My Thoughts on Eddie For Android

[kah0922 4]

1. Server blacklisting is nice.

I like this feature a lot since it allows me to blacklist servers that are far away from me, or are blacklisted by sites I visit.

 

2. The advanced features are cool

Eddie for Android has many of the features of the OpenVPN for Android app, such as custom commands and blacklisting apps.

 

3. The ability to see the server status in app is nice.

I would like to have the ability to sort by latency, but I understand that that's a bit sluggish to conduct.

 

4. The master password is annoying.

The master password is a rather pointless feature. If I wanted to relogin to the app every time I open it, I'd just rather use my AirVPN username and password. Plus it prevents the app from connecting on boot, which is something that I think every other VPN app allows.

 

5. VPN locking is incredibly user hostile.

VPN Lock makes Eddie For Android unusable at times. I have to constantly monitor my phone to make sure it hasn't tripped. When I can't do that, I always have to worry if my phone has lost internet again. Thing is, Android already has a VPN killswitch that you can enable by going into settings, enabling Always-On VPN, and then enabline Block Connections without VPN, which is much less user hostile as this allows the app try to reconnect to the network while blocking other apps (you have to disable this if you need to login to connect to public wifi), rather than give up and remove my phone's ability to use the internet. What's the point of a VPN that doesn't allow me to use the internet?

 

6. The ability to specify Quick connect settings is useful.

It would be nice if I could force only some of the quick connect settings and not all of them. For instance forcing IPv6 over IPv4 and TLS-Crypt settings but not UDP/TCP or port settings.

 

7, The notification would be more useful if it showed download and upload speed.

 

8. The ability to remember which key I use would be nice.

This was confirmed to be in the next update.

 

9. The status page is nice, but it could be more detailed like in the desktop app.

I would like to see the VPN Cipher and the VPN Control Cipher in the status page. But that's minor in the scheme of things.

 

10. The log is a bit hard to read.

Having lines separating the log lines, the ability to specify verbosity, the ability to clear the log, and the ability to clear the log on a new connection (all features of OpenVPN for Android) would make the log much easier to read for debugging purposes. As of right now, trying to find where things are is a bit difficult.

 

Overall I do like Eddie for Android, and think it's a better app than other VPN providers, but it's not quite up to par with OpenVPN for Android in terms of functionality, although it is better integration-wise. With a bit of tweaking, it could easily become my default VPN app. As of right now though, I'm stuck between Eddie for Android and OpenVPN for Android,

 

^{Please don't take any of this as a personal attack, these are just my thoughts.}

[Staff 9972]

Hello and thank you for your feedback and suggestions, they are very much appreciated.

 

We would like to explain why we can't meet all of your requirements. The remaining points are already implemented either in Eddie 2.0.1, Eddie 2.1 (next release), or will be implemented in the future. Good suggestions. thanks.

 

3. The ability to see the server status in app is nice.

I would like to have the ability to sort by latency, but I understand that that's a bit sluggish to conduct.

 

This is extremely hard to implement because you can't really rely on ICMP on mobile networks. A single ping may take hundreds of milliseconds, especially in 3G networks, but even in 4G networks, so you might need hundreds of seconds to compile for all the VPN servers the round trip times with just a couple of pings to each of them. This will drain battery as well remarkably. And for what? A couple of pings in a mobile network, due to its nature, are not relevant.

 

 

4. The master password is annoying.

The master password is a rather pointless feature. If I wanted to relogin to the app every time I open it, I'd just rather use my AirVPN username and password. Plus it prevents the app from connecting on boot, which is something that I think every other VPN app allows.

 

Here we have a different philosophy, since we consider the Master Password a basic security feature to protect your password and your certificates. You can anyway connect at device boot via a profile. Eddie 2.1 will be able to handle multiple profiles and even create profiles from the settings, no need for the Configuration Generator.

 

About automatic AirVPN login, it's already implemented, maybe you have missed this feature.

 

5. VPN locking is incredibly user hostile.

VPN Lock makes Eddie For Android unusable at times. I have to constantly monitor my phone to make sure it hasn't tripped. When I can't do that, I always have to worry if my phone has lost internet again.

 

We consider it as a very friendly feature, since it's the only effective way to prevent leaks, which in mobility can be frequent. Anyway this option can be disabled in Eddie 2.1, for those who don't care about traffic leaks outside the VPN tunnel, even permanent leaks, due to their low threat model for example.

 

 

Thing is, Android already has a VPN killswitch that you can enable by going into settings, enabling Always-On VPN, and then enabline Block Connections without VPN, which is much less user hostile as this allows the app try to reconnect to the network while blocking other apps (you have to disable this if you need to login to connect to public wifi), rather than give up and remove my phone's ability to use the internet. What's the point of a VPN that doesn't allow me to use the internet?

