yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Loader009:
Remember that there are authorities which demand to have the right to get any logs but they aren't. To protect the users you need a lawyer who is able to do that and someone needs to pay those.

Or let's say I do something completely legal in my country but kind of illegal (or gray area) in another country. That country may demand for logs but is it correct to give logs and compromise the users privacy?

Better not to have any logs and this must be done in a professional way to protect the users. Otherwise there is no real sense in a VPN except for that marketing sh*t which is kind of everywhere.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] sulasno:
Dudes, all relax

Since this app is going to retire soon, enjoy it while you can
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Droidphilev:
Heh, if i was able to download...
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] yadida08:
:good:

[MENTION=2799345]M66B[/MENTION]

If you want concrete answers why not put them to the competent authorities by mail?

Still, if you decide to stop, I would respect your choice whatever it is but do not sell your project, keep it under the elbow for the day or you will have all the answers to your questions. It would be a shame if it falls into the hands of unscrupulous people.

Please note that I was delighted to be one of your beta-testers and that if the opportunity arises again, I would be delighted again to be part of your Beta testers.

No one should blame your decision but just emphasize a remarkable job on your part. :good:
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] yadida08:
Would I feel a hint of sarcasm?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Please be nice to each other.

For the ones who need it, you can download the latest version through this link:

https://www.vpnsentry.net/VPNSentry-v0.51-release.apk
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] yadida08:
thank you and no problem on my side. :)
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
"Yes"
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Linuxephus™:
L[aughing]M[y]A[rse]O[ff]!

Keep up the good work with your other projects mate. :p
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Primokorn:
Many comments in 2 days and a new word in the title...

I would have preferred to not discover VPN/Sentry instead of seeing it dying a few weeks later.

Of course I respect your decision. It was indeed too good to be true. Thanks for trying and for sharing this awesome tool!

(If planned) Please consider selling VPN/Sentry to ProtonVPN instead of VPN providers in the Five Eyes such as PIA...
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Thanks for your understanding.

I appreciate the suggestion for a VPN provider as well. Let me hear if there are more suggestions.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] IronRoo:
Well I'd like to thank you both, Linuxephus for a great effort on the legal advice, it's great to see someone contributing to the community.

And of course Marcel for his great app, I hope you do manage to sell it & get some financial reward for a great idea & all your hard work.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Droidphilev:
Any opnion from you on ProtonVPN? I'm using the free version now. I did some reading and it doesn't seem to be that bad.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I have no opinion.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Linuxephus™:
And I in turn would be remiss in my manners we're I to fail in thanking you for the acknowledgement in those same regards good sir.

Regarding the outcome of [MENTION=2799345]M66B[/MENTION]'s hard work with this particular project... No worries considering I for one at least am certainly waiting to see what new project is started that the rest of us will be awaiting the use of. I still use Netguard on my own mobile alongside other software that has it's bearing from within the Community.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I am closing this thread, since VPN/Sentry has been discontinued.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
As announced more than a week ago, I have just changed the security certificate.

VPN/Sentry will be available until the server expires, but you'll need at least app version 0.43 to connect to the server now.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I have opened this thread again, because else people will, understandably, use other ways to contact me about VPN/Sentry.

As suggested by some, I have sent ProtonVPN this morning a message. I am curious about what they are going to answer.

While using VPN/Sentry myself, I found a few minor bugs, which are addressed in

beta

version 0.52, available as a direct download from here.

Edit: hidden convenience feature: long click on an app icon or app name to launch it.

I am still hoping to continue this project in some way.

Edit: like NetGuard, I have raised the required Android version to 5.1 Lollipop.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Droidphilev:
Oh? Well it would be nice indeed. I will install it back later on. You offered them to buy this project from you, right? I'm using their free service right now. It works ok for me.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Phylon2012:
VPN provider suggestions

Hi Marcel,

last year I invested a lot of time and research in finding a VPN provider, applying many selection criteria like

- not located in 5eyes country

- decent price and expertise

- DNS protection

- enough servers in a variety of countries

- and more...

I went through many lists many times (more than 100 providers). Interestingly, for me it all boiled down to only two providers (time and time again):

Mullvad and​

AirVPN​

I hope this is of some value for you.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Thanks.

I have nothing heard of ProtonVPN yet, so I might send those two providers a message as well.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Primokorn:
Last week using VPN/Sentry.

