Which test URLs do you set for your Lost Internet Connectivity alerts?

Every day I test Android, Windows, and iOS apps, where today I was testing
Network and Internet connectivity apps to speak out your current status.

I have a custom wav which says "You Lost Your Internet Connection"
whenever a watchdog ping fails but I'm curious what test URL(s) you use?

Most of the apps I'm testing at the moment for reporting connectivity loss
have the option of a settable ping site, but some do not, such as these:
*Internet Status* by Infinities, 100+, free, ad-free, etc.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Infinities.InternetStatus>
*Internet Status Message* by h2zonesp*, 10+, free, ad-free, etc.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.has.internetstatustoast>
*Check your internet connection* by Dogegames Freak, 50+, free, ad-free,
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=info.check.internet.connection.information>
Hence those apps are only testing for "network connectivity" and not for
"Internet connectivity" as they can be fooled by a router with no Internet.

However, these have settable site(s) to ping to test Internet connectivity.
*Internet Connectivity Tester* by Paul Rowe, 4.6, 10K+, free, ad free, etc.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.boxhead.android.internettest>
*Internet Connection Alert* by Blue Spectrum, 5K+, free, ad free, etc.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rakapps.internetconnectionalert>
Where the former can set multiple sites, but the later allows only one URL.

Given you have an infinite choice of URLs to ping to test connectivity...
Which test URL(s) do you set for your Lost Internet Connectivity alerts?
--
Usenet is a team sport where purposefully helpful people work together.

In article <svfjfu$3dk$1@gioia.aioe.org>,
Andy Burnelli says...

> Which test URLs do you set for your Lost Internet Connectivity alerts?
>

I don't set any, I just glance at the internet icon on the taskbar.

Why bother monitoring? Is your connection so unstable?

I have briefly lost internet connectivity approx 3 times in the 13 years
since moving to this palatial abode.

--
Ken

Unsteadyken wrote:

> Andy Burnelli says...
>
>> Which test URLs do you set for your Lost Internet Connectivity alerts?
>
> I don't set any, I just glance at the internet icon on the taskbar.

So you are in effect using
www.msftncsi.com and dns.msftncsi.com
as your network connectivity checks

On Sun, 27 Feb 2022 at 11:25:29, Unsteadyken <unsteadyken@gmail.com>
wrote (my responses usually FOLLOW):
>In article <svfjfu$3dk$1@gioia.aioe.org>,
>
>Andy Burnelli says...
>
>> Which test URLs do you set for your Lost Internet Connectivity alerts?
>>
>
>I don't set any, I just glance at the internet icon on the taskbar.
>
>Why bother monitoring? Is your connection so unstable?
>
>I have briefly lost internet connectivity approx 3 times in the 13 years
>since moving to this palatial abode.
>
I agree, I too am fortunate in having a fair connection (not sure it's
as good as yours, but its good). On the whole, I'd say more reliable
than my electricity supply (I live in a rural area, or at least what
passes for one in SE England!).

I tend (if something's not working) to look at the light on my router,
and if it's not blue, I know things aren't right. Or, I try
http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/ if I seem unable to connect to a
specific site; if I can't get downforeveryoneorjustme itself, then I
begin to think things are awry. (Most times - and that not often - I
find a restart of anything up to my PC and/or router restores
normality.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Don't play "stupid" with me... I'm better at it.

On 2/27/22 07:35, this is what J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2022 at 11:25:29, Unsteadyken <unsteadyken@gmail.com> wrote (my responses usually FOLLOW):
>> In article <svfjfu$3dk$1@gioia.aioe.org>,
>>
>> Andy Burnelli says...
>>
>>> Which test URLs do you set for your Lost Internet Connectivity alerts?
>>>
>>
>> I don't set any, I just glance at the internet icon on the taskbar.
>>
>> Why bother monitoring? Is your connection so unstable?
>>
>> I have briefly lost internet connectivity approx 3 times in the 13 years
>> since moving to this palatial abode.
>>
> I agree, I too am fortunate in having a fair connection (not sure it's as good as yours, but its good). On the whole, I'd say more reliable
> than my electricity supply (I live in a rural area, or at least what passes for one in SE England!).
>
> I tend (if something's not working) to look at the light on my router, and if it's not blue, I know things aren't right. Or, I try
> http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/ if I seem unable to connect to a specific site; if I can't get downforeveryoneorjustme itself, then I
> begin to think things are awry. (Most times - and that not often - I find a restart of anything up to my PC and/or router restores normality.)
I have a small util that just pings bing.com. If I think I have issues I just launch the utility and see what's up. ping -4 -c 5 bing.com

