot session. This is an excellent way to set up a global proxy because it does not require manual configuration of any applications to connect through the proxy. You can test the functionality of the connection by opening up your phone browser and performing the Google search: What is my IP. If the proxy is functional you will see the WAN IP of the network of your SSH server. Additional and more thorough testing can be done with packet sniffers such as WireShark.
An application called "SSH Tunnel" is an alternative to accomplishing the above. However, I find ConnectBot and ProxyDroid is more elegant and gives better control-- not to mention being more sophisticated/chic. When correctly performed the ConnectBot and ProxyDroid method encrypts all 3g, 4g and Wi-Fi data on your phone. This is obviously useful for phone access of sensitive materials especially using unfamiliar or alien network connections. With the current proliferation of identity theft via electronic snooping on mobile devices I do not advocate using cellular phones for any banking or electronic transactions without setting up a robust and reliable encrypted connection.
I'm having trouble with this exact setup on Android 4.3 with DNS Proxy (proxydroid) enabled in China. When DNS Proxy is enabled, no traffic will come through at all. If I disable DNS Proxy, it works but without proxied DNS requests, I can't get to Youtube/twitter/FB.
Any ideas?
SSHTunnel for 4.2.2 is a much better alternative than running 2 separate apps and I still use it on my 4.2.2 tablet. But I don't want to downgrade my phone to 4.2.2 just for this
Android 4.3?
strifej said:
I'm having trouble with this exact setup on Android 4.3 with DNS Proxy (proxydroid) enabled in China. When DNS Proxy is enabled, no traffic will come through at all. If I disable DNS Proxy, it works but without proxied DNS requests, I can't get to Youtube/twitter/FB.
Any ideas?
SSHTunnel for 4.2.2 is a much better alternative than running 2 separate apps and I still use it on my 4.2.2 tablet. But I don't want to downgrade my phone to 4.2.2 just for this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, I have not done any testing with android 4.3 yet so I'm not sure why the dns request wouldn't be proxied. I'll look into it and get back to you.
DNS proxy on android 4.3
strifej said:
I'm having trouble with this exact setup on Android 4.3 with DNS Proxy (proxydroid) enabled in China. When DNS Proxy is enabled, no traffic will come through at all. If I disable DNS Proxy, it works but without proxied DNS requests, I can't get to Youtube/twitter/FB.
Any ideas?
SSHTunnel for 4.2.2 is a much better alternative than running 2 separate apps and I still use it on my 4.2.2 tablet. But I don't want to downgrade my phone to 4.2.2 just for this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I finally had a chance to upgrade to 4.3 this week. I tested the dns proxy with proxydroid and it seems to be working fine. What rom are you using? I'm on Sacs rom and I would highly recommend it. Heres the link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2512983
4.4
Dr.Tautology said:
So I finally had a chance to upgrade to 4.3 this week. I tested the dns proxy with proxydroid and it seems to be working fine. What rom are you using? I'm on Sacs rom and I would highly recommend it. Heres the link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2512983
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tested on kitkat and is working fine. Ssh tunnel app not working however.
Dr.Tautology said:
So I finally had a chance to upgrade to 4.3 this week. I tested the dns proxy with proxydroid and it seems to be working fine. What rom are you using? I'm on Sacs rom and I would highly recommend it. Heres the link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2512983
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use pacman rom on nexus 4.
thank you for this tutorial!
I have been looking for a new way to setup SSH tunneling since the app "ssh tunnel" from the Google Play store stopped working with Android 4.2+
I can't wait to try this out..
I have two phones both SGS4's one running CM 10.2 and the other stock on 4.3 so i will try both of them out and report back here how it works out.
Thanks again for the tutorial!
-droidshadow
Thank you Dr.Tautology
Thank you Dr.Tautology
I was searching a big time for the solution you gave me.
