mirror of
https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard.git
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222 lines
8.9 KiB
Markdown
222 lines
8.9 KiB
Markdown
# NetGuard
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*NetGuard* provides a simple way to block access to the internet - no root required.
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Applications can individually be allowed or denied access to your WiFi and/or mobile connection.
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Blocking access to the internet can help:
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* reduce your data usage
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* save your battery
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* increase your privacy
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NetGuard is possibly the first free and open source no-root firewall for Android.
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Downloads:
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* [GitHub](https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/releases)
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* [Play store](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.faircode.netguard) (stable)
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* [Play store](https://play.google.com/apps/testing/eu.faircode.netguard) (beta)
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* [F-Droid](https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdfilter=netguard&fdid=eu.faircode.netguard) (unsupported, often outdated)
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<img src="screenshot1.png" width="320" height="569" />
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<img src="screenshot2.png" width="320" height="569" />
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Features
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--------
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* No root required
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* Simple to use
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* Free of charge
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* Open source
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* No extra battery usage
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* No bandwidth reduction
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* No calling home
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* No tracking or analytics
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* No ads
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* No internet permission required
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* IPv4/IPv6 TCP/UDP supported
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* Block system and user applications
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Most of these features are the result of sending selected traffic to a sinkhole, instead of filtering all internet traffic.
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This means that advanced features, like address based filtering (needed for ad blocking), traffic logging, and on-demand configuration, are not possible.
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Routing selected traffic into a sinkhole relies on an API introduced in Android 5.0 (Lollipop),
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therefore older Android versions unfortunately cannot be supported.
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Usage
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-----
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* Enable the firewall using the switch in the action bar
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* Allow/deny WiFi/mobile internet access using the icons along the right side of the application list
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Permissions
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-----------
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* ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE: to check if the device is connected to the internet through WiFi
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* RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED: to start the firewall when booting the device
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* com.android.vending.BILLING: to accept donations via in-app billing
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Compatibility
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-------------
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Devices / ROMs with a broken VPN implementation:
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* [Samsung Galaxy A5 / Android 5.02](https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/issues/20) (all traffic blocked)
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* Asus ZenFone 2 / Android 5.0.2/5.1.1, reported on XDA (all traffic blocked)
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NetGuard will crash when the package *com.android.vpndialogs* has been removed or otherwise is unavailable.
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Tethering will not work when NetGuard is enabled due to a bug in Android ([issue](https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/issues/42)).
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[Greenifying](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.oasisfeng.greenify) NetGuard will result in rules not being applied
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when connectivity changes from WiFi/mobile, passive/active, and roaming/not roaming.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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--------------------------------
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<a name="FAQ1"></a>
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**(1) Can NetGuard completely protect my privacy?**
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No - nothing can completely protect your privacy.
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NetGuard will do its best, but it is limited by the fact it must use the VPN service.
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This is the trade-off required to make a firewall which does not require root access.
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The firewall can only start when Android "allows" it to start,
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so it will not offer protection during early boot-up (although your network may not be loaded at that time).
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It will, however, be much better than nothing, especially if you are not rebooting often.
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If you want to protect yourself more, you can (at least in theory) disable WiFi and mobile data before rebooting,
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and only enable them on reboot, after the firewall service has started (and the small key icon is visible in the status bar).
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Thanks @[pulser](https://github.com/pulser/)
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<a name="FAQ2"></a>
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**(2) Can I use VPN applications while using NetGuard?**
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If the VPN application is using the [VPN service](http://developer.android.com/reference/android/net/VpnService.html),
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then no, because NetGuard needs to use this service. Android allows only one application at a time to use this service.
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<a name="FAQ3"></a>
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**(3) Can I use NetGuard on any Android version?**
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No, the minimum required Android version is 5.0 (Lollipop) because NetGuard uses the [addDisallowedApplication](http://developer.android.com/reference/android/net/VpnService.Builder.html#addDisallowedApplication(java.lang.String))
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method.