Andy Burns wrote:

>>> Which test URLs do you set for your Lost Internet Connectivity alerts?
>>
>> I don't set any, I just glance at the internet icon on the taskbar.
>
> So you are in effect using
> www.msftncsi.com and dns.msftncsi.com
> as your network connectivity checks

Thank you Andy not only for your purposefully helpful response but for the
added value of which domains are common Windows 10 Internet test domains.

I was ignorant of how Windows tested it, but my ignorance was cured by you!
1. NCSI performs a DNS lookup on www.msftncsi.com;
then NCSI requests http://www.msftncsi.com/ncsi.txt.
2. NCSI expects a 200 OK response header with the proper text returned.
The ncsi.txt file contains only the text of "Microsoft NCSI".
3. If the response is never received, or if there is a redirect,
then a DNS request for dns.msftncsi.com is made.
4. NCSI then sends a DNS lookup request for dns.msftncsi.com.
This DNS address should resolve to 131.107.255.255.
5. If the address does not match, then test reports that it failed.

Incidentally, for privacy, you can set up your own nsci server:
<https://blog.superuser.com/2011/05/16/windows-7-network-awareness/>

You probably know all this, but those domains are all in the registry:
*Network Connectivity Status Indicator* (NCSI)
[HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NlaSvc\Parameters\Internet]
Note that "EnableActiveProbing" apparently turns NCSI on or off.
Also note "ActiveDnsProbeContent" === 131.107.255.255
And note "ActiveDnsProbeHost" === dns.msftncsi.com
And "ActiveWebProbeHost" === www.msftconnecttest.com
Concomitant V6 domains "ActiveWebProbeHostV6" === ipv6.msftconnecttest.com
etc.

For privacy reasons, Ghacks suggests Windows users change the
address which then means that the question I asked that Unsteadyken clearly
ignorantly ridiculed as not being a Windows issue - is as much a Windows
privacy concern as it is for Android. (That's always the case with such
people who don't understand anything about privacy across platforms.)
*Disable or customize Windows' Internet Connection test to improve privacy*
<https://www.ghacks.net/2014/02/07/disable-customize-windows-internet-connection-test-improve-privacy/>

Note there are apparently other options such as "ipv4 checksum offload"
which can be set to "Tx & Rx Enabled", "Rx Enabled" or "Tx Enabled".
Disable-NetAdapterChecksumOffload -Name "*" -TcpIPv4

I will test by setting 'Internet Connectivity Tester' to both domains:
http://www.msftncsi.com
http://dns.msftncsi.com
And by setting 'Internet Connection Alert' to just the one domain:
http://www.msftncsi.com
But that assumes port 80 which you didn't mention the port Windows uses.

After you gave me the "ncsi" term, I found the NCSI Group Policy Editor:
Computer Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > System >
Internet Communication Management > Internet Communication Settings >
Turn off Windows Network Connectivity Status Indicator active tests =
Enabled/Disabled

As always with you Andy, you know far more than I ever will, but I'm happy
to report that you've edified me about what domains Windows uses to
determine network connectivity which I can test now on Android.

I was about to reply to the unprepossessing unsteadyken with a nastigram but
your polite correction of his chilish attitude negated me needing to do so.
--
Usenet is a volunteer team sport where every post should add topical value.

On 27/02/2022 10:23, Andy Burnelli aka Arlen the master nym-shifter wrote:

> Which test URLs do you set for your Lost Internet Connectivity alerts?

