Turning A Flashed to Verizon Android Phone Into A VPN Server

[nate]

Slower... Yes, this is fact... But now Verizon can suck my D*CK... I have a family member in another state this server's going to with a Verizon Tower practically in their back yard. If I need it, I'll never run out of cellular IP's to do what ever I need to do with.

If anything stealth related, it'll only be to get past the 90 day mark.

I have two LG Zone 2's and a JetPack 4620L. @ $5 a month this LG I just turned into a VPN server was only collecting dust on my desk.

[nate]

This method to toggle data on and off remotely with Tasker & Notify My Android works perfect on this flashed to Verizon CDMA phone that I just turned into a VPN Server.

It's easy to follow. The only thing is there is no save button in Tasker like stated in these directions. You have to hit the back arrow in the upper left corner of Tasker screen, that's what saves the info.

The link with the API key, you save to your computer. You copy and paste it in the address bar of your browser and open the link. That's what sends the cmd to toggle data on and off. You can book mark the link hitting it when you want to change ip address.

This works fast... Way faster than toggling airplane mode on and off. It drops connection and picks it back up in about 1-2 seconds.

I'm copying and pasting this info from MultiLoginApp's Blog page.

Controlling IP releases remotely

If you plan to access the mobile connection remotely, you should learn how to control the IP releases without having a direct access to the phone. Below we explain how you can “tell” your phone to get a new IP address by simply opening a link in a browser.

First of all, to set everything up you need two Android applications:

Tasker – paid app, which costs €2.99 at the time of writing
Notify My Android – you will need the premium version, which costs $4.99 at the time of writing
To set everything up, just follow the instructions bellow:

Install Tasker and Notify My Android apps on your mobile phone with 3G/4G internet connection
Create a Notify My Android Account with API link
Go to http://www.notifymyandroid.com
Register an account
Upgrade to premium
Generate a new API key here
Copy the API key, it should be something like this
75670exs4fed1f042347c62df321afss2525f99f5123377e
Insert your new API key in this formatted link
-https://www.notifymyandroid.com/publicapi/notify?apikey=[INSERT_API_KEY_HERE]&application=android&event=restart&description=res tart
You should have something like this (this your API link):
-https://www.notifymyandroid.com/publicapi/notify?apikey=75670exs4fed1f042347c62df321afss2525 f99f5123377e&application=android&event=restart&des cription=restart
Go to Notify My Android app and log in to your account
Setup your Tasker profile
Go to the Tasker app
Click add profile (The plus icon on the bottom)
Choose “Event” -> 3rd Party -> Notify My Android
Write the following strings in the fields
App: android
Event: restart
Description: restart
Save
Click “New Task” -> add a name for the task “Data Restart” -> Save
Click “Add Task” (The plus icon on the bottom) -> Click “Net” -> Mobile Data -> In “Set” field chose Toggle -> Save
Add the same task one more time: Click “Add Task” (The plus icon on the bottom) -> Click “Net” -> Mobile Data -> In “Set” field chose Toggle -> Save
Let the Tasker App run on background
And you are ready! Now, whenever you open your API link in a browser, the app will notify Tasker to restart your mobile internet connection. A new IP address will be assigned to your phone then. You can be thousand miles away from your phone, however, if you access that link – your mobile internet connection will always restart.
Troubleshooting and tips

Use higher performing Android devices for better execution. Sometimes apps may crash on older phones.
With some Android phones you will not be able to get a new IP address by simply restarting the data settings. However, switching airplane mode on and off also gets you a new IP every time. This method seems to be more consistent across different devices. You can automate this task with Tasker as well. Just follow these instructions when setting up a task for your profile:
Click “New Task” -> add a name for the task “Data Restart” -> Save
Click “Add Task” (The plus icon on the bottom) -> Click “Net” -> Airplane mode -> In “Set” field chose Toggle -> Save
Add the same task one more time: Click “Add Task” (The plus icon on the bottom) -> Click “Net” -> Airplane mode -> In “Set” field chose Toggle -> Save

Here is a link to the original source:
https://multiloginapp.com/how-to-hid...omplete-guide/

[phaz0rz]

Dude, that's awesome. So cool to watch you work through it. Going to set this up ASAP.

nate = networking god.