 

This feature, available in Android 7.1 or higher versions (while Eddie is targeted even to Android 5.1 or higher versions), might not prevent traffic leaks outside the VPN tunnel during a disconnection-reconnection loop. OpenVPN talks to Eddie, not to Android directly. Then Eddie tells Android that something went wrong. No matter how fast Eddie (or any other app) is to inform the VpnService class, traffic leaks are possible, according to our developers. Again, it depends on your threat model: if you can afford the hazard you will be able to disable VPN lock.

 

Thank you again and enjoy AirVPN!

 

Kind regards

[Col99 2]

Having just installed Eddie I now have to login at boot. Can you explain how I get Eddie to startup and connect automatically please?

I'm using a Samsung tablet. all latest updates etc.

[Staff 9972]

Having just installed Eddie I now have to login at boot. Can you explain how I get Eddie to startup and connect automatically please?

I'm using a Samsung tablet. all latest updates etc.

 

Hello!

 

Use a profile (that you can generate with our Configuration Generator) and make sure that in the "Settings" view the option "Restore last imported OpenVPN profile" is enabled. If you reboot or turn off the device when OpenVPN is still connected through an imported profile, then Eddie will restart and reconnect to that last profile at the next device boot.

 

Next Eddie version (whose first public beta release is expected on February the 15th) will let you handle multiple profiles at once and will let you generate profiles from settings (so you don't need to use the configuration generator in such cases).

 

Kind regards

[An1y0Tk9n3vB4G 0]

Hello,

 

   Speaking about the VPN locking in Eddie on Android: After not having used my phone for about 15 minutes, the VPN locks the internet, and there is no way to unlock it manually and it doesn't unlock itself automatically. The only way to make the internet work again is, if I disconnect the VPN and then reconnect it manually. The problem with that, is that as soon as I disconnect the VPN, the internet starts working and all the spy agencies can see my traffic! And then I reconnect the VPN pretending that nothing happened. How can the VPN get unlocked without leaking unencrypted traffic? Is it possible to tell Eddie not to lock the VPN, even when I'm not using my phone? I want my phone to keep its VPN connection all the time, just the way Eddie does on my windows computer. Is it not possible?

 

Thank You!

[Thaufawuf7 0]

My problem with Eddie for Android is that it currently can't handle the problem of OS killing or freezing background processes. Yes, it is Android's problem in the first place. Yes, it takes dedicated effort on part of the developer to fight back, and many, many apps are suffering from what isn't really their developers' fault. But the current reality is that Eddie will pause when in the background, which is not what the average VPN user expects.

[Staff 9972]

Hello,

 

   Speaking about the VPN locking in Eddie on Android: After not having used my phone for about 15 minutes, the VPN locks the internet, and there is no way to unlock it manually and it doesn't unlock itself automatically. The only way to make the internet work again is, if I disconnect the VPN and then reconnect it manually.

 

 

Hello!

 

Yes, this is expected. It's the purpose of VPN lock: preventing leaks outside the VPN tunnel, within the limits enforced by limited privileges.

 

The problem with that, is that as soon as I disconnect the VPN, the internet starts working and all the spy agencies can see my traffic!

 

 

You need to shut down apps before you start a new connection to prevent leaks. You can't prevent system apps traffic leaks, which would occur anyway in un-rooted devices.

 

And then I reconnect the VPN pretending that nothing happened. How can the VPN get unlocked without leaking unencrypted traffic?

 

By setting system packet filtering rules in the Linux packet filtering table. This is possible only in rooted devices, though. By default Android devices allow only unprivileged access and you're not the administrator of your device. You can't therefore use a firewall to modify the Linux packet filtering table, or access directly Linux parts without passing through the upper Android layers.

 

Is it possible to tell Eddie not to lock the VPN, even when I'm not using my phone?

 

Yes, this will be possible in the next Eddie version. By disabling VPN lock Eddie will behave just like "OpenVPN for Android" or "openvpn-connect" and many other OpenVPN based applications of our competitors, allowing free leaks at any time. Disable VPN lock only when you can afford traffic leaks outside the VPN tunnel by any app at any time.

 

 

I want my phone to keep its VPN connection all the time, just the way Eddie does on my windows computer. Is it not possible?

 

Unfortunately not, for the same reason explained above: Eddie Android and you are not in control of your system.

 

Kind regards

[Staff 9972]

My problem with Eddie for Android is that it currently can't handle the problem of OS killing or freezing background processes. Yes, it is Android's problem in the first place. Yes, it takes dedicated effort on part of the developer to fight back,

 

 

Hello!