I just shake my cock and it comes to life and then it gets very hard
erection. You can try it to see if it works for you.

Unsteadyken wrote:

> Why bother monitoring?

Why do I bother monitoring the Internet connection?

The question came up initially a few days ago when "micky" (who is also here
on Windows) asked for a free ad-free app that speaks a warning that "your
cell signal just dropped" and that verbally advises "your cell signal just
returned" when his phone in his pocket loses and regains tower connectivity
while hiking in the backwoods, where monitoring such things is a safety
concern.

Nobody knew the answer so, being the purposefully helpful kind-hearted
resourceful person I am, I dug around and it took even me a few hours to
find and test a good set of free ad-free gsf-free google-free highly rated
often downloaded app combinations which eventually resolved that issue:

1. You first need to create the text to speech warning alarms/notifications
2. Then you need to find an app that will test the cellular connectivity
3. And then that app has to be able to be set to speak your custom warnings

All using free ad-free apps that _anyone_ can use, as I often tell JP
Gilliver is a requirement since _all_ my kind-hearted tutorials are always
intended to greatly benefit everyone who wants to have the power we have.

Given Usenet is a team sport where volunteers pitch in where they can,
Steve, being an EE, kindly tested it inside an aluminum foil Faraday cage.

With that "lost cellular signal" problem resolved...

During the hours of testing I did out of the goodness of my heart for micky,
I found a few "Internet" testing tools, where they would use either the
Wi-Fi or the Cellular connection (or both, usually settable) as their test.

Of *those* tools, there were two kinds that I found in my searches:
A. Those that simply tested "network" connectivity
B. Those that more deeply probed "Internet" connectivity

Those that probed for actual Internet connectivity, require a domain.

As is almost always the case with cross platform Internet connectivity
solutions, I figured the Windows users must also have solved this problem.

Hence, my question to the two groups at large.

> Is your connection so unstable?

Is my (one?) connection so unstable?

It is when hiking in the backcountry where signal is often flaky at best.
*Kids going hiking for three days from point to point in the mountains*
<https://groups.google.com/g/sci.geo.satellite-nav/c/KDtny69KRvg>
"USA backcountry hike from Mount Madonna to Loma Prieta involving
topographic geoPDF quadrangles & iOS/Android GPX tracks & waypoints"

However, on any platform, knowledge of Internet connectivity is crucial.

For example, I get my Internet over WISP because I'm so far in the Santa
Cruz mountain range that there is no infrastructure such as no cable, no
water, no natural gas lines, no sewage lines, and even a 40-acre zoning so
that nobody can put more than a single home on 79 acres of land out here.

They do that to keep the land pristine, of course, but my point is that
Internet connectivity is crucial when your WISP AP is 6 miles (10km) away!
<https://i.postimg.cc/RZmtTPxj/apsixmilesaway.jpg> AP is 6 miles away

So, to the point of this thread, we run on the radio the default watchdog.
<https://i.postimg.cc/VvqLKQtQ/wifi.jpg> Typical range is about 10 miles

Which tells us when the radio has an issue (along with indicator lights).
<https://i.postimg.cc/yNXw0TZS/antenna02.jpg> Rocket M2 signal strength

As do the Android (but not iOS) devices using excellent debug utilities.
<https://i.postimg.cc/NMbNGBnm/wifi01.jpg> Wi-Fi debug channel graphs
<https://i.postimg.cc/281Hmp7L/wifi02.jpg> This doesn't exist on iOS
<https://i.postimg.cc/Ls3Dvm2w/wifi03.jpg> But Android has many debuggers

Even extending to a variety of cellular signal strength debugging tools.
<https://i.postimg.cc/tJwN7TNZ/wifi04.jpg> Wi-Fi & Cellular debugging

Given we all have dozens of acres of land, our pools, stables, barns, sheds,
and even our driveway gates are far from the house, so inside our homes we
typically have redundant routers that can handle switching multiple WISPs.
<https://i.postimg.cc/7L910XNy/wifi05.jpg> Peplink Balance 30 router