[AK81]

Again Nate, fantastic thread. I had never thought of taking advantage of a dongle like that, its actually quite clever. Some people dont realise how important a Residential IP can be when introduced into stealth setups.

Granted its not necessarily essential but its about doing/learning/experimenting/bettering yourself. You remind me a lot of myself to be honest Nate, keep up with your work arounds, experiments and projects you will learn a lot (although you do have a fairly high level of competence already).

[nate]

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

Dude, that's awesome. So cool to watch you work through it. Going to set this up ASAP.

There isnt anything as fulfilling as solving these puzzles. Watching all the scripts run when you use the right commands, or figure out what is missing that isn't allowing them to run.

It's actually not all that difficult because there are no IP routes involved. The hard part is getting Linux to act right on the phone. It likes to skip packages on install for what ever reason. I installed Linux over WiFi so the internet connection wasn't the problem there.

The issue I'm having now is for some reason SoftEther isnt starting on start up. I get Linux to auto start with a 30 second delay once the phone is turned on.

All the other apps (tasker & notify my android) start in the background no problem.

And you can't ssh into the phone through the cellular connection to start it in the cmd line. Only way to ssh into it is through LAN so far.

It still needs work.

A few weeks ago SoftEther Client for Linxu beat me. I couldnt get the IP routes right for anything. It would show connected in vpncmd. But when I'd check my ip address on whoer.net, my pc wasn't using the VPN. The connection was getting lost somewhere after the virtual network adapter. I tried every ip route set up I could find online for my application and I still couldn't get it to work. I finely just gave up. Connecting with L2TP/ipsec was way easier to figure out on Linux.

[yankee]

This thread is very interesting. I do not understand any of this(nor do I desire to) and I am having a hard time seeing the value but I appreciate the dedication and passion you are putting into this Nate!

[nate]

Originally Posted by yankee

This thread is very interesting. I do not understand any of this(nor do I desire to) and I am having a hard time seeing the value but I appreciate the dedication and passion you are putting into this Nate!

Consider it similar to playing with a Rubiks Cube, but actually has some function.

[MM78]

And Nate can thank me for the inspiration!

[nate]

Originally Posted by MM78

And Nate can thank me for the inspiration!

This is true... A year ago I had no idea what a terminal looked like. If it wasn't for learning VMware 1st, there's no way. You cant really experiment with out a clone.

I still haven't figured out how to get SoftEther to Auto Start on start up.

I did figure out if I changed the SSH port to 443 I can SSH into the phone through the cellular connection. (you can't close port 443 without breaking the internet). Then I can start SoftEther server through ssh remotely. This is not optimal because you still need to know the public ip address.

I realized CentOS 7 arm7v sucks. It has all kinds of missing packages. It works better to use Debian stretch (the Linux Deploy default OS).

I also ran into problems with storage space too. Supposedly you can install it on a SD card, I got it to work once with 3 partitions. Fat32 4500mb/Ext4 2500mb/Swap 500mb (I saw it in a YouTube video). But had issues with the SD card unmounting in the middle of my softether install, Then I tried to reinstall again the same way and couldn't get Linux to install. So I gave up on that. I seems Debian stretch and the tools I needed were smaller so it worked with the space I had. (A little over 1GB)

If someone could solve why SoftEther wont Auto Start it'd be great....

I registered the start up script no problem and I didn't notice any missing packages or errors on install of Linux or tools so I can't figure it out. This is the example start up script from softether I've been using. It states that it may need to be modified for your system. I also had to make the /var/lock/subsys/vpnserver directory. Other than that every thing ran smooth, no missing packages that I saw, using Debian Stretch. With Debian Stretch you cant use username root. You have to make a normal user then use the sudo cmd.

