Questions:
How is security handled so as to prevent hackers and invasion of privacy, ID theft, etc.?
{Stanford} We have worked very hard to maintain the best security possible with modern computer science methodology. Our software will upload and download data only from our data server here at Stanford. The Cores are also digitally signed (see below) to make sure that you're getting the true Stanford cores and nothing else.
How is this possible? We take extensive measures to check all of the data entering your computer and the results we send back to Stanford with 2048 bit digital signatures. If the signatures don't match (on either the input or the output) the client will throw away the data and start again. This ensures, using the best software security measures developed to date (digital signatures and PKI in version 3.0), that we are keeping the tightest possible security. Finally, the client/screen saver are available for download only from this web site, so that we can guarantee the integrity of the software. We do not support Folding@home software obtained elsewhere and prohibit others to distribute the software.
What safeguards are in place to prevent the data generated from falling into the wrong hands, say terrorists?
See above. Data is only pushed to the Stanford servers. It is not polled from them to each team or user.
How will the generated data ultimately be used?
{Stanford} Who "owns" the results? What will happen to them? Unlike other distributed computing projects, Folding@home is run by an academic institution (specifically the Pande Group, at Stanford University's Chemistry Department), which is a nonprofit institution dedicated to science research and education. We will not sell the data or make any money off of it.
Moreover, we will make the data available for others to use. In particular, the results from Folding@home will be made available on several levels. Most importantly, analysis of the simulations will be submitted to scientific journals for publication, and these journal articles will be posted on the web page after publication. Next, after publication of these scientific articles which analyze the data, the raw data of the folding runs will be available for everyone, including other researchers, here on this web site.
Can military (either ours or theirs) applications be developed from this?
I am sure that the military has already pinpointed applications that could make use of thousands of slower processors. However they have the money to buy thousands of faster processors, and a need to keep that research off the general Internet. We are pretty safe from our guys.
In a similar vein, there was an article years ago about Saddam buying/stealing thousands of Playstations to use their graphics processors to launch missles, etc. I do not know if that has ever been substantiated and it is much easier said than done.
Can participation be controlled and/or terminated by end-user at any time?
The application is completely under your control. Turn the machine off and it stops. Right-click the tray icon and hit Exit and it stops. Take it out of the Startup folder and it will never run again.
This is a very benign application, and only runs when nothing else is running. Your system will ask for a work unit, fold it and then contact the Stanford server to send it the results. If nothing is heard from a system in about a week, then the work unit is given to someone else to complete.
Just wondering.
No prob! This is a very similar project to the SETI@Home project which search radio signals for life from outer space.
Thank you for the info. It sounds like a pretty cool project.
If I joined, do you think the program could have a small subroutine to find me a date with my dream woman? Nah, nevermind, that would take over all the processing time and kill the program, LOL.
;^D