yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I have just released

beta

version 0.26.

It may take Google a few hours to make this release available in the Play store.

This version adds another mayor feature: wildcard support for address rules, both for app and global rules.

You could for example block device wide:

*.facebook.com
*.twitter.com

All known bugs and suggested features/improvements have been solved/implemented, except for showing if there are a global rules in the app details. Besides being difficult to process correctly (wildcards!), it would lead to UI lags.

If you encounter a bug or crash, please let me know about it, so it can be fixed.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Primokorn:
Where do you go to add domains with widcards? There's only a search button in the Global rules and no option in the new popup window for app rules.

EDIT:

ok so I get *.facebook.net from the domain name "connect.facebook.net" but I don't get it from "facebook.com". I think you can also add domain names with wildcards even for the top level domain.

We have no clue that *facebook.com is blocked on other domain names.

If I block *.facebook.com from www.facebook.com then (www).facebook.com is yellow but graph.facebook.com and facebook.com are still gray (default). I'm afraid that things are going to be confused after creating dozens of rules from different screens.

EDIT2

An option to manually enter new blocked domains (with wildcard) would be a great addition since I don't want to connect my device to FB before being able to block the domains.

I still have the scrolling bug when opening the app.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
You can only block/allow addresses which have been accessed once. I currently don't want to change this for both functional and technical reasons. Blocking sub domains is useful only if there are sub domains. See it as a kind of check. You can always switch to black list mode (for all apps or a single app) and allow only the necessary addresses, with or without wildcards. The global rules have a search, so you can search for 'facebook' to see quickly which rules there are for 'facebook'.

I see what you want and I won't forget it (like showing global rules in the app details), but I have to find a balance between several things, like performance, usability and maintainability. I am not saying I won't improve this later, maybe I will have an 'Eureka' moment like I had for the implementation of wildcard rules, but for now I am just glad it works properly and be honest, global rules is a really nice addition!
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Yes, you can, but you cannot enable both at the same time.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
There should be a button at the bottom of the app list next to the usage bar graph to arrange the subscription.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I am aware there is a bug in the app list, it will be fixed in the next release.

The button to get unlimited data will be available after you have connected once.

I am not sure what you mean by "direct internet access". VPN/Sentry needs to connect to a remote server in any case.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I have just released

beta

version 0.27.

It may take Google a few hours to make this release available in the Play store.

This is mainly a bug fix release.

[MENTION=5458305]user2k10[/MENTION] this version should fix the app list crash
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
If you can think of a way to add the dark theme without adding an option, I will consider to add it. What I won't add, is support for different themes (colors).

VPN/Sentry is designed to encrypt all traffic and to exclude only apps that need access to a local DNS server (see also this FAQ). Why do you want to exclude more than a few apps?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
It took some time to get everything right, but the server will now actively refuse blocked connections instead of ignoring connection requests. The difference is that the app knows right away that a connection failed instead of receiving a timeout much later. This will be most visible in the browser, which won't wait on blocked ad servers anymore.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Please see here: https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=74042180&postcount=82
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
If you want to use VPN/Sentry as it is, is completely up to you.

The price is for the servers (there will be more in time) and the development, which took me many, many hours.

There doesn't exist anything like VPN/Sentry, so it is difficult to compare prices.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
That is still an option.

Any other idea?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] dantheman78:
I started an effort to reverse engineer the server portion of the application here: https://github.com/dan-v/vpn-sentry-server. In its current state, it allows a modified VPN/Sentry app to successfully connect to your own personal server but hasn't implemented any of the data transfer logic. To make a fully working implementation with data transfer would require a lot more reverse engineering.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Why do you want to do this?

Reverse engineering the server portion will not be possible, since you don't have access to the server binary. You could try to reverse engineer the client/server protocol, but it is still changing every day. Even if you succeed with that, you still have to write the server code, which is the most complex part of VPN/Sentry. If you really want to do this and have the skills for it, you can better develop an alternative for VPN/Sentry.

Also, except for reverse engineering the client/server protocol, you are violating a copyright.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] dantheman78:
Reverse engineering the client/server protocol was mostly just out of curiosity, as I'd like to understand the security of the application behind the scenes. I now have a better understanding of why you wouldn't release a server for this as it appears to be quite complicated on the backend. In the future, I'll probably roll my own solution, just was hoping VPN/Sentry could work for me.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Curiosity is fine and no problem.

