Database Users

Viruses on Android?

My friend has asked me to ask this, saves him registering.
His friend goes on.... dodgy sites involving women, on his iPhone. His friend also sends him pictures - not anything related to the sites, just normal pictures etc. Is it possible for an iPhone to get a virus from those sites, and then sending images and texts to a Nexus 4, for the Nexus 4 to get a virus, or anything related to those sites?

SarahJane89 said:
My friend has asked me to ask this, saves him registering.
His friend goes on.... dodgy sites involving women, on his iPhone. His friend also sends him pictures - not anything related to the sites, just normal pictures etc. Is it possible for an iPhone to get a virus from those sites, and then sending images and texts to a Nexus 4, for the Nexus 4 to get a virus, or anything related to those sites?
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Click to collapse
I am only aware of virus contained in apps that you download and install, mostly from Chinese sites, usually a free version of a paid app that only fools install. Have your friend Install a good virus scanning app (lookout, comodo) and he should be okay.

Avast is good too
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

adie1234 said:
Avast is good too
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
He uses Avast now, so it's likely his phone won't have any viruses at all?

phones don't just get viruses as easily as computers. Virus scanner will only slow your phone down and drain your battery. All you have to do is do not install any app that is not from the Play Store and you should be fine.

khanh1289 said:
phones don't just get viruses as easily as computers. Virus scanner will only slow your phone down and drain your battery. All you have to do is do not install any app that is not from the Play Store and you should be fine.
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Comodo doesn't even register in my battery stats but stock only shows the top 10 drains on the battery. As it stands right now Comodo is using less than 4% of my battery as that's the lowest % that registered for my wifi and Chrome.
And Google doesn't screen apps added to the Playstore as diligently as Apple and apps with viruses do get through. They remove them as they find them and then will remotely remove the offending apps from your device.
http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/01/21/fake-plants-vs-zombies-android-game/
http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/201...re-policy-officially-bans-off-market-updates/

kzoodroid said:
Comodo doesn't even register in my battery stats but stock only shows the top 10 drains on the battery. As it stands right now Comodo is using less than 4% of my battery as that's the lowest % that registered for my wifi and Chrome.
And Google doesn't screen apps added to the Playstore as diligently as Apple and apps with viruses do get through. They remove them as they find them and then will remotely remove the offending apps from your device.
http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/01/21/fake-plants-vs-zombies-android-game/
http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/201...re-policy-officially-bans-off-market-updates/
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I didn't say that it can't, I said it isn't as easy to get it compare to a computer. Things like what you posted rarely happens anymore and if that bit of common sense that say "this is too good to be true" telling you not to install the app, don't do it! Those apps aren't really even viruses.. they're at best comparable to something like a trojan.. but not as evasive (easily removed). Android (4.2.2) on our Nexus is not what it used to be. Things are a lot more secure and the Play Store has a lot of good quality apps that will soon probably surpasses Apple.

hey friends I have iball 3G 7271HD70, and I installed kespersky antivirus that shows me that android is has been hacked and shows a spy virus I have formatted and reflashed two times but it still shows the same after fresh installation.When I format there are two options one auto second manual, but for manual so flash tool shows a warning that -if starting address is 0x00000000 then calibration data will be erased is this data important and How to remove this virus permanenty

Apps and services running

When it comes to my phone (GS4 SGH-M919) I am extremely serious about what's running or installed and why. There is nothing installed on my phone that I didn't personally install or allow to run. I like a nice clean phone with nothing wasting resources. I'm sure I'm not alone in this way of thinking, so I ask, what are you guys doing to minimize apps and wasted services running? How are you keeping your phone running at it's absolute best?

Uninstall anything that isn't important to the correct operation of the phone.
Freeze or greenify anything that you don't want constantly running in the background (like Google play or Facebook+Facebook messenger).

