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Many apps allow exporting their data without requiring root. There are adblockers that set themselves up as a 'VPN connection' on your device for filtering out

Many apps allow exporting their data without requiring root. There are adblockers that set themselves up as a 'VPN connection' on your device for filtering out ads, those do not require root.

fulafel 9y ago
That vpn ad blocking sounds promiding. Are there reputable FOSS apps that do this? Edit: this looks promising: https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/blob/master/README.md https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/blob/master/README.md
- philg_jr 9y ago
  DNS66 https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.jak_linux.dns66/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.jak_linux.dns66/ https://github.com/julian-klode/dns66 https://github.com/julian-klode/dns66 Successfully being used on a 1st-gen Moto Z Play, no root, stock firmware. Works great.
  - lewisl9029 9y ago
    Seconding DNS66. Another benefit over hosts file based ad-blocking is you can disable/enable it without having to restart, which is super handy for the occasional "is this site broken or is it my ad-blocker" sanity check.
    - yjftsjthsd-h 9y ago
      I was under the impression that hosts based blocking just needed you to toggle airplane mode to reset it, not a full reboot.
      - lewisl9029 9y ago
        That could very well be the case. This could have been just me being ignorant.
fulafel 9y ago
Upon reflection, I suspect those localhost-vpn ad blockers have to reconstruct your ip traffic back into outgoing socket api calls, which can't work really well for non-web traffic.
- darklajid 9y ago
  I .. only learned about these ad blockers from this thread, so take everything I write with a healthy amount of table salt. That said, as far as I understand this DNS66 thing only intercepts DNS requests (which yes, it needs to break apart and reassemble) and nothing else? That is - if you don't talk to a server that is part of the application's custom DNS server list or a DNS server given to you by your network configuration, then I'd expect this packet to bypass the VPN entirely. Maybe someone who understands the Android VPN service thing a bit more can chime in and confirm?

Many apps allow exporting their data without requiring root. There are adblockers that set themselves up as a 'VPN connection' on your device for filtering out ads, those do not require root.

fulafel 9y ago

That vpn ad blocking sounds promiding. Are there reputable FOSS apps that do this? Edit: this looks promising: https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/blob/master/README.md https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/blob/master/README.md

philg_jr 9y ago
DNS66 https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.jak_linux.dns66/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.jak_linux.dns66/ https://github.com/julian-klode/dns66 https://github.com/julian-klode/dns66 Successfully being used on a 1st-gen Moto Z Play, no root, stock firmware. Works great.
- lewisl9029 9y ago
  Seconding DNS66. Another benefit over hosts file based ad-blocking is you can disable/enable it without having to restart, which is super handy for the occasional "is this site broken or is it my ad-blocker" sanity check.
  - yjftsjthsd-h 9y ago
    I was under the impression that hosts based blocking just needed you to toggle airplane mode to reset it, not a full reboot.
    - lewisl9029 9y ago
      That could very well be the case. This could have been just me being ignorant.

fulafel 9y ago

Upon reflection, I suspect those localhost-vpn ad blockers have to reconstruct your ip traffic back into outgoing socket api calls, which can't work really well for non-web traffic.

darklajid 9y ago
I .. only learned about these ad blockers from this thread, so take everything I write with a healthy amount of table salt. That said, as far as I understand this DNS66 thing only intercepts DNS requests (which yes, it needs to break apart and reassemble) and nothing else? That is - if you don't talk to a server that is part of the application's custom DNS server list or a DNS server given to you by your network configuration, then I'd expect this packet to bypass the VPN entirely. Maybe someone who understands the Android VPN service thing a bit more can chime in and confirm?