This is a photo of just _some_ of my home access points.
<https://i.postimg.cc/XJChDCPr/spare-access-points.jpg> My home Wi-Fi APs

Where you'll note we also have cellular radio repeaters as shown here:
<https://i.postimg.cc/XJChDCPr/spare-access-points.jpg> My home Wi-Fi APs

In addition, alignment of our antennas is critical for good connections:
<https://i.postimg.cc/tCxLW2ZN/align01.jpg> Align Mikrotik radio antenna
<https://i.postimg.cc/sfkHW6WG/align.jpg> Align Ubiquiti radio antenna

We are usually radio savvy in the mountains, just as we get good at water
pump technology and horses and four wheel drive repairs and septic systems
such that we often run tests on the spectrum inside and outside of wi-fi.
<https://i.postimg.cc/FRqR6DSq/android-wifi-analyzer.jpg> Wi-Fi analysis
<https://i.postimg.cc/GpCG1H3G/airviewneedsjava.jpg> Spectrum analysis
<https://i.postimg.cc/25v3FT6S/debug-on-android.jpg> Many Wi-Fi debug apps

Nonetheless, we're old men who do just fine with what we have at hand.
<https://i.postimg.cc/Gh22Sb2N/desktop.jpg> Desktop in shed with MikroTik

Where, like farmers do with old tractors, we learn to repurpose WISP CPE
<https://i.postimg.cc/DfQJq437/mikrotikrouter.jpg> WISP router transceiver

Which, even when bought new, cost about the same as crappy consumer routers
<https://i.postimg.cc/DfQJq437/mikrotikrouter.jpg> Parts costs ~$150

Yet, for the same price, we can connect to a home AP hundreds of feet away
<https://i.postimg.cc/yx4CgWYt/mikrotik-router-config.jpg> MikroTik -40dBm

For example, the barn desktop doesn't have a Wi-Fi card so out the Ethernet
port is connected a wireless wi-fi pseudobridge courtesy of MikroTik.
<https://i.postimg.cc/Gh22Sb2N/desktop.jpg> Desktop MikroTik pseudobridge

With distances to the barn being a hundred yards from the home router, you
begin to think about how to assemble a network out of available spare parts.
<https://i.postimg.cc/6QJqK6Cj/desktop02.jpg> Desktop MikroTik WISP radios

Not desktops, but the laptops at the pool also require long range equipment.
<https://i.postimg.cc/D0vfqM3p/horns.jpg> Horns extend laptop Wi-Fi range

Where in the pool shed, we keep a spare linksys router & horn extender.
<https://i.postimg.cc/25NdBZ7f/horn-to-router.jpg> Laptop horn to router

Sometimes requiring a dish to throw the laptop signal a few hundred yards.
<https://i.postimg.cc/Hs0NWSKr/laptopnanobeam.jpg> Laptop to dish antenna

Which, over time, gets extended even further with the addition of a switch.
<https://i.postimg.cc/JhyCRT69/horn-to-switch.jpg> Laptop horn to switch

And, with that switch, we can then add another more powerful access point.
<https://i.postimg.cc/Bv0wZbDh/pbe-m2-400-802-11-wifi-setting.jpg> AP

Although sometimes we set them up as a repeater instead of as an AP alone.
<https://i.postimg.cc/htQ469sQ/pbe-m2-400-ap-station.jpg> AP or Repeater

If not just as a basic bridge to bridge the computer to the SOHO router.
<https://i.postimg.cc/gcBWpxnV/pbe-m2-400-bridge-router.jpg> Bridge

But often the horn alone has enough transmit power & receiver sensitivity:
<https://i.postimg.cc/vT0Krpfc/laptop-nanobeam-horn.jpg> Laptop to horn

The point being that with all these radios and these distances, we kind of
do sort of get a disconnect on our desktop computers every once in a while
(even with radios connected to them capable of going over 10 miles LOS).
--
Usenet is a team sport where each person owns a set of professional skills.

