Related
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/09/new-naval-app-secretly-recreates-environments-from-your-phone/
The Naval Warfare Surface Center in Crane, Indiana today revealed a smartphone app that puts the capability of modern smartphones to observe areas in sharp relief and shows the power of malware to tap into those capabilities. The app, PlaceRaider, is capable of running in the background of any smartphone running Android 2.3. While running in the background, it takes photos at random while recording the orientation and location of the phone. Those photos get sent back to a central server, where they can be used to reconstruct a pretty good idea of where the phone has physically been.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you guys think?
I'm gonna do it to my every single one of my friends and creep on them.
At least with Android it will eventually be found and will be a fix or a way to prevent it, who knows what Apple is doing with iOS and even if the problem is founded, one would have to wait for Apple to patch a bug, but only if they choose to.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20014356-37.html
In some embodiments, an unauthorized user can be detected by comparing the identity of the current user to the identities of authorized users of the electronic device. For example, a photograph of the current user can be taken, a recording of the current user's voice can be recorded, the heartbeat of the current user can be recorded, or any combination of the above. The photograph, recording, or heartbeat can be compared, respectively, to a photograph, recording, or heartbeat of authorized users of the electronic device to determine whether they match. If they do not match, the current user can be detected as an unauthorized user.
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Click to collapse
The linux kernel have the iptables as firewall, if you are rooted, you can use DroidWall to manage it, not even that spying app can get any internet. Personally, I always manage which app gets internet access on my device.
eksasol said:
At least with Android it will eventually be found and will be a fix or a way to prevent it, who knows what Apple is doing with iOS and even if the problem is founded, one would have to wait for Apple to patch a bug, but only if they choose to.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20014356-37.html
The linux kernel have the iptables as firewall, if you are rooted, you can use DroidWall to manage it, not even that spying app can get any internet. Personally, I always manage which app gets internet access on my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very nice tip! I downloaded DroidWall and it does exactly as you say!
Thanx!
However, with DroidWall you need to enable all the system apps and services, otherwise you'll start finding things like PlayStore not working.
If using DroidWall gets confusing LBE Security Manager also have internet firewall, but it doesn't utilize the same method, DroidWall works at the kernel level and will override LBE. Although LBE is also a very essential app. It can monitor how much data each app uses as well and set the permission for each app. Although if you flash roms all the time it gets tiresome to configure after each flash, also you have to know which permission to enable for some apps to not interfere with its normal functions.
Dear hacker guy,
Good luck reconstructing the images and dimensions of my butt pocket.
-signed dgaf user
Sent from my SGH-T959
suchavibrantthang said:
Dear hacker guy,
Good luck reconstructing the images and dimensions of my butt pocket.
-signed dgaf user
Sent from my SGH-T959
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
?????
Hi!
How do I permanently block or remove all the Ads in the apps without rooting my Galaxy S4?
Buy the paid-version of the app in question.
Turn off Internet connection.
I do not believe that is possible
there is an approach of building a custom host file that redirects adds into 127.0.0.1 but you need root for that
Other options I do not know, and most probably it's best to just buy the apps you want
DemonWareXT said:
I do not believe that is possible
there is an approach of building a custom host file that redirects adds into 127.0.0.1 but you need root for that
Other options I do not know, and most probably it's best to just buy the apps you want
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeh but there are some apps that you cannot buy. it that way.
ads in notifications and new link in the home page.
the ads in notification can be disabled,
is there a way to stop creating new advertistin icon on the "desktop"?
thanks
Even if you are rooted, it wont work now. Adaway used to work very well but as soon as it pulled out from playstore, it doesn't work for me. It doesn't block ad.
sohebq said:
Even if you are rooted, it wont work now. Adaway used to work very well but as soon as it pulled out from playstore, it doesn't work for me. It doesn't block ad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should still work actually, at least it does for me.
It however, does not work on apps that have the adds compiled in, or cached down.
For example, Astro File manager, without adaway, it display awful adds. With adaway it only displays adds for itself, because it already knows them.
A little intro:I spent a lot of time with malware on windows and which apps/settings can actually protect you. By working with malware you also get a lot of background info on how people / companies / governments can steal your privacy from you and how to protect yourself against it. When I decided to care about all that, I noticed that a lot of "security forum experts for PCs" have no clue about Android and its risks although probably the same if not more data is stored on our phones than on our PCs. So I decided to do some background research, worked with Android malware and played around with the different ways and options that can protect your security & privacy.