Do you have some (good) news to share Marcel? No answer from ProtonVPN or another provider?

Can't believe I'll have to stop using this tool...
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I didn't hear anything from ProtonVPN back and I haven't contacted the other providers yet.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Droidphilev:
After reading Phylon2012's post i'm using Mullvad now. In case you contact them: it's a very nice service that they have. Maybe there's a future for VPN Sentry there?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
As far as I can see, the last version mentioned here was 0.52.

Since then I still received some updates via playstore, so the latest version seems to be 0.59

Can you tell us the changes that were implemented?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Just minor bug fixes and a change that was reverted, because it resulted in an instable VPN connection. Edit: no new features.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Linuxephus™:
[MENTION=2799345]M66B[/MENTION]: What financial compensation are you seeking for the "sale" of VPN/Sentry? I'm prepared to take "ownership" of the software financially provided you continue development of the software for the Community at large, as well as yourself remaining in sole authority of the software's development and maintenance with Zero interference from any given entity... Myself included.

Footnote: Legality remains applicable.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I have no idea what VPN/Sentry would be worth, since this would mostly depend on the number of subscriptions. The costs of VPN/Sentry are my hours, the fee for hiring servers and the fee for payments (Google takes 30%).

What I would like most is to continue with VPN/Sentry on my own risk, but without the risk resulting from the misusage of others. I don't mind spending "some" hours for nothing, but I do mind to be held responsible for the actions of others.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] OSheden:
Going to back to my previous firewall is a real deception after using VPN/S. Connections are blocked for unknown reasons, less control,...

> What I would like most is to continue with VPN/Sentry on my own risk

Does it mean that you are still looking for solutions to continue the development? <3
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Yes, but unfortunately I don't see a solution yet.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Reminder: the VPN/Sentry server will expire in three days on Sunday, November 19.

This means you won't have connectivity anymore if you keep VPN/Sentry enabled.

Edit: to make sure all data on the server stays private, I will completely wipe the server next Saturday. This means the server will be available one day less.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I have decided to not pursue selling VPN/Sentry anymore and to just keep it for personal use and nothing more. I will not open source it either because I don't want to handle the inevitable questions about it. So, after erasing the server tomorrow this is the end of the public part of this project.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] OSheden:
Why? Did you receive a negative answer from ProtonVPN?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I didn't receive any answer of ProtonVPN.

I just think it isn't worth the trouble.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Droidphilev:
That's a shame. Hopefully you consider contacting Mullvad or Airvpn in the future. It's an amazing product that you have created.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Linuxephus™:
Like an ocean tossed wave where the wind carries it hither and thither, never knowing in and of itself wherefore it shall go. Yet you are not an ocean wave being tossed here and there in mindless fashion.

Are you?

Of course not.

Meanwhile, in related news: I need numbers in the financial format to know what it is I am working with.

It doesn't get anymore simple than that.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
The VPN/Sentry server has been erased now.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Since the VPN/Sentry app and server are not available anymore and I won't continue this project publicly anymore, I am closing this thread.

Please do not use other threads to write about VPN/Sentry.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Thanks for the suggestion, but there would be more than a few people having trouble with this.

Some people simply don't believe the app works properly until they have seen incoming messages blocked.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I have just released

beta

version 0.24.

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

This is mainly a bug fix release.

[MENTION=4980140]Gerolianis[/MENTION] could you please check if the log shows up correctly now?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Primokorn:
Hey Marcel,

Glad to see a dedicated thread for VPN/Sentry. I finally had some time to test the newest versions so here is below my new remarks.

Sorry if I already submitted these topics.

1. VPN/Sentry is closed after updating the app. Risk of data leak. Hopefully it can be solved thanks to Oreo new features. Still a problem for Android 7 and lower users.

2. What about showing the domain names in the notification panel?

3. I'm 100% Google-free now. Google Play was the last remaining Google app on my device and I replaced it by Yalp Store. Do you have an alternative to buy a plan for unlimited data? Pressing the button at the bottom of the main screen does nothing.

4. Speaking of the main screen, scrolling has more lags than the releases I tested a few weeks ago.

5. Having a screen to list all connections is still a good idea IMO. Notfications only appear while a new IP address is identified but I don't always have time to modify the rules so having an history of all connections or notifications for new AND known connections would be appreciated.

6. In your FAQ, you say that a desktop client could be created depending on the number of users. However I don't need a full desktop client on GNU/Linux. Network Manager is enough.

