Internet traffic monitoring

hello im new here, is there any network monitoring app. if yes, which is good?

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There is Net Monitor, but it doesn’t work past Android 9.0 I believe.

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I have tried PCapDroid it is a good one, you can capture the packets and feed it to the wireshark to analyse . Hope this helps

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Netguard, you can see per app. You can use hosts blocklists etc.

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RethinkDNS

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NetGuard’s lead developer, Marcel, has stopped adding new features though. It unfortunately doesn’t look like NetGuard’s ever going to support (imo) an important VPN setting in Block connections without VPN (available on Android O+).

Granted a no-root firewall can only do so much (that is, handle just TCP/UDP/ICMP but not protocols like IPSec/ESP), though at least, it should do what it can to prevent leaks of any sort, which NetGuard does not (it may leak connections on every screen on/off cycle too according to its own FAQ).

As a developer of a similar FOSS app I may be biased, and I don’t mean to be dismissive at all. In fact, I personally know that building an app like NetGuard is super hard work, and Marcel did it before any of us even bothered. And now, we follow the path they trail-blazed for developers like us.

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There’s no more feature to be added :slight_smile:

“Block” is not supported yes, and given Marcels deep knowledge I tend to trust his judgement on that it’s complicated and/or broken.

The other local VPN firewall apps support this?

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I do not think it is broken at all and I’ve found it to do exactly what it says on-the-tin. I’ve taken a look at NetGuard’s source but I couldn’t figure out where the change is needed to make it work when Block connections without VPN is enabled.

There’s no more feature to be added :slight_smile:

Well, there is: NetGuard does not handle SOCKS5 over UDP, for instance. There’s even a pull-request but Marcel doesn’t think it is worth the maintenance. NetGuard leaks connections due to the frequent VPN restarts which could be avoided. I empathize with Marcel when they say they can’t be bothered anymore as I understand that they have been put through the wringer by other developers and users of their apps, despite creating many FOSS projects of value (also: Marcel’s support on XDA for NetGuard remains prompt and top-tier).

The other local VPN firewall apps support this?

RethinkDNS + Firewall does, which I co-develop.

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Can these, PCAPdroid or RethinkDNS, be used with Orbot (full VPN)? I thought not, but see “Anonymity with Tor and DNSCrypt” in RethinkDNS screenshot? If so, what are trade-offs of using Orbot only versus Orbot +…?

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RethinkDNS integrates nicely with Orbot (remember to enable Block all UDP traffic except DNS and NTP in the RethinkDNS app to not leak UDP connections when connected to Orbot though, since Orbot doesn’t do UDP because Tor doesn’t do UDP).

Set RethinkDNS’ DNS in proxy mode (defaults: ip 127.0.0.1 / port 5400) to forward DNS to Orbot (by default it only forwards TCP connections but not DNS/UDP).

Re: Trade-offs, I am not sure if chaining Orbot with RethinkDNS makes it weaker, but the Orbot developers themselves recommend RethinkDNS Orbot <=16.2.0-BETA-3 tor-<=0.4.2.7 VPN mode is not working on OnePlus2 using Android 10 distribution AOSP Extended (AEX) · Issue #328 · guardianproject/orbot · GitHub and use it too [guardian-dev] Combining Firewall , Secure DNS and Tor (in fact, it is because the guardian-project devs use it (or once used it), I prioritized publishing to f-droid back when I did RethinkDNS + Firewall for Android (#1552) · Issues · F-Droid / Requests For Packaging · GitLab).

Besides, if you find ways to improve RethinkDNS’ integration with Orbot, let me know. I am more than willing to put in the effort to make that happen.

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Oh, didn’t notice you join here, hence my generic answer :slight_smile:

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Well, let’s see if you now start recommending RethinkDNS+Firewall like Hans-Chirstoph and Nathan, now that I am tracking you… :wink:

Because of the “block” thing? Dunno…

Thank you for the information. Been trying to learn more about (internet) privacy and security.

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Not just that, but on merit.

If you’d use both firewalls, then you’d be able to arrive at a judgement yourself. Anyways, NetGuard isn’t all too shabby. It is pretty good at what it does. I recommend it to whoever cannot use RethinkDNS+Firewall for one reason or another.

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