When I am looking for a security setup then I want one that is reliable & easy-to-work-with but also lightweight on the system. I don't want my security setup to cripple down my system.
I have done similar guides for Windows and as I haven't seen anything likewise for Android I thought I would give it a go.
What can you do to protect your security & privacy:Security - Firewall: To block incoming / outcoming traffic per app or per IP/DNS/Port. Can drain the battery and be a pain to configure on Android.
Security - Antivirus: To scan files after they have been downloaded or to scan files after they have been installed. Due to the way how Android is coded it is not possible to scan in real-time (while downloading, while installing) which means you can't detect malware based on their behavior. AV's on Android can only detect malware by their signature which is easy to bypass. However is still better than nothing and a one-time scan of downloaded files or an on-demand scan while your phone is charging won't hurt your battery or slow down the device. A lot of AV-Products come with multiple features built in. Some of them are often useless (e.g. maybe anti-theft), others are worth the usage (e.g. security audits for non-fixed exploit vulnerabilities or bad system settings e.g. USB-Debugging enabled).
Security - SuperSU: To actively manage which apps will get "unlimited" root access.
Security - Password manager: Use a password manager for all your passwords. Built in password managers (e.g. browser, ftp, mail ,etc) aren't really a save solution (even with the so called "master password"). Apps like KeePass offer a lot more than just having all your passwords stored safely. It lets me open apps + automatic login with just 2 clicks (e.g. FTP, SSH, Mail, Browser,...). It let's me create unique password so that I won't be using the same password on all websites. And there is still a lot more.
Security & Privacy - DNS: Change the DNS-Server you use to something like NortonDNS which will protect you from malware/phishing sites as well as semi-bypass the tracking of browsing behavior by your phone/internet provider. The DNS provider/resolver that you use (usually your phone/internet provider) will transform the domain you want to access into the IP adress of the desired server (the one which hosts the website you want to visit). This means that what ever domain you are going to browse will be transmitted to your DNS provider... so choose one carefully ! Also the better the connection to your DNS provider is (and the better the providers connection to the world-wide-web is) the faster your domain requests will be processed.
Security & Privacy - VPN: An easy way for attackers in your network (especially open & free wifi's) to steal data from you are MITM (Man In The Middle) attacks. They can modify SSL certificates which means even using HTTPS might not always be safe or simply read your network activity (such as logins which includes accounts + password). By using a VPN all the traffic that leaves your device will be encrypted and routed directly to a safe receiver which means no one can interrupt your traffic and sniffs (read) it.
Security & Privacy - SSH-Tunnel: Using an SSH-Tunnel has pretty much the same effect as using a VPN but the difference is you have to configure each app that you want to use the SSH-Tunnel. I prefer this method on Windows as I can encrypt only the traffic of my browser/mail/communicator while playing games or other apps will use the non-encrypted (and often faster) internet connection. Sadly there is no app on Android that in my opinion works flawlessly as SSH-Tunnel client.
Security & Privacy - Adblockers: We all know adblockers. They block ads and trackers to protect your privacy and some of them (e.g. mdl-malwaredomainlist) also protect you from malware & phishing websites.
Privacy - App Ops: App Ops or similar apps let you block permissions per app which means whatever app is installed / running can be forced to not use specific permissions. E.g. you can block Facebook from using your GPS and tracking your location.
Privacy - Android 5.x disable allowed certificates: Every website and every (good) app will have a certificate that Android and also AV's check online to see if the website/app is trustworthy. Out-of-the-box Android allows many questionable certificates from governments and companies that might sell their certificates to websites/app that are not so trustworthy. Since Android 5.x you can remove/add certificates to disallow governments or companies that sell their certificates to questionable websites/apps.
Privacy - Encrypt your phone: By encrypting your phone you ensure that no one who finds your phone will be easily able to read anything saved on your phone. Not even by entering the recovery mode. It may slow down the performance a bit and increase battery drain slightly, but for me (Nexus 6) I had no troubles so far.
You can make that list longer by using only secure apps for communication (e.g. encrypted chats with Telegram or using Firefox and add-ons such as HTTPS-Everywhere) but I think that is more advanced and takes away the freedom and choice of readers/users. So I will stop here as I think I have covered the basics and most important things.
