commit 63ad45d274b9988d599a90d030e2a58f997865e2
parent 52f0a1be3dda287cad71962f1e02d477445c84c5
Author: oscarbenedito <oscar@oscarbenedito.com>
Date: Wed, 27 May 2020 21:02:50 +0200
New entry: blocking-connections-on-android
Diffstat:
1 file changed, 71 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
diff --git a/content/blog/2020-05-27-blocking-connections-on-android.md b/content/blog/2020-05-27-blocking-connections-on-android.md
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+---
+title: "Blocking connections on Android"
+slug: "blocking-connections-on-android"
+categories: technology
+tags: ["Decentralization", "Personal website", "Privacy", "Website"]
+date: 2020-05-27T19:01:00+00:00
+---
+
+I have been a user of [NetGuard][ng] for quite some time. It is a great Android
+app that lets you control which apps get Internet access and which don't. The
+paid version will allow you to block connection on a per-domain basis (for each
+app), as well as let you see all the domains an app connects to (which are
+normally a lot!). Furthermore, you will be able to block domains for the whole
+phone. This is useful because it can act as an add blocker (by default it uses
+the list of domains gathered in [this repository][repo]). The Google Play
+version doesn't have this feature because Google doesn't allow add blocking on
+the store, so make sure you get the app directly from GitHub!
+
+A couple of months ago I decided to use a VPN, it felt like ISP's where very
+public about everyone's data, and I decided to put my trust in a company whose
+business is protecting their customers' privacy. The problem with VPNs is that
+you have to trust them. There is no way for you to ensure they aren't selling
+your browsing habits to the best bidder, but I did my research on the provider I
+chose and I trust them a lot more than an ISP. Now you may ask, how is this
+related to NetGuard? Well, NetGuard uses the VPN functionality on Android to be
+able to block certain connections without root access, and Android only allows
+one VPN at a time, so I had to choose one[^proxies].
+
+[^proxies]: NetGuard offers a way to do what I wanted, through proxies, but I
+ didn't like the workaround.
+
+Finally, I decided to go with my VPN. However, I really liked the domain
+blocking feature, so I decided to investigate a little further. It turns out you
+can use the `/etc/hosts` files to block certain domains just like in a GNU/Linux
+computer. It is an easy process and it really makes a difference in your mobile
+browsing experience. I'll explain how I did it with my phone in case it helps
+anyone else (although simply installing NetGuard is a simpler solution for sure,
+and you get more features!).
+
+First of all install Android Debug Bridge (ADB) on your computer. If you are
+using GNU/Linux, you can use `pacman -S adb` on Arch based distributions or `apt
+install adb` on Debian based distributions, look it up if you have other
+distributions or operative systems. Now plug your phone into your computer and
+on your phone enable developer settings (look it up if you don't know how to do
+it) and do the following:
+
+1. `Android debugging` > `on`
+2. `Root access` > `ADB only`
+3. Make sure your computer has access to your phone by enabling `PTP` on your
+ phone (instead of `No data transfer`).
+4. On the computer run `$ adb root` to get root access.
+5. `$ adb remount`, which will allow you to modify the file on the phone.
+6. `$ adb push /path/to/hosts/on/computer /etc/hosts`
+7. Done! You can now unplug your phone (and disable the options you enabled
+ previously if wanted).
+
+If you want to edit the file manually, do the following after step 5:
+
+1. `$ adb shell`, which will give you a terminal on the phone.
+2. `# nano /etc/hosts` (`vim` also works on LineageOS).
+3. Do your changes.
+4. `# exit`
+
+Easy! However, I am using LineageOS and I am unsure if you can do step 2 on a
+stock ROM (if you can't, you might need a rooted device). If you try it—whether
+on a stock ROM or another custom ROM—, let me know if it works! You still won't
+be able to block certain apps' connections as with NetGuard, but you won't have
+ads while keeping the VPN feature available for other uses.
+
+[ng]: <https://www.netguard.me/> "NetGuard's website"
+[repo]: <https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts> "Unified hosts file repository"
