how to reroute all IP traffic (pref. at the network layer) in Android 3.x

Issue

This is specific to Android 3.0/3.1 In order to implement a cloud security layer, I would like to reroute all IP traffic destined for certain ports through my custom cloud server which would then serve up the required pages if they don't pose any threat.

The reasons I would like to do this are: 1. The applications running on Android would still continue their interaction with regular requests and wouldn't require any modifications 2. Better security. It should not be possible for a user to disable/block my reroute service. Hiding my implementation in the network layer would make it difficult for users to tamper with it.

I would like to know if this procedure is possible at all. If so, what is the best implementation procedure. If not, does anyone have a suggestion on any alternate methodologies.

Solution

1. The applications running on Android would still continue their interaction with regular requests and wouldn't require any modifications

This is only possible if you root your phone (or create your own firmware, which probably involves rooting the phone to deploy it). For example, Orbot, which is an implementation of the Tor proxy for Android, needs root in order to transparently pass all TCP requests through its proxy.

It should not be possible for a user to disable/block my reroute service.

The only way to do that is by making your own firmware.

Allowing ordinary SDK applications to do anything of what you request would be a massive security hole.

Answered By - CommonsWare