Which setup should you choose?Well first of all I recommend using only apps/services of companies that you can trust. E.g. companies that exist for a long time but haven’t done any questionable actions in the past. I have been a long-time-user of Comodo but looking at what Comodo has allowed itself in the past made me choose something different. On Android a good example are sms/call blockers. There are many options to choose from for example one is produced by a company named "NQ Security". Now do your google work and you will find some details that either makes you think of this company as trustworthy or not. Or maybe there are other companies with the same product which you would rather trust?
One thing to notice is that in the end your setup should cover most if not all aspects that I have mentioned above. Now you can either choose to use many different products (e.g. if they are free) or use on paid solution that covers everything at once. In any case, don't forget about stuff that might get installed but be useless to you. E.g. at some point I found my setup to have 3 different call blockers and 4 different sms blocker installed.
I have made a list of a few picks that I would recommend:
Must-HaveSuperSU / Rooted device (Click for Google play): 99% of all apps & configurations listed here will need your device to be rooted. Also SuperSU gives you a good overview about which apps have root access and is a good tool to configure those apps.
Override DNS (Click for Google play): It automatically changes the used DNS Server for 2G/3G/4G/WIFI to whatever you want (e.g. NortonDNS which has malware & phishing protection but also is one of the fastest DNS providers available world wide). Currently it is the only app that works with Android 5.x.
AdAway (Click for download link): Lets you block ads, tracking, malware and phishing sites. I recommend the standard sources + www.malwaredomainlist.com/hostslist/hosts.txt
App Ops (Click for Google play): App Ops lets you block permissions per app which means whatever app is installed / running can be forced to not use specific permissions. E.g. you can block Facebook from using your GPS and tracking your location.
KeePass2Android online/offline (Click for Google play): KeePass2Android comes as two different apps that you can choose from in the GooglePlayStore. One supports online syncing via various services so that you can sync your password database on all your devices (Android, Windows, OSX, Linux, iOS,... ). The other option is called "KeePass2Android offline" which completely removes all features that would require an internet connection. The App doesn't even have permissions for internet connections ! If you don't know KeePass, it is one of the oldest password managers around. It is opensource, has a lot of plugins and the leightweight but feature rich app supports nearly every device & operating system. On Android you can even log into websites from the browser via KeePass2Android by clicking -> Share -> KeePass2Android -> Log into your database -> it will automatically get the right login data for the website you are currently browsing and pastes it into the login fields. My personal setup: KeePass2Android offline with another syncing/backup app that will sync my passwords via my own server. On my laptop I use KeePass with a plugin which replaces my browsers built-in password manager with KeePass.
GSP - Good Security Practice (Recommendations)Disable untrusted certificates (Android 5.x) (Mozilla Firefox list of allowed certificates): Use a source you trust and check what certificates they usually allow in their software (e.g. Mozilla Firefox). Then check that with what is enabled in your Android's security settings and disable whatever Android has enabled but e.g. Mozilla Firefox doesn't.
A very recommended app is "Trust Manager (Click for Google play)" by Bluebox. It lists all certificates on the phone and sorts them by categories which makes it easy to disable all untrusted certificates within two clicks.
Encrypt your phone: Enable encryption of your Android device.
Antivirus: You can check AV-Test.org for monthly security reviews on mobile security products and choose from there. But I recommend either "Bitdefender Free" for a simple file-scanner of downloaded files and installed apps as well as on-demand scanner or "ESET Free/Premium" which includes file-scanner, security audit, sms & call blocker as well as phishing protection and even anti-theft if needed. Both companies are in my option very trustworthy and provided good results over the past month/years (not only on the mobile market but also the PC market). Avast is a free option with lots of features from another trustworthy company but I found it to be heavier on my system than Bitdefender or ESET.
VPN if you use public WIFI: I also recommend the use of a VPN from a trustworthy VPN provider. They don't cost too much and improve your security & privacy on public wifi a lot. Avast offers a great VPN service. Actually their app makes their services superior to me comlared to other VPN providers and apps. You might want to try the Avast VPN 14-day-trial.
Firefox (HTTPS-Everywhere + Adblock Edge) > Chrome: Firefox seems to be the winner in terms of privacy and security. But on my system Chrome is a lot faster than Firefox.
TextSecure > Telegram > WhatsApp > Facebook: Telegram was my favorite choice until @muppetmania and @bmstrong informed me about flaws and trust issues with Telegram. Instead it is highly recommended to use TextSecure. It is available on iOS and Android. Feature wise it might not be as good as Telegram (e.g. missing desktop client for windows/osx/linux) but I believe that this is a fair trade for privacy.