 

Unfortunately no dedicated effort by Eddie devs can solve this "problem". Eddie runs with your own privileges in Android, so there's nothing you can do against what the system administrator (which is not you) of your device decides to do. Rooting the device would give you back root access to it, however Eddie is thought for un-rooted devices, since rooting an Android device and maintain it is a procedure which is quite difficult for the average user.

 

That said, the typical manufacturer which decided to freeze background apps (Samsung) provides you with the option to disable such a feature, so in this case the problem you mention can be solved in a few seconds.

 

Kind regards

[Thaufawuf7 0]

 

My problem with Eddie for Android is that it currently can't handle the problem of OS killing or freezing background processes. Yes, it is Android's problem in the first place. Yes, it takes dedicated effort on part of the developer to fight back,

 

Hello!

 

Unfortunately no dedicated effort by Eddie devs can solve this "problem". Eddie runs with your own privileges in Android, so there's nothing you can do against what the system administrator (which is not you) of your device decides to do. Rooting the device would give you back root access to it, however Eddie is thought for un-rooted devices, since rooting an Android device and maintain it is a procedure which is quite difficult for the average user.

 

That said, the typical manufacturer which decided to freeze background apps (Samsung) provides you with the option to disable such a feature, so in this case the problem you mention can be solved in a few seconds.

 

Kind regards

Much more than Samsung. I've seen this on a rooted device with different ROMs and all kinds of "the right settings". An Android problem.

[Staff 9972]

Much more than Samsung. I've seen this on a rooted device with different ROMs and all kinds of "the right settings". An Android problem.

Kind regards

 

Well, at least on rooted devices this is not a problem since you are free to change such a behavior.

 

Kind regards

[Thaufawuf7 0]

How would you do that as root, please?

[An1y0Tk9n3vB4G 0]

Thank you for the reply!

 

Is it, at least, possible for Eddie to unlock the VPN connection automatically, whenever I start using my phone again, or even put an "Unlock" button?

 

On my unrooted Samsung Galaxy S7, Eddie starts automatically and connects automatically after I start my phone. But, after I haven't used my phone for a while it locks the VPN connection. Then I have to disconnect and reconnect the VPN manually. This causes traffic leaks!

 

Can't you implement a feature which would prevent the VPN from disconnecting, and/or detect if the VPN is down and restart it automatically?

 

I searched for 6 hours how to prevent background apps from freezing on unrooted Samsung Android phone. I didn't find any solution.

 

The Freedome VPN app does everything automatically and never locks the VPN.

[Staff 9972]

On my unrooted Samsung Galaxy S7, Eddie starts automatically and connects automatically after I start my phone. But, after I haven't used my phone for a while it locks the VPN connection. Then I have to disconnect and reconnect the VPN manually. This causes traffic leaks!

 

Hello!

 

Eddie locks the traffic when a critical connection error occurs exactly to prevent traffic leaks outside the VPN tunnel. Before you unlock the communications, you can shut down applications etc. Each time you see a lock, Eddie has saved you from a traffic leak. Other applications don't lock the communications, instead they try to re-connect, so you have traffic leaks and you are not aware of them.

 

Can't you implement a feature which would prevent the VPN from disconnecting

 

Preventing line problems is of course physically impossible. However Eddie will prevent the tunnel destruction when the physical connection goes down, by locking the communications to the tunnel, and therefore will prevent traffic leaks in such cases.

 

The Freedome VPN app does everything automatically and never locks the VPN.

 

 

You have traffic leaks and you are happy because you are not aware of them.

 

Next Eddie version will feature the option to disable the lock feature. When the lock is disabled, Eddie will just try to re-connect asap, just like all the other apps do. In this way you can have traffic leaks and remain happily unaware of them, just like it happens with any other OpenVPN based application now. Disabling the lock feature will not be recommended, but we understand that it may be a useful option when you don't care about leaks.

 

I searched for 6 hours how to prevent background apps from freezing on unrooted Samsung Android phone. I didn't find any solution.

 

Just turn off the "App power monitor" feature or at least allow (in the settings) your OpenVPN based application to run in the background in any case. See here for more insights:

https://phandroid.com/2017/04/26/how-to-stop-galaxy-s8-from-sleeping-apps

 

Kind regards

[Col99 2]

Eddie requests my password every time, even after adding it to settings. this wasn't a problem without the Eddie gui.

[Staff 9972]

Eddie requests my password every time, even after adding it to settings. this wasn't a problem without the Eddie gui.

 

Hello!

 

Actually this is unexpected, unless you talk about the Master Password. Can you please make sure that "Remember AirVPN login" is enabled in the "Settings" view?

 

About the Master Password, it must be either required every time you start the app from scratch (and therefore the file with sensitive data must be decrypted) or never (if you only use profiles).

 

Feel free to clarify.

 

Kind regards