Free mobile internet through Facebook. Could this work?

Forums › Vodafone New Zealand › Free mobile internet through Facebook. Could this work?

RealityClash

192 posts

Master Geek

Topic # 85087 13-Jun-2011 20:50

Hey all,

For the past few months I have been using Vodafone's 100MB a month for $10 prepay add-on just for doing things like email and the odd bit of web browsing on my HTC Wildfire and I noticed not long ago that I get free Facebook and Twitter with this add-on.

So this got me thinking, If someone had developed a proxy app that ran inside Facebook, would I then be able to use this app to access pretty much any web page for free through Facebook? If so, does anyone know of such app?

Thanks

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Reply # 480738 13-Jun-2011 21:07

lets post this idea on a public forum!

nairda

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Reply # 480740 13-Jun-2011 21:09

If you're talking about this, then the offer is for 100MB of free data per month for the first 3 months - not zero-rated access to facebook, so a facebook app would not benefit you in the way you envisage.

asmcar

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Reply # 480741 13-Jun-2011 21:10

johnr: lets post this idea on a public forum!

This is priceless, even posted it in the vodafone section just for you! Maybe the vodafone forums isn't the best place to discuss ripping off vodafone....

jbard

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Reply # 480742 13-Jun-2011 21:11

johnr: lets post this idea on a public forum!

Don't worry, i'm sure no one will notice ;)

Starplay

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Ultimate Geek

Reply # 480743 13-Jun-2011 21:13

bahahaha... this has made my day. lol

johnr

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Reply # 480746 13-Jun-2011 21:14

You could have at least posted it in the off topic!

Peppery

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Reply # 480752 13-Jun-2011 21:23

A Facebook app wouldn't work because these aren't hosted by Facebook (and traffic is only zero rated to the Facebook servers). It would be possible to set up a server that could proxy Internet requests over the messages system (a la TCP over DNS) but the latency and speeds would be pretty horrible that you may as well just spend the damn money on mobile data.

raytaylor

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Reply # 480754 13-Jun-2011 21:24

Lets be nice to the guy. I remember being young and having some funny ideas.

For a number of years I was keen on setting up a PRS / UHF CB radio repeater for the local boy racers which I found some early attempts failed because i didnt know enough about radio at the time - or licensing.

The free facebook that telecom does (i dont know if its the same as vf) is to a text only version of the website that doesnt support any of the plugins or extra apps that run on the facebook service.
Remember that all those plugins like farmville are really just applications running on other websites that just use facebook as a login / user authentication system and front end interface to advertise themselves.
They can do a few advanced things like post things on users walls but they only talk to facebook through an API - which is like an interface where applications can send and recieve information from facebook's system using a limited set of specific commands. Unfortunatley there is no free for all exchange - the commands are very specific.

Like many of my ideas, people laughed. And I do find this particular one quite funny.

Ray Taylor
Taylor Broadband (rural hawkes bay)
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There is no place like localhost
For my general guide to extending your wireless network Click Here

raytaylor

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Reply # 480758 13-Jun-2011 21:27

Thought i would add

Can you imagine surfing the web through a proxy system where all html and images had to pass through a facebook comment? I can just imagine what a mess that persons wall would look like as they use their phone.

Ray Taylor
Taylor Broadband (rural hawkes bay)
www.ruralkiwi.com

There is no place like localhost
For my general guide to extending your wireless network Click Here

johnr

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Reply # 480759 13-Jun-2011 21:28

I was into CB / PRS radio

muppet

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Reply # 480762 13-Jun-2011 21:32

RealityClash: Hey all,

For the past few months I have been using Vodafone's 100MB a month for $10 prepay add-on just for doing things like email and the odd bit of web browsing on my HTC Wildfire and I noticed not long ago that I get free Facebook and Twitter with this add-on.

So this got me thinking, If someone had developed a proxy app that ran inside Facebook, would I then be able to use this app to access pretty much any web page for free through Facebook? If so, does anyone know of such app?

Thanks

Technically, this could work, yes. However you'd start pulling and pushing so much data quickly that Facebook's automated spam detection routines would be triggered and you'd get shutdown.
You're also tunnelling TCP over an application sitting again onto of TCP. So your actual throughput would be pretty slow.

Easier to do would be via Twitter, at least a "bot army" that was following you could work in tandem to spit back replies to your "Tweets" requesting data. Same problem as above, tunnelling TCP over an application over TCP applies.

Proof of concept: Yes.
Something actually useful: Probably not.

It looks like I'm using an adblocker. I should consider whitelisting Geekzone in my adblocker or a subscription. The Quick Reply box will appear for me when Geekzone is whitelisted. Hooray for me! If I want to reply to this topic I should click on Compose Reply.

billgates

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Reply # 480764 13-Jun-2011 21:34

johnr: lets post this idea on a public forum!

and that too on a forum which is accessed by VF's engineers

Do whatever you want to do man.

muppet

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Reply # 480765 13-Jun-2011 21:36

Like many of my ideas, people laughed. And I do find this particular one quite funny.

Why? It's the answer to questions like this that let you bypass firewall, avoid corporate proxies etc as required. I think it shows some decent thinking and is certainly more interesting than discussing another mobile phone price plan, ADSL price plan or something equally non-geeky and inane.

Edit: IMHO, of course.

Beccara

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UberGroup

Reply # 480772 13-Jun-2011 21:54

It's interesting from a security POV, With the zero-rating of many sites these days, Youtube/Facebook/Twitter/etc there will come a day where someone smart figures out how to pass normal traffic. It wouldn't be fast but a cheap VPS box in the states and you could torrent via it albeit slowly but unlimited.

From a corporate side it's another way out of the firewall and security, effectively a tunnel right over your security

Most problems are the result of previous solutions...

All comment's I make are my own personal opinion and do not in any way, shape or form reflect the views of current or former employers unless specifically stated

quickymart

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Reply # 480791 13-Jun-2011 22:47

John - is there any way to turn off the notification about "three months free FB for Prepay!" when I access Facebook from the VF menu? I'm postpaid and find it rather annoying to have to click another link...can it be turned off? Surely people are aware of this by now :)

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