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I am wondering about the effectiveness of no root firewalls as a solution against any type of spyware / malware. Particularly on an android device.

No root firewalls like this one here (aptly named) NoRoot Firewall is an application level firewall, which filters outgoing connections on a per app basis. It will by default block all outgoing connections by any app, and alert the user if a connection is made.

The app creates a local "VPN" connection which acts as a proxy for any apps requesting internet access.

This way you know exactly which app is requesting an internet connection.

How would any type of spyware be able to bypass this? At the end of the day, any spyware is some executable that will eventually need to access the internet to send the data out - so I fail to see how it could possibly bypass this type of restriction.

Would there be any way? On an un rooted device that is.

casperTNH
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  • By unrooted device, do you mean unrooted by the user, or unrooted by malware too? – nobody Apr 15 '22 at 17:42
  • That's a good question, custom ROMs like Calyx OS include Datura firewall and similar apps, which are also non-root firewalls. And the Calyx Institute is generally against rooting. This also shows that apps as TrackerControl (made by a famous university as well) might be not as effective as it seems. – Sir Muffington Apr 15 '22 at 19:34
  • @nobody from my understanding - malware that roots the device is not common. Correct me if I'm wrong here. – casperTNH Apr 18 '22 at 07:22
  • Malware that roots an up to date, fully patched device is not common, correct. Malware that roots devices with unpatched, publicly known security holes is. – nobody Apr 18 '22 at 07:30

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