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<a name="FAQ4"></a>
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**(4) Will NetGuard use extra battery power?**
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No, unlike most of the similar closed source alternatives.
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<a name="FAQ5"></a>
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**(5) Can you add selective allowing/blocking applications/IP addresses?**
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Unfortunately, this is not possible without using significant battery power
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and adding complex code to do network translation from OSI layer 3 to layer 4
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(and thus implementing a TCP/IP stack), which will inevitably introduce bugs as well.
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This is how most (perhaps all) other no-root firewalls work.
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NetGuard is unique, because it doesn't implement a TCP/IP stack, and is therefore both highly efficient and simple.
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For more advanced use cases, rooting your device and using an iptables based firewall,
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like [AFWall+](https://github.com/ukanth/afwall), might be a better option and will not sacrifice any battery power.
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<a name="FAQ6"></a>
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**(6) Will NetGuard send my internet traffic to an external (VPN) server?**
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No. It cannot do this because NetGuard does not even have the *internet* permission.
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<a name="FAQ7"></a>
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**(7) Why are applications without internet permission shown?**
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Internet permission can be granted with each application update without user consent.
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By showing all applications, NetGuard allows you to block internet access *before* such an update occurs.
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<a name="FAQ8"></a>
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**(8) What do I need to enable for the Google Play Store to work?**
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You need 3 packages (applications) enabled (use search in NetGuard to find them quickly):
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* com.android.vending
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* com.google.android.gms
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* com.android.providers.downloads
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Since the Google Play Store has a tendency to check for updates or even download them all by itself (even if no account is associated),
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one can keep it in check by enabling "*Allow when device in use*" for all 3 of these packages.
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Click on the down arrow on the left side of an application name and check that option,
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but leave the network icons set to red (hence blocked).The little human icon will appear for those packages.
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By doing this, you can still open the Google Play Store and update/install/uninstall applications since it will have internet access,
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but once you close it, it will not use any bandwidth.
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<a name="FAQ9"></a>
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**(9) Why is the VPN service being restart?**
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The VPN service will be restarted when you turn the screen on or off and when connectivity changes (WiFi, mobile)
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to apply the rules with the conditions '*Allow when device is in use*' and '*Block when roaming*'.
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Support
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-------
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* Questions: please [use this XDA-Developers forum thread](http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3233012)
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* Feature requests and bugs: please [create an issue on GitHub](https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/issues/new)
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Please do not use GitHub for questions.
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Contributing
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------------
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Translations:
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* Translations to other languages are welcomed
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* Check if the language [is supported by Android](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7973023/what-is-the-list-of-supported-languages-locales-on-android) and find its locale
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* Copy [this file](https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/blob/master/app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml) to the [correct locale folder](https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/blob/master/app/src/main/res/)
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* Translate the strings in the copied file and omit all lines with **translatable="false"**
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* Create a [pull request on GitHub](https://help.github.com/articles/using-pull-requests) for the new/updated translation
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Current translations:
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1. Arabic (ar)
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1. Dutch (nl)
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1. Simplified Chinese (zh-rCN)
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1. English
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1. French (fr)
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1. German (de)
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1. Italian (it)
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1. Japanese (ja)
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1. Korean (ko)
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1. Polish (pl)
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1. Romanian (ro)
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1. Russian (ru)
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1. Slovak (sk)
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1. Spanish (es)
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Please note that you agree to the license below by contributing, including the copyright.
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Attribution
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-----------
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NetGuard uses:
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* [Picasso](http://square.github.io/picasso/)
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* [Android Support Library](https://developer.android.com/tools/support-library/index.html)
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License
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-------
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[GNU General Public License version 3](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt)
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Copyright (c) 2015 Marcel Bokhorst ([M66B](http://forum.xda-developers.com/member.php?u=2799345))
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All rights reserved
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This file is part of NetGuard.
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NetGuard is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
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it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
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the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
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(at your discretion) any later version.
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NetGuard is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
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but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
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MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
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GNU General Public License for more details.
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You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
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along with NetGuard. If not, see [http://www.gnu.org/licenses/](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/).
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