First I was using SSHtunnel app from google play and it worked on my note 3 SM-N9005 (rooted) with jb 4.3. After upgrade to 4.4.2 kitkat (rooted) I could connect but there was no changing to my home ip in the browsers that I use with surfing by example to whatmyip . I also have a tablet "nexus 7" 2012 version upgraded also to 4.4.2 and on this device SSHTunnel is functional and the ip is changing??? I did not understand. Now I was searching for alternatives for my galaxy note 3 and I've found ssh connectbot and proxydroid. After I added the settings that I always used with dyn socks5 port 11723 on both programs.... -> connection to my DD-WRT router (with connectbot) was also possible. I also booted proxydroid and again after running chrome or firefox I still had the same ip so it didn't work.... Now I've found your post and read that the socks5 port must be above 49152. I changed the ports on both programs to 56001 in ('connectbot and proxydroid) and BAM! Connected with my home IP from outside my home :laugh:
The weird thing is that it worked on JB 4.3 with socks5 port 11723.
Now my woking SSH tunnel config -> Host = home-ip:7500 (default port = 22 in DDWRT)
user to connect to DD-WRT router = Root
password = Router password
dyn proxy socks5 port = 56001 as you suggest.
I have an app from my isp that I only can use with my home ip so I had to be home and connect by wifi. Now it's possible again with tunneling
Now the only thing that I have to do is thank you. :victory:
Never thought that the port number should be the problem.
Best regards DWroadrunner
I managed to set this up using SSH Tunnel for android. However I would like to use SSH Autotunnel as it's supposed to handle network changes better and is also more light weight. Does anybody know what type of private key this programm accepts? I have had no luck using putty keygen and the id_rsa I created in ubuntu does not seem to work either.
Glad to help!
DWroadrunner said:
Thank you Dr.Tautology
I was searching a big time for the solution you gave me.
First I was using SSHtunnel app from google play and it worked on my note 3 SM-N9005 (rooted) with jb 4.3. After upgrade to 4.4.2 kitkat (rooted) I could connect but there was no changing to my home ip in the browsers that I use with surfing by example to whatmyip . I also have a tablet "nexus 7" 2012 version upgraded also to 4.4.2 and on this device SSHTunnel is functional and the ip is changing??? I did not understand. Now I was searching for alternatives for my galaxy note 3 and I've found ssh connectbot and proxydroid. After I added the settings that I always used with dyn socks5 port 11723 on both programs.... -> connection to my DD-WRT router (with connectbot) was also possible. I also booted proxydroid and again after running chrome or firefox I still had the same ip so it didn't work.... Now I've found your post and read that the socks5 port must be above 49152. I changed the ports on both programs to 56001 in ('connectbot and proxydroid) and BAM! Connected with my home IP from outside my home :laugh:
The weird thing is that it worked on JB 4.3 with socks5 port 11723.
Now my woking SSH tunnel config -> Host = home-ip:7500 (default port = 22 in DDWRT)
user to connect to DD-WRT router = Root
password = Router password
dyn proxy socks5 port = 56001 as you suggest.
I have an app from my isp that I only can use with my home ip so I had to be home and connect by wifi. Now it's possible again with tunneling
Now the only thing that I have to do is thank you. :victory:
Never thought that the port number should be the problem.
Best regards DWroadrunner
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey DWroadrunner,
That's great news! I'm very happy that my post helped you, as my intention was to provide all the necessary information to do this in one place. It's not always the case that a user port wont work, but unless you are big on port level security it's not easy to determine if/when the port is being used. This is probably why 11723 did work for you, however it's always better to go with a dynamic/private port range. Also, if you want a simple way to improve the security of your ssh server change the default port from 22 to something else. You'd be surprised how many attempts to connect will be made by attackers on a daily basis.
Regards,
DocTaut
droidshadow said:
I have been looking for a new way to setup SSH tunneling since the app "ssh tunnel" from the Google Play store stopped working with Android 4.2+
I can't wait to try this out..
I have two phones both SGS4's one running CM 10.2 and the other stock on 4.3 so i will try both of them out and report back here how it works out.
