VPN used for VR game cheat sells access to your home network
In the hit virtual reality game Gorilla Tag, you swing your arms to pull your primate character aroundβclambering through virtual worlds, climbing up trees and, above all, trying to avoid an infectious mob of other gamers. If youβre caught, you join the horde. However, some kids playing the game claim to have found a way to cheat and easily βtagβ opponents.
Over the past year, teenagers have produced video tutorials showing how to side-load a virtual private network (VPN) onto Metaβs virtual reality headsets and use the location-changing technology to get ahead in the game. Using a VPN, according to the tutorials, introduces a delay that makes it easier to sneak up and tag other players.
While the workaround is likely to be an annoying but relatively harmless bit of in-game cheating, thereβs a catch. The free VPN app that the video tutorials point to, Big Mama VPN, is also selling access to its usersβ home internet connectionsβwith buyers essentially piggybacking on the VR headsetβs IP address to hide their own online activity.