The bottom line
I tried to give a little overview of what kind of protection is available and what it does. I also added my choice of tools which will provide you with protection. It is up to you to decide whether it is useful in your case (based on your phone-behavior) and if you are willing to pay money for it or rather use free services. I will gladly help you with any questions or configuration/setup related things. Please let me know if you have any suggestion or corrections so that I can improve this thread !
Useful resources / links
http://droid-break.info/
https://prism-break.org/en/categories/android/
https://guardianproject.info/apps/
https://people.torproject.org/~ioerror/skunkworks/moto_e/
https://blog.torproject.org/blog/mission-impossible-hardening-android-security-and-privacy
https://medium.com/backchannel/why-i-m-saying-goodbye-to-apple-google-and-microsoft-78af12071bd
http://crashoverridenetwork.tumblr.com/post/109948061867/account-security-101-passwords-multifactor
http://dimitritholen.nl/how-to-reclaim-your-privacy-on-the-internet/
http://www.alternet.org/print/news-...ng-encryption-isnt-enough-protect-our-privacy
https://youtu.be/seNHe5oMquw
https://pack.resetthenet.org/
https://jrruethe.github.io/blog/2015/03/29/protect-yourself-online/
http://www.privacytools.io/
https://tacticaltech.org/projects/security-box
https://bluebox.com/technical/quest...into-the-root-certificates-on-mobile-devices/
https://securityinabox.org/en
http://www.infoworld.com/article/29...managers-for-pcs-macs-and-mobile-devices.html
https://www.reddit.com/r/trackers/comments/30xtk9/trackers_security_and_you/
AV tests & comparisons:
http://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/mobile-devices/
http://www.av-comparatives.org/mobile-security/
Thanks to:
Yuki2718 @wilderssecurity.com for teaching me a few things
@bmstrong for useful links and suggestions
@muppetmania for pointing out flaws and trust issues with Telegram !
Changelog:
01.08.2015 - Removed Telegram and replaced it with TextSecure
28.06.2015 - Updated useful resources & links
08.06.2015 - Updated useful resources & links
06.06.15 - Added "Trust Manager" by Bluebox to quickly and easily disable a punch of root certificates. Also added Avast VPN app
22.05.15 - Added a good link/explenation on non-trustworthy certificates that are installed on mobile devices out of the box ( https://bluebox.com/technical/quest...into-the-root-certificates-on-mobile-devices/ )
18.04.15 - Added ressources for AV tests and comparisons
07.04.15 - Added more useful resources & links
21.03.15 - Added more useful resources & links; fixed a typo in the changelog
14.03.15 - Added more useful resources & links; also changed the thread title to give an easier view for new updates
10.03.15 - Added useful resources & links
06.03.15 - Added "password managers" and "KeePass2Android online/offline" as recommended password manager
01.03.15 - Added a more detailed description of DNS and why you should care about it
28.01.15 - Fixed typos and grammar
zakazak said:
Changelog:
28.01.15 - Fixed typos and grammar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. Would like to see sections on GPG, U2F, 2FA applications, Android with Yubikey, etc.
bmstrong said:
Interesting. Would like to see sections on GPG, U2F, 2FA applications, Android with Yubikey, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I might add those later but I wanted to keep this guide as "easy" as possible so that every "normal" android user could increase his security and privacy with simple tools in a short time. E.g. yubikey is awesome and a very interesting topic but not very handy for the average guy?
01.03.15 - Added a more detailed description of DNS and why you should care about it.
http://crashoverridenetwork.tumblr.com/post/109948061867/account-security-101-passwords-multifactor
Really decent overview of general security.
bmstrong said:
http://crashoverridenetwork.tumblr.com/post/109948061867/account-security-101-passwords-multifactor
Really decent overview of general security.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good suggestion, I have a few more and will add both (your link) and my stuff to the thread
KeePass2Android offline + KeePass on desktop + syncing via own server = win !
bmstrong said:
http://crashoverridenetwork.tumblr.com/post/109948061867/account-security-101-passwords-multifactor
Really decent overview of general security.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aaaaand it's done ! Added password managers to the OP.
zakazak said:
Aaaaand it's done ! Added password managers to the OP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. You might want to touch on the open source vs. proprietary philosophy. Just being open source isn't necessarily better but I feel transparency is important part of security.