Thanks again for the tutorial!
-droidshadow
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me know if this is working on CM. I have tested on stock 4.3 with no issues.
Any luck yet?
rintinfinn said:
I managed to set this up using SSH Tunnel for android. However I would like to use SSH Autotunnel as it's supposed to handle network changes better and is also more light weight. Does anybody know what type of private key this programm accepts? I have had no luck using putty keygen and the id_rsa I created in ubuntu does not seem to work either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
I've used auto tunnel a handful of times. Just wanted to check to see if you figured out what key it accepts. I will test it out when I get a chance.
Dr.Tautology said:
Hello,
I've used auto tunnel a handful of times. Just wanted to check to see if you figured out what key it accepts. I will test it out when I get a chance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, the developer send me a mail saying that autotunnel should accept both private key types. None of them worked for me, though. He also suggested to try and paste the content of the private key into the bracket. I might give that a try. Edit: I can confirm copying and pasting the private key works. But it does not seem to transfer traffic via the the server, at least not the 3g traffic while using chrome. Edit 2: Turns out SSH Autotunnel does not use a socks proxy. Therefore secure browsing is not an option. The app is for secure pop3/ftp-server/smtp-server connections only. Thanks go to Matej for his kind support.
I've been using OpenVPN but I'd prefer to use ssh, as I have several ssh servers around the world, plus their pipes are bigger than my home line I have openvpn running on.
I have yet to get SSH Tunnel (apk) to work reliably; it randomly stops working and it's just a dead connection.
Using ProxyDroid unfortunately requires me to launch ConnectBot, connect ssh, then start the proxy. It'd be nice if ConnectBot could bring up the connection automatically, or ProxyDroid could do it. What I do right now is VPN unknown wifi connections and I can automate that with Tasker. I might look to see if I can automate connecting with ConnectBot then enable the ProxyDroid connection.
You can use ssh tunnels also with Drony if some proxy with authentication is involved. Works also on non rooted devices.
Automation
khaytsus said:
I've been using OpenVPN but I'd prefer to use ssh, as I have several ssh servers around the world, plus their pipes are bigger than my home line I have openvpn running on.
I have yet to get SSH Tunnel (apk) to work reliably; it randomly stops working and it's just a dead connection.
Using ProxyDroid unfortunately requires me to launch ConnectBot, connect ssh, then start the proxy. It'd be nice if ConnectBot could bring up the connection automatically, or ProxyDroid could do it. What I do right now is VPN unknown wifi connections and I can automate that with Tasker. I might look to see if I can automate connecting with ConnectBot then enable the ProxyDroid connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think a simple bash script could be used to automate this task. I'm going to look into it; seems like an interesting/useful project.
Dr.Tautology said:
I think a simple bash script could be used to automate this task. I'm going to look into it; seems like an interesting/useful project.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think so, it's just firewall settings etc.. Unfortunately for me, I need stuff that doesn't support SOCKS so I've gone back to looking into a faster OpenVPN service.
But this is good for browsing and things that use http etc.
Dr.Tautology said:
I think a simple bash script could be used to automate this task. I'm going to look into it; seems like an interesting/useful project.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi have you figured out an automated script for this task via tasker, iv tried to create something but ended up no where lol.
Hi my collage wifi connection is proxy based
Whenever i surfed internet on that connection only some basic application are connected through that connection
But many 3rd party apps doses't connect by that connection like games
Any solution like connection tunnel apps or else
I don't want to root my device
Thanks
sam.jaat said:
Hi my collage wifi connection is proxy based
Whenever i surfed internet on that connection only some basic application are connected through that connection
But many 3rd party apps doses't connect by that connection like games
Any solution like connection tunnel apps or else
I don't want to root my device
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have to login to the proxy or is it an open proxy? If it's open, you could see if you can find a OpenVPN server that listens on 80 or 443. Then use any OpenVPN client on Android and you can add/update config to match the directions here: https://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/documentation/howto.html#http