I'm the same in my mindset I don't like background processes running when I don't have a use for them right there and then. I freeze a few apps with titanium, I have everything that's not related to downloading, playing or streaming music greenified. I always have sync off and run AFwall+ controlling internet access. sometimes if a free app needs net access I'll try hunting for it's ads processes with this http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cn.wq.disableservice

I really wish they'd start allowing users to have more control or total control over their devices without using 3rd party apps. Especially with high-end devices. When are they going to learn that we don't want unneeded apps and functionality ramed down our throats. I guess they still believe that even though we bought the device, it still belongs to them.

Tommy807 said:
I really wish they'd start allowing users to have more control or total control over their devices without using 3rd party apps. Especially with high-end devices. When are they going to learn that we don't want unneeded apps and functionality ramed down our throats. I guess they still believe that even though we bought the device, it still belongs to them.
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we are not the majority. it's more likely that instant updates arriving from facebook are valued more highly than comprehensive control of our device by most. I read that android device ownership is at 1 billion devices but XDAmembers is just over 7 million.

It's true, most people just care about the phone being able to send a text, but there's no reason all apps and services have to be locked down and not removable. That doesn't atfect the casual user. They choose to lock things down. They choose to make it so uninstalling trivial apps breaks the OS. Short of deleting OS files or drivers, they don't need to make it so my hands are tied.
I'm going to do what I want to do one way or another. All they're doing is pissing people off.

..

lol, to be fair the whole trend of a separate Gapps package is all about giving us that choice in the first place. hell I didn't even have gmail in the last version I used.

I use the browser to check my email, and facebook, and xda, and pretty much every other website.
I would even use the browser for YouTube if it weren't for the OGYouTube app which allows me to download the videos.
If anyone is interested in combining the sms, Facebook messenger and WhatsApp apps into one single app, try Disa. It can replace all 3. Unfortunately you have to give up the chatheads of messenger.

"Android OS" consuming insane amount of data in background

I have a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, on ver 6.0.1; Build No:MMB29K.G935FXXU1APD1
Notice couple week ago, I have finished my monthly data quota of 3Gb, upon checking data usage close to 1/3 is consumed by "Android OS" in background.
Since then, I been on quest to find out what actually caused the drain on data. I have tried
1. Run in safe mode, "Android OS" in background continue
2. Factory reset, "Android OS" in background continur.
3. "Reset Network Setting", work for a couple a day, then "Android OS" in background came back again.
4. Off all Google Account Sync and Off background data, "Android OS" in background continue too.
Now I am really out of ideas... really disappointed with Android now.... planning to sell off my phone and switch to Iphone

Just as a comparison, between 7am to 1pm today, "Android OS" already consumed 37Mb; while my web brwsing in the same period only used up 95mb. And I have Facebook app disabled already.

at a 'wag' I'd speculate that you have one/all of the background reporting enabled (diagnostics, security reports, app scanning, et. al.).
you could also take a walk through the 'optimize battery usage' settings to restrict the various apps to limit their usage.
these things are discussed in the battery consumption thread(s) but they also affect data usage.

^^^ what he said
I had the same issue the very first week I got the device (800+ MB consumed by Android OS) - it automagically stopped once I greenified and Dozed the sh!t out of it.
Mind you, even at the beginning I had no sync and most of apps disabled for background data usage.
Sh!ty implementation if you ask me: it almost looks like a collusion between Google and the carriers to waste your data. Why on Earth would they otherwise have "Download boost" and "Smart network switch" which both suck up your precious little data (I speak as a Canadian screwed by the monopolies...).

Ipse_Tase said:
Why on Earth would they otherwise have "Download boost" and "Smart network switch" which both suck up your precious little data
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"duh" - they can bill you for more data consumption, makes complete sense to me!
I had the thought that it'd be very nice (from a user' point of view) of everything not absolutely necessary was disabled by default and a nice 'wizard' walked you through enabling of ANYTHING which will use background data, location, or radio (essentially anything using power or money). Sort of the mirroring the "secure by default" ethic where everything would need to be individually opted-in. Alas, I feel this is contrary to the interests not only of the phone carriers (who want to bill more for data service), OEM (who want to regularly sell you a new device), and Google (who wants to leverage data of/about/by you to create $).
Or maybe I'm just a little cynical.