Please contact me first before starting your own solution. Maybe we can agree on cooperation.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Thanks.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I have just released

beta

version 0.28.

It may take Google a few hours to make this release available in the Play store.

This is mainly a bug fix release.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
That issue disappeared in v 0.27! My log now displays correctly.

I wonder whether you modified the code or if it fixed itself after a complete wipe and reinstall of my device that had become necessary for other reasons
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I did several changes and it seems at least one which fixed this annoying issue!
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
Just for a better understanding:

If all apps were defined to pass through VPN/S, which network traffic gets assigned to individual apps by android? Even for apps which are blocked completely like SwiftKey (see screenshot taken a couple of minutes after reset of counters)
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I am not sure and it might very well depend on the Android version.

If you have doubts about if traffic is routed through the VPN, you can use the real-time log feature to check.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
I will check at a later time by inspecting the traffic that passes my wlan router.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
I just stumbled across an app, that behaves differently under VPN/S and Netguard. It's setup identically, allowing wlan when display is on.

Under Netguard it starts correctly while receiving a connection-refused error under VPN/S.

Of course, I can exclude it from VPN/S, it works then, no biggie for me. Maybe there is a simple explanation for that.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I like to know what is going on.

Please check the real-time log if/why the connection is blocked/refused.

Also be aware of ad blocking, this works differently from NetGuard (see the FAQ).
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
I have checked when it happened and made a screenshot. It's just one address this App is trying to contact via T4 and T6, nothing there that should get blocked by any hostfile
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
The connections are blocked because there is a metered connection (mostly a mobile connection, maybe a paid Wi-Fi hotspot), which is consistent with the rules.

What might not be correct is that VPN/Sentry is assuming a mobile connection. What is strange is that there are two mobile data icons in the status bar.

Note that VPN/Sentry will switch connections only if Android reports that internet connectivity is verified on the new connection type. Android displays an exclamation mark in the Wi-Fi / mobile data icons when this is not yet the case.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
Both mobile connections (2 SIM) are disabled for data transfer, all traffic passes via my home wlan
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Still the mobile data icons are highlighted, so this might be wrong.

Please enable/disable flight mode, wait for the internet connection to restore and send me a logcat by tapping seven times on the title of the 'about' dialog and I will check the log.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
It's just 2 standard mobile connection icons in the screenshotrs - if data were allowed the icon of the data SIM would indicate with a small E,G,H,H+ or LTE attached to it

Log sent
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Primokorn:
Hey,

The real time log is very useful and it's definitively a good thing to enable it only when it's visible. The dual mode screen is very convenient in this situation.

I noticed that www.googletagmanager.com is disabled for WiFi connections but I don't understand why. I use Firefox Klar here:

1. No rule for this domaine in the app details. WiFi is allowed for Firefox Klar.

2. In the Global rules, this domain is not filtered.

Any idea?

On a side note, since you develop powerful apps, it may be a good idea to offer a quick tutorial when opening the app/some screens for the first time (example attached).

EDIT:

Looks like I gave the first stars of the thread :)
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
www.googletagmanager.com is blocked because it is in the hosts file (just checked).

Note that unlike in NetGuard, addresses in the hosts file are blocked per app, so you can see which app the host accessed and more important, you can make an exception for individual apps. I have been thinking to add a block/allow reason to the real-time log, like app rule, address rule, global rule and hosts rule, but I am unsure how to display that without sacrificing a lot of screen space. Ideas are welcome.

The help is meant as a mini tutorial, but I am open to suggestions to improve things.

Thanks for the stars, I am all in the stars today ;)
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Primokorn:
Oh yes I forgot the host file!

Yes I know how powerful VPN/Sentry is ;) I could allow googletagmanager but I don't want to lol

A block/allow menu from the real time log would indeed be a good idea. Is there a problem to get it from a floating popup window? The log is only dimmed when the dialog is opened.

The Help screen is very useful for newcomers but a quick tutorial (as shown in my screenshot) could be to highlight the toggle button to enable VPN/Sentry, the WiFi/Mobile data to allow/block connection... Such a tutorial is eye-catching and attractive for beginners.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I have just released

beta

version 0.29.