Big Al wrote:

> On 2/27/22 07:35, this is what J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2022 at 11:25:29, Unsteadyken <unsteadyken@gmail.com> wrote
>>> Why bother monitoring? Is your connection so unstable?
>> I agree, I too am fortunate in having a fair connection
>> (not sure it's as good as yours, but its good).
>> On the whole, I'd say more reliable
>> than my electricity supply (I live in a rural area,
>> or at least what passes for one in SE England!).
>>
>> I tend (if something's not working) to look at the light
>> on my router, and if it's not blue, I know things aren't right.
>> Or, I try
>> http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/ if I seem unable to connect
>> to a specific site; if I can't get downforeveryoneorjustme itself,
>> then I begin to think things are awry.
>> (Most times - and that not often - I find a restart of anything
>> up to my PC and/or router restores normality.)
> I have a small util that just pings bing.com.
> If I think I have issues I just launch the utility and see what's up.
> ping -4 -c 5 bing.com

I gratefully thank JP Gilliver and Big Al for their kind advice,
where I too sometimes reset the power by disconnecting all my devices
starting the furthest away from "the wall" and moving toward "the wall"
(which is how I tell my wife to do it when I'm traveling away from home).

Given I have multiple wired and wireless repeaters, bridges, and access
points, there's a certain "perfect sequence" which is never achieved in
practice, particularly considering the lag time necessitated in bootup.

In theory, if not always in practice, I boot everything back up starting
with the devices closest to "the wall", such as the rooftop transceiver
(which would be a "modem" for most of you) and ending with the PCs & phones.
a. I start with the rooftop transceivers & outside & indoor access points
c. then move to the cellular repeaters and femtocells (of which I have both)
b. including multiple connected routers, switches, and the client bridges
d. culminating with then end devices being Windows, Linux, iOS & Android.

As end points, usually the iOS devices have the most trouble switching
between the many access points as I can hold in my hand an Android phone
& an iPad and see the iPad _not_ connecting as I walk about the home and
yard while Android does. I brought two of the affected iPads to the
Apple Store but the blue shirts (at that time they didn't wear red shirts)
didn't even know what a decibel was (they confused dBm with megabits per
second just like Jolly Roger & nospam do).

In keeping with the kind-hearted purposefully helpful connection watchdog
advice that Big Al offered, if you need to have a watchdog on your cellphone
for not only Internet connectivity (which the opening post described),
you can also easily set up a watchdog for your cellphone cellular signal.

1. You first need to create the text to speech warning alarms/notifications
2. Then you need to find an app that will test the cellular connectivity
3. And then that app has to be able to be set to speak your custom warnings

I'll write up a post separately for the best free ad-free gsf-free
Google-free (often open source) apps that do the job above, where I'll
add a nicety of the ability to tap once on an icon shortcut inside
your network folder which will enable/disable (or just enable, or just
disable) a specific access point that you tend to access frequently.

This feature is especially useful for people who have privacy setups
like I do where my home access points do not broadcast for privacy reasons
(not for security reasons!) to keep the dumb "other people" from uploading
my GPS location and unique access point BSSIDs to Google/Mozilla/Kismet/etc.
public databases simply as a result of them not knowing how to configure
their phones as they drive by my home.

Given my SSID's are "hidden" (again, don't tell me it's not for security
as I know that), I also have my devices set up to NOT reconnect when the
signal is lost (otherwise they shout out the SSID as they _look_ for APs,
which defeats the whole privacy point of having a hidden SSID in the main).

Given my phones don't _look_ for access point SSIDS for privacy reasons
when away from home, it's nice to have a single-tap icon inside my network
folder which makes the connection for me when I'm at home (where it is needed).

This is getting long so I'll put more detail in another kind-hearted
purposefully helpful post where these are the free tools I tested recently.

