[SteelTrepid]

Good thanks for joining the team. Unfortuantley you first post does not count. All posts in the "off topic" section do not count towards your post total. Sorry, but when I added this category I felt that it wasn't anything that directly effected the project so I didn't think it should boost your post count. We also have a posting whore here in the forum so it was an effort to keep his already high numbers down. <_<

[LittlBUGer]

SteelTrepid, on Nov 5 2004, 07:08 AM, said:

Good thanks for joining the team.  Unfortuantley you first post does not count.  All posts in the "off topic" section do not count towards your post total.  Sorry, but when I added this category I felt that it wasn't anything that directly effected the project so I didn't think it should boost your post count.  We also have a posting whore here in the forum so it was an effort to keep his already high numbers down. <_<

[rickym]

LittlBUGer sorry for the mix up that’s the Homer Simpson in me I was not looking to get a post count . I should have wrote First Contact with WindowsUBCD forum. I thought this would be a nice gesture to make my first contact with the forum and to join UnUnited Devices (Grid.org) WinUBCD Team and just say HI to all RickyM.

[SteelTrepid]

No problem, no big deal. It is a nice gesture to start supporting our project with the UD team. I'm sure you will find something to post about in another category soon. Maybe suggest some freeware you have found or know of that would be a nice addition to the project, etc. Thanks again!

[dirkgently42]

I have recently installed the UD_agent on three (clean) PCs at work. Finally, someone got wise to all the infected PC's and contracted to install the websense proxy on the network. (Why not A/V while they're at it?)

This overlooks the most glaring ommision that commercial a/v software has not been provided and maintained on any PC (including mine), but it is a welcome addition. I have installed ClamWin, but it ain't enough for the casual user. It works for me, but only because I am conscious enough to scan the crap out of everything with multiple scanners (including online) before opening anything. Normal/daily login accounts are non-admin. Preferred browser = Mozilla.

One PC has finished a project and reports locally that it has completed the last project, reported the findings, earned some points and moved on to the next project. My master registration login doesn't show any credit for this yet. This is probably normal. Perhaps, the results need to be processed over a period of time prior to posting? Last result returned = 0. All devices are registered properly and show up under my login. I did not select a proxy. ( I am not privy to this information. ) Proxy settings not necessary for normal operation.

I am wondering if anyone has had similar problems with websense (or other filters) and the UD_agent? I suspect that the results are not being reported due to blocking by websense. I can access the grid.org site. No errors reported on the client that finished. I have visited the forum for the grid project and haven't found anything relevant or recent. I may have missed something....

I checked out the highest ranking member who had over a thousand devices. Big network! Out of approximately 20 to 30 PC's in my workplace, the three under my control represent the extremely small minority of the uninfected.... nobody seems to care about providing security software other than to spy on employees. I might have promoted installation of the UD client on other machines if they weren't infected. I'll have to reserve this installation for client cleanups and reinstalls..

It gives me pleasure to install an application that helps a worthy cause and I appreciate having found the post by Lil'Bugger. This needs to be promoted more! Think of the potential. Lots of people could install this at work on multiple computers with no negative side effects. If idiots armed with a mouse can install trojans and spyware , why restrict installation of "goodware?"

This post has been edited by dirkgently42: 29 March 2005 - 09:50 PM

[LittlBUGer]

Thank you for joining! I realize that the team name is out of date but I cannot not change that portion, only the other info. As for your results, yes, if you read some of the finer print on the grid.org website, it can take a day or so for the results to be fully posted and whatnot. As long as your UD Agent said it has completed and is continuing onto the next, everything should be fine. Otherwise, it would say that it couldn't connect ot transmit the data.

As for myself, I actually haven't had the agent going in quite some time now because of the fact that it uses the CPU like crazy and my cooling system was getting a little loud, plus the fact that I was always suspending it to do other intense things on my computer. So, I'm not sure if I'll install it again or not, maybe just not yet, I don't know. My computer isn't on all of the time, it's actually only on about a few hours a day. And I would have it on my work computers but it's against policy to do such things and is a security risk.

Anyway, I appreciate your help and using your computer to help others.

[dirkgently42]

I've seen one PC at work report back and it looks like it's working. I just wanted confirmation that the agents were configured properly--- from Mr. Popeill, "set it and forget it." No one should expect to monitor this thing once it is set up as long as it is working and doesn't conflict with normal functions. The work PC's seem to be running the agent with no conflict with "mission critical" software. No slow down and no fan speed increase. This seems to be ideal for a normal desktop that doesn't use CPU intensive applications.

I think I read somewhere that you work in government, so I can understand your policy restrictions. I'm not sure why this particular app would compromise security, unless the policy is to install as few applications as possible to reduce the overhead for the IT department. Could you please clarify why you think this may be a security risk? Perhaps I should reconsider? The only ports the agent seems to be using is port 80 and port 443. I'm sure the policy is justified in your environment, but it raises a concern for installing the agent at all. I have no problem installing something useful at work, especially when others have had free reign to install whatever they want on other PC's (or don't want, but get anyway via trojans and uninformed mouse clicks.)

Your experience at home, however has been duplicated on my home PC. My fan speed runs above normal and I can't bear to leave it running overnight. I edited a custom device profile that restricts processing on my home PC to evening time after work and stops at eleven PM. I can deal with this as long as I know I can shut it down as necessary. I can't justify voluntarily paying for UD's electricity bill, especially if I were to leave it on during the daytime (which I don't do anyway for security). I can understand why there have been very few people registered as it does seem to push the hardware. This is perfect for the idle PC (re: relatives, mom, etc.) , but definitely not for gamers and not for business workstations that require all the CPU cycles they can muster. I'm sure Athlon64 based PC's would fair better than those with Intel boards. This is extremely easy to install/register and will not degrade the normal operation of a standard desktop.