It might take the Google servers a few hours to make this release available everywhere.

This release fixes with certainty one bug in native code which I have been look for the past days and likely one other bug which made the app list crash sometimes.

Given what I have found in the Google developer console there might be another bug in native code, so please if you have a crash send me a logcat.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] DEVILOPS 007:
Just wondering but in terms of being anonymous and not the firewall area, how does this compare with free and paid bond like ones found in the CDs depot such as pure VPN? I currently have a lifetime plan on Disconnect VPN and would like to know how it differs from this. Thanks a lot!
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I guess you will find the answer to your question here, but let me know if this isn't the case: https://www.vpnsentry.net/privacy/
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] DEVILOPS 007:
I'm more wondering how this compares in terms of speed like download speed and how good the encryption is compared to these big paid services. Is there a reason that this should be used over a paid service and does it work as well as paid ones even though it is free? What limitations if any are there when connecting the service. Thanks!
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Encryption is done using openssl, which is the de facto industry standard, so it is comparable to that of regular VPN providers. Relevant FAQ: https://www.vpnsentry.net/faq/#FAQ2

Tests indicate that the raw speed is equal to or better than that of openVPN. However, bandwidth is shared, which is usual in the VPN business, so your speed may vary. Dedicated bandwidth is expensive and can't be offered for a few euros. VPN/Sentry is in beta testing phase, so there is currently just one server in France, which might result in latency if you are on another continent than Europe. Mostly this is not a problem, except maybe if you want to play a multiplayer game for example. More servers will be added as VPN/Sentry grows.

The limitations are documented in the terms of service and basically boil down that illegal things are not allowed.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Rekesz:
Hi Marcel,

I wish you good luck with this app, I loved xprivacy. Unfortunately, I am not using Google Play Services, so I cannot get unlimited bandwidth with VPN/S. I don't know much about the paid apps scene, may I ask what the reason is why you only offer unlimited bandwidth through the Play Store?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
There are two reasons: if you sell in the Play store, Google forbids you to sell outside of the Play store and secondly I don't want to handle purchases myself. Another thing is that the vast majority of users will be Play store users, at least that is my experience with NetGuard.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Rekesz:
Wow, didn't know Google even restricts selling outside the Play store...

Thanks for getting back to me, that is completely understandable. I wish you the best of luck!
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] yadida08:
Hi

Do you like Netguard include the "lock traffic" function?

Afterwards, do you think that VPN S is translated into different languages?

thank you for your work
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
VPN/Sentry supports, unlike NetGuard, profiles, so you can create your own custom "lock" profile and select it when you need it.

As soon as VPN/Sentry is stable and production ready I will make it possible to translate the texts.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] yadida08:
1 / I had some doubts about the answer to creating several profiles. I found this well on Netguard because in a second I locked everything for the night. So I'm going to create a Night Profile ... I want no data to come in and out. Should I just check everything?

2 / I met three times the same bug:

One of which wanted to create the second profile "VPN / S stopped working" I was forced to close and start again a second time before I could create this new profile.

Then another "VPN / S stopped working" by switching from one profile to another ...

Can there be a conflict with another application such as AFWall +?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Tap on the Wi-Fi or mobile data icon and you can set the profile to block everything by default. It can't be simpler.

I have fixed several bugs in a version which I will release today.

Please let me know if you still have these problems with the new version when released.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] yadida08:
I will wait and you will make a return to this subject without problem ... Thank you :good:
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I have just released

beta

version 0.30

It may take Google's servers a few hours to make this release available everywhere.

Hopefully are crashes are fixed now. [MENTION=7340930]yadida08[/MENTION] can you please confirm this?

The real-time log shows which rule type was applied now. You can find the meaning of the two letter abbreviations in the help. If somebody has a better idea about how to visualize the rule type, please let me know.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] yadida08:
I installed the update v0.30.

I went several times in VPN by selecting several times different profiles without bugs ... I even set a third without hindrance.

The bug seems resolved ... Thanks

A suggestion: It is a shame to find that it is not possible to update VPN / S without going through the playstore and not being able to do it directly from the application. is that what you want?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Thanks for reporting back! I am glad the bug has been fixed.

