View Full Version : Folder's Prayer
Lord, grant me the strength to refrain from installing F@H /EM on every box I come across, in stealth mode, with or without permission from whoever may happen to own the box, and protect me from retribution should I do it anyway and get caught...Amen
Crash893
10-05-01, 12:14 PM
what would happen if you got caught?
wouldnt they just delete it?
Dunga Bee
10-05-01, 12:19 PM
It depends on who 'finds out'. As a general rule, it is always best to ask before installing any DC app (Folding, SETI, Prime, etc).
There was a case that someone working in a university lab got in some serious legal trouble for installing a DC app on the PCs in the lab.
Keep in mind that without proper cooling, these apps could burn up a machine in no time.
Hugo 59
10-05-01, 12:26 PM
All I have to do to keep from installing it unauthorized is to think about this:
Date: October 4th, 2001 10:51 PM
Author Eric Hagen
Two years ago, David McOwen was system administrator at a small technical college in Georgia when he installed the distributed.net RC5 client on roughly 200 of their public workstations. When it was discovered that he had installed this "unauthorized" software, he was forced to leave his job. At this point, he believed it was over, however; almost two years later, the state of Georgia has apparently returned with nine felony counts under Georgia Computer Systems Protection Act for misusing government property and computer systems and a bill of $415,000 supposedly in compensation for lost bandwidth.
"It's supposed to be for the good of technology, mankind and things like that," McOwen explained, "I don't feel I did anything criminal."
The Distributed.net client is a simple software package, which runs in the background, only when other applications are not consuming resources. Aside from several kilobytes of memory, the application is virtually transparent to the user. It updates its buffers on a regular basis via the Internet, however; such transmissions are very small and even several hundred computers would not stress a 56Kbps dialup modem account.
Regardless, if convicted of all nine counts, he faces a maximum criminal penalty of 135 years in prison and several hundred thousand dollars in fines. These are in addition to the charges for damages claimed by DeKalb College, where he was employed at the time of the incident.
Damage claims were constructed by using a figure of 59 cents per second, however; these claims have not been itemized publicly. Since the distributed.net RC5 program uses only miniscule amounts of bandwidth and has no discernable abject effect on overall system performance, many users have spoken out loudly against these stiff charges.
"I don’t understand why you can’t use unused bandwidth to accomplish greater things…" said Janet Rae Dupree from US News and World Report
Beyond the monetary damages, many people have taken issue to what appears to be an overly broad law regarding computer systems in public environments. Under current Georgia law, the installation of any unapproved software on company computers constitutes a crime and can be prosecuted as a felony.
The exact text of the statute, which will most likely be used to charge McOwen, follows:
Computer Theft. Any person who uses a computer or computer network
with knowledge that such use is without authority and with the intention of:
(3) Converting property to such person's use in violation of an agreement
or other known legal obligation to make a specified application or
disposition of such property shall be guilty of the crime of computer theft
The $1000 prize that distributed.net gives to the individual who’s computer cracks the code will be examined carefully in court since it could be argued that McOwen was using University computers for his own financial gain. While, clearly, no harm was intended by his actions, McOwen did violate the letter of the law. Whether this law is exceedingly strict or justifiable regardless of intent will be left up to the courts to decide.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has voiced their concern over the precedent that could be set by this case. They have also mentioned that they are actively lobbying against the law as it stands now, seeking a more narrow definition of a computer crime.
"This case, when we found out about it, certainly struck us as somewhat of a surprise," said Lee Tien, an EFF attorney according to CNet. "One of the things we are very interested in is seeing the statute narrowed so it only covers people who are intending to do harm."
Others in the industry see this as a warning about vague restrictions on computer usage.
"This is a clarion call to enterprise people and college people who manage their networks- you better review your policies," said Michael Dortch of the Robert Francis Group.
The reaction at large has been of overwhelming support for McOwen and his wife. A defense fund has been set up and has received almost six thousand dollars in charitable donations to help support the high cost of defending this case. While he admits openly that he may have done something wrong by installing unapproved software, he, along with many others, agree that the current charges are incongruous with the extent of the crime.
Crash893
10-05-01, 12:41 PM
scarry
oh well
how would they prove you put it on there
man and when i think of every where there are my clients
well mexico is nice this time of year
Dunga Bee
10-05-01, 01:04 PM
*winces*
Keep your fingers crossed.
Originally posted by crash893
scarry
oh well
how would they prove you put it on there
Well, the part that says "Taylor_Ginther(www.overclockers.com)" would probably give them someplace to start looking.
But seriously, The very worst that would happen is I'd get fired. That's bad. But more likely I'd get a stiff reprimand and not get the next raise I have coming.
But that's only if I get caught...
So far it's just on my own workstation. With EM to fire up FAH, in stealth mode, and with that conagent box unchecked so there's no error message at shutdown, I doubt anyone would ever notice. At least not for a long time, anyway. but then when they did...
Say, does the client have to be in "c:/program files/folding at home/" ? Can I put the folding at home folder in some convoluted place no one will ever look?
Crash893
10-05-01, 07:17 PM
i alwasy put prime in windows/help
no one ever looks in there
WyrmMaster
10-05-01, 07:48 PM
Originally posted by crash893
scarry
oh well
how would they prove you put it on there
man and when i think of every where there are my clients
well mexico is nice this time of year
DUDE, are your putting folding in internet cafes? Sweet!!
Originally posted by Taylor
Say, does the client have to be in "c:/program files/folding at home/" ? Can I put the folding at home folder in some convoluted place no one will ever look?
The windows/help seemed like a great place to hide it. lol. Pretty sure you can put it anywhere you want.
Crash893
10-06-01, 02:13 PM
Originally posted by WyrmMaster
DUDE, are your putting folding in internet cafes? Sweet!!
sorry not folding
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JetMech
10-07-01, 02:41 PM
Originally posted by Taylor
Lord, grant me the strength to refrain from installing F@H /EM on every box I come across, in stealth mode, with or without permission from whoever may happen to own the box, and protect me from retribution should I do it anyway and get caught...Amen Amen. Newsflash! Congress has made it a death penalty offense. Oh well. What a way to go :D :D :D :eek:
WillysNut
10-07-01, 08:27 PM
LOL..very funny Taylor! I think it's safe to assume we can apply the Folder's Prayer to pc's that belong to friends and relatives. :)
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