#!/bin/sh
# chkconfig: 2345 99 01
# description: SoftEther VPN Server
DAEMON=/usr/local/vpnserver/vpnserver
LOCK=/var/lock/subsys/vpnserver
test -x $DAEMON || exit 0
case "$1" in
start)
$DAEMON start
touch $LOCK
;;
stop)
$DAEMON stop
rm $LOCK
;;
restart)
$DAEMON stop
sleep 3
$DAEMON start
;;
*)
echo "Usage: $0 {start|stop|restart}"
exit 1
esac
exit 0

[nate]

[SOLVED]

I finely got it working 100%...

I almost give up on this. I've been working on this none-stop for about 4 straight days and feel ate up like I ate a ten pack of ecstasy and had a freak session.

I got it working using Debian 9 (Stretch). The original problem I was having with the init.d script not running on CentOS 7 was partly because chkconfig was unavailable. (chkconfig is on its way out all together).

I ended up learning a lot about automating startup scripts F*ckin with this...

The Linux Deploy default distro was Debian 9 so i assumed it was the most stable. I had to find a new init.d script for Debian without chkconfig. I ended up using one I found on Git (1st one on Google search).

#!/bin/sh
### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides: vpnserver
# Required-Start: $network $remote_fs
# Required-Stop: $network $remote_fs
# Default-Start: 2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop: 0 1 6
# Short-Description: SoftEther VPN Server
### END INIT INFO

DAEMON=/usr/local/vpnserver/vpnserver
LOCK=/var/lock/subsys/vpnserver
test -x $DAEMON || exit 0
case "$1" in
start)
$DAEMON start
touch $LOCK
;;
stop)
$DAEMON stop
rm $LOCK
;;
restart)
$DAEMON stop
sleep 3
$DAEMON start
;;
*)
echo "Usage: $0 {start|stop|restart}"
exit 1
esac
exit 0


I kept having problems so I tryed changing the Usage: $0 to Usage: sudo /etc/init.d/vpnserver thinking it was something to do with not having root access. It didn't work. (Although I never changed it back so my working model has this line of script). Everything else looked good. After update-rc.d vpnserver defaults I had permissions to start on rcS.d rc2.d rc3.d rc4.d rc5.d and I had stop on rc0.d rc1.d rc6.d

Very Very Long story short, I ended up realizing there is a option in Linux Deploy to choose whether or not to run init.d scripts. Obviously this has to be enabled for them to run. For the Init System I had to choose sysv. (I had previously already installed sysv-rc-conf... So I'm not sure if it's necessary). I think its just a cmd line GUI though. For what ever reason the default Init System, run-parts, didn't work for me. The Init level can be the default of 3. And the Init user must be root.

This thing is bad ass. Because SoftEther has DNS hostname and tunnels through 443 it will tunnel straight through a router. You can leave the phone anywhere connected to wifi and you WILL find the server.

Also I realized you can SSH into the phone through port 80 remotely on cellular connection if you needed to. Using port 443 was no good and caused errors with the server I couldn't fix.

You have to love Linux, when all the stars align, it does exactly what you want it to...

You can see by the second to last line that vpnserver init.d ran on reboot.
vpnserver .... done



[edit]
I want to add, Linux Deploy is amazing. You can f#uck it all up... delete the image... uninstall Linux Deploy... reinstall and start fresh without any worry of bricking your device. I must have reinstalled 50 times. I did it so many times I can configure softether off memory without looking at a script.

[nate]

I've been setting this up on the Galaxy S4. If you have a phone with Knox, you might as well forget about using Debian. You wont be able to achieve root even with sudo cmd. At least not without a good amount of research and some luck.

The work around I found was to use CentOS 7. Like I wrote earlier you can set username as "root" and set username passwd to get root access with this distro on install. I was completely wrong about chkconfig not being included in the packages. Its there. The issue that was preventing the init script from running was the Init setting in Linux Deploy.