Ipse_Tase said:
^^^ what he said
I had the same issue the very first week I got the device (800+ MB consumed by Android OS) - it automagically stopped once I greenified and Dozed the sh!t out of it.
Mind you, even at the beginning I had no sync and most of apps disabled for background data usage.
Sh!ty implementation if you ask me: it almost looks like a collusion between Google and the carriers to waste your data. Why on Earth would they otherwise have "Download boost" and "Smart network switch" which both suck up your precious little data (I speak as a Canadian screwed by the monopolies...).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how you greenify Doze? dont think it is available on Sammy phone.

I started to monitor the "Android OS" usage every 5~10min... what I notice is, it starts drain data every time I go online, e.g. surf net, FB app, etc.
So for example, surf net at 10:00am... and close the browser... 5 min later I will notice the "Andoird OS" data consumption increased by another 2-3Mb.

lkoky said:
how you greenify Doze? dont think it is available on Sammy phone.
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Click to collapse
2.9beta2...read the forum thread in the Greenify section.

Ok, seems to have found a solution. I boot into recovery and
1. wipe cache
2. wipe data
now it is running ok. "Android OS" no longer draining data in background.
Not quite sure why the previous two time factory reset via setting menu wont do the tricks though.

I have the same trouble! Android SO consumes a lot of data, I'm gonna try your solution I hope it works!!
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Any solutions for this ? im still having this problem.

forum.xda-developers.com/note5/help/guide-how-to-fix-android-os-battery-t3423150
You may wanna check the wakelocks, probably most often used will be your evil one

AASAservice
Download the Package disabler in google play and disable the system app named AASAservice. You will be OK. I found this solution through a data manager app called DATAEYE. If you still worry about your data usage, you can try to use this app too.

Ipse_Tase said:
^^^ what he said
I had the same issue the very first week I got the device (800+ MB consumed by Android OS) - it automagically stopped once I greenified and Dozed the sh!t out of it.
Mind you, even at the beginning I had no sync and most of apps disabled for background data usage.
Sh!ty implementation if you ask me: it almost looks like a collusion between Google and the carriers to waste your data. Why on Earth would they otherwise have "Download boost" and "Smart network switch" which both suck up your precious little data (I speak as a Canadian screwed by the monopolies...).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung is actually very open about it. They said that first and foremost, it is the carriers, that are their customers. Not the average Joe blow like us.
Sent from my SM-G935W8 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

lgh197219721 said:
Download the Package disabler in google play and disable the system app named AASAservice. You will be OK. I found this solution through a data manager app called DATAEYE. If you still worry about your data usage, you can try to use this app too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any specific "Package Disabler"? Since there is are at least 10 of them. Who si the developer?

knyaztmi said:
Any specific "Package Disabler"? Since there is are at least 10 of them. Who si the developer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think he's talking about BK package disabler Pro which is what I use too, great app.
However, cant remember now if this is possible in MM but in Android 7 Nougat you can restrict data usage for anything you like except apps that really need to use data like facebook and your browser etc, but you can still restrict them from using background data regardless, screenshots below, as far as I'm concerned, theres not really much on my phone that I want accessing my data without me knowing about it, I don't send picture messages etc, and I don't need weather and traffic updates every 10 secs etc.

Can anyone tell me what is this?
Sent from my SM-G935F using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Instead of rooting...?

If I recall correctly, the Priv's OS has some application that checks the integrity of the OS, thus prevents rooting.
And can't we simply flash a new ROM which would be just a clean Android? Maybe unlocking the bootloader would be easier than cat-and-mouse play with the real BB Android.

no it does not exist and the drivers for some hw on the device to work like izat and keyboard won't work, also the priv kernel is also secure along with bootloader so if i see a custom or AOSP rom for this device i will be like on twilight zone

There have been lost opportunities here and there but BlackBerry has been active on patching all security holes and that is why is important to the company that a root has to be impossible or this effort has been all for nothing and they became the newest "Blackphone" (now that rooting was unfortunate for a device sold as a "secure" phone).
I know that there are audience in Android just for root capacity but not everybody are in a "real" need for it.
I like that the BlackBerry Launcher leave most of AOSP element, except for icons and notifications sounds.