http://droid-break.info/
https://prism-break.org/en/categories/android/
https://guardianproject.info/apps/
https://people.torproject.org/~ioerror/skunkworks/moto_e/
https://blog.torproject.org/blog/mission-impossible-hardening-android-security-and-privacy
https://medium.com/backchannel/why-i-m-saying-goodbye-to-apple-google-and-microsoft-78af12071bd
http://dimitritholen.nl/how-to-reclaim-your-privacy-on-the-internet/
Another very good privacy and security article.
bmstrong said:
http://crashoverridenetwork.tumblr.com/post/109948061867/account-security-101-passwords-multifactor
Really decent overview of general security.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bmstrong said:
http://dimitritholen.nl/how-to-reclaim-your-privacy-on-the-internet/
Another very good privacy and security article.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bmstrong said:
Cool. You might want to touch on the open source vs. proprietary philosophy. Just being open source isn't necessarily better but I feel transparency is important part of security.
http://droid-break.info/
https://prism-break.org/en/categories/android/
https://guardianproject.info/apps/
https://people.torproject.org/~ioerror/skunkworks/moto_e/
https://blog.torproject.org/blog/mission-impossible-hardening-android-security-and-privacy
https://medium.com/backchannel/why-i-m-saying-goodbye-to-apple-google-and-microsoft-78af12071bd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks ! I added all the links to the OP and mentioned you for giving such great feedback and suggestions
http://www.alternet.org/print/news-...ng-encryption-isnt-enough-protect-our-privacy
Interesting take on security in general.
bmstrong said:
http://www.alternet.org/print/news-...ng-encryption-isnt-enough-protect-our-privacy
Interesting take on security in general.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
14.03.15 - Added more useful resources & links; also changed the thread title to give an easier view for new updates
Added your link... I will soon add a few of my links that I saved in my bookmarks. I will then split the "link category" in something like "good to know and what to do" and "privacy theory articles"... if you know what I mean
zakazak said:
10.03.15 - Added more useful resources & links; also changed the thread title to give an easier view for new updates
Added your link... I will soon add a few of my links that I saved in my bookmarks. I will then split the "link category" in something like "good to know and what to do" and "privacy theory articles"... if you know what I mean
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. Schneier has another book out now. Data and Goliath. This talk is worth the listen.
https://youtu.be/seNHe5oMquw
bmstrong said:
Cool. Schneier has another book out now. Data and Goliath. This talk is worth the listen.
https://youtu.be/seNHe5oMquw
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
21.03.15 - Added more useful resources & links; fixed a typo in the changelog
Thanks, took me some time to add the link, at the moment I don't have much time to improve the guide.
Utini said:
21.03.15 - Added more useful resources & links; fixed a typo in the changelog
Thanks, took me some time to add the link, at the moment I don't have much time to improve the guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I'm concerned about privacy and security thanks for your thread but you forgot XPrivacy the best privacy manager I know it's not completely ready for Lollipop but works perfectly on Kitkat it's not about that fault it's Xposed it has a bug which I hope will be resolved soon.
Good luck! Regards.
Cyclu said:
As I'm concerned about privacy and security thanks for your thread but you forgot XPrivacy the best privacy manager I know it's not completely ready for Lollipop but works perfectly on Kitkat it's not about that fault it's Xposed it has a bug which I hope will be resolved soon.
Good luck! Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right, XPrivacy seems to be a really nice tool but I haven't been able to try it myself (as it is not compatible with Android 5.x) which is the reason why I haven't added it to the list yet
I might give it a try on my Nexus 4 with Android KitKat !
https://pack.resetthenet.org/
https://jrruethe.github.io/blog/2015/03/29/protect-yourself-online/
http://www.privacytools.io/
https://tacticaltech.org/projects/security-box
bmstrong said:
https://pack.resetthenet.org/
https://jrruethe.github.io/blog/2015/03/29/protect-yourself-online/
http://www.privacytools.io/
https://tacticaltech.org/projects/security-box
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once again thanks for your input. I added them to the OP but I am still really busy with my job/reallife. I hope I can improve the OP soon.
Question about choices
Utini said:
Security - Antivirus: To scan files after they have been downloaded or to scan files after they have been installed. Due to the way how Android is coded it is not possible to scan in real-time (while downloading, while installing) which means you can't detect malware based on their behavior. AV's on Android can only detect malware by their signature which is easy to bypass. However is still better than nothing and a one-time scan of downloaded files or an on-demand scan while your phone is charging won't hurt your battery or slow down the device. A lot of AV-Products come with multiple features built in. Some of them are often useless (e.g. maybe anti-theft), others are worth the usage (e.g. security audits for non-fixed exploit vulnerabilities or bad system settings e.g. USB-Debugging enabled).