With CentOS its the same init settings as Debian.

Init > enable

Init system > sysv

Init settings:
Init level > 3
Init user > root
Async > enable

I think this took up about 2GB of space.

[nate]

Originally Posted by nate

This method to toggle data on and off remotely with Tasker & Notify My Android works perfect on this flashed to Verizon CDMA phone that I just turned into a VPN Server.

It's easy to follow. The only thing is there is no save button in Tasker like stated in these directions. You have to hit the back arrow in the upper left corner of Tasker screen, that's what saves the info.

The link with the API key, you save to your computer. You copy and paste it in the address bar of your browser and open the link. That's what sends the cmd to toggle data on and off. You can book mark the link hitting it when you want to change ip address.

This works fast... Way faster than toggling airplane mode on and off. It drops connection and picks it back up in about 1-2 seconds.

I'm copying and pasting this info from MultiLoginApp's Blog page.

Controlling IP releases remotely

If you plan to access the mobile connection remotely, you should learn how to control the IP releases without having a direct access to the phone. Below we explain how you can “tell” your phone to get a new IP address by simply opening a link in a browser.

First of all, to set everything up you need two Android applications:

Tasker – paid app, which costs €2.99 at the time of writing
Notify My Android – you will need the premium version, which costs $4.99 at the time of writing
To set everything up, just follow the instructions bellow:

Install Tasker and Notify My Android apps on your mobile phone with 3G/4G internet connection
Create a Notify My Android Account with API link
Go to http://www.notifymyandroid.com
Register an account
Upgrade to premium
Generate a new API key here
Copy the API key, it should be something like this
75670exs4fed1f042347c62df321afss2525f99f5123377e
Insert your new API key in this formatted link
-https://www.notifymyandroid.com/publicapi/notify?apikey=[INSERT_API_KEY_HERE]&application=android&event=restart&description=res tart
You should have something like this (this your API link):
-https://www.notifymyandroid.com/publicapi/notify?apikey=75670exs4fed1f042347c62df321afss2525 f99f5123377e&application=android&event=restart&des cription=restart
Go to Notify My Android app and log in to your account
Setup your Tasker profile
Go to the Tasker app
Click add profile (The plus icon on the bottom)
Choose “Event” -> 3rd Party -> Notify My Android
Write the following strings in the fields
App: android
Event: restart
Description: restart
Save
Click “New Task” -> add a name for the task “Data Restart” -> Save
Click “Add Task” (The plus icon on the bottom) -> Click “Net” -> Mobile Data -> In “Set” field chose Toggle -> Save
Add the same task one more time: Click “Add Task” (The plus icon on the bottom) -> Click “Net” -> Mobile Data -> In “Set” field chose Toggle -> Save
Let the Tasker App run on background
And you are ready! Now, whenever you open your API link in a browser, the app will notify Tasker to restart your mobile internet connection. A new IP address will be assigned to your phone then. You can be thousand miles away from your phone, however, if you access that link – your mobile internet connection will always restart.
Troubleshooting and tips

Use higher performing Android devices for better execution. Sometimes apps may crash on older phones.
With some Android phones you will not be able to get a new IP address by simply restarting the data settings. However, switching airplane mode on and off also gets you a new IP every time. This method seems to be more consistent across different devices. You can automate this task with Tasker as well. Just follow these instructions when setting up a task for your profile:
Click “New Task” -> add a name for the task “Data Restart” -> Save
Click “Add Task” (The plus icon on the bottom) -> Click “Net” -> Airplane mode -> In “Set” field chose Toggle -> Save
Add the same task one more time: Click “Add Task” (The plus icon on the bottom) -> Click “Net” -> Airplane mode -> In “Set” field chose Toggle -> Save

Here is a link to the original source:
https://multiloginapp.com/how-to-hid...omplete-guide/

Just to somewhat keep this up to date, Notify My Android has closed shop on May 25th 2018 due to the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regarding the way this regulation requires businesses to protect the personal data and privacy of EU citizens for transactions that occur within EU member states.

