Fold for Forgotten Hope

[Sicarius]

It's a race! I'm at 0 out of 5000000.

Still at 0. *sits and watches it*

FOLD FASTERRR

[Rad-FH]

I just found another site that tracks stats. This one tracks all, not just the top 2000.

Kakao Stats - Team Members - Forgotten Hope Community

Soon as you guys finish your first WU, you'll appear on the stats.

[jumjum]

Rad, if this post is more trouble than it's worth, don't bother - maybe other folks out there can step in with the basic info.

1. Is there a problem or does it hurt the research/work if we stay in program a short time, or do it intermittently?
2. Any technical difficulties or issues about uninstalling?
3. What guarantees, if any, of security are there? (My location at the moment can't get any PDF reader so I can't follow the info link.) Forgive my ignorance on the tech side of "borrowing" a computer but what kind of access does this give to how many people? And is our guarantee of safety the "Hey, we're dealing with good people" kind?

I, and I'm sure many other FHers, want to do this because it's something we can do, I hope. But neither do I want to do something unbelievably stupid because I don't know any better.

[Rad-FH]

Originally Posted by jumjum

Rad, if this post is more trouble than it's worth, don't bother - maybe other folks out there can step in with the basic info.

no problem

Originally Posted by jumjum

1. Is there a problem or does it hurt the research/work if we stay in program a short time, or do it intermittently?.

Dosn't hurt the project at all. Any contribution is welcomed to Stanford and to the FH team. Some people get competitive with this and downright fanatical by buying more computers, etc to bump up their stats. Some people turn in a WU every 2 weeks or so. Dosn't matter to anyone eccept yourself. How involved you want to get is up to you.

Originally Posted by jumjum

2. Any technical difficulties or issues about uninstalling?

None. As long as you don't install it as a service you can just delete the directory it's in. If you install it as a service you will have to go into your service manager and delete it from there. The install dosn't write anything into the registry.

Originally Posted by jumjum

3. What guarantees, if any, of security are there? (My location at the moment can't get any PDF reader so I can't follow the info link.) Forgive my ignorance on the tech side of "borrowing" a computer but what kind of access does this give to how many people? And is our guarantee of safety the "Hey, we're dealing with good people" kind? ?

(taken straight from the FAQ on Folding@home - FAQ)

What about security issues?

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.

edit (Rad): Re-reading your question on this... Stanford dosn't "borrow" your computer. The way the client works is it downloads a WU (work unit) and then your computer works on folding the protien until it's done. When the WU is complete, the client uploads the WU to the Standfor site and downloads another. The total time you are actually connected to Standford is less than a minute per WU.. that's both uploading and downloading.

Originally Posted by jumjum

I, and I'm sure many other FHers, want to do this because it's something we can do, I hope. But neither do I want to do something unbelievably stupid because I don't know any better.

Check out Overclockers and and the Standford forums. 100's of thousands of people doing this. There are a huge number of colleges with their whole computer lab hooked up to this. So far I have never come across any threads about security problems. F@H has been around since 2003 and the team stats show this. We have no hope in hell competing with the top 100.. or even top 1000 for that matter since they have been doing this for over 4 years. This will be something we can do as a community and contribute what we can. A little competition amongst ourselves will be fun too.

edit:

There are some downsides to this. This may not be for everyone. First off, this is hard on your computer. It maxes out your CPU when your computer is not in use. Of course this will generate more heat in your computer than if it's sitting idle. Second, it's going to cost you more in electricity. In my case I leave my 4 computers running 24/7 becasue of folding. I've also had to run the air conditioning a little more this summer to cool down my office from the extra heat. Third, if you really get into this, you you might find yourself looking at PS3 sales or choosing ATI X1950 video cards over GeForce cards since F@H dosn't yet support folding on the GF cards. Anything to get your PPD (point per day) up.

I know the downsides, but I choose to fold anyway. I had cancer and got lucky mainly because of medical advances that were made in just the last few years. It's worth it to me to try and contribute anything I can to this project if it might help find a cure to any number of the diseases out there, including cancer.

[jumjum]

Thanks, Rad. Be well.

[Rad-FH]

Originally Posted by jumjum

Thanks, Rad. Be well.

haha... OK, I will

I sure hope you're going to fold after all that!

[Wasserfaller]

I just got a new ATI X1950 XTX 512mb plopped in a dual core AMD 4800 a few months back, count me in. It's folding time...

Good to hear from ya Rad, glad things are well and you're doing better.

[[79th]Sgt-D]

I'll be for sure a part of this once I'll get my new computer with a dual core, and right now make the french community informed

[stylie]

So uh rad... sure, I'll do it, You want my PS3 too? No problem!!! Now when's the release date?!?!?! LOL!!! I'll give it a go. I actually bought a PS3 last night and F@H is in the system menu, weird that you posted this the same day. I wont be able to do a whole lot as I turn my computer equipment off when I know I wont be using it and I don't keep the PS3 hooked online all the time either, long story... apartments... wires... different rooms...

[Remick04]

How would i go about joining the Forgotten Hope team from my PS3?