Antivirus: You can check AV-Test.org for monthly security reviews on mobile security products and choose from there. But I recommend either "Bitdefender Free" for a simple file-scanner of downloaded files and installed apps as well as on-demand scanner or "ESET Free/Premium" which includes file-scanner, security audit, sms & call blocker as well as phishing protection and even anti-theft if needed. Both companies are in my option very trustworthy and provided good results over the past month/years (not only on the mobile market but also the PC market). Avast is a free option with lots of features from another trustworthy company but I found it to be heavier on my system than Bitdefender or ESET.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I've been juggling this question for a few days now and I'm hoping you will have an answer to assist me. First, I have read your post and this is absolutely what I have been looking for for the past few weeks. Thanks has been given and I hope you keep this up. Second, I read the wildersecurity link but still do not have an answer to this question.
Why choose ESET Premium over BitDefender. Can you tell me what one offers that the other doesn't? I've been leaning to BitDefender only because I have and use an Android Wear device. Again, thank you for any assistance or time.
Spent this weekend putting all my root goodness back on my G4 -- thanks again to all the devs who worked on this. I didn't realize how much I missed being rooted until I was again!
I had been running AdBlock Plus on my previous phone, galaxy S4, and never thought much about it, but in the course of reading various threads while waiting for root on the G4, it seems like most people mention AdAway as the preferred ad blocking tool. I gave it a shot, and it seemed to be far inferior to AdBlock. So I feel like I must be doing something wrong and was hoping for some discussion on this.
AdAway works by changing the hosts file to block known ad sources. For me this caused several problems. Web pages still load slowly (perhaps because of timeouts associated with trying to access a non-responding server?). There are still large areas on the screen with broken link icons where the ads used to be, which is pretty ugly. I tried using the AdAway local server, to provide a response to the spoofed/blocked domains, it didn't seem to make much difference. Finally, using the default config, many commercial web sites are just blocked entirely, which is a non starter.
My understanding is that AdBlock instead creates a proxy. With AdBlock web pages load MUCH faster than with AdAway, even when running the local server. It also removes the content entirely, instead of just blocking, so the output is a lot prettier.
The difference in web browsing experience was stark for me. AdBlock was the clear winner. So I'm trying to understand why so many people seem to prefer adaway. I would rather use a more light-weight solution if it works as well, but it just didn't seem to for me. Am I missing something?
I prefer AdFree, http://adfree.bigtincan.com/.
jamtre said:
Spent this weekend putting all my root goodness back on my G4 -- thanks again to all the devs who worked on this. I didn't realize how much I missed being rooted until I was again!
I had been running AdBlock Plus on my previous phone, galaxy S4, and never thought much about it, but in the course of reading various threads while waiting for root on the G4, it seems like most people mention AdAway as the preferred ad blocking tool. I gave it a shot, and it seemed to be far inferior to AdBlock. So I feel like I must be doing something wrong and was hoping for some discussion on this.
AdAway works by changing the hosts file to block known ad sources. For me this caused several problems. Web pages still load slowly (perhaps because of timeouts associated with trying to access a non-responding server?). There are still large areas on the screen with broken link icons where the ads used to be, which is pretty ugly. I tried using the AdAway local server, to provide a response to the spoofed/blocked domains, it didn't seem to make much difference. Finally, using the default config, many commercial web sites are just blocked entirely, which is a non starter.
My understanding is that AdBlock instead creates a proxy. With AdBlock web pages load MUCH faster than with AdAway, even when running the local server. It also removes the content entirely, instead of just blocking, so the output is a lot prettier.
The difference in web browsing experience was stark for me. AdBlock was the clear winner. So I'm trying to understand why so many people seem to prefer adaway. I would rather use a more light-weight solution if it works as well, but it just didn't seem to for me. Am I missing something?
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Just a thought, but AdBlock Plus has to be running 24/7 in the background, so some people may notice or think it takes a hit on battery and system resources. I am running AdBlock Plus now as well, but I downloaded AdFree after the user above recommended it, I'll give it a go.
geoff5093 said:
Just a thought, but AdBlock Plus has to be running 24/7 in the background, so some people may notice or think it takes a hit on battery and system resources. I am running AdBlock Plus now as well, but I downloaded AdFree after the user above recommended it, I'll give it a go.