7. AFAIR apps were sorted by state (allowed/blocked) then by alphabetic order. Why did you change it?

8. Global rules is an awesome new feature :good:

9. The "Buy unlimited data" is not sexy at all. If you want to keep it at the bottom of the main screen then we should add other things such as the quantity of consumed data / total of allowed data.

A new line in the 3 dots menu is also a possibility to go to a beautiful dedicated screen: graph to show the allowed/total data, average speed rate, total of denied/allowed domains/IPs,... some analytics :)
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
1. Setting VPN/Sentry as Always-On VPN is a solution

2. VPN/Sentry will not have any bells and whistles. One simple tap will display all domain names.

3. VPN/Sentry will be available through the Play store only.

4. On my device this is the other way around.

5. You can always see the addresses accessed by opening the app details.

6. The answer to the question stay the same because developing a client takes a lot of time.

7. Please read a little bit back in this thread for the answer.

8. Yes, they are!

9. Securing traffic and allowing/blocking connections will be the only feature.

Sorry if I am brief, I am writing on a mobile device.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
I did check, unfortunately still no addresses showing (as before)

Tried:

a) deleted app's data (should have similar effect as reinstall)

a) complete uninstall, new install (other effects showed there, to be reported later)

b) wiped dalvik & cache

c) factory reset and new install

I have no more idea what to try - should I provide a logcat?

Well, I sent one anyway, created after reboot, opening VPN/S, moving to log display and waiting for first entry to show up.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Primokorn:
Too bad. Thanks for your answers though.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I have no idea why the texts in this particular view don't show for you :(

Do you have some theming engine installed?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
No it's all standard AICP with Nova Launcher as standard.

Even after factory reset nothing changed.

I'll try later on my wife's phone, she has same hardware and same ROM (without xPrivacy installed however)
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
When doing a complete new install, no icons for main profile are shown and profile can't be opened for modification. See screenshot.

The icons will eventually show up later, e. g. after returning from log screen.

This happened running as well AICP 11 (6.0.1) as madOS 7.1.2 (both published on xda)
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I cannot reproduce this either.

What is it with your device(s) ? ;)

Does anybody else have similar problems?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
After new install of VPN/S, I could not select the json file to restore setting, I created a few hours before, see screenshot.

I effectively restored data with TB.

Sorry being such a pita ;)
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Don't worry, all feedback is appreciated.

The Android file selector is confusing, because it shows recent files only by default. Try to use the 'hamburger' menu to select internal storage.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Primokorn:
Here is the main screen right after accepting the ToS and privacy policy.

No issue here.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
the vpnsentry_backup_yyymmdd.json files in internal storage/Download are displayed in light grey and not selectable :(
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Primokorn:
Same issue with the stock file manager.

I was able to use the json file with a 3rd FM though (MiXplorer).
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
Regarding log displsy lacking text

I tried and same result there: no text in log display
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Ad blocking is working in my development version. After finishing some things I will release a version with this tomorrow.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
When not connected to internet (e. g. wifi on, but no wlan available and mobile data turned off) I get message "getadrinfo: no address associated with hostname".

This is technically correct, but misleading for users.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I am aware of this and this will eventually be improved.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Primokorn:
I've just reached the limit of 100Mb and I'm surprised that VPN/Sentry is automatically disabled.

To prevent data leak I think it would be better to block all traffic and display a notification to inform the user (or at least push a new notification to say that VPN/Sentry is now disabled).

About your previous answers:

1/ Always-on VPN feature does not prevent data from being sent when VPN/Sentry is disabled.

9/ Actually I was not requesting a feature. The "Buy unlimited data" is at the same place than ads and doesn't look nice IMO. Something to improve before a public release I think.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] dantheman78:
+1. I'm a long time user of Netguard and would love to migrate over to this project if you would open sourced the server portion. Even if you shoved the server code into a repo and told people you weren't providing any help/support for it. Heck, I'd still even pay a monthly fee if that is what you were after. As a developer working on applications that deal with privacy, you can probably understand the hesitation of sending your data off to a server you are not in control of.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Indeed blocking all traffic is better when reaching the limit, so I will change that.