*Cellular-Z* by JerseyHo, 4.0, 1,700 reviews, 100K+ installs, etc.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=make.more.r2d2.cellular_z>

*Fake GPS location* by Lexa, 4.6 out of 500K reviews, 10M+ downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lexa.fakegps>

*Tell Me - Text To Speech* by Simply Complex Apps, 4.1, 500K+ installs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simplycomplexapps.ASTellme>

*Cellular Connection Monitor* by Pavel Borzenkov, 4.0, 10K+ installs, etc.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simple.axanor.simpleconnectivitymonitor>

*Internet Status* by Infinities, 100+, free, ad-free, etc.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Infinities.InternetStatus>

*Internet Status Message* by h2zonesp*, 10+, free, ad-free, etc.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.has.internetstatustoast>

*Check your internet connection* by Dogegames Freak, 50+, free, ad-free,
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=info.check.internet.connection.information>

*Internet Connectivity Tester* by Paul Rowe, 4.6, 10K+, free, ad free, etc.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.boxhead.android.internettest>

*Internet Connection Alert* by Blue Spectrum, 5K+, free, ad free, etc.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rakapps.internetconnectionalert>

*Wifi Shortcuts+* by OpenGait.NET 3.8, 10K+ downloads, free, ad-free, etc.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.opengait.wifishortcuts>
--
Usenet is a team sport where each of us pitches in to help all the others.

Given we're mostly old & grizzled kind-hearted people being purposefully
helpful by adding value to the gift of the body of the message (where the
iKooks only care about the wrapping paper - it's soooo preeety to ikooks!).

Here's another bit of purposefully helpful detailed kind-hearted advice for
the Usenet volunteer team, which is that most of the Android graphical Wi-Fi
and Signal Strength tools _require_ the GPS receiver radio to be turned on,
which you don't need for the tool, but for a Google requirement (let's not
go into why Google requires GPS as it's easy to prevent if you know how).
<https://i.postimg.cc/4xgmTTgm/wifi01.jpg> graphical radio debuggers

To save others time, and bearing in mind I only suggest the best and most
often downloaded and the highest rated free ad-free usually gsf-free always
google-free tools in the extensive Android APK arsenal in order to maintain
all my tutorials at the level that anyone can install them at this instant,
here is a link to just one of the many Wi-Fi and Cellular debuggers I use.
*Cellular-Z* by JerseyHo, 4.0, 1,700 reviews, 100K+ installs, etc.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=make.more.r2d2.cellular_z>

But I should note there are _plenty_ of graphical debuggers I use daily.
<https://i.postimg.cc/Hn05bQwG/wifi02.jpg> Variety of graphical debuggers

Although it should be noted, for privacy reasons, I don't use a Google
Google Play client, but an open source Google Play client which scrapes the
exact same repo as does Google Play (and which doesn't require a login on
the device which is a critical privacy feature iOS completely lacks).
<https://auroraoss.com/>

Given privacy is _always_ a concern, on Android the free ad-free mock
location app I prefer is the one below which Android settings accept.
*Fake GPS location* by Lexa, 4.6 out of 500K reviews, 10M+ downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lexa.fakegps>

Which, coincidentally, has the option to "spoof the Wi-Fi provider".
<https://i.postimg.cc/pdf8prL4/screenshot03.jpg> Spoof Wi-Fi Provider
If you're on iOS, tough luck (again), as iOS lacks this kind of privacy.

Moving forward, the next thing you might want is a text-to-speech converter
that saves _directly_ to a wav file suitable for the notification channel
(or for the alarm channel, which isn't muted when the phone is silenced).
*Tell Me - Text To Speech* by Simply Complex Apps, 4.1, 500K+ installs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simplycomplexapps.ASTellme>

Once you have the notification (or alarm) wav file saved, then you need an
app that will speak when you lose (or regain) your cellular connection.
*Cellular Connection Monitor* by Pavel Borzenkov, 4.0, 10K+ installs, etc.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simple.axanor.simpleconnectivitymonitor>

Of all the apps I tested, that wasn't perfect, but it was the best, and to
their credit, Steve and micky tested it and found it to work as advertised.
<https://i.postimg.cc/Njw312j1/lostsignal01.jpg> Testing alert apps
<https://i.postimg.cc/x1Y5Tv6L/lostsignal02.jpg> Play Store client ratings
<https://i.postimg.cc/8zRjbV12/lostsignal03.jpg> Custom verbal alert

When you have that set up, you might want to add a shortcut to a widget
(yes, I said a shortcut to a widget) that will connect and disconnect from
any of your many access points at a single touch of a button.