Personally I only ever use root for CPU control and ability to delete ANY app I deem fit, and on my previous SGS5 that meant all those heart rate and other nonsense apps that ran in background and chunked the battery to no end.
Gonna assume the Priv then has no CPU management ability due to the lack of root, correct?

Skv012a said:
Personally I only ever use root for CPU control and ability to delete ANY app I deem fit, and on my previous SGS5 that meant all those heart rate and other nonsense apps that ran in background and chunked the battery to no end.
Gonna assume the Priv then has no CPU management ability due to the lack of root, correct?
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Correct. Though, they do use the interactive governor, and while I would kind of like to underclock the CPU a bit to deal with overheating, the default CPU management isn't too shabby. And since the Priv is almost completely stock, removal of unwanted apps is minimal, and all the carrier apps I had weren't system apps, so I was able to actually uninstall them, and what BB apps I didn't care for, I simply disabled. Learning that life without root isn't so bad on the Priv.

I just want root for Adblock for both YouTube and Chrome. I don't care if it's just a temp, as long as it lets me update the Filters for AdAway I am alright with it, I'll deal with the youtube ads.

KOAO said:
I just want root for Adblock for both YouTube and Chrome. I don't care if it's just a temp, as long as it lets me update the Filters for AdAway I am alright with it, I'll deal with the youtube ads.
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Well, you could use Firefox. It supports extensions on Android, and ublock works nicely to kill ads, though I find functionally that Chrome runs infinitely better on Android than Firefox does, so your kilometerage may vary.

Artemis-kun said:
And since the Priv is almost completely stock, removal of unwanted apps is minimal
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Not true! The Priv is full of bloatware that you can only deactivate but not uninstall (Yahoo Finances, for example). And some of those apps will stay active and make the phone unusable despite being 'deactivated'. Like BB Hub. I deactivated it from the start and just recently saw that it still had several permissions (location, contacts, messages, calendar etc). So I revoked those permissions. Now it constantly pops up and wants permissions. I can't even add a contact without granting these permissions. Annoying as hell. It's ridiculous that BB regard themselves as a secure company with secure smartphones (which was rebutted several years ago) that emphasize on privacy but when it comes to their own apps, it can't get any more privacy invading. I so hate BB!
So I'm waiting for
a) another producer to make an Android phone with a hardware keyboard or
b) someone to make root for the Priv happen so that I can install a ROM of my choice.

Shani Ace said:
Not true! The Priv is full of bloatware that you can only deactivate but not uninstall (Yahoo Finances, for example). And some of those apps will stay active and make the phone unusable despite being 'deactivated'. Like BB Hub. I deactivated it from the start and just recently saw that it still had several permissions (location, contacts, messages, calendar etc). So I revoked those permissions. Now it constantly pops up and wants permissions. I can't even add a contact without granting these permissions. Annoying as hell. It's ridiculous that BB regard themselves as a secure company with secure smartphones (which was rebutted several years ago) that emphasize on privacy but when it comes to their own apps, it can't get any more privacy invading. I so hate BB!
So I'm waiting for
a) another producer to make an Android phone with a hardware keyboard or
b) someone to make root for the Priv happen so that I can install a ROM of my choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't call it full of bloat. Full of bloat is what Samsung has on offer. Yes, there are some bloatware apps that you can't uninstall, but they disable just fine. Sounds to me like your hub got re-enabled, mine has been disabled since day one, and still has no permissions, and doesn't harass me about anything.

