PdaNet for wifi-direct hotspot

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1

Hello I’m trying to figure out something that would be very useful to all Americans. This video works to use my hotspot even though I’ve used up all my hotspot data. I can also hotspot with PdaNet’s Wifi Direct Hotspot to Android after using up all my hotspot data. This video shows how to hotspot to Firefox. I want to hotspot to Manjaro Xfce system-wide with a PdaNet Wifi-direct Hotspot. It apparently works to Windows with the PdaNet.exe windows program as well. When I open the proxy settings tab in the “Edit Connections” interface of Xfce, I can’t figure out where the ip address and port number should go. Can anyone help me figure this out? If you do, you’ll likely become a well known HERO. Check out this video…

https://youtu.be/NqTw8M26-tk

PdaNet’s wifi-direct hotspot was and is a real breakthrough. Carriers used to not be able to detect data sent through wifi direct. Now, even though my MetroPCS carrier detects the use (my hotspot data declines as I use it), when I run out, I can still use it. MetroPCS hasn’t figured out how to stop it yet, apparently.

2

What you are looking for is a local proxy server which interfaces with your android phone.

Another thing to mention - since a long time android can share the network to a computer using the charger cable - and without any additional packages installed on neither the phone nor the system.

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3

Yes, but I am out of hotspot and tethering data. I can’t share through hotspot or tethering now. I can connect to my hotspot, but there is no internet. The wifi-direct hotspot is something different. Wifi-direct is only meant for sharing files, which is why it slipped past the notice of our carriers so long when PdaNet figured out how to send internet data through it. If someone just connects to the wifi-direct hotspot they don’t get internet unless the proxy is set correctly. If I try to tether there is no internet. I used it all up. I will read what you sent. Thank you.

4

I must say I am a little confused as you what you are referring to.

Tethering is a standard feature in Android since - at least v5 I think.

The carrier cannot possibly know if you are using tethering as this should be completely transparent - handled by the phone internally - but if they can and if they do - they are violating basic privacy rules as they should not monitor in any way what you are using your phone for.

You keep saying hot spot - but what are you referring to? Are you referring to the possibility of sharing your phones internet connection using WiFi or are you referring to your carriers internet connection?

Where I live - in Denmark - there is no restriction on what you can use your data plan for - data is data - so to speak - and what the data is used for is of no concern to the carrier - only thing is the amount of data transferred.

5

In America they limit our hotspot and tethering usage. There is USB Tethering, and Wifi Hotspot that Android does natively. There is the newer Wifi-direct, also native since Lolipop I think, which creates a hotspot but uses a different protocol and is only meant to be used for sharing files. That’s why PdaNet is such a breakthrough. They figured out how to use Wifi-direct for sending internet data which is why they are so valuable to us in America because our carriers used to not be able to see it. Now, they can see we are hotspotting data, but they aparrently can’t stop it yet because it still works when regular hotspot and USB Tethering stop working.

Whether it is a violation of our privacy or not I can’t fix. I can only try to hack my way around the rules.

Thanks to the video I shared above I can now use Firefox on my wifi direct hotspot, but only Firefox.

6

Also the link you sent is a little above my head, @linux-aarhus . I’m trying to figure it out.

7

When my red hotspot line reached 21 gigs my usb tethering and hotspot stopped working. I can still connect them but there is no internet. With the PdaNet app I can use the Wifi-direct hotspot to send internet. PdaNet makes programs for Windows and Android to receive the internet, but not for linux.

image

8

Hmm - using data on your phone works?

It is when you want use the data you bought for your phone to something which is not phone related?

Is this the picture you paint?

Because of our freedom I have no idea on how to reproduce a situation like yours.

9

Yes you got it. Internet works on my phone but won’t transfer to other devices except though the PdaNet implementation of wifi-direct. I wish someone would make a new opensource PdaNet because PdaNet has promised for years on their website to soon bring it to other platforms, but I guess they got rich and lazy, charging $10 to everyone who uses it.