I have this need more than do most people because not only do I have many
access points sprinkled about my home and property such as these below.
<https://i.postimg.cc/YqTk0q1T/ap.jpg> Cellular repeater & home Wi-Fi APs

But I also have my SOHO routers set up to NOT broadcast the SSID to protect
my gps location and unique BSSIDs from being uploaded to Google & Mozilla
and Kismet (et. al) public databases (and no, "_nomap" doesn't do that).

Doing that isn't for security but for privacy, but then you _also_ have to
set up each device to _not_ automatically try to reconnect when the signal
is lost, which means that having a shortcut icon to connect & disconnect is
a really nice click-saving feature given my devices are set for privacy.

Given I am extremely well organized on a computer or phone as shown here:
<https://i.postimg.cc/7LmRqXNn/organize01.jpg> Android organization
<https://i.postimg.cc/bN7bp2Bf/organize02.jpg> Windows organization

You'll notice there is one homescreen page (ever!) on any device, even iPads
<https://i.postimg.cc/LXzB3Lc0/appleid01.jpg> One home screen
(Note it's impossible to set up an iOS homescreen the way you want to!)

For this reason, I didn't want AP on/off widgets that wouldn't slide _into_
a homescreen folder, which is what this neat free app allows you to create:
*Wifi Shortcuts+* by OpenGait.NET 3.8, 10K+ downloads, free, ad-free, etc.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.opengait.wifishortcuts>
--
Every Usenet post should strive to add value in the body (not the headers).

Andy Burnelli wrote:

> Which test URLs do you set for your Lost Internet Connectivity alerts?

To test for local network connectivity, I use a web browser to 10.0.0.1,
the IP address for the internal web server in my local cable modem.
That determines if networking is working locally. If that works, I web
surf to intel.com and yahoo.com since those seems rarely down.

I don't "set for Lost Internet Connectivity alerts". It's pretty
obvious to me when I've lost Internet connectivity. When it happens,
first thing I do is turn around to look at the lights on the cable
modem.

On 2/27/2022 6:54 PM, Andy Burnelli wrote:
> Andy Burns wrote:
>
>> {7 quoted lines suppressed}
>
> Thank you Andy not only for your purposefully helpful response but for the
> added value of which domains are common Windows 10 Internet test domains.
>
> I was ignorant of how Windows tested it, but my ignorance was cured by you!
> 1. NCSI performs a DNS lookup on www.msftncsi.com;
> then NCSI requests http://www.msftncsi.com/ncsi.txt." rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.msftncsi.com/ncsi.txt.
> 2. NCSI expects a 200 OK response header with the proper text returned.
> The ncsi.txt file contains only the text of "Microsoft NCSI".
> 3. If the response is never received, or if there is a redirect,
> then a DNS request for dns.msftncsi.com is made.
> 4. NCSI then sends a DNS lookup request for dns.msftncsi.com.
> This DNS address should resolve to 131.107.255.255.
> 5. If the address does not match, then test reports that it failed.
>
> Incidentally, for privacy, you can set up your own nsci server:
> <https://blog.superuser.com/2011/05/16/windows-7-network-awareness/>
>
> You probably know all this, but those domains are all in the registry:
> *Network Connectivity Status Indicator* (NCSI)
> [HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NlaSvc\Parameters\Internet]
> Note that "EnableActiveProbing" apparently turns NCSI on or off.
> Also note "ActiveDnsProbeContent" === 131.107.255.255
> And note "ActiveDnsProbeHost" === dns.msftncsi.com
> And "ActiveWebProbeHost" === www.msftconnecttest.com
> Concomitant V6 domains "ActiveWebProbeHostV6" === ipv6.msftconnecttest.com
> etc.
>
> For privacy reasons, Ghacks suggests Windows users change the
> address which then means that the question I asked that Unsteadyken clearly
> ignorantly ridiculed as not being a Windows issue - is as much a Windows
> privacy concern as it is for Android. (That's always the case with such
> people who don't understand anything about privacy across platforms.)
> *Disable or customize Windows' Internet Connection test to improve privacy*
> <https://www.ghacks.net/2014/02/07/disable-customize-windows-internet-connection-test-improve-privacy/>
>
> Note there are apparently other options such as "ipv4 checksum offload"
> which can be set to "Tx & Rx Enabled", "Rx Enabled" or "Tx Enabled".
> Disable-NetAdapterChecksumOffload -Name "*" -TcpIPv4
>
> I will test by setting 'Internet Connectivity Tester' to both domains:
> http://www.msftncsi.com
> http://dns.msftncsi.com
> And by setting 'Internet Connection Alert' to just the one domain:
> http://www.msftncsi.com
> But that assumes port 80 which you didn't mention the port Windows uses.
>
> After you gave me the "ncsi" term, I found the NCSI Group Policy Editor:
> Computer Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > System >
> Internet Communication Management > Internet Communication Settings >
> Turn off Windows Network Connectivity Status Indicator active tests =
> Enabled/Disabled
>
> As always with you Andy, you know far more than I ever will, but I'm happy
> to report that you've edified me about what domains Windows uses to
> determine network connectivity which I can test now on Android.
>
> I was about to reply to the unprepossessing unsteadyken with a nastigram but
> your polite correction of his chilish attitude negated me needing to do so.

