'Disillusioned' with making money through an app that shares Internet capacity

Nguyen Minh, an office worker in Hanoi, downloaded an app to share Internet capacity based on an online advertisement. After installing it on his phone and allowing the app to run in the background, he was promised payments without having to do anything else.

“They say you just need to maintain an internet connection on your device to make money. The longer you stay online, the more money you accumulate,” he said.

According to the developer’s explanation, the application helps people with excess Internet capacity to resell it to individuals and groups that need network access all over the world. The App will automatically calculate the total capacity shared and pay participants. Currently, users in Vietnam receive about 1-2 USD for each Gigabyte of capacity, while the rate in other countries ranges from 3 to 5 USD.

Minh said that the first month he earned more than 20 USD (500,000 VND), however the platform required him to accumulate a minimum of 50 USD to be eligible to withdraw money. At the end of the second month, he completed the quota but received a notification “payment method not available” and could not transfer money on the platform to his bank account through PayPal despite complaining weeks later.

During this time, his phone started to lose battery power, get hot quickly, stutter, and lag. As a result, he had to give up the accumulated money and delete the app.

According to Chu Minh Hoang, an information technology engineer and administrator of an online money-making (MMO) group on Facebook, many users are also experiencing the same situation of not being able to get money as Nguyen Minh. Currently, apps that share Internet capacity also appear in large numbers and are heavily advertised. Although the payout rates are different, they have the common feature of encouraging users to stay online to make money.

“Many people are attracted by the opportunity to create passive income from a small amount of capital. Some people even use free Wi-Fi at work to earn extra money,” he said.

However, he assessed that this type of app is not optimized by the developer, thus negatively affecting the functionality of the phone and computer because it continuously operates in the background and consumes hardware resources. In the long term, the device may experience lag and not be able to use maximum performance. Many platforms are also accused of cheating when using money and large rewards to attract users for a long time, but when it comes to payment, the transaction portal suddenly fails. In addition, Mr. Hoang believes that some developers are also vague in explaining the operating mechanism of the app.

“In fact, apps are part of a virtual private network ( VPN ) model and the user’s device is just a node on the network,” he said. “When installed, users indirectly grant permission to other individuals to use their IP address for unclear purposes.”

According to Mr. Vu Ngoc Son, Technology Director of NCS Cyber Security Company, IP addresses obtained through Internet capacity sharing apps are at risk of being used by bad guys to commit cyber fraud. In particular, it is difficult for authorities to trace because hackers often choose IP addresses from other countries.

Besides, users also face risks right from the installation step. In case the app contains malicious code, the device will be monitored, leading to the disclosure of personal information, account information and passwords. Hackers can also mobilize the victim’s computer and phone as a ghost device in the botnet network, thereby easily carrying out cyber attacks by sending fake emails or DDoS .

User assessment experts need to be careful with applications that support making money online. Apps that are at risk of security violations often require downloading .apk files for Android or using separate configurations on iOS to install. To minimize risks, users should download approved applications on Google Play and App Store.

Hoang Giang