The Always-On VPN option indeed doesn't prevent data from being sent when VPN/Sentry is disabled :(

And enabling the new Android Oreo option to block connections without VPN cannot be used, see this FAQ about why:

https://www.vpnsentry.net/faq/#FAQ20

The next version will show a nice progress bar with a percentage next to the purchase button.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I am sorry, but I am not going to open source this project, please see this FAQ about why:

https://www.vpnsentry.net/faq/#FAQ8

In my experience people will ask for support anyway, even when explicitly said not to do so.

Edit: I am assuming you have read this as well:

https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=73947670&postcount=12
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
I have just released

beta

version 0.25.

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

The main change is that ad blocking has been added. Ad blocking can be enabled by tapping on the top Wi-Fi or mobile data icon to edit the current profile and by enabling the setting 'Apply hosts file'. The hosts file will be automatically refreshed daily by the server.

Edit: please report any problem you encounter, so it can be fixed.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] sulasno:
It's live

Get it from the beta tag
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Primokorn:
I'm sure you were also prepared to the following question :) : what are the sources that populate the hosts file?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
The same one NetGuard uses: https://github.com/StevenBlack
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Primokorn:
Ad blocking is not detected by NetGuard test: https://ncloud.zaclys.com/index.php/s/RwQSMhAdCF5TLwJ

EDIT: seems normal since I have the same result in my AdAway sources.

I'm redirected to the bottom of my apps when opening the app: https://ncloud.zaclys.com/index.php/s/gog2XNSpZQngW5H

I guess this arrow is useless, isn't it?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
You cannot use the NetGuard ad blocking test as you already discovered. Since ad blocking just needs to be enabled such a test is not really needed.

I am not sure why the app is scrolled down. Can you please reproduce the problem and send me a logcat directly after it?

The up arrow can be used as a collapse all. Edit: is this confusing? Is adding a scroll to top a good idea?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] :
Android 4.4 support

Request for Android 4.4 support
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Please see this FAQ: https://www.vpnsentry.net/faq/#FAQ1
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] sulasno:
Would this app block ads from installed applications?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
That issue

has been solved successfully in 0.25. Good :good:

new observations:

- when restoring settings, VPN/S deactivates and any traffic while restoring and thereafter passes unfiltered and unencrypted. Preferably the VPN should remain active, not passing on any requests while VPN/S reconfigures itself.

- after a fresh install or data wipe, regardless whether you import previous settings or not - your daily quota will be reset to 0/100 MB. Will a fresh reinstall always require a new key to link to the user's account at faircode, similar as in Netguard?
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Primokorn:
Yes I can reproduce. Here is the log: https://osine.cozycloud.cc/public/f...942a64f5d8/attach/Log_2017-10-05_15-33-36.txt

That's what I thought for the arrow but pressing the icon does nothing on my device. A scroll to top is not necessary for my needs. I don't have enough apps (even with system ones) to justify this addition.

EDIT [MENTION=2799345]M66B[/MENTION]

What about having an indicator in the app details when a domain name is blocked/allowed through the Global rules? While I love these features :) it could be confusing after several months and creations of many global/per app rules.

Yes. The ad blocking feature will the hosts file to block ads everywhere (except where a hosts file doesn't help e.g Youtube ads).
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
The usage of host file is defined per profile, however this setting doesn't yet make it into the export file and would not be restored on import
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Yes, and most in-app ads can be blocked by blocking addresses like this for Google Play services:

googleads.g.doubleclick.net
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
You can always enable flight mode if this is a problem, but I will see what I can do.

Your usage for the current day should be restored, but I will check if this happens.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
Unfortunately the logcat doesn't reveal the cause of the scroll, but I am sure we will figure it out eventually.

I will see if it is feasible to indicate global rules in the app address rules. I will attempt to implement wildcard rules first though.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
It is present in my export:

"profiles": [
{
"name": "main",
"description": "Thuis",
"metered_blocked": true,
"unmetered_blocked": false,
"metered_interactive_allowed": false,
"unmetered_interactive_allowed": false,
"roaming_blocked": true,
[B]"hosts": true[/B]
},
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] Gerolianis:
the last entry isn't present here (latest v 0.25) , I'll check again with next release.

Hold on, it's present in main profile, not in any others...
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
It will only be exported when the check box is set, not when the check box is cleared.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] M66B:
There is a bug in the import: the existing rules are not properly cleared. This will be fixed in the next release.
[Paid Software Announcement and Discussion] yadida08:
hi

I installed vpn / sentry today and reading the FAQ, I figured out why you did not want to give the code to me and fully agree with this decision.

This will avoid versions containing malware or others.