If anyone comes across this thread and still wants to set this up you can now set Tasker to respond to a SMS text message sent to the phone.

Setup your Tasker profile
Go to the Tasker app
Click add profile (The plus icon on the bottom)
Choose “Event” -> Phone -> Received Text
Write the following strings in the fields
Type: Any
Sender: <enter the phone number of the phone you will be sending the text from to toggle data and change IP>
Content: <is optional>
Save


Click “New Task” -> add a name for the task “Data Restart” -> Save
Click “Add Task” (The plus icon on the bottom) -> Click “Net” -> Mobile Data -> In “Set” field chose Toggle -> Save
Add the same task one more time: Click “Add Task” (The plus icon on the bottom) -> Click “Net” -> Mobile Data -> In “Set” field chose Toggle -> Save
Let the Tasker App run on background
And you are ready! Now, whenever you open your API link in a browser, the app will notify Tasker to restart your mobile internet connection. A new IP address will be assigned to your phone then. You can be thousand miles away from your phone, however, if you access that link – your mobile internet connection will always restart.

[nate]

Originally Posted by nate

Setup your Tasker profile
Go to the Tasker app
Click add profile (The plus icon on the bottom)
Choose “Event” -> Phone -> Received Text
Write the following strings in the fields
Type: Any
Sender: <enter the phone number of the phone you will be sending the text from to toggle data and change IP>
Content: <is optional>
Save

You can also use K-9 email app to send the signal to tasker to reset the data connection and change IP... This works better for flashed to Verizon 3G phones because for $5 a month it turns out you can not except any text messages... Unless its the day your bill is due and you add the $5 refill card. Then you can get texts up until midnight.

Set up K-9 to work with the email you want to use... Then....

Setup your Tasker profile
Go to the Tasker app
Click add profile (The plus icon on the bottom)
Choose “Event” -> 3rd Pary -> K9 Email Received
Fill in the strings in the fields with what you want to use... I only use the subject feild so I can send the email from any account Im using.
From: <optional> I leave blank
Subject: data reset <optional> I use: datareset
Receiving Account: <optional> I leave blank
Save

[ebaystealth1974]

Awesome stuff!

I just laugh at empire pretending he understands the first thing about any of this lol

[yankee]

Originally Posted by ebaystealth1974

Awesome stuff!

I just laugh at empire pretending he understands the first thing about any of this lol

This is in Arabic to me lol

[nate]

True that... I just read through this thread again. I have a much better understanding of Linux than I did then... I was working through it but had no idea what the hell I was talking about or what was going on and why things weren't working. Some of the things I said were incorrect but for this project there was no point in correcting myself because it was irrelevant.

This project I did last year taught me so much about Linux and VPN's. It was worth it for just the knowledge I gained alone...

Now I'm trying to figure out exactly how it is that SoftEther VPN Client is able to hide all the ways a VPN is detected. (except for MTU not being 1500) And see if I can't get OpenVPN to be undetectable for the ChromeBook users that cant use SoftEther Client

OpenVPN and L2TP/IPsec are easily detectable. I've tried using all different ports for OpenVPN but somehow whatleaks.com always seems to detect the VPN tunnel even if I pass it through TCP 443.

L2TP/IPsec might be better for a VPN client just for the fact that it would look more like a business PC running Linux... Lots of businesses use Cisco... OpenVPN... Not so much....

[nate]

Originally Posted by nate

Now I'm trying to figure out exactly how it is that SoftEther VPN Client is able to hide all the ways a VPN is detected. (except for MTU not being 1500) And see if I can't get OpenVPN to be undetectable for the ChromeBook users that cant use SoftEther Client

OpenVPN and L2TP/IPsec are easily detectable. I've tried using all different ports for OpenVPN but somehow whatleaks.com always seems to detect the VPN tunnel even if I pass it through TCP 443.

Answer: SSL

Solution: stunnel