Artemis-kun said:
Sounds to me like your hub got re-enabled, mine has been disabled since day one, and still has no permissions, and doesn't harass me about anything.
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Interesting. Did you do any of the BB OTA updates (mine's running the most recent version, 6.0.1, security patch from August 5th)?
The Hub is still deactivated, but it doesn't seem to 'care' about that. I activated and deactivated it again to no effect.
So you're telling me when you go into Settings -> Apps -> BB Hub -> Permissions, all six permissions (calendar, camera, contacts, storage, phone and BB Productivity Suite) are turned-off?
I'm pretty sure I had these turned off when I got the phone in May. So maybe some of the OTA updates changed something about it. Unless you're running the same version that I am.
Oh and the fullscreen pop-up says Blackberry Hub+, maybe this is a new thing then?
And yes, other manufacturers may have more Bloatware. But at least there you can uninstall them or flash a different ROM. And all the BB services like BB Hub count as Bloatware for me, too.
Maybe I should sell my Priv and get a S6 Edge Plus (again). I still got the keyboard cover for that model and it's flashable, although Samsung also makes it hard for the users. But the keyboard cover is not back-lit and the phone is even bigger than the Priv (already too big for my taste).
EDIT: Ah wait! I just saw that the 'Blackberry Services' were activate, so I deactivated it and revoked all its permissions and now the pop up is gone. I definitely had this deactivated before the update, but as with the other BB apps, you have to deactivate them again after each update. Guess I just overlooked this one. Yay!

Shani Ace said:
Interesting. Did you do any of the BB OTA updates (mine's running the most recent version, 6.0.1, security patch from August 5th)?
The Hub is still deactivated, but it doesn't seem to 'care' about that. I activated and deactivated it again to no effect.
So you're telling me when you go into Settings -> Apps -> BB Hub -> Permissions, all six permissions (calendar, camera, contacts, storage, phone and BB Productivity Suite) are turned-off?
I'm pretty sure I had these turned off when I got the phone in May. So maybe some of the OTA updates changed something about it. Unless you're running the same version that I am.
Oh and the fullscreen pop-up says Blackberry Hub+, maybe this is a new thing then?
And yes, other manufacturers may have more Bloatware. But at least there you can uninstall them or flash a different ROM. And all the BB services like BB Hub count as Bloatware for me, too.
Maybe I should sell my Priv and get a S6 Edge Plus (again). I still got the keyboard cover for that model and it's flashable, although Samsung also makes it hard for the users. But the keyboard cover is not back-lit and the phone is even bigger than the Priv (already too big for my taste).
EDIT: Ah wait! I just saw that the 'Blackberry Services' were activate, so I deactivated it and revoked all its permissions and now the pop up is gone. I definitely had this deactivated before the update, but as with the other BB apps, you have to deactivate them again after each update. Guess I just overlooked this one. Yay!
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https://puu.sh/qYFcI/bca42bb0e9.png here is a screenshot I just took. I should also point out that I have everything else BB disabled as well, and I've never had to re-disable any of them. I'm on the MM beta program, so that might also make some kind of diffeerence, but I stay up to date with patches, and haven't had to disable anything again. Not sure how it happened in your case, but glad that you got it sorted.
Another thing I do feel I need to bring up, this is also a BB phone made for BB people, so it does make sense that they include the software suite that their fans have grown to love. Sure, those of us who couldn't care less about BB's software, and just wanted in on their amazing hardware prowess, will find these apps bothersome, but if nothing else, visually they left Android alone, and for that, I can't not happily thank them. They could have given us something like a BB10 inspired touchwiz, could you imagine? Lol.

Yeah that's true and I'm also happy that they didn't over-customize their ROM. It's just hard to accept any deviation when you've been used to having full freedom on all kinds of custom ROMs for the last ten years.
Strange though that you didn't have to re-deactivate the apps after the updates. Then I guess I'll look into the beta program (had seen it before but didn't mind).