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So you have the pdanet installed an you proxy your browser using the the phones ip

192.168.49.1:8000

Then you can try with the scripts mentioned on Arch wiki.

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You just need to configure the proxy after you connected to your System to your phone.

There is no geneal way to set up a proxy system wide.

Some pograms, mostly Shell programs, look for environment variables. Some need to be configured in their own config files.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Proxy_server#Environment_variables

If you would use Gnome, there is a more central way, but not in XFCE.

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12

Yes. And I only just found out. This is the 1st I’ve heard of receiving the PdaNet internet without a receiving app. Now I know it can be done. I saw the scripts. I barely know how to write scripts though and I don’t want to hurt my system. When it’s enabled I mey not be able to use regular wifi hotspots, so I will need to be able to turn it on and off. He mentions in the video that when you need to connect to regular wifi you need to switch Firefox back to use system proxy.

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function proxy_on() {
    export no_proxy="localhost,127.0.0.1,localaddress,.localdomain.com"

    if (( $# > 0 )); then
        valid=$(echo $@ | sed -n 's/\([0-9]\{1,3\}.\?\)\{4\}:\([0-9]\+\)/&/p')
        if [[ $valid != $@ ]]; then
            >&2 echo "Invalid address"
            return 1
        fi
        local proxy=$1
        export http_proxy="$proxy" \
               https_proxy=$proxy \
               ftp_proxy=$proxy \
               rsync_proxy=$proxy
        echo "Proxy environment variable set."
        return 0
    fi

#### - get credentials for accessing the proxy
    echo -n "username: "; read username
    if [[ $username != "" ]]; then
        echo -n "password: "
        read -es password
        local pre="$username:$password@"
    fi

#### - get server and port from user
    echo -n "server: "; read server
    echo -n "port: "; read port
    local proxy=$pre$server:$port
    export http_proxy="$proxy" \
           https_proxy=$proxy \
           ftp_proxy=$proxy \
           rsync_proxy=$proxy \
           HTTP_PROXY=$proxy \
           HTTPS_PROXY=$proxy \
           FTP_PROXY=$proxy \
           RSYNC_PROXY=$proxy
}

function proxy_off(){
    unset http_proxy https_proxy ftp_proxy rsync_proxy \
          HTTP_PROXY HTTPS_PROXY FTP_PROXY RSYNC_PROXY
    echo -e "Proxy environment variable removed."
}

Save script in /etc/profile.d and make the script executable.

should get fhe functions with you basic shell setup

Then run the script

1 Like
14

Yes, I noticed it mentioned that about Xfce in @linux-aarhus ’ link. I’ve been thinking of getting a different DE lately. I’ve been using Xfce 6 years and it’s all I know. Maybe this is the push I needed.

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I would not do recommend it. The Gnome Proxy settings are a bit more globally, but not every program will use it. You still need to configure a lot of applications manually.

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16

Do I need to put a shabang at the top?

[user@ltp ~]$[user@ltp ~]$ sudo cp proxy.sh /etc/profile.d
[sudo] password for user: 
[user@ltp ~]$ cd /etc/profile.d
[user@ltp profile.d]$ chmod +x proxy.sh
chmod: changing permissions of 'proxy.sh': Operation not permitted
[user@ltp profile.d]$ sudo chmod +x proxy.sh
[user@ltp profile.d]$ ./proxy.sh
[user@ltp profile.d]$ speedtest
Retrieving speedtest.net configuration...
Cannot retrieve speedtest configuration
ERROR: <urlopen error [Errno -2] Name or service not known>

@linux-aarhus

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Didn’t work @linux-aarhus

18

Oh I just noticed the local address at the top of the script. Do I need to change to 192.168.49:8000?

19

You might want to be a bit more specific.

However, the script set just the environment variables and only if the proxy_on function is called with the correct arguments.
If the speedtest program didn’t check it, it will not use it. Check the manual for this program to find out how to set up a proxy for it.

20

Chrome and telegram aren’t connecting either. I would have to configure each program seperately? I had to do that with Firefox before the script. What’s different then?