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I'll try AdFree too, hadn't seen it before. But it seems to work the same way as AdAway does so I'm not expecting much difference...
I used to use adaway but it broke my Pandora app, and after switching to adblock plus it hasn't crashed
Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk
Some people don't like ABP's "Approved Advertisers" (or whatever they call it), where some ads aren't blocked by default. I know my boss complains about it, but it doesn't typically bother me. That may be the reason some people prefer AdAway (or some other similar host blocker).
I noticed that with Adblock Plus, anytime I tried to go to Android Central i'd get a Error 400 and couldn't open the site. With Adaway it loads fine, minus the godawful scrolling ads.
I used to use AdBlock Plus but I remember there was a reason I switched over to AdBlock instead. I think they were blocking all ads, even those you should just leave alone to support sites you enjoy or something along those lines. Since switching to AdBlock I'm never bothered with ads and enable ads for sites I respect.
I've never really had any of those issues with Adaway. I haven't used ABP in a while but the last time I did (and to the best of my knowledge out still works this way) it was just a proxy, which newer versions of Android wouldn't let the app configure itself. I could never get it working without being really slow and clunky and I couldn't figure out how to use it on a data connection at all. I'm away from wifi a lot so something that doesn't work at all half the time and works poorly the other half was useless to me.
Zorque said:
I've never really had any of those issues with Adaway. I haven't used ABP in a while but the last time I did (and to the best of my knowledge out still works this way) it was just a proxy, which newer versions of Android wouldn't let the app configure itself. I could never get it working without being really slow and clunky and I couldn't figure out how to use it on a data connection at all. I'm away from wifi a lot so something that doesn't work at all half the time and works poorly the other half was useless to me.
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That's only if you aren't rooted. There is no manual config if you are. You need to be rooted for adaway no matter what so seems fair to compare root mode of ABP only.
I have been using adfree since before they pulled all ad blocking apps from the play store. Adfree doesn't slow anything down or leave broken links in web pages. Pages load fast like they should plus it blocks ads and popups in apps also which is great cause I have been going almost postal on some of these ads popping up when I close some apps. I guess I'm OCD about that.
Yea I noticed that when using Adblock Plus, my links on SlickDeals.net won't work. They get a redirect error and just fail.
Going through a Proxy is dangerous too since any and all traffic goes through them, so be careful when entering login/credit card information. You are also creating a bottleneck where all traffic must go through, so if the Proxy is overloaded or offline, so is your connection unless you change your local routing (I guess by uninstalling the app).
For me it is a back and forth issue. I prefer NOT to use a Proxy. This is a work related phone so I do not want to have any 3rd party company playing Man-in-the-middle with my data traffic.
Personally I like to just block apps on my device. Yes it causes longer page loading times while crap sits there and times out... but at least my data is safe and the page is easier to navigate once the ads are gone.
I just downloaded AdFree from the official website but it requires Root (I haven't rooted yet). I think all Ad blocking apps require root.
Many sites on slickdeals redirect through viglink.com or similar for revenue. All you have to do is whitelist those [*.viglink.com] and it will begin to redirect just fine
player911 said:
Yea I noticed that when using Adblock Plus, my links on SlickDeals.net won't work. They get a redirect error and just fail.
Going through a Proxy is dangerous too since any and all traffic goes through them, so be careful when entering login/credit card information. You are also creating a bottleneck where all traffic must go through, so if the Proxy is overloaded or offline, so is your connection unless you change your local routing (I guess by uninstalling the app).
For me it is a back and forth issue. I prefer NOT to use a Proxy. This is a work related phone so I do not want to have any 3rd party company playing Man-in-the-middle with my data traffic.
Personally I like to just block apps on my device. Yes it causes longer page loading times while crap sits there and times out... but at least my data is safe and the page is easier to navigate once the ads are gone.
I just downloaded AdFree from the official website but it requires Root (I haven't rooted yet). I think all Ad blocking apps require root.
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Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the proxy is on you own device. Not in any other server.
seb93 said:
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the proxy is on you own device. Not in any other server.
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Either way adblock downloads the whole page ads and all then removes it. Adblock app has to be running in background to strip ads.
Adaway blocks access to the ad site altogether.