and I do not have 'Secure Start-up' turned-on.
There's enough bloatware that I'd like to remove, such as "Hang-Outs" & BBM is eating data with stupid pics of available 'stickies' & other crap I don't want to see/read about & my ONLY choice for disable is "Do you want to restore this app to Factory Default?". No, I don't I want to Restore it to Factory Default - I want to DISABLE it. I do understand that the PRIV's supposed to be secure & yes that's a Good Thing. I also understand that most users LIKE to be kept informed. I am NOT 'social' - Let ME decide what I want to be informed about & when. I didn't even get a choice of what subscription (?) I wanted (which is NONE). There's a bunch of apps that I can only Restore to Factory default. That, too me, means I CANNOT Remove or Disable them. I call that bloatware. Un-wanted bloatware. If I could remove them without Rooting, then I would not be looking to do so! I have an 'Essential Tremour' & I NEED a physical keyboard or I'd look elsewhere.
OK: I managed to get BBM to stop shouting at me (as noted: I make mistakes, but I do learn from them); it's just down to wanting to get rid of apps I don't want taking-up space. Rooting a PRIV appears to be dicey, with no firm info from Oct/2016, onwards, regarding 'safe' rooting of my device. I'm running 6.0.1 & Bell is my provider. If it makes any difference, I do not have 'Secure Start-Up' turned-on. As noted, if I didn't need a physical keyboard, I probably would not have chosen this make/model. Guess I'll live with it & keep looking for ways to put my phone on diet (& the battery barely lasts a day, unfortunately). I basically use it as a PDA - no games, few calls, occasional checking notes & calendar - it should last longer.

Bootstrap69 said:
There's enough bloatware that I'd like to remove, such as "Hang-Outs" & BBM is eating data with stupid pics of available 'stickies' & other crap I don't want to see/read about & my ONLY choice for disable is "Do you want to restore this app to Factory Default?". No, I don't I want to Restore it to Factory Default - I want to DISABLE it. I do understand that the PRIV's supposed to be secure & yes that's a Good Thing. I also understand that most users LIKE to be kept informed. I am NOT 'social' - Let ME decide what I want to be informed about & when. I didn't even get a choice of what subscription (?) I wanted (which is NONE). There's a bunch of apps that I can only Restore to Factory default. That, too me, means I CANNOT Remove or Disable them. I call that bloatware. Un-wanted bloatware. If I could remove them without Rooting, then I would not be looking to do so! I have an 'Essential Tremour' & I NEED a physical keyboard or I'd look elsewhere.
OK: I managed to get BBM to stop shouting at me (as noted: I make mistakes, but I do learn from them); it's just down to wanting to get rid of apps I don't want taking-up space. Rooting a PRIV appears to be dicey, with no firm info from Oct/2016, onwards, regarding 'safe' rooting of my device. I'm running 6.0.1 & Bell is my provider. If it makes any difference, I do not have 'Secure Start-Up' turned-on. As noted, if I didn't need a physical keyboard, I probably would not have chosen this make/model. Guess I'll live with it & keep looking for ways to put my phone on diet (& the battery barely lasts a day, unfortunately). I basically use it as a PDA - no games, few calls, occasional checking notes & calendar - it should last longer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In order to disable some of the apps on this device they must be restored to factory default. I have hangouts and BBM disabled. My battery life is pretty good. You have to figure out what's killing yours. Do you use a case that has the preview window on the front?

On non rootable devices I use AdGuard to have a firewall and adblocker. It works by routing everything through a local vpn server. Great concept and working fine for me.

GPS/Location spoofing when location is off??? Yes or No?

Howdy!
3 part question:
1) I am on rooted OOS9.0.17 + Omega kernel + xXxNoLimits and use App Ops to put my apps on a leash( those dirty buggers! ), and a VPN. I have location services turned off, sandboxed facebook and fb messenger, use Privacy Browser or Tor, and use App Ops to turn off location for the ton of apps that use it but do not ask for permission. Do I still need to use a gps/location spoofer for all the system level stuff that I won't/don't mess with? It seems some stuff still knows where I am. It seems that, in spite of all I have done, a few apps still know where I really am.
2) what app have you personally had success with? I have searched the sight and didn't seem to find "that" one app everyone uses and loves.
3) What is the impact on battery life? I had to made some adjustments with my VPN after the last update to either Eddie or OpenVPN as my battery started tanking again. Still not totally happy on that front.
Thank you in advance!