Can I run my own NCSI server?

For those concerned about privacy, is it possible to run your own server to
respond to these requests? Let's find out!

I created ncsi.nathanhinkle.com on my web hosting, and set it up to send
/ncsi.txt as a plain text file with the content nhinkle NCSI. I then changed
all of the registry values to point to the values for my server, and what do
you know, it worked! Looking in Wireshark, requests were being made to my
server instead of to Microsoft's server, and the system was still
determining the status of the internet connection correctly. The user agent
on the requests was still Microsoft NCSI, indicating that it was indeed the
same service making the requests.

So, if you want your computer to be able to check its connectivity to the
internet while not sending your every move to Microsoft, this is a way to do
it.

As an added benefit, this could be used as a tracking mechanism to see where
your computer goes, particularly should it get lost or stolen, since any
connection attempt will result in your server being requested.

VanguardLH wrote:

> I don't "set for Lost Internet Connectivity alerts". It's pretty
> obvious to me when I've lost Internet connectivity. When it happens,
> first thing I do is turn around to look at the lights on the cable
> modem.

That's a visual alarm which is ok if you're always looking at it all day.
But the question was never about how to create a visual connection alarm.

What is needed is a _verbal_ Internet disconnect {notification,alarm}.
And given there are _many_ audible notifications, it should _speak_ it.

For example:
a. You start VPN on Windows 10
b. You set the liquidvpn killswitch to disconnect all _but_ the LAN
c. That works fine if the VPN drops, but it doesn't warn you audibly.

What you want in that case is a _verbal_ warning, oh, say, like:
"Warning: VPN failed. Fell back to the LAN. But no Internet."

The Android solution I proposed I am still testing.
So did Steve and micky also promised to test that solution.

Steve tested it by building a Faraday cage for example.
I tested it simply by running a router killswitch.

The solution I proposed seems to work but needs further simplification:
1. You type the notification which is _directly_ saved to a wav file.
2. You set the app to check www.msftncsi.com every (settable) seconds.
3. Upon failure (or reconnect) you hear the words you typed in step 1.

The question asked of this thread was only that of a good test URL.
Hence www.msftncsi.com seems a good choice since you're already using it.

Plus we learned a ton of _how_ Windows NCSI works (which I hadn't known).
True to form, every Usenet thread is an opportunity to help & learn more.

And always there can be improvements, such as:
a. On Windows your VPN drops
b. We can already have that automatically switch to only LAN traffic
c. But what we need is a _verbal_ warning that the VPN dropped out
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Every Usenet post should strive to add value in the body (not the headers).