As for site formatting being wrong or not pretty would be the site page programmer programming certaib spaces in the page dedicated to thr ad that was supposed to show there.
I also like no ads in apps and youtube. Hence why I prefer adaway.
Parcing a large host file may require more resources..
In both you can whitelist if youre missing content you'd prefer to see.
clockcycle said:
Either way adblock downloads the whole page ads and all then removes it. Adblock app has to be running in background to strip ads.
Adaway blocks access to the ad site altogether.
As for site formatting being wrong or not pretty would be the site page programmer programming certaib spaces in the page dedicated to thr ad that was supposed to show there.
I also like no ads in apps and youtube. Hence why I prefer adaway.
Parcing a large host file may require more resources..
In both you can whitelist if youre missing content you'd prefer to see.
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I was just saying that adblock is not "dangerous" because he thought the traffic goes through another server.
Envoyé de mon LG-H815 en utilisant Tapatalk
seb93 said:
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the proxy is on you own device. Not in any other server.
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Correct. Proxying elsewhere can be very dangerous.
I think I can answer this question...ADP sucks (and I use it religiously in Chrome) when it comes to your phone.
It COMPLETELY broke MMS for me (on Cricket). I removed ADP, rebooted, and was good to go.
I've always Adfree as it is simple and lightweight only modifying the hosts file.
Adblock kills MMS for me. Cannot send or receive.
Work told me I'm not allowed to be rooted anymore. I was rooted for adblocking only. Is there a rootless ad blocker that actually works?
I highly recommend against using rootless ad blockers. What they do is run your data connection through a VPN server which performs the ad blocking. Since all your data is running through someone else's server, your private information may be compromised if you transmit anything sensitive (bank accounts, SSNs, etc.).
That really sucks about your work requirement. How specific are they on no root? Can you root, install an ad blocking host file (manually or with something like adaway) then unroot without wiping your phone? That would be what I would try.
postal302 said:
I highly recommend against using rootless ad blockers. What they do is run your data connection through a VPN server which performs the ad blocking. Since all your data is running through someone else's server, your private information may be compromised if you transmit anything sensitive (bank accounts, SSNs, etc.).
That really sucks about your work requirement. How specific are they on no root? Can you root, install an ad blocking host file (manually or with something like adaway) then unroot without wiping your phone? That would be what I would try.
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No root at all and they have spyware to check for root.:crying: Is there at least a good browser + plug in that works?
460cidpower said:
No root at all and they have spyware to check for root.:crying: Is there at least a good browser + plug in that works?
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Here's an older article about three ad blocking browsers.
Also Adblock Browser in Google Play is from the makers of Ad Block Plus.
postal302 said:
Here's an older article about three ad blocking browsers.
Also Adblock Browser in Google Play is from the makers of Ad Block Plus.
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If you use these vpn add blockers just make sure to white list apps you dont want to use vpn server then your private data is not going through it. Like whitelist google play for sure any apps you purchase stuff with. Phone and messaging apps. And remember you can usually just toggle the adblocking off if your in doubt. I recommend DNS66 ad blocking it has this feature to whitelist apps and dns servers and its free. But like the OP says beware your stuff is being rerouted. So understand how and what they do before you install and run them. Just get use to turning the adblocker on only when needed
postal302 said:
That really sucks about your work requirement. How specific are they on no root? Can you root, install an ad blocking host file (manually or with something like adaway) then unroot without wiping your phone? That would be what I would try.
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You can't root, modify, then unroot without tripping DM-Verity. Any modifications to the system will trip DM-Verity.
460cidpower said:
No root at all and they have spyware to check for root.:crying: Is there at least a good browser + plug in that works?
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I use an Adblock Plus extension with Samsung internet browser, works very well. Though I have to unblock some websites since they detect ad blockers.
I use the "Block This" app. It only creates a LOCAL VPN, so your data does not go through a different server, at least as I understand it. Been using it for several months, and really like it. Works as well as the rooted ad blockers I used to use. Blocks ads in apps and browsers.
Disconnect Pro appears to work, as long as you haven't disabled KNOX.
Disconnect Pro is pretty decent and free right now too...otherwise, it is about 25 dollars. Also, check out Adguard, they do local VPN, but does come at a slight battery price though. Trade off for not having root and avoiding ads....though they do help sites and apps continue to function.
460cidpower said:
No root at all and they have spyware to check for root.:crying: Is there at least a good browser + plug in that works?
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Try Brave browser, it's available from Google play