Somebody else asked about the Play store today too, so please read a few comments back to learn why I am using the Play store for publishing and purchases.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] yadida08:
I've read all the post about VPN / S and I understand why you put at our disposal an unlimited version (for your working time and the use of server expensive) as well as why we have to download it from the playstore (because you do not want to handle this and because of some restrictions on the part of google). That's right ?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I think you did your homework properly ;)
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] yadida08:
;)

I found the bug again and noticed that if I scroll my applications into VPN / S just after opening then I have the message "VPN / S stopped working" when I do not meet the problem if I wait a few seconds before scrolling my applications. What do you think ?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Please reproduce the problem and send me as soon as possible a log file by tapping seven times on the title of the 'about' dialog. If you know how to capture a logcat using adb from your PC better send that, because there is more chance I will find what I need.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] yadida08:
Bug Report:

1 / logcast.txt is just before the error message that VPN has frozen

2 / logcast1.txt the application has frozen and then closed with the message and I recovered just at the opening of VPN after the bug.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Your device is out of memory, maybe this is not the fault of your device.

Can you please contact me through this contact form for a test version?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] yadida08:
OK the mail is sent for the test version...thanks
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Loader009:
Could you please add a FAQ article which states what kind of VPN this is and how you do (or will do) finance your servers?

I know, one server is not a big job but if the userbase grows, I would rather like to pay than to "guess" if the metadata (like dns-requests per app and/or per user etc.) is being sold.

Also (and that's why I still haven't tried this app) is the app limited to your server?

The latter is rather important for me because I probably will get some subscription plan of another VPN-service in the near future.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
VPN/Sentry is not compatible with any other VPN server, since no other VPN server offers a firewall. Both the VPN/Sentry app and server software were developed from scratch and not based on anything else then openssl.

The subscription is used to pay for the servers and for the development.

If these FAQs:

https://www.vpnsentry.net/faq/#FAQ2

https://www.vpnsentry.net/faq/#FAQ3

And this privacy policy:

https://www.vpnsentry.net/privacy/

Relevant for your question: "Data will never be shared with third parties, unless required by law"

do not answer your other questions, please let me know and I will try to clarify things.

Edit: I have added this new FAQ as a result of your questions:

https://www.vpnsentry.net/faq/#FAQ22
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I have just made a little change in the order the server applies rules. I guess this won't affect anybody, but if something does not work anymore as expected, you might find this new FAQ about how rules are applied useful: https://www.vpnsentry.net/faq/#FAQ23
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Primokorn:
From the FAQ:

I disagree. I check all new connections and I have many notifications since day one.

You were looking for suggestions to add a dark black theme without adding option. Maybe a setup wizard to select specific options that are not available in the settings. Either you like dark/black theme or you stay with light UI. You don't change this every day.

Moreover I confirm that icons would be better instead of 2 letters in the log.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I will consider adding a dark theme after there are more than a few VPN/Sentry users.

I agree, but I have difficulties choosing icons that are clear and understandable.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I have just released

beta

version 0.31

It may take Google's servers a few hours to make this release available everywhere.

This is mainly a bug fix release.

[MENTION=4958579]Primokorn[/MENTION] searching the global rules works again

[MENTION=7340930]yadida08[/MENTION] this is your "b" version with additional improvements and fixes

The way the app icons are loaded has been changed to use less memory to prevent out of memory crashes. This will likely result in a smoother app list scroll as well. Feedback about this is appreciated.

There was not a single crash report of version 0.30 in the Play store developer console, so it looks like all crash bugs are fixed now.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Primokorn:
The main screen is indeed smoother :good: and Global rules are back.

Ideas for the icons in the RT log (I don't have enough time to find/create consistent icons):

• system

• Global

• Profile

• App

• Address or Address

• Wildcard Global

• Wildcard App

• Host file

If I understood correctly the attached explanation is no longer applied since App rules take precedence over Global rules now.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
The most important is that we now can see why an address was blocked are allowed, so I will wait until you have time to create a consistent icon set, okay?

I will remove the text above the global rules to prevent confusion.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Primokorn:
That's right.

Do you confirm you are OK with the above ideas? If so I'll send you the icon set ASAP.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I have no better ideas, so I am okay with your ideas.

There is no need to hurry with the icons, though.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] yadida08:
Hi

bug on version b) please find the log in your mailbox by cons I have not yet made the update to v0.31 version then what is it going to fix this bug?