Thanks for your reply "LittlBUGer" --- sorry I keep spelling it my way.
I hope I'm not being a PITA to everyone.

Note: to save other joiners the hassle, you might point out that only one distributed computing agent should be installed on any one computer system. From what I gather, multiple agents will fight to the finish for resources after your primary system needs are satisfied.

[dirkgently42]

You will notice that somehow my last post was posted twice. Please delete the duplicate.

This has happened before. I may be in error, but it seems like something ain't working right. .... I am using firefox BTW.

That's weird. Now I only see one post. Hmmmm....

This post has been edited by dirkgently42: 30 March 2005 - 08:57 PM

[LittlBUGer]

I use Firefox all of the time with no problems on posting.

As for the agent, like I said, I may install it again on my home PC (it's an Athlon FX-53) but it does run like crazy and since I'm so busy getting other stuff done, I just always suspend it, so who knows. As for the "security" issue at my job, yes I do work for the government so we have very strict policies. The reason it can't be installed is because basically what you already mentioned. We don't allow any freeware or extra unneeded programs unless it has been highly tested and OK'd by the Manager for our region (and whatnot else). So I can't really install much of anything unless I can really justify it. Even though this is for a good cause, I can't justify installing it for work purposes. Oh well... :-\

Anyway, glad that it's going well for you and I wouldn't worry about any security concerns. Just keep it going.

[dirkgently42]

That absolutely clarifies your assertion that this app might be a security risk. Extra apps tend to clog the pipeline when trying to ferret out threats and minimize security holes. A very justifiable SOP! Most home users would benefit from this attitude, if they understood that installing less crap reduces exposure to infection. Thank you!




----------------------------------
I noticed that you have (had) 15 registered devices. These are apparently out of commission now. They sure generated some numbers.

[dirkgently42]

My home PC is running the agent at 50% as shown by the task manager during a normal evening session, instead of 100% as shown on my work PC's at 2.0 GHz non HT. No problems from them whatsoever. My PC is Intel P4 3.0GHz HT. It seems to be running much quieter now that a "baseline" has been established. Perhaps they have tweaked the code to run a little less obtrusively. Try it again and see. It will, of course, run at 100% on idle. That's why I don't like to let it run overnight or during the daytime.

[dirkgently42]

This is an old article. Whether it is still relevant? Who knows? The links to UD on this old slashdot article are .com --- the current links are .org, so this article may not apply at all. Perhaps they've gone completely non-profit?
slashdot article Tue Apr 03, '01
I'm not completely turned off due to the .org aspect. I had initially suspected a broader corporate interest having a hand in this, but I couldn't seem to find anything pertinent.

It justifies installing it at work if you can manage it. Installing at home is another matter. Don't pay for UD's electricity! Don't feel guilty if you don't leave your computer on over night to let the agent generate more points trying to find a cure. It's supposed to be capitalizing on your spare CPU cycles during normal use, not extra cycles that you might feel obligated to donate. The concept of distributed computing is very cool, but you must consider the fact that it is also a distributed electric bill. I like the PlayStation 3 for distributed computing!!! For god's sake don't monitor the thing! Install the agent, register, then forget it. You'll never get the high score. As long as it doesn't conflict with normal PC operation and it's properly configured, forget about it. I don't think the SETI project is an exception. Don't sacrifice your home computer experience in favor of big business. Big business concerns aside, it still seems like a good project. No spyware. Just don't pay for their electric bill!

The slashdot article came up when searching for a linux version of the agent.
http://www.google.com/linux ; search term "ud agent"
Apparently the UD agent is Windows only. It had run under WINE for a time within Linux, but support has been discontinued.

I ain't knocking it and I'm pleased that it was suggested, it's just that I felt obligated to check it out. This is by no means exhaustive research, just my cursory findings. I could be wrong, I may have missed something, or I may have overmedicated. The agent remains installed anyway. It's harmless on the surface.

just another link:
http://distributedcomputing.info/

This post has been edited by dirkgently42: 02 April 2005 - 02:16 AM

[dirkgently42]

For those interested in installing on several computers.

It must be installed/registered on each machine locally per this FAQ:
http://www.grid.org/...lling_agent.htm

A workaround for the determined:
http://forum.grid.or...opic.php?t=8797

And a slightly less complicated method with UD Organiser:
http://www.kerrins.c...nual/https://www.ubcd4win.com/l
(above link found here -> http://forum.grid.or...pic.php?t=8790)


---------------------------------
Something positive about repurposing old hardware:
http://forum.grid.or...ght=electricity

[dirkgently42]

A standard email form for signing up contacts and acquaintences.


This distributed computing project harnesses idle computers to calculate useful data for scientists engaged in cancer research. Installing this software allows you to contribute to this research without donating money. It's easy to install and register and requires very little maintenance afterwards. This is perfect for a desktop computer used primarily for word processing, email and websurfing.

Home page:
http://www.grid.org/home.htm

About grid.org:
http://www.grid.org/about/

Help:
http://www.grid.org/help/

Forum:
http://forum.grid.org/phpBB/

Global statistics:
http://www.grid.org/stats/

Download here:
http://www.grid.org/...ld/download.htm

http://www.grid.org/...FA-575DDDAB2E58
You can use the above link to join this team. You can also start your own team or join another team.

[dirkgently42]

http://forum.grid.or...pic.php?t=16504

Any volunteers?